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Originally Posted by trustthex

WTF? This doesn't make sense. Unless you are talking about XY, which is one of many recognized techniques.

Actually makes plenty of sense...

From your source position (stage), the sound travels in all directions in the room. You have the direct sound that hits your microphones, but you also have sound that bounces off the walls & ceiling. Not so much the floor, because most likely, you have a few hundred/thousand people in front of you.

Now, at what speed does sound travel. Well, different frequencies travel at different speeds. So, you have direct hitting you 1st, then what bounces off the ceiling/walls will hit you at different speeds. Now, if you have your mic's spread apart, the sound from one wall will hit one mic 1st, & the other 2nd, while the opposing side wall's sound will hit the mic's in the opposite order.

The more reflected sounds you have coming in at different angles at different times, makes for a much muddier recording.

I have recorded using all the methods linked over a 25+ year period. I have designed room acoustics & sound systems for venues. Have engineered sound live & in studio.

The OP is looking to do stealth recording. There won't be using shotguns on boom stands, nor setup during soundcheck to monitor the results.

Currently, my favorite is using M/S & mixing 2 mono tracks to get a good clean stereo image.

Here's a sample:

Sample