Exploring Billboard for Quadraphonic Information
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May 11, 1974
Midwest Stereo Sells 'Q'
In a Homelike Atmosphere
By JACK ROLAND COGGINS
DES MOINES-
A relaxed "at home" atmosphere paired with pinpointed invitations to customers on a 10,000 plus mailing list is helping Midwest Stereo here sell more high end audio equipment. With quadrasonic building, sales managers Gar Huebner and Gary Chase believe fact tags and literature must be the initial vehicle a customer responds-to, rather than having a salesperson jump on them immediately.
At Midwest Stereo, selling more expensive systems begins the moment a customer enters.
"It is important not to sell before customers feel at home in the store," suggest Huebner and Chase. "So initially we acknowledge the customer's presence by a pleasant greeting. We don't say immediately, 'May I help you.' We wait until they get used to the store, until they orient themselves. That may take as long as five minutes."
Watching customers is the quickest way to zero in on their wants. "Customers will usually go back to the systems they are really interested in, even if they pass them over quickly at first," they say. "That is when our sales people strike up a conversation. The process then becomes one of determining what are the differences between what customers want and what customers actually need.
"Until the prospects reveal something of their lifestyle to us, we are not really in a position to sell anything but product; and we prefer to always work from the customer back to the product. Only that way can we be certain of making each customer happy. This is vital to selling bigger ticket systems.
"Our experience shows that customers wanting something in the $600 price area will buy above that-if needs are properly pinpointed and customers shown what they have gained by the additional investment."
In addition to carefully determining customers' actual needs, Midwest Stereo pinpoints what they are willing to spend. The customer needs a system to do a particular job and he needs it in a particular price range to fit his budget.
"When upgrading sales, it is important to stay in the right ball park' pricewise," Huebner and Chase say. "A customer who says he wants to spend in the area of $600 may wind up spending $700 or $800. But, it would be unfair to that customer to show him an $1,800 or $2,000 system and say, ‘This is what you need but you can't afford it.’ If he buys in the lower price range then, he is likely to feel cheated."
Once the price area is established we move to the speaker room where customers are allowed to hear different sounds, different speakers. We explain why particular amps are needed to provide power to drive different speakers. When you listen to speakers, you have to point out why one sounds different from the others, always aiming at coming up with a balanced system that will play the kinds of music the customer likes with maximum efficiency. Rock music has an accentuated mid range, for example. It will sound great on a particular system. But, if you try classical on the same system, you are going to wonder what happened to both ends.
"You need to explain these things and let the customer experience them. It is a matter of educating: 'In this price range, here is the level of quality.’ In most cases, customers move up to higher price points. The strategy is to show people what they are getting for those extra bucks and allowing them to make the decision.
"From our view, it is wrong to say to a customer who wants a $600 system, 'Okay, here it is; we'll wrap it up. First show him what differences even another $50 can make ... that small amount could be critical in real long-lasting customer satisfaction."
Midwest Stereo's special speaker room is a vital ingredient to selling up. "Every customer that has bought comes back to compare again and reaffirm their decision. On the other hand, our amplifier room was a complete bust. The audiophiles were interested in it but nobody else."
What is Midwest Stereo's approach to point of purchase merchandising? "We strive to make everything homelike. Systems appear pretty much as they would in customers' homes. We spotlight clearly defined packages -this receiver, this changer, these speakers for this price. Our entire motif is homelike.
"Because our business is repeat, we must keep a fresh image. The basic systems remain pretty much the same, but we vary the presentation, always moving the inventory around, striving to be constantly different. Avoiding the humdrum appearance helps not only repeat customers, but our sales force as well.
"It is our impression that many warranties and guarantees are designed to protect the manufacturer rather than the consumer," suggests Huebner and Chase. "Our philosophy is that if people buy a system that we recommend, and it does not perform to expectations, it is our ob. ligation to correct what is wrong.
Sometimes it is a matter of swallowing a warranty. Sometimes it is a matter of going to the supplier.
Other items, the solution is moving the customer into different equipment.
“The biggest problem connected with warranties right now is not whether labor is covered nine months from now, but whether parts are available.
“Midwest Stereo is currently taking a long hard look at all warranties. In addition, we are compiling data regarding to what should be expected from various equipment.
All this to determine whether or not to offer our own private warranty."
The customer who comes in just for service is treated the same as the customer who comes in to look or buy. "It is a total concept in dealing with a heavy repeat clientele. The minute a customer buys a system from us, we have an obligation.
"There are a couple of lines we don't sell because of the difficulties in obtaining parts and service. Selling of sound hardware is more than buying good sound. It is buying good sound that can easily be serviced for our customers."
Besides its regular service department. Midwest Stereo features a small service room just off the sales floor. Here, salesmen do minor repair jobs for customers while they watch. "We do trouble shooting for fuses. And we can do almost anything on speakers here. This has really gone over big. Customers feel better knowing salesmen are still interested in them after they've taken the money. There is no reason these minor repair chores should be channeled through the main service department as busy as they are."
Most of Midwest Stereo advertising is direct mail. A list of prospects-about 10,000 - is derived from charge accounts and sales tickets.
"We send the list to Mcintosh. They make up the mailers to our specs and take care of mailing it out. At Christmas we send out an eight-page letter talking new equipment.
Normally we send out a mailer every three months. Price is not stressed in our direct mail advertising: we stress what the equipment will do in the prospects’ homes. We tend to sell the store first, the merchandise second, because our best and most protected form of advertising is our satisfied customers.
May 11, 1974
Quadrasonic Is to Spur
Sales on Speakers
By KARL PAIGE
LOS ANGELES-
Quadrasonic continues to spur speaker sales, say experts involved in two industry events this week and the giant Consumer Electronics Show (CES) next month. Technological advances, market expansion, philosophical debates all are part of the growing emphasis on speakers.
Speaker system theory will be discussed at the Audio Engineering Society (AES) here Tuesday (7) at the Los Angeles Hilton and marketing will be focused on the next day in Las Vegas at the NEW/COM '74 distributor and rep convention. CES is June 9-12 in Chicago.
A few trends in speakers:
• Continued parade of new firms, expansion of lines by established manufacturers in both home and car stereo (i.e. among new and relatively new brands popping up- Precision Marketing & Development.
Frazier, Jansen, Mirari, Hegeman Labs and on and on: as for expansion, Superscope just opened a factory in Peroness-lez-Binch,Bel-gium, and is exporting speakers to the Far East and Africa: as for ear stereo, Craig Corp. has formed a separate division for speaker sales.
• Dichotomous expansion with greater sales into the audiophile segment, as well as into the mass merchandiser outlet (Superscope, for instance, is making Marantz line for high end and the Superscope brand for pop price points). The firm's philosophy will be enlarged upon later in this roundup.
• Market expansion resulting in sharper definition of models (rep Arnie Schwartz, profiled elsewhere this issue, finds he can sell five different lines without a conflict-Mirari, Cartier Acoustics, Hegeman, Royal Sound and Precision, which has a brand called Precision and one called Aztec).
• Continued furry of terms. Hottest idea in tweeters, say experts, is the "piezo ceramic" component. Dynaco likes to talk about its “aperiodie damping." The term "transducer" is popping up in ADC, RTR and Marantz, ads, though it is actually an old term to describe speaker.
• More emphasis on cosmetics.
Klipsche even offers to save the consumer $350 by marketing a "streaker"' or "undressed" model for do-it-yourself finishing; Altec Lansing product manager Paul Miller points out how foam grilles on fronts can be painted any color; Rogersound's Max Tower is available in white, blue, avocado green, orange but also walnut.
• Greater emphasis on out-board controls or what could be called customized adjustment features. Sound Technology Research's add-on Theta 1 tweeter is an example: AR's AR-2ax with separate back controls for adjusting mid-range and high frequency levels is another.
• Quadrasonic forcing more attention on dispersion of sound (Bose's ads feature a hard-line story on why beaming speakers are wrong; Jon Dahlquist, however, takes even a harder line insisting that all sound must be frontal: but Empire's all-around dispersion and Frazier's horizontal and vertical tweeters and ADC's rearward focusing are contrary ideas on dispersion).
• Flat, wall panel speakers gain status. Fisher has sound panels and recently Magitran's Poly-Planar drew a good High Fidelity review though the magazine did not recommend them as extension speakers for a quadrasonic setup.
• Wireless speakers are back.
Once thought a dead issue, Hitachi has resuscitated the concept with wireless back speakers in a just-in-troduced line of quadrasonic units.
• Heavier emphasis on floor standing models and towers (Au-dionics, RTR, Epicure's Microtower and any number of firms not known for towers are adding them Marantz too).
• More drivers, more tweeter refinements, more efforts to get a boomless bass (the latter Dynaco attempts with aperiodie damping, its way of describing a two-chamber cabinet; Dynaco also brags about its five-step tweeter control and its soft dome tweeter; meanwhile, Scientific Audio Electronics' Mark XI is described as having seven drivers).
• New materials, advance technology, new manufacturing philosophies. Magnadyne for example, is importing some speaker parts from
Japan but assembling and doing plastic molding in Los Angeles for car speakers.
Quadrasonic to some extent, but mostly the evolution of so much technology in speaker construction and design is combining to change the emphasis of some philosophical debates on systems.
The electrostatic system has been under stiff criticism and Janszen's and Rectilinear's ads seem defensive, but many speaker engineers respect electrostatic, John Ouvrier, engineering manager at Superscope, and John Janes, Superscope speaker division manager, would like to combine the best of electrostatic with elements of other systems.
Emphasis has also switched from the debate over bass reflex vs. air suspension. According to many engineers, bass reflex has been superceded by the vented port idea: air suspension is now more commonly called acoustic suspension.
Commenting on some of these trends, Ouvrier and Janes point out that the four bookshelf models and the more recently introduced floor standing units in the Marantz line go from $59 to $500, while the four Superscope models just barely overlap and go down in price point to $22.
Speaker manufacturers are now using new techniques, new cementing, new materials to achieve the goal that has existed for years-a lot of speaker power in a smaller area. Even cement is very important.
"Just the normal, regular cement of a few years ago will no longer hold these junctions with the higher powered amplifiers we're using.
What you need now is new cements, new kinds of materials, new cone material in order to take the tremendous pressure you're putting on these cones.
