Listening To Quad Records In Stereo

I came across a couple of quad LP's recently that I've played in stereo and have really enjoyed the different mixes. 'A Space In Time, by Ten Years After and 'The Best Of The Doors'. Both of these albums I have listened to many many times over the last thirty-some years and I'm wondering why I seem to prefer the stereo mixes on the quad LP's over the regular stereo mixes. The vocals on both are more up front and clearer. Does anyone else enjoy the quad LP's and can you name some favorites?

 

A few I particularly enjoy are:
Billion Dollar Babies by Alice Cooper - some really noticeable differences in the mix from the stereo
DSOTM by Pink Floyd - some subtle differences from the stereo, but if you know the album well you will spot them
WYWH by Pink Floyd - again mostly subtle differences, but if you know it well they will stick out
Gary

 

Three others I've had since the 70's that sound remarkable
in stereo (I used to have a quad set-up, long gone now, but quad
LP's ..SQ, not Quadradisc.. sound great using Dolby Pro Logic II) are:

Santana - Abraxas
Sly And The Family Stone - Greatest Hits
Elvis - Promised Land (Quadradisc, but sounds great in stereo)

I've done needle drops of all of these, and more, and they all
have sensational different mixes.

 

I also have the SQ Abraxas and Sly's Greatest hits and have enjoyed them for many years.

Edgar Winter's "They Only Come Out at Night" has a very interesting mix of Frankenstein, AFAIK unavailable anywhere else.

The SQ version has a synthesizer which comes in during a bridge a couple of seconds before it starts in any other release. Truly a unique mix, whether heard in Quad or in stereo.

Tom

 

On a point of interest (not too far off topic, I hope), what happens when a Quad record is played in stereo? Are the channels effectively down-mixed from 4 to 2 channels or are 2 channel of music lost?

I have the Santana Abraxas Quad and with the mix being so different I tended to assume that I'd lost 2 channels of music.

 

The answer to this isn't simple.

I am somewhat unfamiliar with the CD4 quad releases but I believe the CD4 vinyls "hid" the rear channel information. Abraxas was an SQ 4-channel release and I believe playing Abraxas on a stereo player combines front and rear information.

I THINK what you're seeing is a "new mix" that was done for the SQ vinyl (similar to what I reported above for Frankenstein).

Tom

 

OK, here's a question. I did not delve into quad in the '70s and am completely ignorant of how it worked. I don't recall it requiring a special turntable or cartridge however. Seems to me it was simply a decoding function within an amp or receiver? If so, when one does a needle-drop of a quad LP they have a "quad" CD right? Assuming that you played the CD through the appropriate decoder of course.

If anything I have said makes sense, are there are modern-day decoders (Pro-Logic, etc.) that can decode old quad LPs?

 

Simon & Garfunkel's "Bridge Over Troubled Water" LP is a fave of mine in 2-track quad . Some of the mixes are superior to the stereo mixes....notably "The Only Living Boy In NY" which features a straight mix of the vocal without that damn ADT that shows up on the stereo version.

 

You guys really need to go HERE, where this sort of discussion is, um, quite common... Do a little looking around and you'll find all sorts of stuff that's illuminating...

 

No. When played in stereo, a CD-4 record will play both the front and back channels (F+B). When played with the proper stylus and decoder, a supersonic carrier is picked up which contains a difference signal (F-B) much like FM stereo.

 

If it's a matrix system (SQ and QS), yes; you'd be able to simply record the record to CD (or tape) and play that back through a decoder. All of the quad information is stored in stereo. That's why the separation with these systems isn't the best.

With CD-4, however, what would get recorded to CD would be a sum of the front and back channels (what's found in the "normal" part of the grooves). The difference information (for quad decoding) is held in a supersonic carrier, which I believe is something like 30-50kHz. That would not be preserved on a CD (and probably not on tape, either), so there would be no way to decode the quad at that point.

 

I said it before but it bares repeating, the Quad of Janis Joplin's Pearl blows away the stereo. I also love the slight differences in the mixes on both Miles quad titles Bitches Brew and Live/Evil

 

Some instruments are so buried in the stereo mix that they seem gone. On 'Love Me Two Times', Ray's keyboard can barely be heard. On 'Light My Fire' there is definitly a bass problem that I thought was gonna blow my sub. There were some obvious problems with some of the mixes but 'I'd Love To Change The World' is such a great mix and far superior to the original stereo mix in my opinion. Nice to hear different mixes of these songs and I'm going to keep an eye out for more of the quad LP's.

 

This is an old thread...hoping somone might have a quick answer...but i have a two channel system and a couple quad albums...i like my dsotm quad and would like to hear it decoded. Could i buy a used dolby decoder/processor and somehow work it into system? I have a proton d1200 amp, yamaha cx-2 preamp and a technics sl-1600 tt...any suggestions would be great. ..

Scott

 

You'll hear it decoded using a Dolby decoder/processor, but not properly. Quad LPs didn't use a Dolby coding algorithm.

I assume if you want to listen to the quad mix decoded, you must have a surround set-up and a DVD and/or Blu-ray player. If so, frankly you'd probably be better off just buying the Immersion box if you want to listen to the original quad mix properly (either in Dolby Digital for DVD or 24/96 for Blu-ray).

