If anything here is confusing, inspiring or absolutely incorrect your comments would be much appreciated.  This is a work in progress and your help improving the information is requested.  Thanks!

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When we first tried to answer the question, “What is stereo?” we saw examples of different kinds of stereo presentations.  One of the most difficult was a recording that attempted Realism; a recording that sounded like you were really in that space for that performance.

But in pop music we often want to go places that are not real.  We want to create stereo that is exciting because it aims for Fantasy.  This approach to stereo blossomed in the 1960s when artists like The Beach Boys and The Beatles used technology to record combinations of sounds that could not practically be produced in a live performance.

When you work in stereo, one of the first questions you may need to consider is:  What kind of a presentation do you want to make?  Is the goal Realism or Fantasy?  The techniques you use, and your ability to get what you want with stereo depend on which approach you take.

Some recording engineers believe that Realism is more legitimate than Fantasy.  Others think that Realism is boring and the true excitement can be found using Fantasy.  Both sides tend to believe you should only seek one or the other.  I believe that Realism and Fantasy are both appropriate goals for stereo, depending on what you are recording.  I also believe that some Realistic stereo AND some Fantasy stereo in the same presentation can be more compelling than strictly one or the other.  Ultimately, the artistic choices for the recording will “ask” for Realism, Fantasy, or something in between.  I like to keep an open mind about it.

We can see these opposites as a continuum.  On one extreme there is Realism: you are there.  On the other extreme there is Fantasy: anything goes.  Both fit our definition of stereo where there are different things in each of the two channels, and potentially some things in common so that we can locate them between speakers.

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