All research points to an ideally linear response of such a mono speaker when evaluated with typical stereo recordings. And yet the sound is different when you listen to the same in phantom stereo setup. So then is Toole wrong?
How about with mono recordings?
Did he compare stereo condensed to mono recordings with one front speaker with and without that compensation?
Do we know if the preference changed?
Linear is an ideal goal. It’s hard to argue a speaker should be non linear and then the question comes in which way it should be.
He needed a way to test speakers so he used the Occam’s razor concept. He tested mono. He determined what sort of dispersion matters. He may not have bothered to fuss about the stuff we talk about. He wasn’t particularly studying tonality as much as he was about dispersion and trying to find other relevant factors.
Maybe someone can take that baton and fuss about it. Maybe we will learn something.
I’ve done casual experimentation with a summed mono signal from both speakers and from one speaker and turning my head etc.
I did not find much. I was very causal about it though. In fact in my setup I try to get the center image to sound as close to a mono speaker in the middle as I can. It’s a helpful reference. But beyond that it’s an opinion about tonality.
Why not input the curve in pEq and see if it sounds better?
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