stereo imaging in good music

[csuzor]

I have been listening more carefully at my CD collection recently (I upgraded speakers and amp), and I am disappointed with the stereo placement from many albums, from "1st time artists" to "big names".
It is annoying to find vocals "appearing" from the left, then from the right, and back again... or instruments doing the same.

The individual recordings of voice and instruments seem to be done in stereo, and then they are transferred to the final stereo soundtrack as is...
For large instruments, such as a piano or a drum set, there is some interest in low and high notes, or different drums coming from left and right (or the reverse, depending on the orientation of the microphone), but for most instruments this is just distracting.

I would prefer if all instruments were recorded in mono, and then placed on a soundstage that made sense, instead of having the singer and all the other artists "positioned" all together...

I have a few albums which seem to do this wonderfully, and it is so enjoyable...

Is this problem better handled with SACD surround tracks?

Does anyone have similar experience?

Thanks
Christophe

[dave]

in some cases SACD Surround is alot better than thier Redbook relatives, more often than not though, the surround mixes and the way they are produced just makes it worse.
Its a shame when these producers that are involved with mixing these surround mixes
don't mix them in a believable fashion, instead of trying to impress us with images in the wrong places.

[RJW1138]

I've become very interested in stereo imaging and soundstaging since my recent first foray into hi-fi (well OK, mid-fi). The problem is, my musical tastes are mostly rock, alternative, metal, industrial, and electronic. This music is generally NOT conducive to realistic soundstaging information. In my collection of 450+ CD's, I have very few albums, or songs, that contain realistic 3-dimensional soundstaging and imaging. There are a few, but only enough to count on a hand or two. I have no desire in pursuing the kind of music that IS conducive to this: blues, jazz, etc.

I agree that when done improperly, this poor use of stereo information actually detracts from my ability to sit and listen intently to my music. I'd actually gain more satisfaction from getting up out of my listening chair and just listening to it normally while doing something else.

I'd really be interested in finding out which bands/albums/songs, or the works of which recording/mixing engineers, that belong to the genres that I like, contain significant 3-dimensional soundstaging information. If I were to create a thread on this, do you think there would be enough interest and answers to make it worthwhile??

[John Holmes]

Yes- that is the trick! Finding a good "proper" mix. That is tough no matter the genre. Maybe we should start a thread for just that. Something that we could list all well mixed disc regardless of genre.