2020 Hindsight: 50 Years of Quadishness

[proufo]

Nothing interesting to tell. Except maybe that I have little doubt that some part of my current enjoyment now has to do with finally being able to get the experience as it should have been.

Never had a Tate nor a Sansui QS-D1000. The only real-Quad experience I had in the 70s was a few of my CD-4 albums, not all. The matrix decoders in my Marantz and later a Pioneer 949 were quite inadequate.

 

[par4ken]

Most outside of the audio hobby really do. How many setups have you seen with one speaker pushed in a corner and the other being used as an endtable next to a chair? I don't remember ever visiting anyone outside of our "clan" that had speakers in a position to create any sort of image at a listening position.

Usually people just placed them side by side, they might as well of just stuck to mono!

 

[Sal1950]

I've decided not to get into SACDs, DVDa's and the like. Just sticking with the "old school" stuff.

I understand your position but your really missing out on the tremendous sound quality available from the modern formats.. SACD's and 24/48 or 24/96 high resolution discs & files offer inner detail and high end sparkle we could only dream of from older analog sources.. There are nights I'll be listening to my rig and shake my head in disbelief over the level of reproduction modern sources and gear can deliver.
YMMV

 

[gvl_guy]

No facebook no twitter no insta. I'm all about minimizing my internet foot print.

That's why you can't see it. It's public for anyone on Facebook. No other way to do it.

 

[Circular Vibes]

That's why you can't see it. It's public for anyone on Facebook. No other way to do it.

If you "have to log in", it's not "public". They are two different categories. This forum and two others are the only places you will see online content from me. My personal details are not for freeloaders like Facebook, Twatter or Instagram. I suggest you double check your groups settings or look at FBs FAQ page, they still have one I assume...

 

[gvl_guy]

If you "have to log in", it's not "public". They are two different categories. This forum and two others are the only places you will see online content from me. My personal details are not for freeloaders like Facebook, Twatter or Instagram. I suggest you double check your groups settings or look at FBs FAQ page, they still have one I assume...

I did. They do not. Sorry

 

[Circular Vibes]

There are "public" pages that are visible to all. I look at some local ones on a regular basis without having to log in. I erased my former FB profile almost a decade, two computers and 4 operating systems ago. None of these pages require login and I can see more than enough content to satisfy my needs. If you can not find where to change the settings, I suggest you query FB staff.

 

[Sonik Wiz]

There are "public" pages that are visible to all. I look at some local ones on a regular basis without having to log in. I erased my former FB profile almost a decade, two computers and 4 operating systems ago. None of these pages require login and I can see more than enough content to satisfy my needs. If you can not find where to change the settings, I suggest you query FB staff.

Yeah there's plenty of FB pages I've looked at over the years that I don't have to log in to see. Understandably you must have an acct to post.

I had a facebook acct once maybe 7>8 years ago. I was concerned about privacy, I went to the page privacy settings & there must have been 20 selections. I unchecked all & still kept getting unwanted e mails. People crawled out of my past & found me. That I had no interest in maintaining friendship with. Over all a bad experience & I felt much better after I closed it. QQ is my only home away from home.

 

[Circular Vibes]

Sonik Wiz is right, I can not post on FB public pages. I got out of FB when the terms of service started changing almost daily and never looked back. I could not trust that my settings and privacy wouldn't be compromised the next time I log in. I feel much safer here on QQ and haven't felt the need to stray away for my four cornered fix. I do post on Vinyl Engine as well as Canuck Audio Mart. Otherwise I refuse to be a Twat, FBer or IGgy. I do look at a few things I see linked but won't post or otherwise contribute to corporate friendships. I know technically QQ is now a corporate entity but I am hooked, what can I say?

 

[gvl_guy]

Sonik Wiz is right, I can not post on FB public pages. I got out of FB when the terms of service started changing almost daily and never looked back. I could not trust that my settings and privacy wouldn't be compromised the next time I log in. I feel much safer here on QQ and haven't felt the need to stray away for my four cornered fix. I do post on Vinyl Engine as well as Canuck Audio Mart. Otherwise I refuse to be a Twat, FBer or IGgy. I do look at a few things I see linked but won't post or otherwise contribute to corporate friendships. I know technically QQ is now a corporate entity but I am hooked, what can I say?

You're not missing much on the page I created. We have about 25 people right now....and growing. Not nearly as detailed as here and I don't ever expect it to get that way. So if you feel unsafe on Facebook, it's totally understandable.

 

[Wurly1]

No facebook no twitter no insta. I'm all about minimizing my internet foot print.

