You are there

Our discussion about Listening With Ears Shut of several days ago sparked a great deal of conversations over in the comments section. Great! Thank you for participating in the discussions. Ralph Glasgal of Ambiophonicsmade a very interesting comment that I want to pass along to all my readers. "There are basically two types of sound reproduction “You are There” and “They are Here”. In the old 78 mono days, when Caruso stepped up to the horn, and blocked any studio reverb from reaching the horn you had anechoic voice recording that sound great and realistic in any room where a guy as rotund as Caruso could reasonably sing. Of course the orchestra parts sounded awful since they had echo and all the instruments were coming from one point in playback. Audiophiles are overwhelmingly of the “They are Here” listening camp. This has evolved over time since a solo voice with a guitar via the stereo triangle sounds better at home than any larger ensemble meant to be in a larger space. At shows this is the type of music used in most demonstrations. It is an interesting artform that has been perfected to an amazing degree like black and white photography. But if you want a full orchestra, a staged opera or a surround sound movie in your home to sound like a concert hall etc., this rather old fashioned but near perfect “They are Here” stereo loudspeaker triangle methodology cannot ever deliver this “You are There” sense." This is quite insightful and worth contemplating. Thanks Ralph.