Re: Multichannel audio listening
Jeremy Nicoll <jn.ml.dbn.25@letterboxes.org> writes:
> On Thu, 8 Mar 2018, at 14:17, Rodolfo Medina wrote:
>
>> What I want now, and for what I started the present thread, is, as I said,
>> to keep those three channels separated and listen to them through three
>> different loudspeakers. Thanks to the kind help from you listers, I
>> understand that I need one of those multichannel sound cards...
>
> It's not normal to do that.... I mean I understand why you want to, I
> think. But consider: if someone records an orchestra on - say - 96
> channels... they don't have 96 loudspeakers to listen to each of the
> inputs at the same time.
>
> Instead, a mixing desk would allow you to listen to any individual
> channel through your studio loudspeakers ('monitors'). A decent
> mixing desk usually offers, for each channel, something called PFL
> (Pre Fade Listen) which lets you hear the signal on that channel
> even if the fader on the channel is not turned up (so you can check
> the channel is working alright before bringing it into a mix). There's
> also 'Solo' which when the button is pressed would let you hear one
> channel instead of the whole mix, often/usually 'in place' which
> means in its position in the stereo mix. So if that channel was panned
> all the way to the left, when you Solo it you'd hear it only in the left
> monitor.
>
> Mixing desks (or equivalent audio software) tend to let you 'group'
> channels together. So eg (in an orchestra) you might have multiple
> mics on the strings, more on wind instruments etc... and in the mixer
> you might choose to group the wind instrument channels together,
> so you could listen to all of them as one unit (in stereo), or all the
> strings together.
>
> Mixing desks (or software) don't just produce a single mix of the
> source channels. In a theatre or concert hall there might be
> several places that some sounds have to be sent to, apart from
> an overall stereo recording.
Yes, I understand that what I want to do is not normal and that normally one
tends to group and mix together several channels and voices... but I think it
would be nice - just to try, as an experiment - to let them be separated when
they are just a few voices...
Rodolfo
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