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On 28/06/2012, Tom Fine wrote: > Hi Don: > > This makes sense. I re-listened to the Beecham example on headphones > and I agree there is some stereophony to it, and the perspective you > suggest matches the sound quality I hear. My bet is, two relatively > close-spaced mics, probably not omnidirectional in the modern sense, > so you are getting a somewhat "binaural" effect but not what we think > of as modern stereophony of a symphony orchestra. > Blumlein's whole approach was to use a crossed pair of directional mics. This can be extended to four mics for Ambisonics. I'm not sure I would describe spaced omnis as more "modern" than crossed-pair. They are alternative techniques. The Decca Tree is a kind of compromise between the two. I have had people insist that it is impossible for spaced omnis to give "true stereo". > It actually sounds quite good on headphones because the groove noise > on the sides is easier to ignore. There are depth and height cues > around the orchestra, which is a mark of stereophony. To my ears, the > Bell Labs experiments produced symphonic stereophony more in the > modern sense, but Blumlein definitely achieved something akin to what > was called "binaural" in the early days of 2-track duped tapes. > > I wonder, did Blumlein monitor with "earphones" and did the Bell Labs > guys have two monitor speakers? I've seen photos of the Bell Labs guys > with "earphones" but I'm wondering if they also had speakers as their > final reference? > > By the way, speaking of monitoring symphonic recordings, in all photos > I've seen of Mercury, RCA, Columbia and Capitol/EMI American recording > sessions from the "golden era," monitoring was always done with > speakers, in a room isolated from the sounds of the recording venue. > Mercury and I think Everest monitored in 3-channel, right off the > 3-track tape/film. Photos I've seen of RCA and Columbia and Capitol > show 2 speakers, so I assume their recording boards allowed for a > 2-channel monitor mix. I think Mercury was unique in using a truck as > the "machine room" rather than just a transport vehicle. > Didn't the BBC use trucks for outside broadcasts from early on? Regards -- Don Cox [log in to unmask]