On the subject of quadrasonic,
"Any musical instrument has a totally omni-360 degree sound. No musical instrument ever sounds like it's coming out of a tunnel or a port.
"Now the closest thing to a 360-degree transducer is a pulsating sphere, and the thing is you can't have a pulsating sphere so the closest to that is a pulsating hemisphere and the closest thing to that right now, we feel, is the dome.
"Now with a horn you are limited because a horn tends to beam in certain frequencies and not in others, depending on the angle in which you have the horn. And if you go up to something multicellular, which some manufacturers have, it makes it gargantuan inside and horribly expensive for a consumer.
"We're making speaker systems that have the optimum dispersion possible. Some people may say that they feel for quad you have to have a lot of dispersion. I think in a way that they're trying to get out of a problem, because you tell me one instrument that doesn't have a 360-degree dispersion when it's playing-even a trumpet.
As for transducers, Janes says he feels many people are using the term more for one of two reasons. "One reason is to distinguish from the loudspeaker, or speaker box itself, including a transducer. The other is that it's a nice, space-age sounding term- but it does go back to the first dictionary every printed.”
As for controls outside, "We're not really interested in gimmicks. There are some systems that warrant more specific controls. The more complex the system the more necessary it might be to give the consumer some variation, but not a whole lot.
"You don't want to change the character of the speaker you've designed. If you give someone infinite control over every transducer in the unit, then you can have a unit that can totally change the character and the intent of the speaker from what the engineer originally designed into the unit.
A lot of the terms relate to marketing gimmickry. "You have to separate the salesmen's enthusiasm and description of the product from good engineering design."
There has been a philosophical debate going on for some time between advocates of air or acoustic suspension speakers and advocates of bass reflex but now more popularly called vented enclosures.
Janes and Ouvrier state Superscope's basic philosophy is that it will make whatever sounds the best.
“I don't care whether it's small, big, large or whether it's air suspension, ported vented, labyrinth, Klipsch, whatever it might be, we'll make whatever sounds the best.
(Continued)
Quadrasonic Is to Spur
Sales on Speakers
By KARL PAIGE
LOS ANGELES-
Quadrasonic continues to spur speaker sales, say experts involved in two industry events this week and the giant Consumer Electronics Show (CES) next month. Technological advances, market expansion, philosophical debates all are part of the growing emphasis on speakers.
Speaker system theory will be discussed at the Audio Engineering Society (AES) here Tuesday (7) at the Los Angeles Hilton and marketing will be focused on the next day in Las Vegas at the NEW/COM '74 distributor and rep convention. CES is June 9-12 in Chicago.
A few trends in speakers:
• Continued parade of new firms, expansion of lines by established manufacturers in both home and car stereo (i.e. among new and relatively new brands popping up- Precision Marketing & Development.
Frazier, Jansen, Mirari, Hegeman Labs and on and on: as for expansion, Superscope just opened a factory in Peroness-lez-Binch,Bel-gium, and is exporting speakers to the Far East and Africa: as for ear stereo, Craig Corp. has formed a separate division for speaker sales.
• Dichotomous expansion with greater sales into the audiophile segment, as well as into the mass merchandiser outlet (Superscope, for instance, is making Marantz line for high end and the Superscope brand for pop price points). The firm's philosophy will be enlarged upon later in this roundup.
• Market expansion resulting in sharper definition of models (rep Arnie Schwartz, profiled elsewhere this issue, finds he can sell five different lines without a conflict-Mirari, Cartier Acoustics, Hegeman, Royal Sound and Precision, which has a brand called Precision and one called Aztec).
• Continued furry of terms. Hottest idea in tweeters, say experts, is the "piezo ceramic" component. Dynaco likes to talk about its “aperiodie damping." The term "transducer" is popping up in ADC, RTR and Marantz, ads, though it is actually an old term to describe speaker.
• More emphasis on cosmetics.
Klipsche even offers to save the consumer $350 by marketing a "streaker"' or "undressed" model for do-it-yourself finishing; Altec Lansing product manager Paul Miller points out how foam grilles on fronts can be painted any color; Rogersound's Max Tower is available in white, blue, avocado green, orange but also walnut.
• Greater emphasis on out-board controls or what could be called customized adjustment features. Sound Technology Research's add-on Theta 1 tweeter is an example: AR's AR-2ax with separate back controls for adjusting mid-range and high frequency levels is another.
• Quadrasonic forcing more attention on dispersion of sound (Bose's ads feature a hard-line story on why beaming speakers are wrong; Jon Dahlquist, however, takes even a harder line insisting that all sound must be frontal: but Empire's all-around dispersion and Frazier's horizontal and vertical tweeters and ADC's rearward focusing are contrary ideas on dispersion).
• Flat, wall panel speakers gain status. Fisher has sound panels and recently Magitran's Poly-Planar drew a good High Fidelity review though the magazine did not recommend them as extension speakers for a quadrasonic setup.
• Wireless speakers are back.
Once thought a dead issue, Hitachi has resuscitated the concept with wireless back speakers in a just-in-troduced line of quadrasonic units.
• Heavier emphasis on floor standing models and towers (Au-dionics, RTR, Epicure's Microtower and any number of firms not known for towers are adding them Marantz too).
• More drivers, more tweeter refinements, more efforts to get a boomless bass (the latter Dynaco attempts with aperiodie damping, its way of describing a two-chamber cabinet; Dynaco also brags about its five-step tweeter control and its soft dome tweeter; meanwhile, Scientific Audio Electronics' Mark XI is described as having seven drivers).
• New materials, advance technology, new manufacturing philosophies. Magnadyne for example, is importing some speaker parts from
Japan but assembling and doing plastic molding in Los Angeles for car speakers.
Quadrasonic to some extent, but mostly the evolution of so much technology in speaker construction and design is combining to change the emphasis of some philosophical debates on systems.
The electrostatic system has been under stiff criticism and Janszen's and Rectilinear's ads seem defensive, but many speaker engineers respect electrostatic, John Ouvrier, engineering manager at Superscope, and John Janes, Superscope speaker division manager, would like to combine the best of electrostatic with elements of other systems.
Emphasis has also switched from the debate over bass reflex vs. air suspension. According to many engineers, bass reflex has been superceded by the vented port idea: air suspension is now more commonly called acoustic suspension.
Commenting on some of these trends, Ouvrier and Janes point out that the four bookshelf models and the more recently introduced floor standing units in the Marantz line go from $59 to $500, while the four Superscope models just barely overlap and go down in price point to $22.
Speaker manufacturers are now using new techniques, new cementing, new materials to achieve the goal that has existed for years-a lot of speaker power in a smaller area. Even cement is very important.
"Just the normal, regular cement of a few years ago will no longer hold these junctions with the higher powered amplifiers we're using.
What you need now is new cements, new kinds of materials, new cone material in order to take the tremendous pressure you're putting on these cones.
On the subject of quadrasonic,
"Any musical instrument has a totally omni-360 degree sound. No musical instrument ever sounds like it's coming out of a tunnel or a port.
"Now the closest thing to a 360-degree transducer is a pulsating sphere, and the thing is you can't have a pulsating sphere so the closest to that is a pulsating hemisphere and the closest thing to that right now, we feel, is the dome.
"Now with a horn you are limited because a horn tends to beam in certain frequencies and not in others, depending on the angle in which you have the horn. And if you go up to something multicellular, which some manufacturers have, it makes it gargantuan inside and horribly expensive for a consumer.
"We're making speaker systems that have the optimum dispersion possible. Some people may say that they feel for quad you have to have a lot of dispersion. I think in a way that they're trying to get out of a problem, because you tell me one instrument that doesn't have a 360-degree dispersion when it's playing-even a trumpet.
As for transducers, Janes says he feels many people are using the term more for one of two reasons. "One reason is to distinguish from the loudspeaker, or speaker box itself, including a transducer. The other is that it's a nice, space-age sounding term- but it does go back to the first dictionary every printed.”
As for controls outside, "We're not really interested in gimmicks. There are some systems that warrant more specific controls. The more complex the system the more necessary it might be to give the consumer some variation, but not a whole lot.
"You don't want to change the character of the speaker you've designed. If you give someone infinite control over every transducer in the unit, then you can have a unit that can totally change the character and the intent of the speaker from what the engineer originally designed into the unit.
A lot of the terms relate to marketing gimmickry. "You have to separate the salesmen's enthusiasm and description of the product from good engineering design."
There has been a philosophical debate going on for some time between advocates of air or acoustic suspension speakers and advocates of bass reflex but now more popularly called vented enclosures.
Janes and Ouvrier state Superscope's basic philosophy is that it will make whatever sounds the best.
“I don't care whether it's small, big, large or whether it's air suspension, ported vented, labyrinth, Klipsch, whatever it might be, we'll make whatever sounds the best.
(Continued)
I'm finally perusing through this tread. I can see how Audio Fidelity, Dutton Vocalion, Rhino Records et al have really spoiled us. No clicks, no pops, no matrix decoding artifacts with separation beyond what was imaginable back then. And for those recordings where we still have to live with matrix vinyl, we've got Involve Audio.
And the cost per RMS watt of amplification on a constant dollar basis has come way down.
And the cost per RMS watt of amplification on a constant dollar basis has come way down.
September 7, 1974
SECRET IS OUT
Dozen Sansui QSs
Issued by Capitol
LOS ANGELES-
Capitol Records has quietly joined the rank of labels releasing quad product in the Sansui QS matrix system. Among a total of 12 albums released a little over a month ago without any notice was "The Dark Side Of The Moon" by Pink Floyd.
First indication of the quadrasonic release was in New York during the recent seventh annual International Radio Programming Forum. The album, bearing only a stereo label and no indication that it was quad, was demonstrated in a suite operated by Sansui.
A spokesman for Capitol said last week that the release consisted of remixed product: the spokesman was unaware that no announcement had been made or that the product bore "stereo" instead of "quadrasonic.”
Capitol previously released a few sampler albums in Columbia Records’ SQ matrix system.
A few weeks ago in an exclusive Billboard story, Ryosuke Ito, manager of product development for Sansui's QS 4-channel project, and Motohisa Miyake. director of merchandising development and industrial designing for Sansui, said that Sansui QS quad product was being released in the U.S. with only a stereo label.
