I am a bit slow on the uptake here, but I thought I could offer an idea as to why Steve achieved 'stereo imaging' with his recording of the Imperial standalone... It is simply the relationship between the two mics, the speaker and the room, a very cleaver illusion (not created by intent)!!
Basically, the only ways Steve could NOT have achieved a measure of stereo imaging in the recording, would to have been to have the mics directly on top of eachother, or to have had the speaker in a perfectly "dead" room positioned exactly between the two mics. (I can't comment on the lateral soundstage effects of the mismatched driver - I am sure that adds to the phenomenon I will describe, but is secondary to the effect only).
What you are hearing is two mics, removed from eachother, collecting information not only from the speaker, but from the effect it has on the room too.. To illustrate, the left mike might have been close to Steve's drum set, sucking up timy vibrations and resonances from it. The right mic might have been next to a sponge chair -deadening the sound collection area for this mic.. Bingo! there you have it! Two mics, doing what they orta, and picking up two different tracks of sound! Stereo imaging follows. This phenomenon can reproduce itself when recording a solo voice or instrument in the middle of two mics in a less-than-perfect recording environment - you might hear an "echo" for example off to the left and behind of the artist.. All that from a mono source? Yes. its easy really. Hifi seems to me to be about "mental gymnastics." As Steve demonstrates, when you step out of the square, magical things reveal themselves to be logical, reasonable and ultimately understandable.
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