Who remembers quadrophonic stereo? (material, player, dvd, hi-fi)
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I remember it, and thinking at the time that it needed to be octophonic to describe a cube for a full effect. I heard a couple of setups at a local stereo shop, but they were way too expensive for me. I then used a main stereo amp and a separate stereo amp with a reverb input, and was able to get an effect of a larger hall and slight sense of more immersion. IIRC, I also had a small color show circuit. It was all crude but fun.
Even before it came out, I had access to technical material describing the Fantasound system, which used three tracks, eight speakers, and a switching system that moved sound around 360 degrees to give a full immersion effect for the movie Fantasia - back in 1940. Marty has a copy of some of the tech material on his widescreen museum website:
I remember hearing about it but never dabbled with it. I had (still have, in fact) a Dynaco Stereo 120 and PAT-4 preamp. IIRC, Dynaco had some way of wiring up more than a stereo pair. I don’t think it was Quadrophonic but it seems like it had to do with sum and difference mixing of the two channel signal.
Edit: I think I remember now that this was designed to provide front and back fill channels, playing signal that was found in common in both L and R channels, so not quadrophonic but a 4 speaker arrangement. If anyone else remembers this and I’ve got it wrong, please correct me.
Well, sort of. Quad for music and theater "surround" systems were developed more or less simultaneously, using different technologies to slightly different ends. Much like Priuses and 4x4s both having four wheels.
Other than in the special environment of a car, most people simply don't want to "stand in the middle of a group of musicians," as John D. put it. it is far more natural for music to emanate from one area or direction, no matter how much spread or channel separation there might be, but having 360-degree sound can greatly enhance a movie experience. (When used correctly/subtly; there were some Disney movies "sweetened" for home video that were the audio equivalent of old 3D movies throwing things at the audience.)
I remember quad and I thought it was cool. There were a lot of garage bands where I grew up so being surrounded by the musicians was common for me. If all you were exposed to were musicians on a stage in front of you, I could see quad as being unnatural.
Quad was gone before I could afford a good music system but I have enjoyed the SACD and DVD Audio discs that came out around the turn of the century. The sound is superior even in 2 channel mode.
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