5.1 music...?

[Habbit]

I really don't mean to sound like a jerk or anything, but can someone tell me some valid reasons for mixing music in 5.1?... Other than the capability to do it being cool I honestly don't see how or why it's better than regular stereo? Someone enlighten me!

[Dan Pinder]

This is in the post section so I'm going to assume you're not talking about mixing for those rather pitifully marketed DTS, DVD-A and SACD releases we all thought were going to set the world on fire 5 years ago, right?

In music for picture (I'm can only speak for film here) you often have to manage how your music plays off the dialogue. Also you have an opportunity to use your center channel in a way that benefits more of the audience, say, sitting on the sides. Bass and low percussion are something that often work in the center. Sometimes you cannot have music in the center, to make room for dialogue, so you have 4 other full-range channels to help you.

In scoring, you often use a Decca tree (3 mics, L-C-R) so 5.1 gives you, in the front at least, a way to reproduce what you heard on the stage and in the mix room, and that's not to mention all the other mics in the room. An orchestra is a different animal than a band.

Surrounds... whatever. So often they just get a bit of effects, reverb and room mics, but I've heard very creative things done with them in a way that doesn't take your attention away from the screen.

[Starcrash]

Live concert DVD, film, and television are the most common applications for mixing music in surround.

Surround mixing for commercial music releases, as in the formats that Dan mentioned, really came at the worst possible time as the general trend is towards portability and easier access at the expense of sound quality and listening experience.

Aside from the small population of audiophiles, serious music fans, and dudes taking bong rips while listening to Dark Side of the Moon, there are seemingly few folks sitting in a comfy chair for an hour and enjoying an album. Most are multi-tasking, using music as a distraction from otherwise tedious tasks like transportation, exercising, and even work. In that scenario, 5.1 music is superfluous.

I've always wondered how people can jog with music jammed in their ears. Aren't they worried about getting hit by a car? Our ears are first and foremost a defense mechanism.

[Michael James]

I really don't mean to sound like a jerk or anything, but can someone tell me some valid reasons for mixing music in 5.1?... Other than the capability to do it being cool I honestly don't see how or why it's better than regular stereo? Someone enlighten me!

Just compare the stereo and surround versions of Steely Dan's Gaucho or Seal's Greatest Hits and you'll have some valid aesthetic reasons.

Surround is not necessarily "better" than stereo; some surround remixes lack the brute force of the original stereo mixes, and gratuitous panning effects can be distracting. On the other hand, 5.1 allows you to get away with less EQ and compression on individual instruments because they do not have to fight for their place in just two speakers. You can give the impression of more space, detail and high fidelity in a 5.1 mix if you choose to do so. Plus it sounds really cool when it's done well.

FWIW every single artist for whom I've mixed in 5.1 has been truly amazed by how much more they can appreciate their own music in surround than they can in stereo. That's got to be worth something.