Miyake felt that labels were doing this as protection and that they feared the matrix quad albums might not be compatible with existing stereo playback equipment. Miyake, of course, pointed out that a Sansui matrix LP is totally compatible.
SECRET IS OUT
Dozen Sansui QSs
Issued by Capitol
LOS ANGELES-
Capitol Records has quietly joined the rank of labels releasing quad product in the Sansui QS matrix system. Among a total of 12 albums released a little over a month ago without any notice was "The Dark Side Of The Moon" by Pink Floyd.
First indication of the quadrasonic release was in New York during the recent seventh annual International Radio Programming Forum. The album, bearing only a stereo label and no indication that it was quad, was demonstrated in a suite operated by Sansui.
A spokesman for Capitol said last week that the release consisted of remixed product: the spokesman was unaware that no announcement had been made or that the product bore "stereo" instead of "quadrasonic.”
Capitol previously released a few sampler albums in Columbia Records’ SQ matrix system.
A few weeks ago in an exclusive Billboard story, Ryosuke Ito, manager of product development for Sansui's QS 4-channel project, and Motohisa Miyake. director of merchandising development and industrial designing for Sansui, said that Sansui QS quad product was being released in the U.S. with only a stereo label.
Miyake felt that labels were doing this as protection and that they feared the matrix quad albums might not be compatible with existing stereo playback equipment. Miyake, of course, pointed out that a Sansui matrix LP is totally compatible.
September 14, 1974
Car Quadrasonic Booming In International Markets
By EARL PAIGE
LOS ANGELES -
Quadrasonic car stereo is going so well in certain international markets that distributors are claiming units are even being imported into China via junks operating out of Singapore.
Leading manufacturers involved in world markets are reporting a growing volume for 4-channel units; in some cases dramatic growth is being claimed.
Companies involved include Clarion, of course, which has recently stepped up its whole marketing posture with the determination of phasing out the Muntz name and building it as Clarion (Billboard, June 8).
There are others such as Motorola, which has important joint venture factories in Japan, the U.K. and Italy. Automatic Radio is yet another, with six operations around the globe.
Tracking worldwide trends in car stereo and in quadrasonic particularly is a fascinating job, according to Walter P. Semonoff, president, Automatic Radio International, a subsidiary of the long-established Melrose, Mass. manufacturer. With Zenith seven years before joining Automatic Radio 10 years ago, Semonoff says that quad is indeed selling at a fast rate in Southeast Asia. He will not disclose actual unit volume because of intense proprietary reasons, but offers several other factors.
First of all, it is not uncommon for Southeast Asia-if not wider areas of Asia-to jump on something new very quickly. Automatic Radio recently introduced a capacitive discharge electronic ignition system and was delighted to learn that distributors in Southeast Asia ordered units immediately.
"If something breaks in America and looks good, it will take off in Asia," Semonoff says. Another factor, at least in Asia, is that discrete is moving best. Automatic Radio does offer two matrix models at substantially lower prices, but Semonot says customers want the "real" thing. Automatic Radio's OME 2445 lists for $134.95 and plays discrete as well as ordinary 2-channel cartridges. It has many deluxe features but does not have radio.
The matrix models are SPC 5002 at $89.50 with straight 8 and SPE 5004 at $142.95 with FM stereo. They each have extra speaker wires and synthesize 4-channel from 2-channel tapes but will not play discrete 4-channel tapes.
Semonoff says if FM stereo is added to say the QME 2445, or any discrete player, it would increase the list price around $40.
Yet another factor about world market quad car stereo is that you can't pinpoint your demographics as easily as in America. "A coolie can spend as much for car stereo as the man who can afford to buy 10 units," says Semonoff. "I've seen wives in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam take the units out of the car and use them in the home. The market is really spread all over, it's not males 18-34 or something like in the U.S.
Intl Rise Noted In Car 'Q'
"I will say though that price is sharper in Asia than in Europe.
People shop more in Asia generally. Also, distribution is evolving much the same as in America with good dealers developing who can stand behind warranties and offer fast service."
Automatic Radio sells into Asia,
Europe and hopefully soon into Russia (Billboard, July 20) via import distributors. The company does, however, offer both the one-step factory name branded items and its new Rally two-step distributor brand. But there is at present no quad model available in the Rally line (it's being worked on).
Modifications are not critical in world market situations. Where there are six-volt automobiles, a simple converter is used. As for changing the language or lithographics on packaging, Semonoff says this has long since past. American packaging works just as well in Singapore as in Cincinnati.
One dramatic reverse trend in world markets is that in-dash quadrasonic is virtually a lost cause at this point. Basically the smaller cars rule out the larger in-dash silhouette.
Price is yet another no-no in-dash-wise.
In fact, Automatic Radio has yet to introduce in-dash quad into its domestic line except via the segmented market approach. That is, in-dash is being offered on a custom basis through Automatic Radio's expeditor new car dealer division, an operation that has been in existence about six years and which is grow. ing, Semonoff claims. He says an in-dash 4-channel system could run as much as $500 list.
Otherwise, Automatic Radio does offer the in-dash UPX 2354 at $149.95 in a universal design with swing-away radio dial (the 8-track slot is hidden by the dial if the tape player is idle). A comparable model factory-installed would be $289 list, Semonoff says. The firm also offers a more deluxe in-dash (OMN 2350) at $210.95.
Other contrasts in world market car quadrasonic include speaker selection and installation factors.
Semonoff says there is a definite trend to better grade speakers.
Along with this trend is the complete lack of interest in packaged units, i.e., player and speaker combined.
"People want to have the choice of going out to find a 6x9 or round speaker or one of top quality.
"As for installation, this is a mixed bag. With Datsun, Fiat, Toyota and smaller cars, there is a trend to a pair of box speakers in the rear and two door-mounted speakers, but some installations are being seen with the two front speakers under the seat. In the larger cars, the Opel, Mercedes Benz and so on, you will see the 6x9 and 5x7 and basically larger speakers.”
Overall, the complete features of units such as Automatic Radio's QME 2445 are what makes discrete car quad exciting, Semonoff believes. The unit incorporates such features as four individual amplifier controls, plus a master control, and a fine tuning control for the heads.
Semonoff stresses this feature because of the danger in quad of non-alignment. There are tone control, 80 watts (20x4 channels), channel control pushbutton, program repeat button and, finally, 2-4-channel compatibility.
The one outstandingly curious factor in analyzing quadrasonic car stereo on the world market is the cassette situation. Semonoff claims cassette in cars is taking off surprisingly fast.
He cites ratios such as 5,000 units in 8-track a few years ago versus sales only in the hundreds of units now-while cassette is running in the 5,000 range. This is the kind of action he is claiming in Scandinavia.
Switzerland is running 60/40 in favor of 8-track. It varies from country to country. In the BeNeLux, right in the backyard of Philips which invented the cassette configuration, 8-track is booming, Semonoff claims.
In the U.K., 8-track is very strong.
With all this build-up for cassettes, what about the general absence of a quad cassette? Semonoff says there is no contradiction here.
"Let's face it, the United States dominates the music business. When and if RCA, Columbia and the other giants produce quadrasonic cassettes, there will be a market for the players in America and in the world market."
Car Quadrasonic Booming In International Markets
By EARL PAIGE
LOS ANGELES -
Quadrasonic car stereo is going so well in certain international markets that distributors are claiming units are even being imported into China via junks operating out of Singapore.
Leading manufacturers involved in world markets are reporting a growing volume for 4-channel units; in some cases dramatic growth is being claimed.
Companies involved include Clarion, of course, which has recently stepped up its whole marketing posture with the determination of phasing out the Muntz name and building it as Clarion (Billboard, June 8).
There are others such as Motorola, which has important joint venture factories in Japan, the U.K. and Italy. Automatic Radio is yet another, with six operations around the globe.
Tracking worldwide trends in car stereo and in quadrasonic particularly is a fascinating job, according to Walter P. Semonoff, president, Automatic Radio International, a subsidiary of the long-established Melrose, Mass. manufacturer. With Zenith seven years before joining Automatic Radio 10 years ago, Semonoff says that quad is indeed selling at a fast rate in Southeast Asia. He will not disclose actual unit volume because of intense proprietary reasons, but offers several other factors.
First of all, it is not uncommon for Southeast Asia-if not wider areas of Asia-to jump on something new very quickly. Automatic Radio recently introduced a capacitive discharge electronic ignition system and was delighted to learn that distributors in Southeast Asia ordered units immediately.
"If something breaks in America and looks good, it will take off in Asia," Semonoff says. Another factor, at least in Asia, is that discrete is moving best. Automatic Radio does offer two matrix models at substantially lower prices, but Semonot says customers want the "real" thing. Automatic Radio's OME 2445 lists for $134.95 and plays discrete as well as ordinary 2-channel cartridges. It has many deluxe features but does not have radio.
The matrix models are SPC 5002 at $89.50 with straight 8 and SPE 5004 at $142.95 with FM stereo. They each have extra speaker wires and synthesize 4-channel from 2-channel tapes but will not play discrete 4-channel tapes.
Semonoff says if FM stereo is added to say the QME 2445, or any discrete player, it would increase the list price around $40.
Yet another factor about world market quad car stereo is that you can't pinpoint your demographics as easily as in America. "A coolie can spend as much for car stereo as the man who can afford to buy 10 units," says Semonoff. "I've seen wives in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam take the units out of the car and use them in the home. The market is really spread all over, it's not males 18-34 or something like in the U.S.
Intl Rise Noted In Car 'Q'
"I will say though that price is sharper in Asia than in Europe.
People shop more in Asia generally. Also, distribution is evolving much the same as in America with good dealers developing who can stand behind warranties and offer fast service."
Automatic Radio sells into Asia,
Europe and hopefully soon into Russia (Billboard, July 20) via import distributors. The company does, however, offer both the one-step factory name branded items and its new Rally two-step distributor brand. But there is at present no quad model available in the Rally line (it's being worked on).
Modifications are not critical in world market situations. Where there are six-volt automobiles, a simple converter is used. As for changing the language or lithographics on packaging, Semonoff says this has long since past. American packaging works just as well in Singapore as in Cincinnati.
One dramatic reverse trend in world markets is that in-dash quadrasonic is virtually a lost cause at this point. Basically the smaller cars rule out the larger in-dash silhouette.
