What is Q-Sound?

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by PaulKTF, Feb 17, 2008.

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  1. dvda

    dvda Forum Resident

    Location:
    usa
    Wow that's interesting. I have 3 Q-Sound plugins that came free with an old Sony Vaio Computer that work with 24/192.
     
  2. motownboy

    motownboy Senior Member

    Location:
    Washington State
    There were reissues of Barbra Streisand's catalogue back in the late 1980s that used a similar process to Q-Sound though not in mixdown, but was applied to the finished mixes. It was not labeled or referenced to at all, but the resulting effect was very similar to "Q-Sound." The best way to distinguish these versions was with the white square sticker on the CD jewel case that said "Digitally Restored From the Original Master Tapes, Digitally Mastered." Even though it was "futzing" with the sound, I did especially like how the remastered version of "Guilty" sounded through this process.

    [​IMG]
     
  3. That's so crazy you just posted that. Coincidentally to your topic before I read it .. I was listening to a few Qsound albums found on youtube after I was reading here on the forum, one for example the Sting 'soul cages' album and when I hit the Mono button , guess what happened? Elements went 'missing'. Not good for Qsound. And then you talk about the royalty aspect. Seems from what people are saying here, they were trying to emulate the success of Aphex. But no twin were they.
     
    botley likes this.
  4. botley

    botley Forum Resident

    That's intriguing — are they processing plug ins for mixing, or "stereo enhancer" type effects to sweeten an existing mix?
     
  5. dvda

    dvda Forum Resident

    Location:
    usa
    [​IMG]
     
  6. EddieVanHalen

    EddieVanHalen Forum Resident

    Nope, if you are reffering to the History album, which was mixed with Spatializer.
     
  7. Futurecity

    Futurecity Forum Resident

    Location:
    Nevada
    I have the original 1991 Sting Soul Cages CD and the Q-Sound is noticeable on some tracks, but it's certainly not impressive and comes off as a gimmick. I also have Sting's remastered Canadian GH CD, which also lists Q-Sound on the back for the Soul Cages tracks.

    I also have two 1998 Japanese CDs which used Q-Sound (most will not know these Japanese artists), and the effect is actually more noticeable on these CDs than it is on Soul Cages.

    Things like Q-Sound or Sony's SBM audio process never really worked out IMO.
     
  8. rcsrich

    rcsrich Forum Resident

    Location:
    Virginia
    I remember first hearing that album & being blown away- eerie.....
     
  9. andy75

    andy75 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Sweden
    Michael Jacksons Dangerous uses the QSound. So does my 1994 Sting collection "Fields of Gold". Great sounding CDs.
     
  10. heatherly

    heatherly Well-Known Member

    Location:
    USA
    I believe Q-sound ruined Julian Lennon's Help Yourself record, shame as it's a fantastic record IMO.
     
  11. MrRom92

    MrRom92 Forum Supermodel

    Location:
    Long Island, NY
    I have the Immaculate Collection cd, it's cool. To me q-sound doesn't do a whole lot of much. Maybe I just can't distinguish the effect from the typical sound of productions of the late-80's/early-90's. For what it's worth, I also have the laserdisc and it makes no mention of q-sound.


    A lot of soundtracks for the games on the Sega CD system ca. '92 were mixed with q-sound. It doesn't do much for Sonic, but the cd-re-release of Ecco The Dolphin has this brilliant new-age soundtrack mixed with whale song that fills the room. The audio for the games is part CD, and some songs or sound effects were traditionally synthesized by the console hardware, and they were mixed together at final output. Being that most of the game audio for the non-FMV games is redbook, you can play these in a CD player, rip them, etc, business as usual.
     
    beatlefreak909 likes this.
  12. Jerry

    Jerry Grateful Gort Staff

    Location:
    New England
    I was referring to "Dangerous, " not "History."
     
  13. marcb

    marcb Senior Member

    Location:
    DC area
    I have the original CD too. I wouldn't call it gimmicky at all. On my system, it sounds almost like a good immersive 5.1 mix - with discrete elements here and there - on most songs.
     
  14. Futurecity

    Futurecity Forum Resident

    Location:
    Nevada
    I'll try and give Soul Cages a fresh listen soon on my 2 speaker home stereo to see if it impresses me more this time, but I never thought it sounded like an immersive 5.1 experience. At best, I remember detecting some distinct sounds/effects, as if they were coming out of the top or sides of the two speakers, but nothing coming even remotely close to a surround sound experience?
     
