Arkay
Lunatic Member
I have picked up some 4-channel (Quad) LPs. At first, I didnt' realize they were Quads, until I was looking more carefully at what I'd bought and saw the "SQ" designation in the corner. One I'd really like to hear in the original 4-channel format is a Japanese pressing of "Also Sprach Zarathustra" (2001 A Space Odyssey opening theme) by the New York Philharmonic, under Leonard Bernstein.
BUT... I don't have any quaq playback equipment, yet. I remember listening to Quad systems back in the days when they were "the new thing" [Yeah, I'm sort of vintage myself...] and have decided that sooner or later I will add quad capability to my system.
I asked the guy who sold me these to check if he had more 4-channel disks, and he called me today to say that he has some with some other designation, which sounded like "Phase Four" (but I'm not sure, since he's a non-English-speaking Chinese guy trying to remember the English terms he'd seen on them, speaking over the phone...) It might be JVC's CD4 -??? I'll find out when I see the disks on Friday. I'm sure if I canvass all the local LP shops as well, I can build up a decent, if small, collection of 4-channel disks of various types, but I don't know which format would be most readily available. From my limited knowledge so far, probably SQ. And of course, there is always ePay, etc.... for finding more. I don't need a lot, I'd just like to have a dozen or so really good ones to demonstrate and enjoy the format. Most of the time I will continue to listen in stereo (2-channel).
Of course, the playback equipment will be costlier and harder to find than the LPs themselves, so that is the biggest obstacle and issue for me. Not sure about quad tapes, if I go that route, but I wouldn't expect to find too many of them.
My first and most basic question for those who are more knowledgable and experienced with listening to Quad in this decase is this: WHICH quad system should I aim to get? Is one of them clearly a superior choice?
I understand that there are basically 3 types of quad: SQ, QS, and CD4. I don't really want to have three separate systems, just one, unless it is simple enough to do more than one system without getting complete, parallel systems. That is, if I can just swap a cartridge on the same turntable and switch to another demodulator box using the same amps, then maybe I'll go for a multi-quad-system capability. But if each type of quad would require its own complete processing path (including different amps, etc...) then I don't want to bother with more than one system.
I know where there is a JVC 4-channel receiver equipped with built-in CD4-demodulator that I can get. If I added the appropriate TT cartridge and stylus and hooked up speakers, that would be a complete CD4 quad system. It has some pretty cool controls on the front, and can be used in stereo (2-channel) mode, but I understand (from reading old posts here and elsewhere) that this is a different system than the SQ or the QS type, and LPs with this CD4 encoding have to be read using a special Shibata head (and no other) to be read properly.
I also gather that while this system might sound superior, fewer discs were made for it, so the disks might be harder to find, and also that using another head to play those discs (according to Jay P. here) will obliterate the surround-info track on them, which raises the possibility that any discs I find for that format might well be irreparably damaged from people having played them on regular stereo turntables.
So at this point, I could get it and end up with some disks and a system, but nothing that would actually work together to produce quad sound. :thumbsdn:
I also understand that modern surround processors with Dolby Pro Surround II will de-code certain quad recordings, but not all of them. :scratch2: Is that a cheaper and more practical alternative to a vintage quad unit, and is there any trade-off in the sound quality or the actual quad effect?
That's about all I know about Quad for now. I do have four decent matched Phase Technology PC-80 speakers which I could dedicate to a quad system, so speakers shouldn't be an issue. Beyond that, I'm open to all inputs, having decided nothing further than I'd like to set up a "Quad" 4-channel system, mostly just for the fun and nostalgia of it. [I do already have 5.1 surround HT, but I remember quad as having very different mixing behind it, with more interesting (and less natural) sound-source positioning. I'd like to hear that original sound again.]
Any suggestions from more experienced/knowledgable quadsters here on what I should be looking for/concentrating on --which type of quad equipment, and which inputs (LPs only? R2R or 8-track worth it?) for the BEST quad system that I'm reasonably likely to be able to affordably assemble?
Many thanks for any input.
BUT... I don't have any quaq playback equipment, yet. I remember listening to Quad systems back in the days when they were "the new thing" [Yeah, I'm sort of vintage myself...] and have decided that sooner or later I will add quad capability to my system.
I asked the guy who sold me these to check if he had more 4-channel disks, and he called me today to say that he has some with some other designation, which sounded like "Phase Four" (but I'm not sure, since he's a non-English-speaking Chinese guy trying to remember the English terms he'd seen on them, speaking over the phone...) It might be JVC's CD4 -??? I'll find out when I see the disks on Friday. I'm sure if I canvass all the local LP shops as well, I can build up a decent, if small, collection of 4-channel disks of various types, but I don't know which format would be most readily available. From my limited knowledge so far, probably SQ. And of course, there is always ePay, etc.... for finding more. I don't need a lot, I'd just like to have a dozen or so really good ones to demonstrate and enjoy the format. Most of the time I will continue to listen in stereo (2-channel).
Of course, the playback equipment will be costlier and harder to find than the LPs themselves, so that is the biggest obstacle and issue for me. Not sure about quad tapes, if I go that route, but I wouldn't expect to find too many of them.
My first and most basic question for those who are more knowledgable and experienced with listening to Quad in this decase is this: WHICH quad system should I aim to get? Is one of them clearly a superior choice?
I understand that there are basically 3 types of quad: SQ, QS, and CD4. I don't really want to have three separate systems, just one, unless it is simple enough to do more than one system without getting complete, parallel systems. That is, if I can just swap a cartridge on the same turntable and switch to another demodulator box using the same amps, then maybe I'll go for a multi-quad-system capability. But if each type of quad would require its own complete processing path (including different amps, etc...) then I don't want to bother with more than one system.
I know where there is a JVC 4-channel receiver equipped with built-in CD4-demodulator that I can get. If I added the appropriate TT cartridge and stylus and hooked up speakers, that would be a complete CD4 quad system. It has some pretty cool controls on the front, and can be used in stereo (2-channel) mode, but I understand (from reading old posts here and elsewhere) that this is a different system than the SQ or the QS type, and LPs with this CD4 encoding have to be read using a special Shibata head (and no other) to be read properly.
I also gather that while this system might sound superior, fewer discs were made for it, so the disks might be harder to find, and also that using another head to play those discs (according to Jay P. here) will obliterate the surround-info track on them, which raises the possibility that any discs I find for that format might well be irreparably damaged from people having played them on regular stereo turntables.
So at this point, I could get it and end up with some disks and a system, but nothing that would actually work together to produce quad sound. :thumbsdn:
I also understand that modern surround processors with Dolby Pro Surround II will de-code certain quad recordings, but not all of them. :scratch2: Is that a cheaper and more practical alternative to a vintage quad unit, and is there any trade-off in the sound quality or the actual quad effect?
That's about all I know about Quad for now. I do have four decent matched Phase Technology PC-80 speakers which I could dedicate to a quad system, so speakers shouldn't be an issue. Beyond that, I'm open to all inputs, having decided nothing further than I'd like to set up a "Quad" 4-channel system, mostly just for the fun and nostalgia of it. [I do already have 5.1 surround HT, but I remember quad as having very different mixing behind it, with more interesting (and less natural) sound-source positioning. I'd like to hear that original sound again.]
Any suggestions from more experienced/knowledgable quadsters here on what I should be looking for/concentrating on --which type of quad equipment, and which inputs (LPs only? R2R or 8-track worth it?) for the BEST quad system that I'm reasonably likely to be able to affordably assemble?
Many thanks for any input.