Price is yet another no-no in-dash-wise.
In fact, Automatic Radio has yet to introduce in-dash quad into its domestic line except via the segmented market approach. That is, in-dash is being offered on a custom basis through Automatic Radio's expeditor new car dealer division, an operation that has been in existence about six years and which is grow. ing, Semonoff claims. He says an in-dash 4-channel system could run as much as $500 list.
Otherwise, Automatic Radio does offer the in-dash UPX 2354 at $149.95 in a universal design with swing-away radio dial (the 8-track slot is hidden by the dial if the tape player is idle). A comparable model factory-installed would be $289 list, Semonoff says. The firm also offers a more deluxe in-dash (OMN 2350) at $210.95.
Other contrasts in world market car quadrasonic include speaker selection and installation factors.
Semonoff says there is a definite trend to better grade speakers.
Along with this trend is the complete lack of interest in packaged units, i.e., player and speaker combined.
"People want to have the choice of going out to find a 6x9 or round speaker or one of top quality.
"As for installation, this is a mixed bag. With Datsun, Fiat, Toyota and smaller cars, there is a trend to a pair of box speakers in the rear and two door-mounted speakers, but some installations are being seen with the two front speakers under the seat. In the larger cars, the Opel, Mercedes Benz and so on, you will see the 6x9 and 5x7 and basically larger speakers.”
Overall, the complete features of units such as Automatic Radio's QME 2445 are what makes discrete car quad exciting, Semonoff believes. The unit incorporates such features as four individual amplifier controls, plus a master control, and a fine tuning control for the heads.
Semonoff stresses this feature because of the danger in quad of non-alignment. There are tone control, 80 watts (20x4 channels), channel control pushbutton, program repeat button and, finally, 2-4-channel compatibility.
The one outstandingly curious factor in analyzing quadrasonic car stereo on the world market is the cassette situation. Semonoff claims cassette in cars is taking off surprisingly fast.
He cites ratios such as 5,000 units in 8-track a few years ago versus sales only in the hundreds of units now-while cassette is running in the 5,000 range. This is the kind of action he is claiming in Scandinavia.
Switzerland is running 60/40 in favor of 8-track. It varies from country to country. In the BeNeLux, right in the backyard of Philips which invented the cassette configuration, 8-track is booming, Semonoff claims.
In the U.K., 8-track is very strong.
With all this build-up for cassettes, what about the general absence of a quad cassette? Semonoff says there is no contradiction here.
"Let's face it, the United States dominates the music business. When and if RCA, Columbia and the other giants produce quadrasonic cassettes, there will be a market for the players in America and in the world market."
September 14, 1974
'Q' Sound Far Ahead
In Japan and U.S.
LOS ANGELES
Quadrasonic sound on an international scope seems to have two strong supporters:
Japan and the United States.
The rest of the world is far behind in terms of enthusiasm, product availability and any market concentration or penetration.
Canada, seems to be an SQ oriented country, with the CD-4 discrete interests aggressively promoting their system, but a lack of disks in both systems is felt by retailers.
Japan remains the world's leading quad nation, with its involvement with disks dating back to 1971.
In the U.S. equipment manufacturers expect hardware sales to exceed $100 million.
"Q' International
Market Reports
To assess the market penetration of 4-channel sound, Billboard asked its international correspondents to survey their markets.
What follows are their reports.
Japan
More releases of quad records and more items of 4-channel sound equipment are being made in Japan than anywhere else in the world. All new albums from CBS/Sony are quad and, CD-4 proponents predict, all disks will be discrete 4-channel in this melting pot of the world's music in 1984, if not before.
Anyway, statistics show that up to 14 record manufacturers in Japan have made over 1,000 quad releases in all during the three years since Nihon Victor's June 1971 release of the world's first CD-4 compatible (with stereo) discrete Quadradisc.
This year the Japanese electric appliance manufacturers, several of them parent companies of the record makers, are out to sell at least 900.000 home stereo ensembles compatible with 4-channel disks. And sales may total 1.4 million sets if the hifi stereo component manufacturers find it's still worthwhile competing against Japan's electrical giants in the general consumer market instead of catering to the millions of Japanese "audio maniacs."
As far as the Japanese public is concerned the "battle of Q” ended in April 1972 when the Electronic Industries Assn. of Japan (EIA-J) announced its adoption of the CD-4 "compatible" discrete 4-channel disk system, the so-called RM (regular matrix) and the SQ (stereo quadraphonic) system.
The Japan Phonograph Record Assn. (JPRA) adopted CD-4 in December 1971, RM in March 1972 and SQ a month later. The three systems also come under the Japan Industrial Standard (JIS) and its hallmark of quality is stamped on all quad disks manufactured in this country.
Thus, to all outward appearances, the three systems coexist in peace, with CD-4, SQ and RM disks mixed together more often than not in the 4-channel record bins at thousands of music stores throughout the islands of Japan.
It appears that the most active quad record manufacturer in the second quarter of this year is Victor Musical Industries, JVC's software subsidiary, with 39 CD-4 album releases under the RCA, Motown and Milestone besides its Globe world group label including Durium. At the same time, CBS/Sony is believed to have released up to 15 SQ records.
Under Hitachi's wing, Nippon Columbia will introduce UD-4 this fall, says Shigeru Watanabe, head of the record division's project team. Still under wraps in Japan, the discrete/matrix 4-channel system has been developed jointly by Dr. Duane H. Cooper of Illinois University and Nippon Columbia engineers. As shown to Billboard, the system requires a demodulator (not compatible with CD-4) and a 4-channel cartridge with Shibata stylus for optimum discrete reproduction.
Nippon Columbia's UD-4 records, set for demonstration at the 23d AlI Japan Audio Fair in Tokyo, Nov. 6-10, will retail for the same price as CD-4 quadradisks.
Following upward adjustments made from the end of last year, the retail price of a CD-4 Quad-radisc with artists and repertoire of international origin is about $8.93. Some instrumental CD-4 albums with music of Japanese origin retail for about $7.86.
The retail price of an SQ record is $8.21, an RM album with international a&r is $7.86 and Japanese $7.14.
Retail prices of home stereo sets also were raised by all Japanese manufacturers at the time of the oil crisis last year-end. However, JVC and Pioneer, among others, are trying to hold the price of a standard compatible stereo ensemble to just over $570. Technically speaking, compatible stereo sets by JVC and its parent company, Matsushita Panasonic do not include a Sony full logic decoder for SQ records.
Likewise, home stereo ensembles by Sony do not have a built in CD-4 demodulator, but connections are provided. Four-channel models with built-in CD-4/SQ/RM compatibility are being offered by Hitachi, Nippon Columbia, On-kyo (a Toshiba subsidiary), Pioneer, Sanyo, Sharp, Toshiba and Trio.
Discrete 4-channel cassettes are expected to hit the market late this year or early next probably from Nihon Victor (VMI).
Still under wraps are 4-channel cassette tape decks by Aiwa, Hitachi, Matsushita and Sony, but JVC will more than likely market the first model this fall in the U.S., rather than Japan.
Indeed, Japan is the arsenal of audio, but the U.S. still calls the shots.
United States
To most consumers and retailers earnestly following the long and heated debates over 4-channel music--matrix vs. discrete--one word best sums up their feelings: Phooey! The reason:
Consumers are buying quad and forgetting about systems claims.
One of the most depressing difficulties to consumers and retailers alike has been the sharply conflicting testimony of record company experts over the merits and conclusions of each system.
As usual, there are pressures in both direc tions, and the conflicts are usually complex and forceful. On one side, there are pleas from CBS on the merits of its matrix system, while on the other side, RCA and WEA are shouting the values of their discrete concept.
There are, to be sure, wide differences between the two camps. And the road to resolving them may be long and rocky. But the bitter struggle for influence creates potentially explosive issues at retail double inventory--and in the marketplace-consmer confusion.
Consumers, however, are watching the dispute with mild interest and one thought in mind,
"While they argue, I'II buy. My ear can't tell the difference, anyway."
So while record companies are tossing raspberries at each other, consumers are buying 4-channel music, both on disk and on 8-track and open reel tapes.
In the tape format alone, consumers spent $12 million last year buying quad music, a substantial increase from 1972 when they spent $6 million
Even if consumers decide they really like the quad concept, though, they still have plenty of problems awaiting them. There aren't many disks or tapes on the market yet to rival stereo choices, and music recorded for one 4-channel concept (discrete) can't be played on the equipment of the other (matrix).
Moreover, equipment manufacturers are developing two different electronic systems for producing the 4-channel sound,
Most equipment producers don't care which system gains the upper hand. Their concern is merely to "sell quadrasonic, in any format." To manufacturers, the battle between advocates of discrete and matrix systems merely gets in the way of the only objective: convince consumers that quad music is better than stereo.
With all the claims and counterclaims about whether matrix or discrete is better, customers are just going to throw up their hands in disgust and not buy anything, reason most manufacturers.
While most purists contend the discrete approach gives the best sound reproduction, the
"other” system--matrix--is less costly to manufacture and it won't obsolete all the inventories of records and prerecorded tapes.
In the automotive field, quad soon will be available in factory installed 1976 Ford models as an 8-track unit, probably integrated with 4-channel radio receivers equipped with decoders to handle discrete as well as matrix broadcasts.
In the automotive aftermarket, about 2 percent of the systems installed last year were 4-channel, a figure that's expected to jump dramatically this year.
Equipment manufacturers expect 4-channel components to account for over $100 million in sales this year in some quad format, either discrete, Sansui's QS or the CBS SQ. The equipment market breaks down this way: About 90 percent of the 4-channel receivers sold and approximately 75 percent of the decoders sold incorporate some sort of SQ decoder.
While it is difficult to obtain discrete software figures, CBS has stated it reported sales of $6 million in SQ records and tapes last year, with production geared for a 35 percent increase in 1974. CBS also reports it has sold about two million SQ units to date.
As business continues to slowly recover from a slow start, much of the gains are through the momentum of 4-channel.
While most retailers believe the business recovery will be gradual as the remainder of 1974 unfolds, they also maintain that 4-channel will provide a necessary push for sales.
Software producers and equipment manufacturers are spending promotional dollars to give the fall season a 4-channel look. But it's at the dealer level--the grassroots plateau--where the concept will spurt or sputter.
