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I use the AT-822 mic and minidisc combo to record various rehearsals, performances, etc. There seems to be somewhat of a binaural effect in the recordings in that the play back sound great with headphones and OK (but not as great) when played through the stereo speakers.

Is there some (not to complex) signal processing procedure you know of or have experience with that can convert them to a more traditional stereo representation that will sound better when they're played on a standard stereo system (not headphones)? (BTW, I usually use audacity to manipulate the sound files). Thanks,

--paul;

While not too familiar with Audacity, most decent sound editors have mastering tools like "Pan and Expand" which allow you to manupulate the stereo field. Reverb/Echo tools might work too. In addition, you can mess with the channel mixer and some inversions to give the effect of a larger stereo field. Adjusting the field is a pretty normal/standard thing to do, so chances are that Audacity has something that can give you the wider/warmer sound you are looking for.

OK. Recording music has a lot to do with the old computer saying "garbage in , garbage out." Instead of trying to process what you have even further, and thus distorting the music even more, you should be examining things such as microphone isolation and placement. You should also keep in mind that mini disc is a compressed format so your sound quality is diminished from the very start. There are many good books on recording and your local library is a good place to start. There is more to getting a good recording than throwing your mic up in any old place, recording to any old thing and then processing the devil out of the product in post production.
Phil

Phil Dawson wrote:... microphone isolation and placement... mini disc is a compressed format so your sound quality is diminished from the very start. ...

Two very important points right there.

I was recording our rehearsals over the summer (straight to CD, not digital multitrack.. I haven't learned it yet!), and the biggest difference every week was due to how I placed the microphones.

We've got thousands of dollars of gear, but if I put the mics in the wrong spots, set the gains wrong, or screw up the balance, there wasn't any way that I could get it fixed. Even though multichannel recording would have given more processing options, it wouldn't make a difference in trying to repair a channel that was too hot to begin with.