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I have a general question about surround sound.

What is the big deal about multichannel music? I see where many of the new SACD's are multichannel. Does this make the recording seem more lifelike? When we go to a concert, the music only comes from in front of us. Isn't that the purpose of the two speakers in our stereo systems? Why do we need two behind us? I understand about ambient noise, reflections, etc. It just seems to me that music is more accurately reproduced with two channels rather than multichannel. Could I please get some feedback and whether you agree or disagree with me and why.
chrisclaypf88a

Showing 3 responses by pbb

pbb
1,140 posts
 
I detect the fundamental knee-jerk reaction to anything but two channel stereo. The ambiance of the recording venue is not very well reproduced by two channel. A number of audible cues are present on stereo recordings, but to reproduce this "other dimension" of sound, added channels are required. How many and what to pump through them is another issue, but the fact remains that to come out with the two statements that music only comes from the front of the hall and that we only have two ears so why more than two speakers is simply wrong.
pbb
1,140 posts
 
The type of image that audiophiles love from stereo does not sound like anything you may hear in a live venue. Many audiophiles have given up, I think, on reproduced music sounding in the home like the real experience. Focusing on attributes of sound reproduction that are kind of inward looking, as though sound systems were to be compared solely to other sound systems, they strive for qualities that are not there in the real thing. The whole notion of being able to differentiate between musicians within an orchestra is one of these attributes sought by audiophiles. Unless sitting very close, most orchestras, except for the times the music demands a soloist or that only one section be playing, sound way more homogeneous, at least to my ears, than what audiophiles cherish. The hall ambiance is only hinted at in two-channel reproduction. Again, the whole thing hinges on what will be done with the new technical possibilities at hand. If it is anything like the production of stereo recordings, you can rest assured that it will be extremely variable. Thinking that only two channels are required is like hardening of the arteries.
pbb
1,140 posts
 
Your a lucky man. It's amazing that something as remote as equipment isolation would have an effect (placebo, maybe?) on ambiance. I maintain my point that anyone so enslaved to two channel would have been equally enslaved to mono. Audio of the high-end persuasion is going nowhere fast since there are too may sacred cows and belief in voodoo.
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