Retailers agree, however, that the consumer is becoming more familiar with quadrasonic, and with methods of demonstrating 4-channel fairly well set, the final four to six months of 1974 should prove a healthy one for sales.
Canada
Heavy promotion on CD-4 systems, a dismal lack of discrete disks to play on the equipment contrasted by the availability of SQ disks--tells the story of 4-channel sound in Canada today.
All of the 4-channel disks available here are imported from either the U.S. or Japan. None are manufactured here. JVC, the developer of the discrete system, concerned with the lack of CD-4 disks in Canada, has begun importing them from Japan and selling them through their dealers.
Of the two companies committed to the Quadradisc, WEA and RCA, only RCA has made any significant number of discrete disks available in Canada. There are 38 4-channel records from RCA in this country including product from Hugo Montenegro, Henry Mancini, Danny Davis and the Nashville Brass, Elvis Presley, Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Guess Who.
There are no WEA Ouadradiscs available in Canada at the moment but according to Mike Reed, WEA Canada's merchandising manager, the company is looking into the costing factors involved in bringing CD-4 disks to Canada.
John Chan, the owner of the Four-Channel Centre in Toronto that sells only quad systems, admits that "CD-4 is in pretty bad shape" because of the limited number of record selections.
He is currently importing JVC disks into Canada from Japan for sale in his store.
Sam Sniderman, head of the Sam the Record Man chain in Canada, indicates that the sale of quad records in general in his stores is infinitesimal. "If we had to employ one man to stand in each store and sell quad disks, we'd lose money," says Sniderman.
"It's all very embarrassing for the equipment manufacturers. I'm sure," continues Sniderman. "It's like buying an expensive car and finding out that there is no gas to put into it." It was supposed, and in some cases even promised, that the price of quad disks would be very close to the price of stereo LPs. As it stands now, most of the 4-channel recordings list at $8.29, one dollar more than stereo albums which have a list price of $7.29.
Lorne Lichtman, the manager of the Scarborough branch of the Music World chain of record stores, reveals another pitfall in dealing with 4-channel disks as far as record retailers are concerned. Says Lichtman: "No returns are allowed on quad imported albums and because of this the retailers in this country are starting to take a second look at the advisability of dealing with 4-channel product until the record companies in this country start to show that they really believe in quad records by manufacturing them here or by importing them in greater quantities so that the consumer can feel a little more secure about getting product to play on their 4-channel systems."
Ovation and Project 3, both imported and distributed in Canada by London Records, release everything in quad and most of it is made available by London in this country. RCA, with its 38 titles, leads and then comes Columbia; Vanguard, distributed by Capitol; A&M: London; and Pye, distributed by Phonodisc who have all released a limited number of 4-channel records. A poor showing considering that quad LPs have been discussed in the Canadian record industry for over four years.
A survey of opinion from the larger retail outlets for quad equipment in Canada reveals that the trend in Canada at the moment is towards the SQ system primarily because of the availability of software that can be played on that system.
John Arnold, manager of the Toronto branch of House of Stein, a division of Dyntron Inter. national Electronics Ltd., which also has outlets in Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton and Winnipeg, indicates that Sansui is its biggest selling line, especially the model QRX 300 receiver which lists at $670. Fisher is second in sales and Akai third.
Jerry Pinhorn, the purchasing agent for House of Stein based in Vancouver, states that the picture of sales on the West Coast is similar to Toronto. Sansui is the biggest seller with Akai second.
George Burt, the owner of Fairview Electronics, one of Toronto's largest hi fi outlets, states that only 1 percent of his stock is quad equipment. He has just constructed a quad listening room in the store which cost approximately $15.000. Burt reports respectable sales on Pioneer's model OX 949 which lists at $949 and the Marantz 4415 which lists at $599.
Tom Yager, the manager of Bay Bloor Radio, another of the larger Canadian hi fi equipment retail outlets, indicates that Pioneer's model 794 which lists at over $700 is a consistent seller at their Toronto based store.
England
The 4-channel ball has yet to start really rolling in Europe and with the economic problems now facing most European Economic Council
(EEC) countries, it will be surprising if there is any dramatic expansion of the quad market in the near future.
Both the hardware and software industries are still firmly convinced of the potential of 4-channel. Even the BBC has finally given its mark of approval with a much-acclaimed experimental quadraphonic broadcast which was networked last month.
However, all concerned now realize that on this side of the Atlantic, it is going to be a long time before the 4-channel market grows to any significant size. What little growth there is in the U.K. is expected to be slowed down still further by the looming economic crisis and political uncertainty. Audio equipment sales are already beginning to suffer and expensive 4-channel systems have been the first casualties.
On the software side, record and tape companies' 4-channel sales are as sluggish as ever and with the concept of quad still to break out into the mass as opposed to enthusiasts market, the economic recession expected here will again only stunt growth.
There were signs of movement on the quad tape front earlier this year--particularly in the automotive sector-but with cassette and cartridge sales generally not growing now at the rate they were, even this area of the 4-channel market is still limping along painfully slowly.
Confusion in the public's mind over which system to buy is still as great as ever and the one thing above everything else the U.K. market needs is one system to emerge as the clear favorite.
Such a development depends largely on the decision of Decca and the Polygram group which have both matrix and discrete systems, to back the same system and thus bring standardization to the market.
The only indication so far of which format Philips/Polygram could favor came earlier this year when it was disclosed that the Philips hardware division in Eindhoven had signed a licensing agreement with CBS to manufacture SQ equipment.
However, Steve Gottlieb, chairman of Polygram U.K., immediately denied that Polydor or Phonogram would start releasing SQ albums.
Under the licensing agreement with CBS, Philips plans to introduce its first SQ model in September or October of this year. The unit will be a combined tuner/record deck with built.in 4-channel pre-amplifier and decoder and further SQ units will be introduced next year.
Among British hardware manufacturers already producing SQ equipment are Thorn, Garrard, Laskys, Connaught Equipment and Rogers Electronics.
Decca also confirms it has yet to make a decision. The company's technical director, Arthur Haddy, says: "We are not ready to move into the 4-channel record market yet. It is developing very slowly-sales of the few 4-channel cartridges we have released have been disappointing."
RCA and WEA are committed to the CD-4 dis.crete system while EMI is backing CBS with SQ.
This means that if Decca, Phonogram and Polydor were to put their weight jointly behind one of these two systems, it would firmly swing the balance in favor of the chosen system.
Pye is currently releasing some quad product using the Sansui QS matrix format but it seems likely that if either SQ or CD-4 was to emerge as a firm favorite, Pye would change accordingly.
It is now two years since the first 4-channel equipment and product was made available but everyone admits progress has been very slow.
With 4-channel record and tapes priced by most companies at rather more than their stereo equivalents--around $6 for records and $7.50 for tapes-and with consumers having to pay about $1,200 for an average 4-channel system, the outlook for quad, in the short-term at any rate, is not promising.
France
"It took stereo 15 years to establish itself in France. Maybe in 20 years time 4-channel will also be established."
This is the rather grey view of Gerhard Lerner who directs the Barclay Hoche Studios. He is quite sure it is going to be a hard and particularly long pull.
His view is a little special. He is 'sold' on CD-4 which is discrete and this means spending a lot of money. A cutter, he says, costs about $100,000.
On the other hand the QS and SQ systems, both Matrix, do not make this demand but for Lerner this is not real quad.
Barclay has released one SQ record and other houses have released a few. But there has been no promotion and no education so it is quite impossible to gauge public reaction at this stage.
JVC, Sansui and CBS are waiting in the wings but no one is going to make headway until the industry opts firmly for one system.
At the most, 10 studios might be equipped.
Europa, Sonore, Philips and Barclay are already but the real investment is being held up while minds are being made up, and it is going to be a long job.
West Germany
For two years some German record firms have been selling 4-channel records. WEA and RCA have the CD-4 system, CBS and EMI-Electrola the SQ-system. WEA and RCA have recently started a common marketing campaign for quad records with a catalog of 80 LPs, all imports from the USA.
RCA founded a hardware company for quad equipment 'RCA Electronics' in Frankfurt on June 24. CBS has 20 albums on the SQ-system, EMI-Electrola 50 LPs including 30 classic albums.
In Germany 10 hardware companies are offering quad equipment, among them Grundig.
Nordmende, Braun, Telefunken, Dual and Elac.
A good 4-channel system costs about 4,500 marks.
The record retailers are very reserved, because hardware is very rare. They feel 4-channel has little chance.
RCA-marketing-manager Clemens Krauss notes: "We hope that the record retailer will support us on quad records. Many retailers have special quad corners, so many customers looking for records see only the stereo album, but not the new system. Now the four German quad firms want the retailers to display 4-channel LPs with normal LPs.
Werner Klose of DGG, who knows the marketing situation is very skeptical: "For the next few years quad will be the poor relations of all German music activities.”
Ireland
Quad sound is still very much in its early stages in Ireland.
Notes Michael Geoghegan, chairman of the recorded music industries of Ireland: "My concern would be to see the overall record player's popularity increasing, so that there would be a fairly good record player in every house, rather than to see a big increase in expensive equipment for the relatively rich.
"I would think quad is still in the status symbol category. People already have either 4 or 8-track, also a stereo record player, so who can afford a third system?"
So far, there has been no indication of an in. dustry launch for quad.
John Woods of Polydor notes there are only about half a dozen retail outlets in the country for 4-channel hardware. "Nobody specializes in it in Dublin, to my knowledge."
There are very few records available from only two or three of the majors, including CBS and Pye.
Noel Shannon, Southern representative of Irish Record Factors, says that, "Basically, quad is at a stage where stereo was in 1960."
Sweden
Four-channel was first introduced in Sweden in the spring of 1970 with the introduction of the Sansui QS-system equipment. In the spring of 1971 JVC's CD-4 equipment was presented here by Rydin Elektroaukustik AB, and in the fall of
1972 Sony introduced its SQ system.
The big breakthrough has not yet happened here and 4-channel didn't get any real promotion here until last fall, when a big sound expo was held in Stockholm where for the first time 4-channel was introduced to a wide audience.
Right now there are about 25 different kinds of quad equipment available on the market-mainly of Japanese origin. European-made equipment is expected to be on the market later this year.
