Any opinions about having one loudseaker near one wall and the other near the opposite wall so they are facing each other about 4 metres apart and you sit directly between them to listen? Last time I tried (years ago) it the stereo image was really obvious like with headphones. Is there a downside?
i am hardly any kind of expert, so i'll just ask a question: don't you have to be concerned about cancellation and interference caused by reflected waves from the opposing walls? i don't know the answer, i'm just curious.
i guess the other downside might be a very small 'sweet spot', right? i mean you have to sit right smack in the middle. with forward angled speakers, sometimes there's a little slack area, isn't there?
/andrew - still learning the basics
i guess the other downside might be a very small 'sweet spot', right? i mean you have to sit right smack in the middle. with forward angled speakers, sometimes there's a little slack area, isn't there?
/andrew - still learning the basics
I don't think much music is staged like that. There's a particular term for that kind of staging, and if I could remember the name of it, I could refer you to an Electronic Musician article from a few years back.
Basically, there's a recording method that involves two microphones, one on either side of an opaque surface. Supposedly (in sophisticated recording configurations) this is the nearest thing to capturing what a human being hears.
The opaque surface ranges from something like a board to a very solid mannequin head, and you put a matched pair of mics where your ears would go.
It's all very scientific, you know.
At any rate, a mixing engineer never stages according to a headphone mix--not for general commercial release, anyway.
Dave
Basically, there's a recording method that involves two microphones, one on either side of an opaque surface. Supposedly (in sophisticated recording configurations) this is the nearest thing to capturing what a human being hears.
The opaque surface ranges from something like a board to a very solid mannequin head, and you put a matched pair of mics where your ears would go.
It's all very scientific, you know.
At any rate, a mixing engineer never stages according to a headphone mix--not for general commercial release, anyway.
Dave
Binaural recordings
That's binaural recording. Done right, and played back through headphones
, it provides just about the most realistic stereophonic image that can be obtained.
They aren't made to be played back through anything but headphones. Of course, you'll hear it and it won't sound horrible through speakers, but to get the desired effect it must be played through 'phones.
The only experience I had was with a recording of a Stephen King novel. It was pretty great, but I'd much rather hear some good music recordings done in that fashion. Anybody know a source with some selection?
On the original question, I can't provide anything substantive, but any good book on sound recording or reproduction will delve into it. Basically, when a recording is mic'd, it's done with the idea of playback through speakers placed in the conventional position, more or less, and the mix is made using speakers set up in that sort of position as well.
To my ears, the image isn't anything like where it should be when speakers are placed like that (in the typical dorm room position)
/Vince - can't resist that popworm
That's binaural recording. Done right, and played back through headphones
, it provides just about the most realistic stereophonic image that can be obtained.They aren't made to be played back through anything but headphones. Of course, you'll hear it and it won't sound horrible through speakers, but to get the desired effect it must be played through 'phones.
The only experience I had was with a recording of a Stephen King novel. It was pretty great, but I'd much rather hear some good music recordings done in that fashion. Anybody know a source with some selection?
On the original question, I can't provide anything substantive, but any good book on sound recording or reproduction will delve into it. Basically, when a recording is mic'd, it's done with the idea of playback through speakers placed in the conventional position, more or less, and the mix is made using speakers set up in that sort of position as well.
To my ears, the image isn't anything like where it should be when speakers are placed like that (in the typical dorm room position)
/Vince - can't resist that popworm
My experience from trying that didn't give me favorable results. It was very similar to inexpensive headphones. It put me IN the stage instead of IN FRONT of the stage, removing any depth. Instead of instruments suspended in air in definite locations on the stage, they could only be found to the left or the right of me, with no real appreciation for how far away. Center image vocals appeared to emanate from within my head. In all not a very enjoyable reproduction.
It does sound like you are "IN" the music, but that can be a good thing sometimes, right? Lower quality recordings lack much soundstage and this amplifies the subtle effects they have. Or maybe you'd just prefer to have a little mix up on some of your recordings.
Either way, in my experience this works better with 2 speakers in opposite corners rather than 2 opposite walls. The speakers I used to do this come to a v in the front at about a 135 degree angle with drivers mounted on each side of the v. I point this out because they are not flat faced speakers and I think the sound might be much different if you point 2 flat face speakers directly at each other (I really don't know.)
Either way, in my experience this works better with 2 speakers in opposite corners rather than 2 opposite walls. The speakers I used to do this come to a v in the front at about a 135 degree angle with drivers mounted on each side of the v. I point this out because they are not flat faced speakers and I think the sound might be much different if you point 2 flat face speakers directly at each other (I really don't know.)
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