MOF wrote:
By the late 1960s, stereo dominated sound reproduction.
From 1930 to the late 60s is over 30 years.
I think it’s fair to say that it was the technology that had to catch up, the record companies were keen to differentiate themselves from their competitors, but only when it was possible to do so. Just because stereo vinyl records were possible in the 1930s doesn’t mean that they dragged their heels until the 1960s.
stereo was given a boost by the introduction of tape recorders in the late 1940s……Inventor Marvin Camras of the Armour Research Institute demonstrated one of the first stereophonic tape recorders, this one using three channels (left, right, and center) in 1949. When several manufacturers of home tape recorders began offering two-channel stereo tapes and machines to play them on in the early 1950s, it looked like stereophonic sound had arrived. But tapes were expensive, and many people had just purchased new equipment to play the LP and 45-rpm records. Once again, stereo had failed to catch on…….A breakthrough came in 1958 when several record companies, including RCA and Decca, adapted the LP record for stereo playback. They used the two-in-one technology pioneered in the 1930s, where each wall of the groove held one of the channels. Backed by major electronics and record companies, stereo now became a hit…… Because few people owned stereophonic record players in the late 1950s and early 1960s, record companies had to release nearly every new album in both the stereo and regular format (which now began to be called “monophonic”). This irritated consumers and record retailers alike. Playing a stereo record on your monophonic record player was sure to ruin the record, because the playing stylus was so different. Record store owners resented the fact that they had to try to stock different versions of each record. Practically nobody objected when the record companies discontinued monophonic records in the late 1960s.
https://ethw.org/Stereophonic_Sound When Audio Fidelity released its stereophonic demonstration disc, there was no affordable magnetic cartridge on the market capable of playing it. After the release of other demonstration discs and the respective libraries from which they were culled, the other spur to the popularity of stereo discs was the reduction in price of a stereo cartridge, for playing the discs–from $250 to $29.95 in June 1958.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stereophonic_sound A 5.1 and/or a 3D version of 'The Wall' or 'Bohemian Rhapsody' would get the punters to shift and start buying new systems and new versions of their fav. CDs.
They’re available in surround sound, not sure how many people are prepared to pay the premium and upgrade their systems.
I think it’s more likely that a binaural mix will be the best option, given that most consumption is on ear buds or headphones.
This thread is about the future of pro-audio. The future is 3D. If you are looking for busy audio studios, they are recording, editing and working on mastering for film in 5.1, 7.1 and 3D.
If you are looking for studios that are dark and close to closure, they have two speakers only. That is the blunt truth!
Surround formats for most people will be film based and even then I think the majority will continue to use Sound bars that project up to the ceiling for a pseudo Atomos effect.
For music I think stereo still rules.
I went to the cinema with some mates when the right side speakers didn’t work, I found it really annoying, they didn’t care. My point is that it’s only 10% @ of the population that really cares about these matters.
