The  concept of stereo sound recording and playback was invented by
Alan  Dower  Blumlein  more than 70  years ago and, as a result of his
genius, the  world  has  enjoyed the reproduction of musical events in a
Domestic  setting  with  a realism never previously imagined. Blumlein's
invention was much more than simply two channels of sound.
It  was  a  method  for  capturing the spatial information inherent in live
performance,  including  the sound  and positioning of instruments and
voices and a sense of the acoustic in which the performance was taking
place.

When reproduced by two appropriately sited loudspeakers, a facsimile
of the original performance, including this spatial information, could be
produced. Like many brilliant concepts, stereo sound recording and
reproduction was elegant in its simplicity. True stereophonic sound, as
devised by Blumlein, is quite capable of reproducing such an event
with just two channels and two loudspeakers, so why complicate the

The problem is, that as consumer electronics manufacturers and media
providers concentrate their efforts increasingly on home theatre, stereo
is being increasingly sidelined. We can already see this happening, with
a rapidly diminishing choice of affordable stereo hi-fi components, the
market being polarised towards low-cost, all-in-one mini systems at one
end of the scale and exorbitantly priced specialist components at the
other. Similarly with recorded media. Apart from the stream of re-issues,
how many contemporary recordings are made using the real stereo
techniques which have served us so well in the past?
There is  a  distinction  of course  between  multi-track recordings mixed
down to two channels and stereo. The latter provides a completely
different listening experience - an experience which is now in danger of
disappearing if the industry believes there is little future in it.
Hence the Campaign for Real Stereo. The objective of the campaign
is to draw attention to the often passed-over benefits of real stereo and,
if sufficient support is forthcoming, highlight to the industry the fact that
many people do not want Alan Blumlein's wonderful invention to be
neglected and forgotten in the relentless commercial drive for new con-

If you are sympathetic towards this view, either as a consumer or music
industry professional, and do not want to see stereo disappear, then
please add your name to our list of supporters using the e-mail address
below. We will provide a "link back" to your site, here on TNT-Audio.
Audio dealers and music retailers, please copy the "Real Stereo" logo
from this page and feel free to use it in your own marketing. A smaller
version is provided below for use on web sites. Please provide a link back
to this site in order that others might join in the campaign.
Here you can find a temporary list of websites that are already supporting