There are many facebook pages about all kind vintage Hi-Fi, you would love it.

 

[Sonik Wiz]

There are many facebook pages about all kind vintage Hi-Fi, you would love it.

True, that. And most of them I don't need an acct to access. When you get a phone app or service for free your usually paying with your privacy.

 

[Quad Linda]

4-earredwonder mentioned Dokorder. Some folks at QQ have expressed satisfaction with them.

Our stores carried them for a few weeks. Every store had at least one demo that needed repair. A couple customers had similar experiences. We told them to take it all back. We had no intention of paying the invoice.

 

[edisonbaggins]

I keep reading "50 Shades of Quadishness" when this thread pops up...

 

[GOS]

Threads like this are awesome. I think it needs to be explained why some of us didn't get into Quad. Oh, of course, some will say they didn't want to spend the money, others may say they didn't want all that equipment. Others too young, etc.

I'm 58. So, clearly that puts me on the fringe of not being old enough back when Quad was rolling. Here is the sad thing. I've always been an early adopter and always pushed the boundaries of my listening experience. Even back to the early 70's when I was just a youngster. Had I somehow heard a Quad setup, or even simply heard of it....I would have found a way to get it. I would have saved my allowance, etc. What was holding me back? Clearly, it's a function of where I grew up.

It's clear to me that folks who lived in the larger cities (defined as 100,000 or larger) likely had access to more stereo shops, advertising, more friends who had, etc. If you lived in rural Illinois and were a young teen.....you were totally, 100% sheltered from such things. No internet, no access to larger cities (in rural America 1975, you simply shopped local....never saw a larger city). As a result, Quad was a word I simply never heard. It's as if we lived in a bubble...along with every other rural living person back then.

When I was 12, I had a Kenwood receiver and a turntable and 2 speakers. For whatever reason, I figured out if I steal my parents 2 speakers and wire all 4 together, I could get some sort of expanded stereo. I had all 4 speakers spread out in the corners of my upstairs bedroom. I had NOT heard of Quad, but I knew I liked how this sounded..and well...it just looked cool.

So, it was clear from a young age that I was fascinated with the idea of having more than 2 speakers. Just unfortunate that I didn't have access to the technology or even the understanding that it even existed.

At this stage of my life, I doubt I would ever pursue vintage quad equipment...though it's tempting, believe me. Quad, surround, etc., played through my current equipment give me a hell of a lot of pleasure. Isn't it just great??!!

 

[Circular Vibes]

I definitely feel like a youngster in these here parts. My first taste of quad was an all in one crumpack system I found at a thrift store from Toshiba. It was essentially an SA-304 receiver with a Garrard turntable mounted in the top. When I found it the turntable was MIA. I hooked up an external TT and finally got to play DSOTM in 4 channels, well... sorta. The unit had good sound but crappy separation. I was determined to do better. I ended up buying a QRX 7001 on QQ and had Quadbob do his thing to it. A year later and repeated emails I finally got it. I wish I had just taken delivery from the previous owner as it blew up, got repaired locally 3 times and I had it when the landlord called me at work about the loud hum heard through the whole apartment block. Gradually I found another QRX7001 after my move from Tdot to Ottawa and things have slowly and expensively moved forward with great advice from QQ members. Now I have over 1000 quad LPs as well as some reels and 8 tracks. Oh yeh, I got on the Oppo bandwagon too after failed experiments with a Samsung universal player and an even worse Denon. In quad's heyday I was still using my Dad's Electrohome portable record changer. My Grandfather had a Muntz stereo shop where the quad car decks sold gold and returned platinum. He claimed the guys who bought quad said their buddies stereo decks sounded better. I suspect the Muntz quad decks were under powered and the 4 channel tapes were next to nonexistant. He always warned me not to get into quad for those reasons. When he went bankrupt, he got over 800 tapes that the bank didn't want. I got them later in life. It was the biggest pile of jazz and classical tapes I ever saw and only Janis Joplin's Pearl in quad! I left those tapes behind in a rooming house around 1995. That just made me want to experience it all the more. So I have gone from hand me down mono 78s to playing modern dirgital discs in 4.0 in a little over 40 years. What'll they think of next?

 

[Philip Spinner]

Threads like this are awesome. I think it needs to be explained why some of us didn't get into Quad. Oh, of course, some will say they didn't want to spend the money, others may say they didn't want all that equipment. Others too young, etc.

