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What’s on the Living Stereo SACDs “center” channel?

The following interesting comment was posted in the Usenet newsgroup rec.music.classical.recordings. The poster says that listening to the 3rd channel alone, it appears that RCA was recording spot highlights of instruments and sections intended for the 2-channel mixdown, rather than as an overall center perspective. What do some of you hear in the “center” channel? My own system is only 2-channel.

Subject: Re: RCA SACDs reviewed on site
Date: Sun, 26 Sep 2004 14:37:16 -0400
From: "P.Paquin"
Newsgroups: rec.music.classical.recordings

Robert:
Listening to the center channel - only for experimetnal purposes - will reveal that RCA did not record a center channel containing an overall or total orchestra recording. What is present is a very close array of mics -yes, more than one - for woodwinds, brass, tympani, and other percussion with a very minmum of violin, viola, and cello. Listening to the Munch Saint-Saens Organ symphony, Debussy La mer and Ibert Escales SACD in center channel only reaveals that RCA wanted to have control over specific instruments, to add or reduce at will, their "presence" in the final two-channel stereo mix down. The La mer (1st movement)center channel reveals sudden shifts in loudness. One can only guest why this is so. I tend to conclude it was Munch who wanted these "bursts in loudness" as a matter of preference in teh overall two channle mix. All in all, this experiment in center channel listening is quite fascinating. It is quite evident that much of the IM distortion present in the Saint-Saens Organ Symphony resides in the center channel mic mix.
As for the Mercury SACDs, and having not done the above experiment with them, I can only assume that the center channel is a true overall mono recording of the entire orchestra.
Pierre




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Topic - What’s on the Living Stereo SACDs “center” channel? - rkw 13:54:09 09/26/04 (7)


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