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WD_471/ 2009
(  Satoshi Kinoshita )
| Series: | Works on paper: Drawings 5 | | Medium: | oilstick on paper | | Size (inches): | 40.2 x 25.2 | | Size (mm): | 1020 x 640 | | Catalog #: | WD_0471 | | Description: | Signed, date and copyright in pencil on the reverse.
Stereophonic sound -
Stereophonic sound, commonly called stereo, is the reproduction of sound, using two or more independent audio channels, through a symmetrical configuration of loudspeakers, in such a way as to create the impression of sound heard from various directions, as in natural hearing. It is often contrasted with monophonic, or "mono" sound, where audio is in the form of one channel, often centered in the sound field (analogous to a visual field).
Stereo recordings are used in FM broadcasting and Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB) and in several television systems. To record in stereo, sound engineers use various methods, including using two directional microphones, two parallel omnidirectional microphones, or more complex techniques. Several monophonic records such as the original Broadway cast recordings of Oklahoma! (1943), Carousel (1945) and South Pacific (1949), were once re-issued in fake stereo to create the impression that the sound was originally recorded in that medium.
The first stereo transmission was made telephonically by Clement Ader in 1881. The BBC made radio's first stereo broadcast in December 1925. In the 1930s, Harvey Fletcher of Bell Laboratories investigated techniques for stereophonic recording and reproduction. The first commercial motion picture to be exhibited with stereophonic sound was Walt Disney's Fantasia (1940). By the mid-1950s, multichannel sound was common for big-budget Hollywood motion pictures.[1] In 1953, Remington Records began taping some of its sessions in stereo, with the first stereophonic phonograph discs available to the general public in 1958. The US Federal Communications Commission announced stereophonic FM technical standards in April 1961, and licensed regular stereophonic FM radio broadcasting to begin in the United States in 1961. In 1984, Multichannel television sound was adopted by the FCC as the U.S. standard for stereo television transmission.
Vinyl records:
In 1958 the first group of stereo two-channel records were issued – by Audio Fidelity in the USA and Pye in Britain, using the Westrex "45/45" single-groove system. While the stylus moves horizontally when reproducing a monophonic disk recording, on stereo records the stylus moves vertically as well as horizontally. One could envision a system in which the left channel was recorded laterally, as on a monophonic recording, with the right channel information recorded with a "hill-and-dale" vertical motion; such systems were proposed but not adopted, due to their incompatibility with existing phono pickup designs (see below). In the Westrex system, each channel drives the cutting head at a 45 degree angle to the vertical. During playback the combined signal is sensed by a left channel coil mounted diagonally opposite the inner side of the groove, and a right channel coil mounted diagonally opposite the outer side of the groove.[2]
The combined stylus motion in terms of the vector sum and difference of the two stereo channels. Effectively, all horizontal stylus motion conveys the L+R sum signal, and vertical stylus motion carries the L-R difference signal. The advantages of the 45/45 system are that it has greater compatibility with monophonic recording and playback systems. A monophonic cartridge will reproduce an equal blend of the left and right channels instead of reproducing only one channel. Conversely, a stereo cartridge reproduces the lateral grooves of monophonic recording equally through both channels, rather than one channel. As well, it gives a more balanced sound, because the two channels have equal fidelity (rather than providing one higher-fidelity laterally recorded channel and one lower-fidelity vertically recorded channel). Overall, this approach may give higher fidelity, because the "difference" signal is usually of low power and thus less affected by the intrinsic distortion of "hill-and-dale"-style recording.
This system was invented by Alan Blumlein of EMI in 1931 and patented the same year. EMI cut the first stereo test discs using the system in 1933. It was not used commercially until a quarter of a century later. Stereo sound provides a more natural listening experience where the spatial location of the source of a sound is, at least in part, reproduced. In the 1960s, it was common practice to generate stereo versions of music from monophonic master tapes which were normally marked "electronically reprocessed" or "electronically enhanced" stereo on track listings. These were generated by a variety of filtering techniques to try to separate out various elements which left noticeable and unsatisfactory artifacts in the sound, typically sounding phased.
The development of quadraphonic records was announced in 1971. These recorded four separate sound signals. This was achieved on the two stereo channels by electronic matrixing, where the additional channels were combined into the main signal. When the records were played, phase-detection circuits in the amplifiers were able to decode the signals into four separate channels. There were two main systems of matrixed quadrophonic records produced, confusingly named SQ (by CBS) and QS (by Sansui). They proved commercially unsuccessful, but were an important precursor to later 'surround sound' systems, as seen in SACD and home cinema today. A different format, CD-4 (not to be confused with compact disc), by RCA, encoded rear channel information on an ultrasonic carrier, which required a special wideband cartridge to capture it on carefully-calibrated pickup arm/turntable combinations. Typically the high frequency information inscribed onto these LPs wore off after only a few playings, and CD-4 was even less successful than the two matrixed formats.