I'm 58. So, clearly that puts me on the fringe of not being old enough back when Quad was rolling. Here is the sad thing. I've always been an early adopter and always pushed the boundaries of my listening experience. Even back to the early 70's when I was just a youngster. Had I somehow heard a Quad setup, or even simply heard of it....I would have found a way to get it. I would have saved my allowance, etc. What was holding me back? Clearly, it's a function of where I grew up.

It's clear to me that folks who lived in the larger cities (defined as 100,000 or larger) likely had access to more stereo shops, advertising, more friends who had, etc. If you lived in rural Illinois and were a young teen.....you were totally, 100% sheltered from such things. No internet, no access to larger cities (in rural America 1975, you simply shopped local....never saw a larger city). As a result, Quad was a word I simply never heard. It's as if we lived in a bubble...along with every other rural living person back then.

When I was 12, I had a Kenwood receiver and a turntable and 2 speakers. For whatever reason, I figured out if I steal my parents 2 speakers and wire all 4 together, I could get some sort of expanded stereo. I had all 4 speakers spread out in the corners of my upstairs bedroom. I had NOT heard of Quad, but I knew I liked how this sounded..and well...it just looked cool.

So, it was clear from a young age that I was fascinated with the idea of having more than 2 speakers. Just unfortunate that I didn't have access to the technology or even the understanding that it even existed.

At this stage of my life, I doubt I would ever pursue vintage quad equipment...though it's tempting, believe me. Quad, surround, etc., played through my current equipment give me a hell of a lot of pleasure. Isn't it just great??!!

In the 70's I used to visit a friend of mine in Illinois. While he was working I would drive all over looking for quad tapes. Found a small store in a small town (can't remember the name) and inside I discovered half a dozen quad tapes I never saw in NYC. Instant big smile. Those were fun days.

 

[doity]

Some time back in the 80's there was a little publication called The Eight Track Mind. It's premise was that it's time to stop accepting & paying for the newest latest greatest so that you have a complete turn around in equipment every five years. It celebrated all the audio/video/ham radio gear prior to that point. I am not quite of that attitude but I feel I've got a good set up that will keep me happy the rest of my life. Until Involve comes out with something new.

I tried looking at your Facebook group but I don't do that & it was asking me log in. Could you change it to public status so others could check it out?

Sonik, that’s funny your recollection of 8 Track Mind magazine. I subscribed to them for awhile in the early 1990’s. I had a good collection of 8 tracks that my then girlfriend didn’t mind me playing. She actually got it. That she grew up in a backwoods town probably didn’t hurt either. I even dragged her to that movie “So Wrong Their Right” when the filmmaker was touring it cross-country. We watched it an old converted porno theater in a wretched area of downtown Portland. She was a real keeper I gotta tell you .

Years later the local rag had an article about how “collectible” 8 tracks had become. Literally overnight the price of tapes went from like $.50 to $2.00 at Goodwill overnight because of that dumb article. The innocence had been lost as corporate America (Goodwill) tried to profit from what was a cheap hobby.

 

[Sonik Wiz]

Sonik, that’s funny your recollection of 8 Track Mind magazine. I subscribed to them for awhile in the early 1990’s. I had a good collection of 8 tracks that my then girlfriend didn’t mind me playing. She actually got it. That she grew up in a backwoods town probably didn’t hurt either. I even dragged her to that movie “So Wrong Their Right” when the filmmaker was touring it cross-country. We watched it an old converted porno theater in a wretched area of downtown Portland. She was a real keeper I gotta tell you .

Years later the local rag had an article about how “collectible” 8 tracks had become. Literally overnight the price of tapes went from like $.50 to $2.00 at Goodwill overnight because of that dumb article. The innocence had been lost as corporate America (Goodwill) tried to profit from what was a cheap hobby.

Haha thanks for the reply! I never saw an issue of 8 Track Mind. I just saw it mentioned in another obscure ink on paper mag run by QQ member Larry Clifton: The Multi-Channel Sound Review. So I figure I would never find anyone else that was aware of 8 TM.

But guess what? There's at least a chance for a second life on the web:

https://8trackheaven.com/8-track-mind-magazine/8-track-mind/

 

[surround.sound.enthusiast]

I even dragged her to that movie “So Wrong Their Right” when the filmmaker was touring it cross-country. We watched it an old converted porno theater in a wretched area of downtown Portland. She was a real keeper I gotta tell you .

Alright doity, I've got to ask: Portland, Maine or Portland, Oregon?

Portland Maine has a building that's an old converted porno theater in downtown. It was turned into a music venue in the early 2000's and is still operating under a different (but long time to the city) music venue.