 

Thankyou for the options and advice....i also have been scanning the want ads for a quad decoder...there are some vintage ones for sale that are reasonably priced. There is an Eicko model and supposedly radioshack had some. Hi fidelity is not the main concern, just the oppurtunity to play the actual quad vinyl. A decoder wouldnt be something that i would permanently leave in my system but it would entice me to seek out more quad albums. I have always passed on quad albums when i see them and this would open up a new avenue in this hobby. Thanks again...i will check out the immersion set.

 

Plus you get the bonus of the more recent 5.1 mix with Immersion set. Same thing with Wish You Were Here.

I get what you're saying though. I've got a number of quad LPs and don't have a decoder. So I settle for listening to "folddowns" of the quad mixes.

 

You'll need more than one, though, and if you're shopping the want ads you'll want to get the ones that play the records you have or want. At the very least if you're going to want to play most of the quad vinyl that might come your way you'll want one from each side of the major format war (Columbia's SQ discs and RCA's CD-4/Quadradisc), probably a "full matrix" version of the first. But if you have a Japanese quad DSOTM you'll have to dig up a Sansui QS decoder, which might be harder to obtain, and if you want to play CD-4 discs you'll be cartridge shopping for something with a Shibata stylus and extended top end, and hoping the carrier wasn't wiped off the records by playing them on a Close 'n' Play somewhere along the line.

 

I have only one: Ray Stevens Greatest Hits. (Yes, I'm serious.) I was a kid and bought it because the store didn't have the non-quad. I've always enjoyed this version to the CD comps I got later.

 

SQ type Quad decoders got better as time went on. The early ones didn't do a very good job of separating the front from the back. Before shopping for a used SQ decoder, you have to know the various brands and models so that you get one that has the ability to decode the 4 channel signal the way that the engineer who produced the mix intended it. If you want to hear well-done quad mixes transferred to DTS CD's, I would suggest that you visit the Usenet newsgroup alt.binaries.sounds.dts. Over there, you can download properly decoded quad mixes that you can then burn to a CD and playback through any DTS capable CD player. Examples of interesting ones that I've listened to are "Red Octopus", "Bridge Over Troubled Water", "I Think We're All Bozos...", "The Very Best of Chicago", "Feliciano", "Whipped Cream and Other Delights", "Summer Breeze", and countless others.

 

I have just got one of these little boxes...

http://involveaudio.com/product/surround-master/

..now exactly what it does to SQ and QS Quadraphonic encoded records I have no idea but the results are simply stunning.

I've not had a great deal of time to test out albums I know have full 360 discrete pans in Quad...
but with The O'Jays' Ship Ahoy/"For The Love Of Money".. The Miracles' Love Crazy/"Spy For Brotherhood".. and Chase's 1st album/"Open Up Wide", the music seamlessly pans from front left to front right to rear right to rear left.

The results thru the Involve unit are jaw droppingly close to their discrete 4-channel counterpoints on Q8 8-track in the case of The O'Jays and Chase albums.

In Johnnie Taylor's "Eargasm" in Quad, during the song "Running Out Of Lies", there's a refrain from the backing singers where the girls go "Johnnie" and via the Surround Master it pans superbly from front to rear as it reverbs "Johnnie-Johnnie-Johhnie-Johnnie".. has to be heard to be believed.

This unit was more expensive than picking up an old decoder from eBay etc.. but I figured almosy any old Quad decoder 1.) cannot do justice to these records as their circuitry back then was not as advanced as these new Surround Master units and 2.) 40 year old decoders may need a bit of repair work on them.. I can't say as I've never gone down the old Quad decoder route.. in any event I'm not even going to try now, this new solution works superbly and of course comes with guarantees etc so you're covered.

Very impressed with it so far and I feel I've only scratched the surface as to what this little unit can do. If you get the chance to check one out over at a mate's house or something, go for it! I'm knocked out so far by what it can do with my old Quad encoded records.

 

Dolby Pro Logic II decodes matrix quad material pretty well... SQ material decodes with back speakers also playing in the front speakers a bit... Sit more towards the back or raise the volume, and it is okay. Other matrix methods decode perfectly, I have heard from quad heads who have original equipment to compare it to. Cd4/Quadradisc might have different mixes, but without a real decoder, there is no way to hear the rear material seperately...it will combine with the front channels (stereo!) However these discs were pressed on supervinyl/virgin vinyl, plus the possibility of a different mix makes them worthwhile, even if you cant decode them.

 

Agreed...
Different is good. I had the o'jays quad a,year or so ago and gave it away...now i wish i hadnt...i think going with the modern decoder makes more sense.

 

Which O'Jays Quad was that?

They had 5 Quad albums in all..

- Ship Ahoy,
- Live In London,
- Family Reunion,
- Survival,
- Message In The Music

Some wonderful music on those albums, including...

Now That We Found Love,
People Keep Tellin' Me,
Put Your Hands Together,
This Air I Breathe,
For The Love Of Money,
Unity,
Livin' For The Weekend,
I Love Music,
Give The People What They Want,
Where Did We Go Wrong,
Message In Our Music,
Paradise,
Make A Joyful Noise,
Desire Me,
I Swear I Love No-One But You,
Darlin' Darlin' Baby...

I have 4 of the 5 O'Jays Quads on SQ LP (and the MultiChannel SACD of Ship Ahoy, which features the Quad mix repurposed into 5.1) and they are not only the most beautiful sounding records, the Quad mixes are for the most part lovely and discrete and serve to enhance the magical music contained within their helical grooves.

 

My error...it was was wild cherry "electrified funk" quad