[slackline]

I can see how if "image" refers to recording of "something" its possible to have "stereo" (i.e. two recordings), just seems strange.

I feel sound physically and visualise it structured in a three or four dimensional way in relation to my body and time - hard to describe but I could draw it if asked 

I have had that feeling before......usually correlated with having taking 'shrooms. 

[Serpico]

Stereo image is really where you start getting into the realm of psychoacoustics. A sound fed equally to the L + R channels of a stereo speaker system will appear to come from a point in space between the two speakers. But there are lot of other factors like arrival time, and acoustic shadowing that give a sound a position within a stereo image. For an example of what I mean listen to this on a pair of headphones with your eyes shut, you should be able to point to the position of the matchbox in space around you.

[slackline]

Stereo image is really where you start getting into the realm of psychoacoustics. A sound fed equally to the L + R channels of a stereo speaker system will appear to come from a point in space between the two speakers. But there are lot of other factors like arrival time, and acoustic shadowing that give a sound a position within a stereo image. For an example of what I mean listen to this on a pair of headphones with your eyes shut, you should be able to point to the position of the matchbox in space around you.

I completely get the "stereo" aspect its the use of "image" which is usually associated with visual senses and not aural that confused me.

[Serpico]

'Image' just seems natural to me once you start talking about where things are, it's a convenient shorthand. I found a better stereo example, this conveys distance and positioning better than the other.

[simes]

At "The Glade" festival a few years ago, one of the morning sound system tests was a racing car sound. At first it seemed a long way in the distance but it grew gradually louder until it screamed through the dance area and faded into the distance in the other direction.

That was one of the best sound related things I've ever heard.

[simes]

It was a Funktion One soundsystem in case anyone's interested.

http://www.funktion-one.com/home.htm