noble100
But let’s be clear: Just because it’s difficult to localize monophonic bass, and just because installing satisfactory monophonic bass systems is easier and more practical than keeping the bass stereo, does not mean that all bass is mono. It isn’t, and the biggest clue that it isn’t is the audible result of phase differences in the stereo LF signal. (This is where stereo bass deniers often chime in with, "But all records and CDs are pressed with mono bass so it doesn’t make any difference!" And with those recordings, they’re correct.)
I’ve previously posted links to original research on this topic. In particular, studies done into lossy compression and hearing perception revealed this truth about stereo bass, as well as accepting that as a practical matter, it doesn’t really matter most of the time.
Wanna hear stereo bass? Get some good recordings with lotsa LF- it’s best if you use your own for reference - and listen to them on truly full-range speakers in a proper system. I’m talking about something such as the Infinity IRS Beta system, or Genesis Quartet. Then you’ll understand that stereo bass can be real, even if it’s elusive and, frankly, often of dubious practical appeal.
My introduction to stereo bass was by the late Mike Kay at Lyric using the big Infinity IRS V system. He loved demonstrating the reality of stereo LF.
... there’s no such thing as ’stereo bass’ or ’stereo subs’ beyond my description in my last post of the bass fundamental bass tones below about 80 Hz being reproduced by a pair of mono subs, which we cannot localize, and the bass harmonics or overtones of the fundamental bass tones, which often extend beyond about 80 Hz that we can localize ... No matter whether we configure our subs in stereo or mono operation, the final result is the same: we’re all actually listening to mono deep bass from the subs ...This canard has been around the audio world for generations, and it’s easy to see why. The fact is that it is extremely difficult to localize LF, and it’s much easier to integrate mono bass into a stereo system than stereo bass. As a result, monophonic subwoofer systems often sound better than many attempts to do stereo in the same system. (Indeed, when using mono bass, you can use multiple subwoofers - as @noble100 has touted many times - placed around the room where the effects of bass nodes can be best managed. That wouldn’t work with a stereo subwoofer system.)
But let’s be clear: Just because it’s difficult to localize monophonic bass, and just because installing satisfactory monophonic bass systems is easier and more practical than keeping the bass stereo, does not mean that all bass is mono. It isn’t, and the biggest clue that it isn’t is the audible result of phase differences in the stereo LF signal. (This is where stereo bass deniers often chime in with, "But all records and CDs are pressed with mono bass so it doesn’t make any difference!" And with those recordings, they’re correct.)
I’ve previously posted links to original research on this topic. In particular, studies done into lossy compression and hearing perception revealed this truth about stereo bass, as well as accepting that as a practical matter, it doesn’t really matter most of the time.
Wanna hear stereo bass? Get some good recordings with lotsa LF- it’s best if you use your own for reference - and listen to them on truly full-range speakers in a proper system. I’m talking about something such as the Infinity IRS Beta system, or Genesis Quartet. Then you’ll understand that stereo bass can be real, even if it’s elusive and, frankly, often of dubious practical appeal.
My introduction to stereo bass was by the late Mike Kay at Lyric using the big Infinity IRS V system. He loved demonstrating the reality of stereo LF.