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Marantz Ad from 1974

Steven Tate

Steven Tate

CEO Flat Forehead Soc.
I get a kick out of browsing the Stereo Review Magazine archives now and then to remind me of what was happening with music and equipment at the time. Today, I looked at a couple of issues from 1974, and was reminded that in that year, it was quad, quad, quad. Half of the ads and many of the articles were about 4-channel stuff, and it was clear that everyone thought quad was going to be a tidal wave that would cover up stereo. If you want to browse issues from the 50's through the 70's, check out this archive site.
https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Audio/HiFI-Stereo-Review.htm

And here is an example of the advertising that you will find around 1974.
Marantz Ad 1.png
 
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Thomas Kokay said:
And, by 1978 Quad was dead. My Dad bought a 4400 in 1975 with 8 HD-88's. Man, that system rocked!
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Yep, it’s hard to imagine that so many people got it so wrong. It seems that everyone in the audio business jumped on the quad bandwagon, fearing being left behind. But it didn’t take long for the wagon to get stuck in a ditch. I remember being there, and being very engaged in the development of new equipment. I had a 2245 that I bought new in 1972, and tried to convince myself that I needed quad. But lots of showroom listening failed to convince me it sounded any better. And the prospect of buying a new receiver AND two new speakers AND new turntable or cartridge AND for true discreet four channel, a new reel-to-reel tape deck, just left me thinking the cost/benefit ratio wasn’t there. I believe this is at the core of why quad failed to catch on.
 
As I hang my head working on a 4230, that I made a stupid low-ball offer on,----- something I didn't want----------------so many lines on the skee-matik-----and not a voltage in sight!!!!
 
hofferwood said:
As I hang my head working on a 4230, that I made a stupid low-ball offer on,----- something I didn't want----------------so many lines on the skee-matik-----and not a voltage in sight!!!!
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At this point in time, I think a quad unit is a pretty nice thing to have due to the good looks, and the uniqueness of them. But 50 years ago, If you already had a pair of good speakers, you were going to be out at least a grand to get a good setup, and likely much more. That was a lot of money for a twenty-something at the time. And the improvement in sound - if there was any - just didn't seem worth it. Good luck with your 4230. Hope the problem is power supply and not transformer.
 
Chrisxo55441 said:
This one looks pretty good dont you think Steve? It sounds pretty Awesome too.

View attachment 2466699
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Haha! You are going to keep rubbing my nose in that beauty aren't you? Yes, I would love to have one today for sure. But fifty years ago, when coming up with $300-400 was a months long saving project, building a system around one of these was out of reach for me. The one place these always impressed me was with a discreet four channel reel-to-reel tape deck. I just never cared much for the sound of simulated 4-ch.
 
He had one of these too, 10 or 12 years ago my Mom offered me all of his old stuff and I declined. She sold it all for pennies on the dollar. I wish I had known about this place back then.
 

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Steven Tate said:
Haha! You are going to keep rubbing my nose in that beauty aren't you? Yes, I would love to have one today for sure. But fifty years ago, when coming up with $300-400 was a months long saving project, building a system around one of these was out of reach for me. The one place these always impressed me was with a discreet four channel reel-to-reel tape deck. I just never cared much for the sound of simulated 4-ch.
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You opened the door this time :)
I have a CD-4 demodulator, quad table. And cart and about 30 CD-4 albums so I get a pretty good quad effect. Definitely prefer over SQ or QS

cd-4.jpg

6300.jpg
 
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Steven Tate said:
Yep, it’s hard to imagine that so many people got it so wrong. It seems that everyone in the audio business jumped on the quad bandwagon, fearing being left behind. But it didn’t take long for the wagon to get stuck in a ditch. I remember being there, and being very engaged in the development of new equipment. I had a 2245 that I bought new in 1972, and tried to convince myself that I needed quad. But lots of showroom listening failed to convince me it sounded any better. And the prospect of buying a new receiver AND two new speakers AND new turntable or cartridge AND for true discreet four channel, a new reel-to-reel tape deck, just left me thinking the cost/benefit ratio wasn’t there. I believe this is at the core of why quad failed to catch on.
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I agree. The cost to switch over stopped me from using into quad equipment.
The same for most people I knew. A friend shelled out for a TOTL JVC quad setup with those goofy globe speakers. I spent plenty of time listening to it and just wasn't impressed enough to make the leap.
 
Lavane said:
I agree. The cost to switch over stopped me from using into quad equipment.
The same for most people I knew. A friend shelled out for a TOTL JVC quad setup with those goofy globe speakers. I spent plenty of time listening to it and just wasn't impressed enough to make the leap.
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Yep. Lots of cost for very little return on the listening experience. Another factor was that there was not a lot of 4 channel source material. I remember thinking that if all of the recording companies started releasing all of their new stuff in quad as well as stereo, it might be worth another look. But they never did. The idea died before they felt the effort was worth it. It was just a real train wreck IMO. I think the manufacturers just got excited about it because they could smell tons of new sales from people replacing their entire systems. It just didn't work out that way.
 
Steven Tate said:
Yep. Lots of cost for very little return on the listening experience. Another factor was that there was not a lot of 4 channel source material. I remember thinking that if all of the recording companies started releasing all of their new stuff in quad as well as stereo, it might be worth another look. But they never did. The idea died before they felt the effort was worth it. It was just a real train wreck IMO. I think the manufacturers just got excited about it because they could smell tons of new sales from people replacing their entire systems. It just didn't work out that way.
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It didn't help that there were several different quad formats and decoders.
That and I just didn't see that many quad recordings being sold. The selection was limited.
 
While the perception that quadraphonic sound releases was very limited, in fact, there were thousands of titles released during the quadraphonic era. Also, as the ad states: “…What’s more, Marantz receivers have Vari-Matrix – a built-in circuit that will synthesize 4-channel sound from any stereo source (including your stereo records and tapes) and will also decode any matrix encoded 4-channel disc or FM broadcast. …“ In my experience, playing ordinary two-channel stereo through a quadraphonic matrix decoder could often produce pleasing synthesized quadraphonic sound.
 
First system was a Z100>>>Pioneer QX 646 >>> BIC Venturi speakers. Still have Doors, Santana, Nilsson, Allman Bros, and probably some other quad LPs. Had speakers in the four corners of my bedroom. Sounded great to me.

Edit: Actually, it was a Zero 92, no strobe.
 
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JJCalvillo said:
First system was a Z100>>>Pioneer QX 646 >>> BIC Venturi speakers. Still have Doors, Santana, Nilsson, Allman Bros, and probably some other quad LPs. Had speakers in the four corners of my bedroom. Sounded great to me.
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Sounds like that was a pretty nice setup. :music:
 
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