Interesting discussion! None of my comments are meaning to say anyone
is right or wrong, but just my way and an option:
I DO monitor stereo in the field, as that allows me to find the source
I intent more easily than just hearing the mid. If I can hear how far
offcenter the target is, I can adjust more accurately. And I maintain
that with 24 bit recording 6dB less side is no deficit at all in the
range of optimum levels...
Monitoring only the mid does not tell me if the target is slightly off
center, and the results are sloppier for me that way... if I want a
certain sound in the center of the image.
YMMV.
<L>
Lou Judson =95 Intuitive Audio
415-883-2689
On Mar 15, 2007, at 9:51 AM, Walter Knapp wrote:
> I don't monitor the stereo image in the field, but just monitor the mid
> only. I can judge directionality just fine doing that. Both channels
> are
> set to the same headroom on the metering, which nearly always means
> applying more gain to the S mic. Monitoring the undecoded M/S will lead
> to aiming errors, and monitoring the decoded stereo will lead to a
> weakly recorded S channel most of the time.
>
>> This discussion shows that there no such thing as an 'absolutely
>> correct width' of the
>> stereo image during the recording stage. The adjustability of the
>> width is even one of the
>> nicest features of MS-recording. So just adjust it to taste and need
>> and enjoy... ?
>
> You can vary the width within limits and that is one of the advantages
> of M/S. If you push too far for extra width the overall quality of the
> stereo field will suffer. You certainly don't have to be a slave to one
> setting for your M/S decoding.
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