-=> Quoting Kenneth Parrish to T Owen <=-
 
 TO> I have never played with "surround sound", but I certainly wouldn't
 > bother running subs in stereo, since at those frequencies sound is
 > essentially mono to begin with.
 KP> I don't fully understand this.  I remember reading that vinyl analog
 KP> recordings summed all low freq info, but that CD doesn't, for example.
The information is in stereo on CD, but reproduction of frequencies
below 100 cycles or so is subjectively mono, since those frequencies
sound omnidirectional to the ear, regardless of the storage medium, and
the repro chain.
Low frequencies can, therefore, be reproduced summed to mono. This has
2 major benefits; it saves money by not requiring 2 channels in the LF
repro chain, and it avoids problems with phase and polarity anomalies
that can occur when 2 transducers are used at a distance from each other.
I always sum LF to mono for these reasons, with both professional and
home systems. Does this clarify the matter?
... Posted by the committee to horsewhip Sarah Brady.
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