John Gatski is the Publisher & Executive Editor of Pro Audio Review.
As I read Mike Rivers' detailed roundup of two-track editors for PCs in this issue (a Mac roundup is scheduled for June), I was reminded of the power of stereo. With all the products that bring us multitrack recording, playback, mixing and delivery, two-track stereo is still the way most people listen to music.
I'm the same way. With my reference high- resolution multichannel system and access to numerous SACD, DVD-A and Dual Disc multichannel titles, I still listen to 99 percent of music in stereo.
For movies, I have a kick-ass home theater HDTV receiver/multichannel system that gets maximum listening at 5.1, but if I play music on it, I usually listen in stereo.
And most mass music consumption is done the same way: iPods, MP3s, internet radio, HD Radio, CDs, FM — it's all stereo.
So why is that two-channel format that was developed more than 50 years ago still so dominant? I believe that stereo's steadfast adherence is a combination of habit, biology and simplicity.
First of all, two-channel stereo has been the standard way of listening for most people alive today. It is a habit and it is the reference. People are used to listening to two speakers in front of them or two speakers on their ears.
Biologically speaking, we are stereo creatures. We hear in stereo. We have two ears; we listen to two speakers. Makes sense, huh? We don't have 5.1 ears. Thus, stereo is pretty convincing in delivery of how we hear natural sound and live music. Like the wheel, which in is simple, yet a most effective design for moving objects, stereo reproduction is amazingly simple and yet quite satisfying.
The other reason stereo is still so dominant in the music arena is economic simplicity. Why pay more for extra speakers and more complex amplification and processing when music sounds pretty good in stereo? Many folks have home theaters, but that is for movie and TV sound. Their main music listening is likely to be more portable. Hence the iPod, computer, boom-boxes, FM radios and other smaller audio stereo devices.
Though there is more music in multichannel delivery thanks to DVD and 5.1 broadcast, the music industry is still in stereo mode. Pre-recorded CDs are stereo as are all the portable delivery formats such as MP3 downloads. DVD 5.1 music discs are not as plentiful in comparison and those previously mentioned high-resolution formats are even less in number.
Now I am not saying that the mixed-to-stereo is better than discrete 5.1 channel audio. If properly positioned and set up, multichannel high-resolution audio brings out much more detailed spacial cues of music than stereo — especially from rear sound reflections. It sounds amazing, but stereo still sounds very good in comparison.
In today's music listening world, stereo is not going away any time soon.
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