"Classical Music" wrote in message
...
There must be some of you who remember the rotund engineer by the name of
Bert Whyte.
He was present at many of the Mercury Sessions including the early Chicago
sessions with
Rafael Kubelik and Rochester sessions with Hanson. He personally
modified
a mono Magnacord Tape Recorded into a stereo machine and recorded onto
tape
stereo versions - using his own mics - of the primary, official mono, CR
Fine mono masters. Lord knows where these Bert Whyte tapes are now.
(Imagine a Kubelik/CSO Tchaikovsky symphony or Bartok in real stereo?
Imagine that Hanson/Barber 1st Symphony in stereo?)

Later he was audio engineer for Everest, recording at first onto three
channel ½ inch tape then, like Mercury, onto three channel 35 mm film.
Bert
would always mention how magnificent his three channel tapes were as well
as
those Mercury's he and CR Fine would audition periodically under
controlled
conditions. Bert would also allude to these listening sessions in superb
down to earth articles he wrote for the now defunct, Audio Magazine. he
never mentioned ever listening to RCA "Living Stereo" in the original
format.

This bring forth the question? Should we support these proposed SACD
Mercury issues? Absolutely and in every way. 5.1 systems will not be
adequate as center channel "speech" boxes with not cut it. L-C-R
speakers must be the same, all of them and they must be placed in you
listening room correctly. Obviously, all three amps must be the same, all
of them. It requires a faithful commitment.

To end this essay.... Bert Whyte was a good man. He would often say,
"Here
we are listing to these masters in three channels. We are the lucky few."
Hopefully the day will come when 'the great unwashed' ( a term he often
used without malice) will be able to do the same." Well, folks, Bert's
dream is about to be realized. Let's hope that we will be willing to take
advantage of it all to some degree, whether it comes to us from Mercury,
RCA
or Vanguard/Everest, et.al.


I've got my three front Thiel's and my two rear's fired up and ready to go!
;-)

Seriously, best I can tell listening to newer dsd recordings done direct
with three front mikes, and from listening to some of the older three track
jazz stuff, the three track recording solidifies the soundstage and at the
same time addes more depth/air around the indiviual instruments. However,
if room acoustics are good and the speakers are well away from reflective
surfaces to the sides, then the three mike recording doesn't seem all that
different from the resulting stereo mix.