I guess I'm still confused at what you're trying to do. You're suggesting it as a supplement, but I thought above you were saying you won't mix mics because of "phantom" images?
LOL. Not this gem again. It's patently obvious that an orchestra itself can barely fit on the stage, let alone the addition of an audience! Your point is not made using a physical impossibility for the alternative hypothesis.
Is this... logic debate class? I'm not trying to construct a perfectly sound argument, just trying to lend more thoughts to consider. Of course that's not possible, but recordings give us the ability to put mics wherever we want and create our own spatial realities so anything is possible.
But even decca trees, one of the primary means of capturing an orchestra, are a few feet or more above the conductors head so they capture a better broad perspective of the orchestra. At the conductors position, the balance turns much more string heavy, bodies start blocking sounds more, etc. It's not entirely ideal.
I mean orchestras are often recorded and mixed in very flexible and unrealistic ways, and if not, they often just stick to a decca tree. So it's NOT a bad thing to instead mix towards the impression of a good orchestra, of something that's pleasing. In fact, that's why orchestras are recorded the ways that they are today. I guess I'm really not sure what you're doing or why you're trying to do it.
Did you miss where I said 2nd order or higher?
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I am suggesting high order ambisonics as a supplement, not a replacement. Libraries seem to be going the way of additional mic options and companies like Toontrack have added height information on top of surround.
But there aren't any ambisonic microphones that record above 2nd order that aren't plagued by imaging and self-noise issues, so the low order issues remain.
Looking into that 2CAudio plugin... give me some time to see what it does.
Definitely try the demo, though I'm concerned it might not do what you're looking for it to do if you're going for ultimate realism. It's a plugin that can give the impression of direction in a way that standard panning can't accomplish, so worth a shot!
What I am starting to realize here is that I am finding the SSO to be somewhat disappointing in it's prized feature: in situ recording. I am on board with having a library with a baked-in room, and I quite like the depth, but the stereo imaging with the included mic arrays does not capture the advantages of in situ recording.
The omnis in decca trees are often fitted with balls around the capsules on the end that add a bit of directionality to the signal in the top end. Then mic directions are splayed across the width of the orchestra. Again, this is one of the most common ways to capture an orchestra as a body. You've likely heard a decca tree in most orchestra recordings.
Is it possible you're listening to this stuff on headphones that have an exaggerated bass/low-mid response, because the upper end content in SSO's trees definitely points towards the left, but because Lyndhurst hall is so active and reverberant, the violins bounce across the space and their dulled reflections come through on the right as well, bringing the image of the mids more center but with a time delay and blur. So without the high end and ignoring time delay cues, the averaged mids and below image may steer towards the center (albeit a very wide "center")
