New project ....what the hell is it?

[chucky3042]

I would have thought that anyone growing up during the Quad days would have a set of phones for the cool factor alone!

Why would you want to listen to a stereo mixdown? Quad phones do not sound like a mixdown! Why would anyone think that?

Although direction is sensed with both ears you can get some sense of direction with only one ear. The shape of the ear helps to contribute to that ability. It helps with the drivers placed horizontally as far apart as practicable.

It does not work, some test monkeys reported good surround but when asked to identify direction it was random

 

[par4ken]

It does not work, some test monkeys reported good surround but when asked to identify direction it was random

It does work, I have better hearing than those monkeys! You need the elongated style phones. These are my fave.

 

[par4ken]

There was a post here somewhere by Jon Fixler's grandson I believe he was going to share information and pictures about some of his Grandfathers inventions. I suggested that he should start a new thread he is IMHO one of the original Quad Gods! Sonic found a couple of patents in his name one was for a speaker intended to provide a convincing stereo effect from a single box. It contained multiple speakers some fed out of phase. I would think that was part of the thinking that also went into the Fixler effect headphones.

The "Quadramate" was the box that did the mixing/phase blending. Work on those phones (actually the Quadramate) also led to the EV-4 Stereo Four quad matrix system. The advertisement for the Fixler Effect Headphones gives the patent number. The patent shows the headphones with the specially placed drivers but nothing about the phase blending. I have never came across an actual pair but really would like to.

 

[barfle]

I would have thought that anyone growing up during the Quad days would have a set of phones for the cool factor alone!

Why would you want to listen to a stereo mixdown? Quad phones do not sound like a mixdown! Why would anyone think that?

Although direction is sensed with both ears you can get some sense of direction with only one ear. The shape of the ear helps to contribute to that ability. It helps with the drivers placed horizontally as far apart as practicable.

LOL! I was lucky to be able to afford ANY decent headphones in those days.

And, of course, I DID NOT want to listen to a stereo moxdown, and with two drivers in one earcup, that certainly appeared inevitable. Myybe there’s some frequency response change from the pinna, but seriously, the wavelength of the sound compared to the volume of the ear cup pretty much means that directionality won’t be very apparent, if at all.

 

[par4ken]

LOL! I was lucky to be able to afford ANY decent headphones in those days.

And, of course, I DID NOT want to listen to a stereo moxdown, and with two drivers in one earcup, that certainly appeared inevitable. Myybe there’s some frequency response change from the pinna, but seriously, the wavelength of the sound compared to the volume of the ear cup pretty much means that directionality won’t be very apparent, if at all.

I paid $20 for my first pair of unbranded stereo headphones and they didn't sound all that bad. The drivers looked like transistor radio speakers. Those phones sounded at least as good as the speakers in the Sears consolette that I was using at the time. A few years later I got the phones pictured. As I recall they cost $40, on sale from Muntz Stereo in Thunder Bay. They were advertised in the flyer, I think that my pair were the only ones that they had in stock. They sounded much better than my previous stereo pair.

As I said before phones don't image the same as speakers, but quadraphones don't sound anything like a mixdown! Big, richer, fuller! Directionality is audible but not extreme. Phones like the DR-163Q work the best. Actual Fixler phones likely work better still but I have never even seen a pair.

Koss phones do not work nearly as well. I seem to recall reading that they taylored (limited) the frequency response of the rear pair of drivers to trick the ear into thinking that the sound was coming from behind. Looking inside them, the drivers appear to all be the same. I never felt that tailoring frequency response was a good idea anyway.

Still even those Koss phones produce a bigger sound than plain stereo. Sorry Chucky about taking this thread so far off course.
Now back to our sponsor, If you want to hear extreme detail in a stereo mix use electrostatic phones!

 

[barfle]

I paid $20 for my first pair of unbranded stereo headphones and they didn't sound all that bad. The drivers looked like transistor radio speakers. Those phones sounded at least as good as the speakers in the Sears consolette that I was using at the time. A few years later I got the phones pictured. As I recall they cost $40, on sale from Muntz Stereo in Thunder Bay. They were advertised in the flyer, I think that my pair were the only ones that they had in stock. They sounded much better than my previous stereo pair.

As I said before phones don't image the same as speakers, but quadraphones don't sound anything like a mixdown! Big, richer, fuller! Directionality is addable but not extreme. Phones like the DR-163Q work the best. Actual Fixler phones likely work better still but I have never even seen a pair.

Koss phones do not work nearly as well. I seem to recall reading that they taylored (limited) the frequency response of the rear pair of drivers to trick the ear into thinking that the sound was coming from behind. Looking inside them, the drivers appear to all be the same. I never felt that tailoring frequency response was a good idea anyway.

Still even those Koss phones produce a bigger sound than plain stereo. Sorry Chucky about taking this thread so far off course.
Now back to our sponsor, If you want to hear extreme detail in a stereo mix use electrostatic phones!

I wasn’t saying that you couldn’t hear a difference. I was saying that, with my understanding of acoustics, I didn’t believe I could hear a difference.

And don’t forget, $20 then is like $300 today.

 

[par4ken]

And don’t forget, $20 then is like $300 today.

True but electronic prices haven't inflated nearly as much as other goods. In many cases things are much cheaper now in actual dollars than they were in the seventies!

My calculation based on inflation in Canada $20 (1972) = $142 today and $40 (1976) = $199 today.

You can buy very decent quality phones for those prices today! There are even good quality phones available still for only $20-40.

 

[audiomaster]

Or an ozone generator

Yes , flexible powering is always good! Just no 3.5mm plugs please!

 

[stoopid]

True but electronic prices haven't inflated nearly as much as other goods. In many cases things are much cheaper now in actual dollars than they were in the seventies!

My calculation based on inflation in Canada $20 (1972) = $142 today and $40 (1976) = $199 today.

You can buy very decent quality phones for those prices today! There are even good quality phones available still for only $20-40.

100%. People complain about prices, but what we have today is top end compared to that product from just a couple generations prior. Cars in particular are modern marvels (and wizardry). A $30,000 Kia has the same or more amenities as a late '80s Mercedes, and shuffles to 60MPH in about the same amount of time (if it doesn't catch fire). Adjusted for inflation, the Kia is a bargain for "what it is".

 

[par4ken]

Australia must be a hot bed of Electrostatic activity. For years I've drooled over the kit offerings from this Australian company.

https://www.eraudio.com.au/index.html

 

[chucky3042]

Rob, the boss of ER Audio is a one of my partners and is a major shareholder in involve. Some of the kits on his front page were from my old company Vass Electronics.

We have worked together since 1995

 

[chucky3042]

Rob, the boss of ER Audio is a one of my partners and is a major shareholder in involve. Some of the kits on his front page were from my old company Vass Electronics.

We have worked together since 1995

When we first met in 1995 it was at the airport. We both did not know what we looked like. So Rob said he was big and ugly, I said the same of me. Come the day at the airport we saw each other across a crowded room.....Rob/ Chucky . It was easy.