Quad is awesome. I have some experience doing it :)

[Xymox]

Howdy !

This forum is full of fun discussions. Looks awesome.

I have been doing super high end mutichannel listening rooms for a really long time. Back in the day I did the DTS rooms at CES, so some of you may know my work. I also made the best CRT projector system. These days I maintain a select list of clients who I do price unlimited rooms for. Its possible I might make the best rooms on earth. Maybe. I have a lot of press coverage. System Notes: A/V Paradise in the Valley - The Audio Beat - www.TheAudioBeat.com

All the rooms I do are geared towards multichannel music, so I dont fool around with the sides/rears/heights. In this room the sides/rear/ceiling spears are all $20k each. The L/R and C are much more.

Technically they are fairly insane. 600A dedicated service, 14 x 40 foot deep chemical ground rods, all JPS wire/hubble cryo. RF dead zone with the room encased with 3 foot thick concrete with a faraday cage in it. Acoustics were super computer modeled in design stage. The room is galvanic isolated from the house and has a clean and dirty power system and a clean and dirty networking setup. The LFE channel is powered by 35,000 W RMS driving 5 18" JBL drivers bolted into the concrete and rebar of the room. This system is ONLY for LFE as I believe each speaker in a multichannel system should be very full range and the bass should mix in the room - not electronically and spit out the LFE channel.

This video is old and we have changed out a lot of gear and the networking discussed was trashed and upgraded many times long ago. Its now based on my Switch X / Wifi X.

Source gear in this room is a HIGHLY modded Oppo, a highly modded Datasat RS20i running Dirac 1 ( Dirac 2 sux ), DirecTV and my AppleTV X. There is a seperate path for pure 2 channel analog. This is fed from a Kronos TT and a dual mono CH Precision C1.2 with a CH Pre T1 clock and all seperate X1 power supplies.

Again this video play list of construction and gear is from 2015.. Nearly all the gear is upgraded now.




These systems are OK for multichannel use. For Quad tho, I am VERY picky.. Quad being THE BEST multichannel experience possible. It is of course one chair. Each channel needs to be EXACTLY the same. Same speakers, amps, wires, lenghts. The EXACT positioning of the speakers needs to be done for quad layout. The room should be designed for quad.

My experence with real Quad goes back to the creation of the DTS Dark Side of The Moon. I spent time in the DTS mastering room which was setup in a quad layout with Genelecs. One chair. Playing the master off and sitting in that chair was one of the best audio experiences I have ever had. Its possible the weed may have had some affect too. The perfect 360 degree image was insane. Things moved with precision seamlessly in 360, inch by inch. The Great Gig In The Sky was,, indescribably breathtaking and strikingly beautiful. The piano was incredible.

This disc of course never came out. Alan Parsons refused to be part of the 5.1 butchering of his quad mix. A VERY few of this discs survived. Test pressings coveted by a very few in DTS. I know of 4 total. Not recordable discs, real discs. This disc was my audio reference for years doing multichannel work.

I did the rooms, audio and video, for the DTS CES shows and many of you may remember my work there. I helped with the DTS demo discs. I had a lot of press from those rooms. Chris Stephens' projector press coverage

Fun times.. Some of you may remember the 2001 CES DTS room. What you dont know is that a few select people after hours setup a quad layout with the JMLabs Grande Utopias and Halcros and played DSoTM in DTS quad. Wowee..

So these days I am a AV mad scientist and insanity room guru. BUT recently I got back to my love. Making electronics. I stumbled on insane performance increases by doing extensive mods to a AppleTV X. I have sold 250+ of these systems worldwide now and I also make some networking gear to make streaming audio better. DeJitter it - Dejittering the world

 

[Xymox]

Please excuse the dirty record. Haha.. I was in a hurry..

 

[Steve Bruzonsky]

Chris glad to see you posting here. I will recall your CES 5.1 audio and audio-video demos late 90s and early 2000s back when they were routinely best of show! And the top line Vidikron 9” CRTs! And you providing our local Arizona audio video club with DTS CDs of the dark side of the moon quad mix (I still have it!

 

[Xymox]

WHen I first got that "secret" DTS quad disc, it was the first time the quad version was heard outside of vinyl formats, 8-strack and open reel. It was a fresh transfer into a digital format. It was just stunning as I had never heard it in quad the way it was intended. That disc was my most cherished possession for a long time. When I listened to the 5.1, I agreed with Alan Parsons, it was a abomination. The quality was also not nearly DTS. Dolby Digital sucked.

DSoTM in REAL quad, is just stunning.. By real I mean EVERY CHANNEL *MUST* BE EQUAL. All speakers placed correctly and only one chair. You need a big room with space around the speakers. In the case of DSoTM, if your so inclined, a few bong hits before you begin.

