Surround or 5.1 for mixed?
Was thinking of doing an event where I’d be playing my own constructed tracks via Ableton with elements separated out in Quad or 5.1. Perhaps main musical elements in Stereo and pads, ambient sounds and effects going out other speakers. Will this work in a small club, will it be awkward for people on the dancefloor?
It wouldn’t work, the club isn’t going to be set up for 5.1 and there is no way it would sound right. There are people in the front, the back, the sides, at the bar, so on and so on. You would be wasting your time sending certain elements to certain channels only for it to be pushed back together anyway.
All clubs are in Mono as far as I know, how can you set speakers to ever-changing-position listeners?..
I’ve worked in plenty of stereo clubs. Mix downs should be done to translate well in mono situations though, and I’ve heard more than a few that had channel phase issues when switched.
Unless it was a venue with system specifically designed for 5.1 e.g. a Cinema, in a word no.
Depends on the size of the club. In a big room type setting you can bet that everything is mono. If it’s a lounge with a two-up-two-down setup, it’s likely stereo.
Nonetheless, it’s pretty unlikely that any club will ever implement a 5.1 theater surround set 