There are about 3,000 quad receivers sold here, with about half of them being CD-4. The receivers with the three major systems are the most popular. The average retail price for a basic 4-channel system is $750-$900 which is somewhat more than an equivalent stereo equipment.
Since January, audio industry sales have gone steadily up but 4-channel had a poor winter, mainly due to decreases of releases caused by the PVC shortage.
The situation is improving now and more equipment and more records are becoming available. CBS-CUPOI has so far released about
100 SQ albums, Metronome which represents WEA here has so far released almost everything available from the U.S. Electra RCA has released about 50 CD-4 albums, and EMI about 30 SQ al-bums. The average price on quad albums is about 50 cents more than a full price album. Average sale is about 50-100 copies per title.
The overall picture is that the Swedish market, both on the hardware and software sides is too dependent on the American and Japanese markets.
Denmark
The 4-channel scene is very small here. The record companies Metronome and RCA have combined their catalogs to promote their few records. Normally Metronome and RCA do not work together on promotion. All quad equipment is available in Denmark except the QS-system from Sansui because records in that system are not available. The Fona retail chain with 44 shops all over Denmark has CD-4 and SQ in stock.
About 50 records have been released by BASF, RCA, EMI and CBS. Only Phonogram Polydor does not release quad records. At a general meeting for dealers in Denmark, managing director Erick Toft of Ortofon-Pioneer said the market for quad sound will reach Denmark in 1978.
A market analysis indicates that the people who are going to spend money on quad are students between 16 and 25.
Austria
Four-channel music has been available in Austria for two and a half years, mainly in discrete and CBS-Sony systems. CBS was the first company in the field, followed by Ariola, Pye and Electrola with classical recordings.
The cost of quad albums varies between $9 and $10.30, with quad cartridges retailing at $10.80.
The first hardware companies marketing quad equipment were Japanese, including Sansui, Pioneer, Nivico and Sony, but since that time, three years ago, most German manufacturers have put equipment on the market. Most companies in Austria have chosen the CBS-Sony system.
The market is still very small owing to the high cost of hardware, but the growing importance of quad is reflected in RCA and WEA's plan to start releasing quad albums on the Austrian market this autumn.
Finland
Four channel systems, both matrix and discrete have been available in Finland's retail trade for two years. Helsinki's International Trade Fair of Consumer Goods, held in the fall of 1972, was the first real attempt to introduce quad sound in this country. Importers/wholesalers of 4-channel hardware constructed their own on the spot studios and listening booths to catch an ear or two, but the immediate effect of this new sound was more pale than bright.
Business today is still in its infancy. Between 2,000-5,000 4-channel outfits have been sold.
It's safe to say that 4-channel will remain in the shadow for a good many years. In fact, it may experience the same black fate as stereo 8-track now virtually vanishing from the market.
The time perhaps isn't right for the breakthrough of 4-channel. Finland is usually many months behind its western neighbor Sweden in accepting new trends.
Czechoslovakia
No 4-channel equipment is on public market here and no 4 channel disks are pressed. Supraphon is currently recording in 4-channel, but the tapes are only leased to other companies abroad and in this country they are released in stereo.
Billboard correspondents participating in this international quad report include: Hideo Eguchi, Japan; Marty Melhuish, Canada; Mike Hennessey, England; Henry Kahn, France; Wolf. gang Spahn, West Germany; Ken Stewart, Ireland; Leif Schulman, Sweden;
Knud Orsted, Denmark; Manfred Schreiber, Austria; Kari Helopaltio, Finland and Lubomir Doruska, Czechoslovakia.
'Q' Sound Far Ahead
In Japan and U.S.
LOS ANGELES
Quadrasonic sound on an international scope seems to have two strong supporters:
Japan and the United States.
The rest of the world is far behind in terms of enthusiasm, product availability and any market concentration or penetration.
Canada, seems to be an SQ oriented country, with the CD-4 discrete interests aggressively promoting their system, but a lack of disks in both systems is felt by retailers.
Japan remains the world's leading quad nation, with its involvement with disks dating back to 1971.
In the U.S. equipment manufacturers expect hardware sales to exceed $100 million.
"Q' International
Market Reports
To assess the market penetration of 4-channel sound, Billboard asked its international correspondents to survey their markets.
What follows are their reports.
Japan
More releases of quad records and more items of 4-channel sound equipment are being made in Japan than anywhere else in the world. All new albums from CBS/Sony are quad and, CD-4 proponents predict, all disks will be discrete 4-channel in this melting pot of the world's music in 1984, if not before.
Anyway, statistics show that up to 14 record manufacturers in Japan have made over 1,000 quad releases in all during the three years since Nihon Victor's June 1971 release of the world's first CD-4 compatible (with stereo) discrete Quadradisc.
This year the Japanese electric appliance manufacturers, several of them parent companies of the record makers, are out to sell at least 900.000 home stereo ensembles compatible with 4-channel disks. And sales may total 1.4 million sets if the hifi stereo component manufacturers find it's still worthwhile competing against Japan's electrical giants in the general consumer market instead of catering to the millions of Japanese "audio maniacs."
As far as the Japanese public is concerned the "battle of Q” ended in April 1972 when the Electronic Industries Assn. of Japan (EIA-J) announced its adoption of the CD-4 "compatible" discrete 4-channel disk system, the so-called RM (regular matrix) and the SQ (stereo quadraphonic) system.
The Japan Phonograph Record Assn. (JPRA) adopted CD-4 in December 1971, RM in March 1972 and SQ a month later. The three systems also come under the Japan Industrial Standard (JIS) and its hallmark of quality is stamped on all quad disks manufactured in this country.
Thus, to all outward appearances, the three systems coexist in peace, with CD-4, SQ and RM disks mixed together more often than not in the 4-channel record bins at thousands of music stores throughout the islands of Japan.
It appears that the most active quad record manufacturer in the second quarter of this year is Victor Musical Industries, JVC's software subsidiary, with 39 CD-4 album releases under the RCA, Motown and Milestone besides its Globe world group label including Durium. At the same time, CBS/Sony is believed to have released up to 15 SQ records.
Under Hitachi's wing, Nippon Columbia will introduce UD-4 this fall, says Shigeru Watanabe, head of the record division's project team. Still under wraps in Japan, the discrete/matrix 4-channel system has been developed jointly by Dr. Duane H. Cooper of Illinois University and Nippon Columbia engineers. As shown to Billboard, the system requires a demodulator (not compatible with CD-4) and a 4-channel cartridge with Shibata stylus for optimum discrete reproduction.
Nippon Columbia's UD-4 records, set for demonstration at the 23d AlI Japan Audio Fair in Tokyo, Nov. 6-10, will retail for the same price as CD-4 quadradisks.
Following upward adjustments made from the end of last year, the retail price of a CD-4 Quad-radisc with artists and repertoire of international origin is about $8.93. Some instrumental CD-4 albums with music of Japanese origin retail for about $7.86.
The retail price of an SQ record is $8.21, an RM album with international a&r is $7.86 and Japanese $7.14.
Retail prices of home stereo sets also were raised by all Japanese manufacturers at the time of the oil crisis last year-end. However, JVC and Pioneer, among others, are trying to hold the price of a standard compatible stereo ensemble to just over $570. Technically speaking, compatible stereo sets by JVC and its parent company, Matsushita Panasonic do not include a Sony full logic decoder for SQ records.
Likewise, home stereo ensembles by Sony do not have a built in CD-4 demodulator, but connections are provided. Four-channel models with built-in CD-4/SQ/RM compatibility are being offered by Hitachi, Nippon Columbia, On-kyo (a Toshiba subsidiary), Pioneer, Sanyo, Sharp, Toshiba and Trio.
Discrete 4-channel cassettes are expected to hit the market late this year or early next probably from Nihon Victor (VMI).
Still under wraps are 4-channel cassette tape decks by Aiwa, Hitachi, Matsushita and Sony, but JVC will more than likely market the first model this fall in the U.S., rather than Japan.
Indeed, Japan is the arsenal of audio, but the U.S. still calls the shots.
United States
To most consumers and retailers earnestly following the long and heated debates over 4-channel music--matrix vs. discrete--one word best sums up their feelings: Phooey! The reason:
Consumers are buying quad and forgetting about systems claims.
One of the most depressing difficulties to consumers and retailers alike has been the sharply conflicting testimony of record company experts over the merits and conclusions of each system.
As usual, there are pressures in both direc tions, and the conflicts are usually complex and forceful. On one side, there are pleas from CBS on the merits of its matrix system, while on the other side, RCA and WEA are shouting the values of their discrete concept.
There are, to be sure, wide differences between the two camps. And the road to resolving them may be long and rocky. But the bitter struggle for influence creates potentially explosive issues at retail double inventory--and in the marketplace-consmer confusion.
Consumers, however, are watching the dispute with mild interest and one thought in mind,
"While they argue, I'II buy. My ear can't tell the difference, anyway."
So while record companies are tossing raspberries at each other, consumers are buying 4-channel music, both on disk and on 8-track and open reel tapes.
In the tape format alone, consumers spent $12 million last year buying quad music, a substantial increase from 1972 when they spent $6 million
Even if consumers decide they really like the quad concept, though, they still have plenty of problems awaiting them. There aren't many disks or tapes on the market yet to rival stereo choices, and music recorded for one 4-channel concept (discrete) can't be played on the equipment of the other (matrix).
Moreover, equipment manufacturers are developing two different electronic systems for producing the 4-channel sound,
Most equipment producers don't care which system gains the upper hand. Their concern is merely to "sell quadrasonic, in any format." To manufacturers, the battle between advocates of discrete and matrix systems merely gets in the way of the only objective: convince consumers that quad music is better than stereo.
With all the claims and counterclaims about whether matrix or discrete is better, customers are just going to throw up their hands in disgust and not buy anything, reason most manufacturers.
While most purists contend the discrete approach gives the best sound reproduction, the
"other” system--matrix--is less costly to manufacture and it won't obsolete all the inventories of records and prerecorded tapes.
In the automotive field, quad soon will be available in factory installed 1976 Ford models as an 8-track unit, probably integrated with 4-channel radio receivers equipped with decoders to handle discrete as well as matrix broadcasts.
In the automotive aftermarket, about 2 percent of the systems installed last year were 4-channel, a figure that's expected to jump dramatically this year.
