Quadraphonic records can be commonly discovered anywhere folks may go looking for used albums - flea markets, used record stores, thrift stores, yard sales. They are everywhere. Popular music titles can sometimes fetch premiums on the used market when it comes to quad LPs. Yet, when it comes to classical titles the opposite is almost always the rule. Can't practically give the darn things away. Reading vintage literature of the era one gets the impression that quadraphonic music was once considered where the cutting edge of music reproduction existed - particularly as the entryway to a bold and exciting world of enhanced enjoyment and discovery especially for the serious music listener. Indeed - so much music was being recorded with quadraphonic reproduction in mind (and from as early a time as the late 1960s) it seems like major companies were preparing a ready supply of master tapes all set for mass production when the opportunity finally arrived. The emergence of stereo sound reproduction followed a similar trajectory in the mid to late 1950s - companies were recording in stereo long before stereo discs were a viable reality in the marketplace.
Unlike stereo, quadraphonic reproduction would be complicated by a variety of competing formats and reproduction issues that would both confuse and frustrate consumers. It wouldn't be hard to get to the point where a typical music consumer would just throw in the proverbial towel and give up on multi-channel music for good. The results often fell short of the promises, at least from the earliest available gear. What is interesting from a classical listener's point of view is how most (if not all?) classical music LPs bought into the SQ matrix format for vinyl LPs. Although many different companies issued classical albums in quad - none that I know of bothered with the competing matrix format - QS. Columbia Masterworks, EMI Angel, Vanguard and all the other smaller companies in the US and abroad like Vox Turnabout and Supraphon stuck with the SQ matrix format. How did this happen? Why did so many companies buy into that particular matrix? Unfortunately, the critical listening reviews would dash the whole enterprise right into the ground - mostly because of how SQ sounded when reproduced in plain stereo. Without getting too technical - it can be obvious to even the casual listener when a recording is processed through the SQ matrix system since the process relies on sending certain elements of the recording into complicated sonic "phase shifts" which can be decoded to rear speaker channels. Complicated? Oh yeah! So complicated that most affordable SQ decoders sucked big time! The most successful decoding units didn't even arrive on the consumer market until the late 1970s and by that time most people decided to give up on quad LPs. (Tape formats fared better since they were ultimately discrete from the get-go. Open reels and 8 tracks never had to suffer with matrix encoding issues.)
What I discovered along my own path of research was how much better the competing matrix format - QS - was when both decoding to quad AND listening in regular stereo. No discernible "phasey" sound in stereo and the quad decoding units were FAR SUPERIOR than the SQ units. (It should be noted that RCA and the WEA group labels - Warners, Elektra and Atlantic - all stuck with the unique 3rd option for vinyl - CD4 / Quadradisc. This format did not require a phase shift and therefore the stereo sound was not impacted. The only labels that issued classical titles in this format were RCA and Elektra Nonesuch and they work wonderfully when decoded through the proper gear.)
All of this is explained in far better detail at other internet sites like the great QuadraphonicQuad forum. The sad reality for classical music is that it generally was not served well by the quad era because of the SQ format's phasey sound quality embedded into the LPs. Audiophiles quickly learned to shun classical quad LPs since the sound was so tampered with it could dramatically impact the intended balance and dynamics of what an orchestra sounded like naturally. Oh well!
Now, for the adventurous listener on a tight budget this whole situation is actually a benefit. Me being the case in point. With so many quad classical LPs available it can be a cheap way to hear different performances of well known pieces. And, if one also happens to be a quadraphonic enthusiast - the experimenting can lead to some interesting conclusions! My own quad adventures have expanded into other popular genres - rock, jazz, etc......yet the ubiquity of classical quad LPs was something that got me ready to listen beyond those realms. With popular titles, part of the quad fun is hearing things in the new mixes that are either buried or totally missing from the normal stereo (or mono) mixes. So, in order to fully appreciate a quad mix - the best thing to do is get familiar with a given piece of music in its mono or stereo form. THEN you will be able to spot stuff in the new surround mixes that should render the music fresh and exciting.
After enough years of listening to mostly the mono and stereo records I finally decided to start breaking into the quad LPs in a serious way. Of course it helps to have the excellent Surround Master decoding unit from Involve Audio to extract that snarly SQ-encoded data (which is, by the way, the most expensive piece of equipment in the whole gear chain but totally worth it). Now, much of this research is being conducted in the living room which I recently designed as the second vintage surround system in the house. This came about mostly because I was unhappy with the limits of the quad amp in the main vintage setup in my study / office space. Just not getting enough juice to the speakers when I had the chance to really crank it up! So I revised the main system with the Kenwood amp powering the KLH 38s in the fronts and the modern-ish Pioneer powering the Dynaco A25s in the rears. Hence the tower of power:
This provides enough juice to make those speakers sing in a way the little Pioneer quad amp couldn't. Note the Marantz CD-4 decoder on top for the playback of those LPs. This new arrangement gave me the opportunity to move the little Pioneer quad amp to the living room...........