Yes those CES days were great fun. Ground breaking for multichannel music. After hours we did a lot of things with press and artists around multichannel music.

Fun times.. This was the best DTS CES room. 2001..

Press event after hours.. From left, my good friend Lorr Kramer, Tom Norton, John Gannon..

THIS IS HOW TO DO QUAD... We used 4 of these channels. JMLabs Grande Utopia bi amped with 2 Halcros.

During the U571 depth charge scene, with all the amps and the insanity LFEs we sent up we drew 120A peaks from the main power. We hit 200,000 watts in peaks in that room that year. The CES electricians thought were were crazy asking for 200A service, but they provided it. It was great fun, you could hear the depth charge bass on the other end of the north hall if you stood against the wall. All of north hall at LVCC resonated. CES asked us to turn things down. Which we did for a short time and went right back.

DSoTM in proper quad in that room was something I will never forget..

Anyone who went thru this room at 2001 CES remebers it.. It was really fun. The video was just as mind boggling.

The interesting part was, this was routine for me. These were how the rooms worked that i did.. I then spent 20 years doing these kinds of rooms but getting way better at it. The room I do in the prev post is my best room ever.

So I have some experence doing quad and multichannel

 

[Steve Bruzonsky]

Fun times.. This was the best DTS CES room. 2001..

View attachment 100235

Press event after hours.. From left, my good friend Lorr Kramer, Tom Norton, Steve Gannon..

View attachment 100236

THIS IS HOW TO DO QUAD... We used 4 of these channels. JMLabs Grande Utopia bi amped with 2 Halcros.

View attachment 100238

During the U571 depth charge scene, with all the amps and the insanity LFEs we sent up we drew 120A peaks from the main power. We hit 200,000 watts in peaks in that room that year. The CES electricians thought were were crazy asking for 200A service, but they provided it. It was great fun, you could hear the depth charge bass on the other end of the north hall if you stood against the wall. All of north hall at LVCC resonated. CES asked us to turn things down. Which we did for a short time and went right back.

DSoTM in proper quad in that room was something I will never forget..

Anyone who went thru this room at 2001 CES remebers it.. It was really fun. The video was just as mind boggling.

The interesting part was, this was routine for me. These were how the rooms worked that i did.. I then spent 20 years doing these kinds of rooms but getting way better at it. The room I do in the prev post is my best room ever.

So I have some experence doing quad and multichannel

I think you mean John Gannon, not Steve. John was Technical Editor for Stereophile Guide To Home Theater back then. John setup my Dwin HD-700 CRT projector and screen back in 2000. Great guy. He came by a few times over the years. Unfortunately, John passed away a few years back.

 

[Xymox]

I think you mean John Gannon, not Steve. John was Technical Editor for Stereophile Guide To Home Theater back then. John setup my Dwin HD-700 CRT projector and screen back in 2000. Great guy. He came by a few times over the years. Unfortunately, John passed away a few years back.

YES sorry, I corrected it..

Yes, I remember when John passed. That was quite a jolt.. He was a GREAT guy. I really enjoyed him and his work was awesome.

 

[Electric Moo]

Good to hear some backstory behind the dsotm quad: I agree it's the best mix & have been confounded about it not getting a proper release, per se.

Mindblowing gear & setups. Drool.

 

[Xymox]

Good to hear some backstory behind the dsotm quad: I agree it's the best mix & have been confounded about it not getting a proper release, per say.

Mindblowing gear & setups. Drool.

There is a LOT more I know about this non-release by DTS that I do not feel comfortable discussing in a public forum too.

I believe there is a 96/24 quad version now released. I have not ABed it, but, it should be better then the DTS version as long as it came from the same remastering.

DSoTM should never be listened to in 2ch or 5.1. It was created by Alan Parsons in Quad. Its conception and artistic base is Quad. Unless you hear it in proper Quad, you have never heard it. At least that is my experence. I will go further and say that DSoTM is the best Quad piece ever made. Its use of multichannel was done so artfully and effortlessly there just was nothing close. Its stunning 3D immersion with gapless perfect high resolution 360 imaging is insane. From the very first track you know your not in Kansas anymore.

BUT, AGAIN, you gotta do it in real Quad. Doing it with "rear speakers" and not in the correct speaker layout completly degrades the experence. All 4 channels must be perfect matches and set up with a laser and measuring tape with exact angles. The center of your head needs to be dead center. If done like this, your immersed in a full 360 perfect image. Alan Parsons was at his height of a recording artist where he did DSoTM in quad. He mixed things in Quad. Like the piano in the great gig in the sky. Using Abby Roads best gear in the best rooms.