References:
1. ^ For example, three of the five nominees for the Academy Award for Best Picture of 1955 had multichannel sound; likewise, three of the five nominees for 1956 did.
2. ^ "Stereo disc recording". http://www.vinylrecorder.com/stereo.html. Retrieved on 4 October 2006.
-en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stereo
Monaural -
Monaural (often shortened to mono) sound reproduction is single-channel. Typically there is only one microphone, one loudspeaker, or, in the case of headphones or multiple loudspeakers, they are fed from a common signal path, and in the case of multiple microphones, mixed into a single signal path at some stage.
Monaural sound has been replaced by stereo sound in most entertainment applications. However, it remains the standard for:
* Radiotelephone communications.
* Telephone networks.
* Induction loops for use with hearing aids.
History:
While some experiments were made with stereophonic recording and reproduction from the early days of the phonograph in the late 19th century, until the second half of the 20th century monaural was the rule for almost all audio recording.
Monaural sound is normal on:
* Phonograph cylinders
* Disc records, like 78 rpm and earlier 16 2/3, 33 1/3 and 45 rpm microgroove.
* AM Radio
Incompatible standards exist for:
* Later records (monophonic records, which had almost disappeared by 1968, could be played with a stereo cartridge).
* Reel-to-reel audio tape recording (Depending on track alignment)
Compatible monaural and stereophonic standards exist for:
* MiniDisc
* Compact audio cassette
* FM (and in rare circumstances AM) radio broadcasting
* VCR formats (NICAM Stereo)
* TV (NICAM Stereo)
No monaural standard exists for:
* 8-track cartridge
* Compact disc
At various times, artists have preferred to work in mono, either in recognition of the technical limitations of the equipment of the era or due to a simple preference. This can be seen as analogous to film makers working in black and white. Some early recordings such as The Beatles Please Please Me were re-released in the CD era as monophonic in recognition that the source tapes for the earliest recordings were two track, with vocals on one track, instruments on the other, and this was actually intended to provide flexibility in producing a final mono mix, not to actually provide a stereo recording, although due to demand, this was done anyway and the early material was available on vinyl in either mono or stereo formats. In the 1970s, it was common in the pop world that stereophonic versions of mono tracks were generated electronically using filtering techniques to attempt to pick out various instruments and vocals, but these were often considered unsatisfactory due to the artifacts of the conversion process.[citation needed]
Woody Allen and Stanley Kubrick both shot in mono because of personal preferences. Until Eyes Wide Shut, which used 6-track stereo (for use in an array of speakers behind the screen), Kubrick's only stereo film was 2001: A Space Odyssey.
Monaural LP records were eventually phased out and no longer manufactured after the early 1970s[citation needed]. During the 1960s, it was common that albums were released as both monaural LPs and stereo LPs, occasionally with slight differences between the two (again detailed information of The Beatles recordings provide a good example of the differences). This was because many people owned mono record players which were incapable of playing stereo records, as well as the prevalence of AM radio. Because of the limited quantities pressed and alternate mixes of several tracks, the monaural versions of these albums are often valued more highly than their stereo LP counterparts in record collecting circles today[citation needed].
Among the harder-to-find monaural albums from the late 60's and early 70's:
This article needs context or references with which to establish the notability of the subject matter. Please help out by providing context and reliable sources which back up the subject's importance for a general audience. (December 2008)
* The Beatles -- Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band -- Capitol MAS-2653
* The Beatles -- Magical Mystery Tour -- Capitol MAL-2835
* Big Brother & The Holding Company -- Cheap Thrills -- Columbia KCL-2900
* David and the Giants -- Heaven Or Hell -- Song Of Songs SOS-337711
* David and the Giants -- David And The Giants -- Priority PC-992318
* The Doors -- The Doors -- Elektra EKL-4007
* The Doors -- Strange Days -- Elektra EKL-4014
* The Doors -- Waiting For The Sun -- Elektra EKL-4024
* Grateful Dead -- The Greatful Dead -- Warner W-1689
* Jimi Hendrix -- Axis: Bold As Love -- Reprise R-6281
* Jimi Hendrix -- Electric Ladyland -- Reprise 2R-6307
* The Monkees -- The Birds, The Bees, & The Monkees -- Colgems COM-109
* The Moody Blues -- Days of Future Passed -- Deram DE-16012
* Pink Floyd -- The Piper at the Gates of Dawn -- Tower T-5093
* Elvis Presley -- Elvis' Gold Records Volume 4 -- RCA LPM-3921
* Elvis Presley -- Speedway -- RCA LPM-3989
* Gary Puckett & The Union Gap -- Young Girl -- Columbia CL-2864
* Gary Puckett & The Union Gap -- Incredible -- Columbia CL-2915
* Paul Revere & The Raiders -- Goin' To Memphis -- Columbia CL-2805
* Simon & Garfunkel -- Bookends -- Columbia KCL-2729
* Jefferson Airplane -- After Bathing at Baxter's -- RCA LOP-1511
-en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mono_sound
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