The old console stereo cabinet is not functional enough to warrant use of the actual gear inside to be worth the bother, so it provides a nice function as "proper gear table" for now. Although I have a little Technics linear-tracking turntable hooked up, it is the Pioneer Elite DVD player on top (with sacd and DVD-A capabilities) that serves as the signal delivery unit to the Surround Master (via LP to CD-R transfers done in the study / office zone). So, I transfer the quad LPs to CD then bring them into the living room for the listening session. The Pioneer quad amp (with its 20 WPC) powers a smaller set of speakers - EPI M90s in the front and KLH 32s in the rears. In the case of both sets of speakers - they are 2-way jobs with only 8" woofers. Of course I had to do a little improvement with those things. The EPI tweeters were still sounding nice, but the old woofers had had it. Luckily there is a dealer on ebay advertising as the official EPI part source - now called Human Speakers. For just a bit above $100 I got new woofers for the M90s and WOW! Big improvement. I bet they would sound even better with a more powerful amp, but I'm not looking for big volume in this space. The little KLH woofers were fine, but in the case of those speakers the tweeters didn't quite match the EPI crispness. Luckily I decided to try replacing the old capacitors with new ones (that cost all of $10) before thinking about replacing the tweeters. Good move! The re-cap job did the trick and now the KLHs sing as they ought to. The Pioneer SX-646 and the 8" 2-way speakers are a nice match at low-ish volume. Plenty loud enough to hear what's coming off those old classical quad LPs.
So what's been playing? Here are the records I've transferred so far:
Mostly I've been transferring and listening to titles issued by Angel / EMI. And most of the time I am monitoring those transfers on headphones. This has led to an interesting discovery for me. In some instances the phase shifting of the sound can be a little distracting, yet in some cases the music is not at all rendered un-enjoyable even under the close scrutiny of headphone listening. I am sure serious audiophiles would never accept what these records sound like as a "natural" orchestral sound. However, I was pleasantly surprised at how good the music did sound on the average - listening to quad LP after quad LP night after night this way. The living room sessions have also revealed differences in mixing techniques - some titles are mixed in a more ambient manner. Others - like the Morton Subotnick album - feature a more adventurous surround mix. I remember listening to the Harry Partch quad record a few years ago - the listening environment was immersive in a "room" sound that quite suited the music. I must remember to do a transfer of that as well for increased future spins. Still, I have to admit I wish more classical music had been mixed to the QS format instead of the SQ. Yet, at least the Surround Master manages to reveal the original intentions of those recordings - many of which were done 40+ years ago.
Along with the recent quad adventures, I've been trying to re-connect with some open reel tapes lately. Open reel tape is just about as much of a pain in the rear as quad LP is (and my reel to reel machine is stereo only alas). Yet, it sure is interesting and fun to hear some vintage recordings via the open reel format - like some of those early stereo recordings..........
I was playing this Stokowski conducts Wagner tape today. I realize the controversy surrounding both conductor and composer here, but for me (the average listener) I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this music. I think for me Wagner's music works best when it is disconnected from the larger and more ambitious pieces. As a general Wagner sampler tape - this worked for me. I forgot about the yucky baggage and listened to the music alone which Stokowski seemed to present in a suitable way. Well, I'll never be a Wagner expert, but I was won over by this particular recording.
Inside the tape box I found this neat brochure listing all the available RCA open reel tapes (to that point - I think perhaps 1964 or 1965):
Interesting to note the emphasis on the 4 track tape format. Prior to this development, open reel tapes were originally one-sided 2 track affairs. I have a few of those from RCA (I got really lucky at a thrift store one day) and another from Westminster of the 1812 Overture:
I played this one today too - though on headphones the sound was kinda shrill-sounding (would have been better through the KLH 38s). Maybe there was a philosophy to the mastering of some of these early tapes to make them more forward-sounding than LPs were at the time. I could see the logic in that. Certainly Columbia open reels generally have that mastering quality to them, like this:
As much as I enjoyed the music, the sound was certainly a bit treble-enhanced, or so it seemed to me. Not in a detrimental way, but noticeable. Still, Bruno Walter is one of my favorite conductors of his era.
Pulled out this Haydn symphony tape also. Westminster certainly was doing its best to keep pace with stereo sound developments. I'm glad I get enjoyment from this music - it would be sad to be forced to pay hundreds of dollars for Beatles open reel tapes only to experience negligible sonic improvements in the sound. As much as I like messing around with reel to reel machines I sure as heck can't chase after some of those more expensive titles - not on purpose at least. I've gotten lucky enough to find some cool tapes - plenty to keep me entertained when I get the urge to fire up the old machine (a pretty robust TEAC that must have gotten a decent workout before it found me).
And even with all the quad and reel stuff happening - there's always the standard LP and CD spinning going on - like this Liszt LP by Edith Farnadi:
And this interesting record of orchestral music from the 1976 Olympic Games held in Montreal:
As usual, the material runs the gamut from the earliest stuff to the more recent and experimental (and sometimes kitchy). It's all in good fun. Until next time and with more reflections on the vibrations....KEEP 'EM SPINNING!
