So I've read most of all the words here and I am not disagreeing ~ or agreeing.
I'll add that using "bars" are really creating a stereo array, and this makes the "stereo" image.
While I have done many free form, and PAS, in the past I usually (currently) like to use a stereo array to create a realistic stereo image.
ORTF up close is nice, but further back can be boomy, and have a hole in the imaging, NOS is also good for this. DIN or DIN a are nice for further back.
all of these stereo arrays were "developed" by reputable sources to "create" a STEREO image, most with using a Cardiod capsule.
Obviously there is Blumlein, for Figure 8's (which I love this natural image), and other omni set ups, spaced etc.
Back in the late 80's I often heard folks refer to Near coincident or cross coincident. for usually running XY and different angles.
Some of the Oade';s recordings from 1985 were running schoeps DIN they called it 17cm @90°, some said near coincident.
my point is that just aiming at the stacks (PAS) may get full direct sound , but may not give you a convinceable stereo image -~ Heck before I knew much I ran my old TOA k1' spaced at 24" on a bar a friend made pointed at the stacks, those recordings sound good, but do have a hole in the middle, sometimes.
I seek to create a stereo snapshot of an event, that is pleasing to my ears, and hopefully others too.
If you read Audio In Media there are some great pictorial descriptions of various mic arrays to create stereo images.
In AUDIO IN MEDIA, Ninth Edition, Stanley Alten-internationally recognized as a scholar and expert in the area of audio production-continues to provide students with an introduction to the basic techniques and principles necessary for audio production in today's media. The clear and current illustrations and photos and student-friendly writing in Alten's market-leading text have helped professors effectively teach this technically-based course to thousands of introductory audio production students. Comprehensive, technically accurate, and up-to-date, the text covers informational, perceptual, and aesthetic aspects of sound as they apply to each stage of the production process-from planning to post-production.
any how
"bars" are not only convenient they can help create a truer stereo image, sure you can get tou your templates, and measure , creating stereo , has been designed by many authorities to convince our ears that we are there.
--Ian