Stereo, for those of you with home systems (got those? ) can easily be shown to be effective in a very wide area of a room. In fact, the only places that stereo is NOT heard is when you are right next and to the side of one of the speakers.

Now, before you all get in a tizzy, let me point out that PERFECT stereo IS only perceived in the 'sweet spot' equidistant from the speakers. But it's effects can be heard in most areas of the room to one degree or another. Don't believe me...? Here's a simple test you can do.

Put on a CD in stereo on your home speakers. Move about the room. Get a feel for the soundfield. Does it collapse just because you are not in the sweet spot? No... it changes, but it doesn't collapse to mono anywhere in the room. In fact, it doesn't collapse to mono even when you are right next to one of the speakers, just the volume from one side overwhelms the other, so you are not hearing mono, just one side of the stereo.

Want a more elaborate demo? Use your computer to rip the track you just listened to, and collapse it to mono (select 'export' as a mono 16/44 .wav). Burn that and the stereo version to an audio disk. Play the mono version first. Stand ANYWHERE in the room (except for right next to one of the speakers). Get used to the sound. Now listen when the stereo version comes on. I guarantee that you WILL hear a difference, and a sense of space and openness that you didn't hear in the mono cut.

Think about it for a minute... if the ONLY spot you could hear stereo from was the 'sweet spot', stereo would never have become as popular as it has. Just because it's not PERFECT doesn't mean that it can't be perceived.

For the live arranger performer, stereo gives the audience the sonic impression that the 'band' has a three dimensionality about it, just like they would get from a real band. Even if they had a mono PA, the sounds of the live instruments always adds a stereo perspective - drums in the middle, bass to one side, guitar to the other, etc., unless in the largest of rooms, towards the back.

So for those of us that strive to achieve the closest to a 'real' band as we can, stereo speaker systems add back just one MORE degree of realism. And it CAN be heard a LOT more than some say. Test it for yourself before you jump on the 'stereo can't be heard by most of the audience' bandwagon...