Albums recorded in QSound?

Ah, sorry I'm not as sharp as usual today. Lack of sleep. Glad you caught though I do wish there was a definitive list.

 

About 20 of the original Clearmoutain Q Sound mixes (what he had completed before getting fired, I suppose) actually circulated on cassette back in the mid90s...

Some of the QSOUND mixes of the UYIs that I've heard are better than some of the (ou)R Sound mixes that went on the album.

 

I guess I just haven't taken enough listening-room listening to hear it...or, perhaps it's not prominent enough to notice if you don't know what you're listening to. Is the effect more obvious in stretching the soundstage right-to-left, or upstage to downstage? Has anybody done a good job of making an instrument travel around the soundstage with it, a la the gimmicky Quad trick of the '70s? Honestly don't know. Most of my critical listening is under the headphones, thus my own personal soundstage stretches through my head, a line drawn between my ears.

My most successful "3D" imagry via listening to this point (if you don't count actual Quad and 5.1 setups), has been the Carver Sonic Hologram algorithm, which places specific images front, back (not "behind", just downstage), as well as about 30-degrees further off-right and off-left beyond the front-stereo speaker placements.

Anybody here able to make a first-hand description of the difference between the Carver and the Q-Sound effect?

 

Going from memory here, but pretty much every song utilizes it. If your speakers are set up properly and you are sitting in the sweet spot, it should be readily apparent - with instruments floating in space beyond the normal soundstage and to the side. The effect is similar to an immersive 5.1 mix but not quite as discrete.

Listening with headphones will diminish the surround effect, not enhance it. Pretty much all you’ll hear in headphones are the negative impacts on the stereo mix.

 

Not a "Spinal Tap" fan, I guess:

 

Yeah it's an interest

Not when I've done it.

I like the film. It was a long night. All my neurons were not firing. A little slow but with a couple hours of sleep, doing a bit better.

 

How come when you're really tired, your spelling improves???

 

I think there's a Living Colour album mixed in Q Sound.

 

Then your speakers aren’t set up properly, you weren’t sitting in the sweet spot, and/or what you’re hearing in headphones isn’t what you think it is.

In simple terms, Q sound relies on the time and volume differences of a sound reaching each ear. It was specifically designed for stereo speakers. Headphones don’t accomodate that.

 

The only two albums I've listened on Q Sound are Michael Jackson's Dangerous and Madonna's The Inmaculate Collection and I dislike the sound of both, they sound harsh and phasey. Some multichannel sound simulators built in A/V receivers play with phase too and they sound very annoying to me, maybe my hearing is sensitive to phasey sound.

 

I didn't state that my speakers didn't do it. They do. Heck. I notice them even when I'm wearing earbuds. I realize WHY it works but it still works with headphones.

 

Well the phasy aspect is how it works to a degree. Some more better at it than others The Final Cut and Soul Cages work fairly well.

 

If you want to believe this, great. But it’s simply not accurate.

You’re just hearing the imprecise out of phasiness in headphones. It’s definitely an effect of Q sound in the mix, but not the desired effect.

 

The main ones that stick in my mind beyond the Madonna Comp and Sting album are...

Luther Vandross- Power Of Love
Paula Abdul - Spellbound

It seemed like Q sound was getting a hush push in 1990-91 then I don't recall seeing it on any discs after that. It looks like Universal made a big push again around 1999-2000 with a lot of their acts according to the list at the link posted above. Anyone know what caused that?

 

From Wikipedia:

"The flagship technology first known simply as "QSound" saw its initial commercial application in the early 1990s, notably in Capcom arcade games and on many music releases by prominent artists. The first two QSound album titles were Sting's "The Soul Cages" and Madonna's "The Immaculate Collection."

From the original speaker-targeted QSound 3D process used in producer-side applications, QSound Labs developed a suite of positional and enhancement spatial audio technologies, including positional audio for stereo speakers, multi-channel speaker systems and stereo earphones; stereo expansion, and virtual surround, under several technology names. There is no longer any single process now referred to as "QSound."

QSound eventually developed algorithms for headphone use, but they are quite different from the original speaker targeted algorithm utilized on The Soul Cages stereo mix done in late 1990.

 

Are there any known headphone-QSound recordings available to the public?

 

I doubt it. I'm not certain but I think it evolved into more a playback chain/spatial enhancement technology (soundcards and the like) than something added during audio mixing/production.

But even if there is/was a headphone version that acted like the speaker version, I'd guess it was probably geared more to video games. But I don't know for certain.

I'd look for binaural recordings if you want music with 3D imaging in headphones. I seem to recall a Lou Reed album(s) done like this. And maybe some songs on a Pearl Jam album. Probably a bunch of others if you google it.

 

Good to know. It did work to a more limited degree when I tried them again last night. It really shined in my car. I get what you’re r saying but I can only report what I hear.

 

I know that Street Hassle by Lou Reed was one of the first commercially available albums using it.

 

I listened to Soul Cages in headphones on Monday.

Honestly, it just sounds like some instruments are isolated in one ear but sort of indistinct at the same time. With loudspeakers (and maybe this is enhanced with Maggies), the same instruments float in space well outside the normal soundstage to the side of the listener - eerily like a 5.1 mix in a surround.

Just listen for the dog barking on Amused To Death. If it doesn’t sound like it’s coming from somewhere nowhere close to the speakers, something isn’t set-up correctly.

I think one big problem with Q sound is most people don’t/can’t listen in the sweet spot. It amazed me how many sheep here didn’t even notice the significant “channel balance” issues with the Audio Fidelity SACD of Blood, Sweet & Tears - even after it was pointed out. I believe this is because their listening spot isn’t a proper one for stereo listening. I think many just listen for highs and lows and that’s it.

 

Well that's interesting about the BST. Good to know thanks. I am going to pick it up sooner than later (I found a used copy at a local store and have it on hold). My 5.1 is set up pretty well so it will be interesting to see how it plays out.

The Amused To Death IMHO uses the format better than Soul Cages (or rather to better effect). I agree that about the dog barking and there are other effects that will truly tell you if your system is out of wack. Thanks for the info!

 

The Orb, David Gilmour, and Youth
Metallic Spheres, 2010
Second bonus disc was presented in 3D60 for headphones
The Orb Featuring David Gilmour - Metallic Spheres

 

If you do a search on the AF BST SACD, you’ll find more (including my whininess about it, I’m sure).

It’s been awhile so don’t hold me to the details, but it wasn’t actually a channel imbalance per se but rather a time alignment issue between the 2 channels (happened during the authoring stage IIRC) which manifested itself aurally as a channel imbalance (all was shifted left - it was most noticable w/ center instruments like vocals & bass which sounded left of center.)

It only affected the stereo SACD program; the Redbook stereo program and the Mch (Quad) were okay. Unfortunately although AF claimed it would get fixed in the next press run, there was never a next run.

The exact same thing then happened again with Sly and Family Stone Greatest Hits. The mono SACD program was also shifted left for the same reason. The redbook and the Mch (Quad) were okay. This one was fixed in the next press run.

 

Actually, Dangerous and HIStory sound like they do because that's Bruce Swedien's technique (although HIStory may have gone through a spatializer).

 

One of the Sega CD fight games used Q Sound. Yes, really.