Long Live 2 Channel audio......???

why does imaging and soundstage improve when you close your eyes? could it be that speakers and audio racks don't give you the visual clues that are as much a part of live music as the audio? sure the engineers measure reflected sound, but unless its the antiphonal trumpets from the choir loft in handel's messiah, you're looking front at the orchestra or group. and your speakers are reflecting off the walls just as the live performers are, albeit with a vastly different delay due to room vs. hall size which effects timbre and pitch. now, if the surround folks could come up with that simulation as well as the visual,holograms, maybe?, then surround for music listening might make sense. let me know when the holo-suite is on line, commander laforge.

i don't know *anything* about surround for home theatre - movies don't interest me, so it's not an issue. but, i feel i have the best of both worlds regarding 2-channel & surround-sound for audio. i have a jvc xpa-1010 surround-sound processor, that's fed from a 2nd main out from my preamp, which means it's *completely* out of the loop when not used, & when it *is* used, the two main channels are not mucked-up by it in any way. this is a very nice unit that has 20 mapped venues which have been installed into it (theatres, churchas, clubs, concert halls, etc). the mapping was very well-done, taking the response from the four *corners* of the venue, from the listening position, and basically only that signal is what gets played back thru the 4 channels. there are a multitude of adjustments for room-size, delay, reverb, etc. when used correctly, it can add an amazing sense of being at a venue, w/o overpowering the two main channels or mucking up the main signal - ewe don't even realize it's on, until ewe turn it off. this was a class-a s'phile rated product when in production; their take on it was that it was sonically far superior to anything similar offered, including lexicon, yamaha, etc. i, for one, don't know why this technology didn't prosper - two-channel software is all that's needed, & it doesn't do unrealistic sonic-mess spectaculars that so much typical 4-channel commercial crap does, which is why i think mamy audiophiles have rejected conventional surround-sound. doug

Listening in mono is a very severe test for a speaker. Stripped on the majority of spatial information leaves the speaker "naked" and its ability to accurately portray the tonal and rhythmic qualities of music are laid bare. When first introduced 2-channel sound was not universally hailed as an advance. Similar arguments to those expressed above were voiced..."it may be good for movies, but". Maybe we should start a BACK TO MONO movement?