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"Consumers don't read instructions and, after consulting with a studio design specialist, knock down the kitchen so they can get a more immersive sound experience - they put speakers wherever the hell they fit - and damn the sound.
While my little 7.1 consumer speakers may be 'THX certified' my room certainly isn't. In many cases I see 'certification' like this as a danger; a guarantee of quality where there is none.
I guess my answer to whether it's a gimmick is that it can be when used badly. In the same way that M-S was pioneered to be versatile in stereo as well as mono compatible, I see B-format and G-format ambisonics in a similar light. I am always interested to see what others think to this; as a composer of acousmatic music I'm occasionally called upon to write pieces for vast numbers of loudspeakers, and find that rarely is it either necessary or even interesting (merely a product of a brief). Two ears = two sound sources (headphones, earphones, canalphones or loudspeakers) kind of makes sense to me, but if I were to have to choose a single way to work in surround forever and never change, today I'd choose ambisonics as that format."
Your post pretty much sums up the way I feel, thanks for putting it into words. I will study up on ambisonics and see what I can learn. If it's all right with you I would like to start a thread specifically regarding ambisonics, perhaps prefaced with a quick explanation. Thanks again. RAP
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