It doesn’t make any difference does it?
I know one shouldn’t put both headphones on the same ear at the same time – that wouldn’t be right.
But if I inadvertently put the L headphone on the R ear and vice versa, the listening experience won’t be less pleasurable will it?
In the days of monaural music or radio is didn’t matter. One channel came out of both speakers. The idea of stereo is to create a three-D effect. I don
Classical music buffs want to hear the realistic spread of the orchestra from left to right: horns on the left, trombones on the right etc. Just as they want big speakers that are spaced apart and give an illusion of a 3-D soundstage. 5 channel sound tries to enlarge the effect.
Two more reasons I can think of (the previous reasons are all good too, btw).
Ok, those are some plausible explanations. But for listening to R&R on an iPod, no one notices or cares if the drums start on the left then build up on the right and a guitar comes in from the right and builds on the left, do they?
If I recall correctly, the left brain is linked to logic and analysis and right brain is linked to creativity and intuition and each is linked to the opposite side of the body. Therefore, in theory, one’s left ear correlates to logic and right ear correlates to creativity. But no one actually creates music with that in mind, do they?
I’m reminded of the great song (maybe the whole album) off of Dark Side of the Moon, where the sounds circle around, coming from all different directions. Pretty cool, particularly when one is 19 years old and experimenting with illicit substances. But wouldn’t it be equally cool if the earphones were reversed and everything circulated backwards?
Do some people intentionally set one ear louder than the other? I guess if one had worse hearing in one ear than the other they might, but I never figured someone might do that. Hmm.
If you have them on backwards, then the devil can enter you through your ears. This is the same reason why satanic messages on records are always backwards.
Draeh reve Ev’i gniht tsediputs eht s’taht.
Do some people intentionally set one ear louder than the other? I guess if one had worse hearing in one ear than the other they might, but I never figured someone might do that. Hmm.[/quote]
Well, that’s not really what I meant. In fact these days it’s really not an issue, but do you never remember one side being louder than the other and having to adjust accordingly so that they were equal?
certain tracks are mixed left, others mixed right. try it on a normal stereo moving the balance left than right. certain instruments fade in and out, louder softer etc.
About Satan, backwards headphones and satanic messages: I’ve only heard one deliberately recorded backwards message in my life so far.
It appears at the end of Darling Nicky, by Prince. If you listen to the song, it is obvious that the track is backwards. When you reverse it, it’s clear as day. But it is not Satanic. Quite the opposite, surprisingly.
Do backwards messages really exist? Any others I could listen to? PS: I’ll put my headphones on backwards to stay on topic.
[quote=“Mother Theresa”]
If I recall correctly, the left brain is linked to logic and analysis and right brain is linked to creativity and intuition and each is linked to the opposite side of the body. Therefore, in theory, one’s left ear correlates to logic and right ear correlates to creativity. But no one actually creates music with that in mind, do they?[/quote]
The brain is just a little more complex than that, so that’s not a good analogy. But to answer your question, music may or may not be created with stereo effects in mind but it is definitely recorded with this knowledge. Each ear is different enough to warrant its own dedicated speaker the same way that each foot gets its own shoe.
The Taiwanese don’t care. I see them with the earphones on backwards all the time. Either that or they dont know what the “L” and “R” mean.
Really? How so? I figured the right ear was a mirror image of the left ear except for minor cosmetic differences. Is that not true? Do they function differently? :s
you are reading to much into it.
OT - Children have a straight tube that connects one ear to the other - this explains their inability to hear anything an adult says. Head phones would only confuse them.
Agreed. They’re simply angled to fit better, so they have an asymetric design.
Come on people. Apparently there are no audiophiles on Forumosa, nor anyone who listens to classical music. On a good stereo system you can close your eyes and hear the soundstage in front of you. For example in a symphony, the first violin is always to the conductor’s left. These effects are obvious, even without “binaural” recordings. If you know anyone with a real stereo system, go have a listen. Or try closing your eyes and flipping the headphones around and see what happens.
Well of course there are different sounds out of each 'phone if it’s a stereo recording. But that’s not why they’re stamped “L” and “R.” All that matters is that the sound’s in stereo. Doesn’t matter which channel goes into which ear.
As a matter of fact Toe Tag, the last classical performance I attended had the orchestra on an oval stage with the audience sitting front and back. I was “back,” so the first violin was on the right of the conductor from where I was sitting.
If you’re watching Star Trek and there’s a space ship flying over your right shoulder, you don’t want to sound like it’s on the left :loco: