Stereo phantom images timbrally differ from real-source or mono center images.

Evidence

Not often recognized is the fact that stereo soundstage images are created in a way that modifies the timbre of the images, especially that of the center image, the featured artist in most cases. Whatever else we subjectively respond to, this cannot be ignored. Stereo phantom images are not equivalent to images localized from real sources, as in the normal world. This fact creates a serious problem for the recording industry when attempts are made to combine a center channel loudspeaker with a phantom image soundstage. The real (mono center) image sounds timbrally and spatially different from the phantom (double-mono) image (King et al., 2023). — Toole, Floyd E, Sound reproduction- the acoustics and…, 414

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the phantom-image timbre-vs-localization tradeoff debates in multi-channel upmix and center-channel design, relevant to Toole’s broader room/loudspeaker arguments.