What’s wrong with two-channel stereo? The main problem: finding the right spot to listen in isn’t always easy. Good spatial rendition requires that listeners sit on the centerline. Off-axis listeners get nearside bias—the stage and images follow them to the near speaker. Farther phantom sources, even for centered listeners, have a mid-band response-error characteristic and tend to produce soft, foggy images.

On the other hand, multichannel audio presents a more stable soundstage and is better at tracking sound sources. A set-up like this ensures that the sound doesn’t shift with listener position, perverting timbre, location, and direction, and provides an improved sense of ambience and envelopment. Two-channel playback is similar to looking into the performance space as opposed to being in it. In other words, with a high-performance multichannel recording, everybody, even off-axis listeners, get a sound field that doesn’t have to be dependent on listening position. With the Infinity BetaC360BK Center Channel, you’re one step closer to getting high-quality sounds.