Equipment manufacturers expect 4-channel components to account for over $100 million in sales this year in some quad format, either discrete, Sansui's QS or the CBS SQ. The equipment market breaks down this way: About 90 percent of the 4-channel receivers sold and approximately 75 percent of the decoders sold incorporate some sort of SQ decoder.
While it is difficult to obtain discrete software figures, CBS has stated it reported sales of $6 million in SQ records and tapes last year, with production geared for a 35 percent increase in 1974. CBS also reports it has sold about two million SQ units to date.
As business continues to slowly recover from a slow start, much of the gains are through the momentum of 4-channel.
While most retailers believe the business recovery will be gradual as the remainder of 1974 unfolds, they also maintain that 4-channel will provide a necessary push for sales.
Software producers and equipment manufacturers are spending promotional dollars to give the fall season a 4-channel look. But it's at the dealer level--the grassroots plateau--where the concept will spurt or sputter.
Retailers agree, however, that the consumer is becoming more familiar with quadrasonic, and with methods of demonstrating 4-channel fairly well set, the final four to six months of 1974 should prove a healthy one for sales.
Canada
Heavy promotion on CD-4 systems, a dismal lack of discrete disks to play on the equipment contrasted by the availability of SQ disks--tells the story of 4-channel sound in Canada today.
All of the 4-channel disks available here are imported from either the U.S. or Japan. None are manufactured here. JVC, the developer of the discrete system, concerned with the lack of CD-4 disks in Canada, has begun importing them from Japan and selling them through their dealers.
Of the two companies committed to the Quadradisc, WEA and RCA, only RCA has made any significant number of discrete disks available in Canada. There are 38 4-channel records from RCA in this country including product from Hugo Montenegro, Henry Mancini, Danny Davis and the Nashville Brass, Elvis Presley, Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Guess Who.
There are no WEA Ouadradiscs available in Canada at the moment but according to Mike Reed, WEA Canada's merchandising manager, the company is looking into the costing factors involved in bringing CD-4 disks to Canada.
John Chan, the owner of the Four-Channel Centre in Toronto that sells only quad systems, admits that "CD-4 is in pretty bad shape" because of the limited number of record selections.
He is currently importing JVC disks into Canada from Japan for sale in his store.
Sam Sniderman, head of the Sam the Record Man chain in Canada, indicates that the sale of quad records in general in his stores is infinitesimal. "If we had to employ one man to stand in each store and sell quad disks, we'd lose money," says Sniderman.
"It's all very embarrassing for the equipment manufacturers. I'm sure," continues Sniderman. "It's like buying an expensive car and finding out that there is no gas to put into it." It was supposed, and in some cases even promised, that the price of quad disks would be very close to the price of stereo LPs. As it stands now, most of the 4-channel recordings list at $8.29, one dollar more than stereo albums which have a list price of $7.29.
Lorne Lichtman, the manager of the Scarborough branch of the Music World chain of record stores, reveals another pitfall in dealing with 4-channel disks as far as record retailers are concerned. Says Lichtman: "No returns are allowed on quad imported albums and because of this the retailers in this country are starting to take a second look at the advisability of dealing with 4-channel product until the record companies in this country start to show that they really believe in quad records by manufacturing them here or by importing them in greater quantities so that the consumer can feel a little more secure about getting product to play on their 4-channel systems."
Ovation and Project 3, both imported and distributed in Canada by London Records, release everything in quad and most of it is made available by London in this country. RCA, with its 38 titles, leads and then comes Columbia; Vanguard, distributed by Capitol; A&M: London; and Pye, distributed by Phonodisc who have all released a limited number of 4-channel records. A poor showing considering that quad LPs have been discussed in the Canadian record industry for over four years.
A survey of opinion from the larger retail outlets for quad equipment in Canada reveals that the trend in Canada at the moment is towards the SQ system primarily because of the availability of software that can be played on that system.
John Arnold, manager of the Toronto branch of House of Stein, a division of Dyntron Inter. national Electronics Ltd., which also has outlets in Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton and Winnipeg, indicates that Sansui is its biggest selling line, especially the model QRX 300 receiver which lists at $670. Fisher is second in sales and Akai third.
Jerry Pinhorn, the purchasing agent for House of Stein based in Vancouver, states that the picture of sales on the West Coast is similar to Toronto. Sansui is the biggest seller with Akai second.
George Burt, the owner of Fairview Electronics, one of Toronto's largest hi fi outlets, states that only 1 percent of his stock is quad equipment. He has just constructed a quad listening room in the store which cost approximately $15.000. Burt reports respectable sales on Pioneer's model OX 949 which lists at $949 and the Marantz 4415 which lists at $599.
Tom Yager, the manager of Bay Bloor Radio, another of the larger Canadian hi fi equipment retail outlets, indicates that Pioneer's model 794 which lists at over $700 is a consistent seller at their Toronto based store.
England
The 4-channel ball has yet to start really rolling in Europe and with the economic problems now facing most European Economic Council
(EEC) countries, it will be surprising if there is any dramatic expansion of the quad market in the near future.
Both the hardware and software industries are still firmly convinced of the potential of 4-channel. Even the BBC has finally given its mark of approval with a much-acclaimed experimental quadraphonic broadcast which was networked last month.
However, all concerned now realize that on this side of the Atlantic, it is going to be a long time before the 4-channel market grows to any significant size. What little growth there is in the U.K. is expected to be slowed down still further by the looming economic crisis and political uncertainty. Audio equipment sales are already beginning to suffer and expensive 4-channel systems have been the first casualties.
On the software side, record and tape companies' 4-channel sales are as sluggish as ever and with the concept of quad still to break out into the mass as opposed to enthusiasts market, the economic recession expected here will again only stunt growth.
There were signs of movement on the quad tape front earlier this year--particularly in the automotive sector-but with cassette and cartridge sales generally not growing now at the rate they were, even this area of the 4-channel market is still limping along painfully slowly.
Confusion in the public's mind over which system to buy is still as great as ever and the one thing above everything else the U.K. market needs is one system to emerge as the clear favorite.
Such a development depends largely on the decision of Decca and the Polygram group which have both matrix and discrete systems, to back the same system and thus bring standardization to the market.
The only indication so far of which format Philips/Polygram could favor came earlier this year when it was disclosed that the Philips hardware division in Eindhoven had signed a licensing agreement with CBS to manufacture SQ equipment.
However, Steve Gottlieb, chairman of Polygram U.K., immediately denied that Polydor or Phonogram would start releasing SQ albums.
Under the licensing agreement with CBS, Philips plans to introduce its first SQ model in September or October of this year. The unit will be a combined tuner/record deck with built.in 4-channel pre-amplifier and decoder and further SQ units will be introduced next year.
Among British hardware manufacturers already producing SQ equipment are Thorn, Garrard, Laskys, Connaught Equipment and Rogers Electronics.
Decca also confirms it has yet to make a decision. The company's technical director, Arthur Haddy, says: "We are not ready to move into the 4-channel record market yet. It is developing very slowly-sales of the few 4-channel cartridges we have released have been disappointing."
RCA and WEA are committed to the CD-4 dis.crete system while EMI is backing CBS with SQ.
This means that if Decca, Phonogram and Polydor were to put their weight jointly behind one of these two systems, it would firmly swing the balance in favor of the chosen system.
Pye is currently releasing some quad product using the Sansui QS matrix format but it seems likely that if either SQ or CD-4 was to emerge as a firm favorite, Pye would change accordingly.
It is now two years since the first 4-channel equipment and product was made available but everyone admits progress has been very slow.
With 4-channel record and tapes priced by most companies at rather more than their stereo equivalents--around $6 for records and $7.50 for tapes-and with consumers having to pay about $1,200 for an average 4-channel system, the outlook for quad, in the short-term at any rate, is not promising.
France
"It took stereo 15 years to establish itself in France. Maybe in 20 years time 4-channel will also be established."
This is the rather grey view of Gerhard Lerner who directs the Barclay Hoche Studios. He is quite sure it is going to be a hard and particularly long pull.
His view is a little special. He is 'sold' on CD-4 which is discrete and this means spending a lot of money. A cutter, he says, costs about $100,000.
On the other hand the QS and SQ systems, both Matrix, do not make this demand but for Lerner this is not real quad.
Barclay has released one SQ record and other houses have released a few. But there has been no promotion and no education so it is quite impossible to gauge public reaction at this stage.
JVC, Sansui and CBS are waiting in the wings but no one is going to make headway until the industry opts firmly for one system.
At the most, 10 studios might be equipped.
Europa, Sonore, Philips and Barclay are already but the real investment is being held up while minds are being made up, and it is going to be a long job.
West Germany
For two years some German record firms have been selling 4-channel records. WEA and RCA have the CD-4 system, CBS and EMI-Electrola the SQ-system. WEA and RCA have recently started a common marketing campaign for quad records with a catalog of 80 LPs, all imports from the USA.
RCA founded a hardware company for quad equipment 'RCA Electronics' in Frankfurt on June 24. CBS has 20 albums on the SQ-system, EMI-Electrola 50 LPs including 30 classic albums.
In Germany 10 hardware companies are offering quad equipment, among them Grundig.
Nordmende, Braun, Telefunken, Dual and Elac.
A good 4-channel system costs about 4,500 marks.
The record retailers are very reserved, because hardware is very rare. They feel 4-channel has little chance.
RCA-marketing-manager Clemens Krauss notes: "We hope that the record retailer will support us on quad records. Many retailers have special quad corners, so many customers looking for records see only the stereo album, but not the new system. Now the four German quad firms want the retailers to display 4-channel LPs with normal LPs.
Werner Klose of DGG, who knows the marketing situation is very skeptical: "For the next few years quad will be the poor relations of all German music activities.”
Ireland
Quad sound is still very much in its early stages in Ireland.
Notes Michael Geoghegan, chairman of the recorded music industries of Ireland: "My concern would be to see the overall record player's popularity increasing, so that there would be a fairly good record player in every house, rather than to see a big increase in expensive equipment for the relatively rich.
"I would think quad is still in the status symbol category. People already have either 4 or 8-track, also a stereo record player, so who can afford a third system?"
So far, there has been no indication of an in. dustry launch for quad.
John Woods of Polydor notes there are only about half a dozen retail outlets in the country for 4-channel hardware. "Nobody specializes in it in Dublin, to my knowledge."
