Quadraphonic

Quadraphonic sound became popular in the 1970s. It is a four channel sound system in which the speakers are placed in all the four corners of the listening space. The signals that are reproduced from the four channels are independent of each other. It was an attempt to deliver true surround sound. Quadraphonic sound is regarded as the forerunner of the modern Dolby Surround technologies.

Quad used number of formats, most of which were incompatible. Quadraphonic was obtained from vinyl records, eight tracks, and reel-to-reel. In 1970, JVC, a Japanese company, developed the 4-channel phonographic technology that came to be known as the CD-4 quadraphonic disc. CD-4 was the Japanese quadraphonic system that failed.

Next in line was the UD-4/UMX, which was developed by Nippon/Columbia. It was only marketed in Europe, UK, and Japan. The next format was the Q4. It was based on a reel-to-reel tape format. It was only available in USA and offered better sound quality. The quadraphonic 8-Track was a discrete system. It was introduced in 1970 by RCA. This format was not compatible with stereo or mono systems. Next was the Matrix, also called the SQ system. Other formats that were developed include, QS Stereo, EV, DY, and Matrix H. None of these formats left a long lasting effect.

Quadraphonic was a commercial failure, mainly because its LP formats were plagued with technical problems. Furthermore, it was a very expensive sound system. Lack of standard format of LP records was another reason for its commercial failure in the 70s.

The early 1990s saw the rebirth of Quadraphonic sound, but in a very different form. When the home theater came into the picture quad was brought back to life in the form of surround sound

Those of you who have matrix quadraphonic recordings, but are not able to listen to them because you do not have the quadraphonic Fisher receiver, Synthesizer, or DIV quadraphonic audio, you can now have the records transferred to recordable CDs. Many online sites can help you do this. Alternatively, you can seek help of a professional. Once your records are transferred to CDs, you can enjoy those long lost tracks.

It is very hard to find running quadraphonic mixers, decoders, or synthesizers. If you are into collection or you are just dying to own a piece of quadraphonic, you will find many sites on the web that can help you. If you want to know how to setup a quadraphonic decoder, or how to record a vinyl tape on a CD, or any other question, you can find the answers online. There are many dedicated quadraphonic sites run by quadraphonic enthusiasts you can provide all information relating to the subject.