A good number of SACDs (many by sadly now-defunct Telarc) were recorded in multi-channel versions. While they sound tremendous when done well, they really never caught on, and I have not seen that many done recently. Kal Rubinson at Stereophile is a big advocate of multichannel recordings, and in the past has reviewed equipment and SACDs that produce multi-channel sound. I guess that space and cost issues have limited its appeal, and record companies.probably don't want to incur the extra expense and trouble for what they consider to be a niche format.
Why don't they record in ‘surround stereo’?
Surround sound can sound wonderful on your home theater system if the recording is done well. Unfortunately, a quality home theater movie soundtrack recording streamed at home is not so good due to bandwidth problems and not a top priority from movie creators unfortunately
And maybe for stereo listening connoisseurs, via records or streaming, it may be nice to hear Music delivered to rear speakers in the room rather than just from the two main speakers. And yes main speakers can do an excellent job spreading pressure amplitudes evenly throughout the room with good amplification and room acoustics but maybe it could get better.
Possibly might it be more interesting if current stereo recordings could be recorded in surround stereo. Not sure how taboo or how awful this would be if done well. Stereo is a relic of the past it may be worth upgrading a bit, and maybe rethinking how music is recorded and delivered in current Times might be worth exploring.
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By the way, "surround stereo" is a mismomer @emergingsoul . Stereo by definition is 2 channel. |
Interesting taken from Wiki" Stereophonic sound, or more commonly stereo, is a method of sound reproduction that recreates a multi-directional, 3-dimensional audible perspective. This is usually achieved by using two independent audio channels through a configuration of two loudspeakers (or stereo headphones) in such a way as to create the impression of sound heard from various directions, as in natural hearing. Because the multi-dimensional perspective is the crucial aspect, the term stereophonic also applies to systems with more than two channels or speakers such as quadraphonic and surround sound. Binaural sound systems are also stereophonic. |
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