There are very few records available from only two or three of the majors, including CBS and Pye.
Noel Shannon, Southern representative of Irish Record Factors, says that, "Basically, quad is at a stage where stereo was in 1960."
Sweden
Four-channel was first introduced in Sweden in the spring of 1970 with the introduction of the Sansui QS-system equipment. In the spring of 1971 JVC's CD-4 equipment was presented here by Rydin Elektroaukustik AB, and in the fall of
1972 Sony introduced its SQ system.
The big breakthrough has not yet happened here and 4-channel didn't get any real promotion here until last fall, when a big sound expo was held in Stockholm where for the first time 4-channel was introduced to a wide audience.
Right now there are about 25 different kinds of quad equipment available on the market-mainly of Japanese origin. European-made equipment is expected to be on the market later this year.
There are about 3,000 quad receivers sold here, with about half of them being CD-4. The receivers with the three major systems are the most popular. The average retail price for a basic 4-channel system is $750-$900 which is somewhat more than an equivalent stereo equipment.
Since January, audio industry sales have gone steadily up but 4-channel had a poor winter, mainly due to decreases of releases caused by the PVC shortage.
The situation is improving now and more equipment and more records are becoming available. CBS-CUPOI has so far released about
100 SQ albums, Metronome which represents WEA here has so far released almost everything available from the U.S. Electra RCA has released about 50 CD-4 albums, and EMI about 30 SQ al-bums. The average price on quad albums is about 50 cents more than a full price album. Average sale is about 50-100 copies per title.
The overall picture is that the Swedish market, both on the hardware and software sides is too dependent on the American and Japanese markets.
Denmark
The 4-channel scene is very small here. The record companies Metronome and RCA have combined their catalogs to promote their few records. Normally Metronome and RCA do not work together on promotion. All quad equipment is available in Denmark except the QS-system from Sansui because records in that system are not available. The Fona retail chain with 44 shops all over Denmark has CD-4 and SQ in stock.
About 50 records have been released by BASF, RCA, EMI and CBS. Only Phonogram Polydor does not release quad records. At a general meeting for dealers in Denmark, managing director Erick Toft of Ortofon-Pioneer said the market for quad sound will reach Denmark in 1978.
A market analysis indicates that the people who are going to spend money on quad are students between 16 and 25.
Austria
Four-channel music has been available in Austria for two and a half years, mainly in discrete and CBS-Sony systems. CBS was the first company in the field, followed by Ariola, Pye and Electrola with classical recordings.
The cost of quad albums varies between $9 and $10.30, with quad cartridges retailing at $10.80.
The first hardware companies marketing quad equipment were Japanese, including Sansui, Pioneer, Nivico and Sony, but since that time, three years ago, most German manufacturers have put equipment on the market. Most companies in Austria have chosen the CBS-Sony system.
The market is still very small owing to the high cost of hardware, but the growing importance of quad is reflected in RCA and WEA's plan to start releasing quad albums on the Austrian market this autumn.
Finland
Four channel systems, both matrix and discrete have been available in Finland's retail trade for two years. Helsinki's International Trade Fair of Consumer Goods, held in the fall of 1972, was the first real attempt to introduce quad sound in this country. Importers/wholesalers of 4-channel hardware constructed their own on the spot studios and listening booths to catch an ear or two, but the immediate effect of this new sound was more pale than bright.
Business today is still in its infancy. Between 2,000-5,000 4-channel outfits have been sold.
It's safe to say that 4-channel will remain in the shadow for a good many years. In fact, it may experience the same black fate as stereo 8-track now virtually vanishing from the market.
The time perhaps isn't right for the breakthrough of 4-channel. Finland is usually many months behind its western neighbor Sweden in accepting new trends.
Czechoslovakia
No 4-channel equipment is on public market here and no 4 channel disks are pressed. Supraphon is currently recording in 4-channel, but the tapes are only leased to other companies abroad and in this country they are released in stereo.
Billboard correspondents participating in this international quad report include: Hideo Eguchi, Japan; Marty Melhuish, Canada; Mike Hennessey, England; Henry Kahn, France; Wolf. gang Spahn, West Germany; Ken Stewart, Ireland; Leif Schulman, Sweden;
Knud Orsted, Denmark; Manfred Schreiber, Austria; Kari Helopaltio, Finland and Lubomir Doruska, Czechoslovakia.
^^^
Japan
...CD-4 proponents predict, all disks will be discrete 4-channel in this melting pot of the world's music in 1984, if not before.
Little did we know that matrix Dolby Surround would begin to take off in 1984 with the intro of VHS Hi-Fi (and some magazine articles re-explaining the Hafler/DynaQuad tech to get some semblance of Dolby Surround without spending much money).
Kirk Bayne
Japan
...CD-4 proponents predict, all disks will be discrete 4-channel in this melting pot of the world's music in 1984, if not before.
Little did we know that matrix Dolby Surround would begin to take off in 1984 with the intro of VHS Hi-Fi (and some magazine articles re-explaining the Hafler/DynaQuad tech to get some semblance of Dolby Surround without spending much money).
Kirk Bayne
September 14, 1974
Sonopress Offers CD-4 Cutting Facilities From West Germany
________________
(EDITORIAL NOTE: This Inside look at Sonopress, the first discrete quadrasonic CD-4 disk cutting center in Europe, is particularly timely as the Audio Engineering Society convenes in New York, where JVC will be demonstrating the latest CD-4 quad advances.)
________________
GUTERSLCH, GERMANY
Sonopress, the Bertelsmann group pressing plant and sister company of the record firm. Ariola, is offering CD-4 cutting facilities-the first in Eu-rope-following the installation last April of a Mark I JVC CD-4 lathe with a Neumann cutting head.
Says Sonopress president Uwe Swientek:
"We are inviting clients to use the plant for test cutting or both cutting and pressing. And through the Bertelsmann corporation we can also offer three mobile recording studios, sleeve design and manufacturing facilities, and distribution if necessary."
The pressing plant has a capacity of 90,000 albums daily and is already handling CD-4 test cutting and pressing for RCA and WEA, and making test cuts for EMI (Billboard, Aug. 24).
Swientek believes that more companies would commit themselves to the CD-4 system if they were aware of his company's custom facility in Europe and if they knew of the recent advances which had been made in developing the system.
Recording manager Mariusz Miller says that the CD-4 playing time is roughly the same as for stereo and the signal level only slightly lower. "Otherwise the system is perfectly compatible with stereo--most of the technical problems have been overcome.”
He admits CD-4 is being overtaken in Japan by the matrix SQ and QS systems, although there is an even balance in the U.S. But Miller feels that if the Polygram group in Germany settles for the CD-4 system, the rest of the German industry will follow suit.
Sonopress pressed its first CD-4 records just about a year ago, using lacquers cut in Japan.
Since April it has been using its own cutting equipment and the company is convinced in the light of its experience that the future of 4-channel lies with the CD-4 system.
It seems that the major criticism of the system as far as Deutsche Grammophon is concerned is that the "perfect playback" life is rather shorter than that of DGG's high quality stereo albums.
Miller doesn't consider this an insurmountable problem. Pressing, he says, is basically the same as for normal records and plating of the matrix only slightly more critical. The real problems arise at the cutting stage-and these have to be ironed out by the equipment manufacturer.
Apart from these difficulties there is an additional problem which Neuman and JVC is working on, of keeping the signals in phase.
But nonetheless Swientek remains strongly optimistic about CD-4 and claims that many record company executives who had had their faces firmly set against any kind of 4-channel sound have changed their minds within 15 minutes of hearing a cut from the Sonopress plant.
Sonopress Offers CD-4 Cutting Facilities From West Germany
________________
(EDITORIAL NOTE: This Inside look at Sonopress, the first discrete quadrasonic CD-4 disk cutting center in Europe, is particularly timely as the Audio Engineering Society convenes in New York, where JVC will be demonstrating the latest CD-4 quad advances.)
________________
GUTERSLCH, GERMANY
Sonopress, the Bertelsmann group pressing plant and sister company of the record firm. Ariola, is offering CD-4 cutting facilities-the first in Eu-rope-following the installation last April of a Mark I JVC CD-4 lathe with a Neumann cutting head.
Says Sonopress president Uwe Swientek:
"We are inviting clients to use the plant for test cutting or both cutting and pressing. And through the Bertelsmann corporation we can also offer three mobile recording studios, sleeve design and manufacturing facilities, and distribution if necessary."
The pressing plant has a capacity of 90,000 albums daily and is already handling CD-4 test cutting and pressing for RCA and WEA, and making test cuts for EMI (Billboard, Aug. 24).
Swientek believes that more companies would commit themselves to the CD-4 system if they were aware of his company's custom facility in Europe and if they knew of the recent advances which had been made in developing the system.
Recording manager Mariusz Miller says that the CD-4 playing time is roughly the same as for stereo and the signal level only slightly lower. "Otherwise the system is perfectly compatible with stereo--most of the technical problems have been overcome.”
He admits CD-4 is being overtaken in Japan by the matrix SQ and QS systems, although there is an even balance in the U.S. But Miller feels that if the Polygram group in Germany settles for the CD-4 system, the rest of the German industry will follow suit.
Sonopress pressed its first CD-4 records just about a year ago, using lacquers cut in Japan.
Since April it has been using its own cutting equipment and the company is convinced in the light of its experience that the future of 4-channel lies with the CD-4 system.
It seems that the major criticism of the system as far as Deutsche Grammophon is concerned is that the "perfect playback" life is rather shorter than that of DGG's high quality stereo albums.
Miller doesn't consider this an insurmountable problem. Pressing, he says, is basically the same as for normal records and plating of the matrix only slightly more critical. The real problems arise at the cutting stage-and these have to be ironed out by the equipment manufacturer.
Apart from these difficulties there is an additional problem which Neuman and JVC is working on, of keeping the signals in phase.
But nonetheless Swientek remains strongly optimistic about CD-4 and claims that many record company executives who had had their faces firmly set against any kind of 4-channel sound have changed their minds within 15 minutes of hearing a cut from the Sonopress plant.
Wait.
What? Really?
So this is saying that, not only are there some Capitol albums out there that are QS encoded, but that all (at least first pressings) of DSOTM are QS?
