| Digital theory I have come to the conclusion that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing!
The fact that Dan comes to this and other places again and again and again to explain the basics and still there are a few out there that refuse to hit the books and "read, learn and inwardly digest" the simplest of principles, never ceases to amaze me.
5.1 Again, a little knowledge . . .
There are a few engineers, producers and musicians who see little or no point in 5.1. Bruce Swedien is perhaps the most notable one. There are those who are new to 5.1 (we've had 5.1 now for about 30 years, so if you are not working in this medium, what on Earth have you been doing for the past 30 years!)
In an ideal world, we would have one speaker for every position of every instrument or other sound source. In stereo we reproduce many positions with the spreading of the image from Left to Right.
With surround, we can take that into depth - however, there are some producers who seem to think that it is necessary to have something going on from all directions at all times.
They forget that the listener is already in an environment that gives him sounds from all sides in the form of his car, living room or wherever he or she is. I have heard some very high profile projects ruined in this way.
A little something (as Winnie-the-Pooh puts it) now and again is more exciting than a constant stream of swirling mush that is supposed to sound like ambience. Such a stream can clash with the existing ambience of the room and make the listener feel physically sick in extreme cases.
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