If Ambisonics is so wonderful, why is it not a commercial success?
We should first note that technical excellence and commercial success do not necessarily go hand-in-hand. This is why you are all watching VHS video tapes and not Betamax. Ambisonics has suffered from the following: • It came to market just as quadraphonics was dying away. Manufacturers had lost a bundle on quadraphonics and were not receptive to “yet another” surround sound system. • It was never supported by a major record company. The record majors had all backed different quadraphonic systems. • The rights were held by the National Research Development Corporation, now defunct. This was a sort of venture capital company, but one owned and run by the British government. The NRDC has little commercial nous. (Yes “nous”, look it up.) • Ambisonics is thought of as a “purist” technique and not applicable to multi-track studio recording. This fallacy is demolished by The Alan Parson’s Project Stereotomy, Arista 8384. • While Ambisonics can lend itself to the impressive ping-pung-pang-pon