  15. Helmut

    Helmut Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Germany
    Q-sound was and is terrible like all kinds of phase inverting. Also you can't play this stuff on the radio, cause for listeners with mono radios things disappear or loose their sound. I'm glad Sting didn't ruin any of his good albums with that gimmick. For "Soul Cages" it doesn't matter...;-)
     
  16. marcb

    marcb Senior Member

    Location:
    DC area
    You mean like Electric Ladyland? Or Sympathy For the Devil? Or dozens upon dozens of other songs/LPs?

    Were there really that many people listening with mono radios -- in their home or car -- in the late 80s? My memory is that stereo FM broadcasts and car stereo radios and strereo walkmans and stereo boomboxes and home "stereos" with two stereo speakers and either stereo turntables or stereo CD players were pretty ubiquitous by then...
     
    Last edited: Feb 14, 2015
  17. robcar

    robcar Forum Resident

    Location:
    Denver, CO
    Well, since the general consensus is that The Soul Cages is Sting's masterpiece.......I'm very glad that he did use the Q sound process on that one.

    I have always used that CD as my reference disc when testing out speakers, disc players, etc. To my ears, it is the best sounding rock CD I have ever heard.

    By comparison, Sting's next album didn't sound nearly as good, which I attributed to the decision to not use Q Sound.
     
    Kristofa likes this.
  18. Helmut

    Helmut Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Germany
    I cannot talk for America. But in Germany the situation was and is very different. People still listen to radio in mono a lot. One of the best selling radios in Germany which you find in many kitchens is this one:

     
  19. Helmut

    Helmut Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Germany
    This is an album that polarizes a lot, you either love it or it leaves you cold. The lyrics are probably the most important part of it and as this is not my mothertongue, mainly the music remains. And unlike the albums before the songs didn't reach me.
    And I didn't like the sound, to this very day I immediately hear when things are out of phase and I don't like that.
     
  20. rockledge

    rockledge Forum Resident

    Location:
    right here
    I sounds interesting in a situation where the room is set up for that sound, but who wants to have to listen to everything in a special room? But I think it ruins the sound listening in normal circumstances, everything I have heard mixed that way tended to have something lacking in the lows or low mids and the stereo imaging wasn't that discrete.

    Also, it seems to me that Final Cut was mixed using what I think was called "binaural sound" which was intended to emulate what it would sound like if you had a bust set up between two speakers with microphones where ears should be.
     
  21. Futurecity

    Futurecity Forum Resident

    Location:
    Nevada
    I like The Soul Cages a lot...some killer stuff on there, but never heard there was a consensus it was his masterpiece? A lot of people feel his best overall album was his next one from '94...Ten Summoner's Tales and many still think his second album, ...Nothing Like The Sun remains a sort of masterpiece.

    Yes, Soul Cages was very well recorded in 1991...it always sounded very clear and nice, but I think that had more to do with it being recorded digitally (ddd) than the Q-Sound. The Q-Sound added some cool, minimal effects to some tracks, but that's all.

    I would agree that Ten Summoner's Tales sounds completely different though...a bit more murky, but I think it might have been recorded digitally also? I have a CD single from that album that says (ddd) on the back, although my Fields Of Gold promo CD single says (aad) on the disc....apparently, they went with a more natural, analog SQ for the promo.
     
    Last edited: Feb 14, 2015
  22. robcar

    robcar Forum Resident

    Location:
    Denver, CO
    The term "masterpiece" is certainly subjective, but I've heard that term bandied about with respect to The Soul Cages more so than the others, at least in terms of the artistry on display. The lyrics are sheer poetry on that one. Sting lightened up a lot on the next album, to the detriment of some of the songs I think.

    I had always assumed that the Q-Sound was a factor in the unique sound of TSC, but perhaps it was the choice of a professional studio for TSC vs. recording at Sting's home for Ten Summoner's Tales that made the difference. Whatever it was, I've never heard another CD sound quite like TSC.
     
  23. applejam101

    applejam101 Humble Fan

    Location:
    NYC, NY, USA
    I love the Q-Sound effect on Julian's Help Yourself.
     
  24. Michael

    Michael I LOVE WIDE S-T-E-R-E-O!

    ...just gimmie plain old stereo...
     
  25. rockledge

    rockledge Forum Resident

    Location:
    right here
    Me too. In my studio are speakers in each corner arranged in X pattern.
    It is either that, the car, or the perfect listening environment every time aka a nice set of headphones.
     
    Michael likes this.
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