 

[Steve Bruzonsky]

Yea - I was so impressed with the original but lossy DTS quad that a few years ago I spent the bigger bucks to buy the 2009 quad deluxe version! Love it!

 

[somethingcleveridunno]

 

[Xymox]

Hahahaha... Well, you can get a LOT more performance then you think with careful gear choices on a normal budget and good room layout.

From what i have seen here of peoples systems, there are some great systems. I like the use of vintage gear, thats damn cool. Quad has some great cool vintage gear.

Just because its so crazy, I lust after a quad 8-track. hahahaha... How much fun is that ? These high end audio guys wont do a Quad 8-track. I would At home i have a highly modded laser disc hooked to a Snell & Wilcox and a Teranex hooked to a plasma that i use now and then.

 

[barfle]

Wow, as I’ve “liked” some of the posts. I worked in systems integration on and off myself, but sadly, not while quad was a going thing. I likened it to designing my den, but with corporate funding. Lots of fun, and I got to play with some dangerously expensive toys.

My own room is certainly budget-limited, as were all the projects I worked on, including a few government ones. My current standard is “pretty good,” and I’m getting closer all the time.

Amazing rooms there. You have every right to be proud of them.

 

[mandrix]

Well for sure a lot of people here have heard AP's DSOTM. I first heard DSOTM on a Q8 when it was released, on a Panny player. Wore out several carts!
In the early 70's I had a good Quad system, no $100,000 speakers but 4 Infiniti 1001's.

 

[Xymox]

Wow, as I’ve “liked” some of the posts. I worked in systems integration on and off myself, but sadly, not while quad was a going thing. I likened it to designing my den, but with corporate funding. Lots of fun, and I got to play with some dangerously expensive toys.

My own room is certainly budget-limited, as were all the projects I worked on, including a few government ones. My current standard is “pretty good,” and I’m getting closer all the time.

Amazing rooms there. You have every right to be proud of them.

Thank you. Each room takes like 2 years of crazy hard work. Wrangling contractors and pushing them to go where no man has gone before. SO many funny stories with contractors. Finding a concrete company to do 3 foot thick 10kpsi concrete with 3 layes of 1" rebar on 10" centers was fun. Had to fly in those guys because there really is nothing but nuke facilities that do that kind of work. Electricians are always fun. Gotta fly in the good one, but there MUST be a local electrician as well. As I always using Benjamin Electric custom built panels, all 100KA rated gear, this is more medium voltage industrial plant kind of work. Benjamin Electric ~ Switchgear Products Grounding is usally fun. The guys at VFC and Lyncole love me. I put the lowest impeadance grounding system on earth into the room above. 14 XIT custom built ground rods 40 feet long into solid conductive bedrock ( az - metals in the ground ).. It attracts lightning in nearly every storm. Its very fun. Lightning and Grounding System | Lyncole XIT Grounding

Finding trades who are willing to go beyond what has ever been done before is challanging. That is where the money goes. These rooms are insanely expensive. They cost me 2 years of my life each time too.

I am mostly done doing that now tho. Just too crazy. I can now sit at home in my lab and make killer electronics, developed in these rooms. Thats MUCH easier.

 

[Xymox]

Well for sure a lot of people here have heard AP's DSOTM. I first heard DSOTM on a Q8 when it was released, on a Panny player. Wore out several carts!
In the early 70's I had a good Quad system, no $100,000 speakers but 4 Infiniti 1001's.

YES... See I LOVE gear like the Infinity speakers. Vintage gear is SO much cooler then all this fancy new stuff.

I build my own speakers, I can do a better job then any mass produced system. No way I am spending $150 / pr of speakers when i can make a pair that sound better for $3k.. Older gear can be better then newer stuff.

I am a analog engineer at heart. My fully modded and restored analog bench. I *do* have to drag out digital test equip for things like HDMI and Ethernet, but most of my work is done with analog test equip, because, ITS BETTER.. A Tektronix 7904 scope with 7A22 blug-ins is just WAY better then a $100k Tek MSO scope for working on analog signals.

 

[audiomaster]

YES... See I LOVE gear like the Infinity speakers. Vintage gear is SO much cooler then all this fancy new stuff.

I build my own speakers, I can do a better job then any mass produced system. No way I am spending $150 / pr of speakers when i can make a pair that sound better for $3k.. Older gear can be better then newer stuff.

I am a analog engineer at heart. My fully modded and restored analog bench. I *do* have to drag out digital test equip for things like HDMI and Ethernet, but most of my work is done with analog test equip, because, ITS BETTER.. A Tektronix 7904 scope with 7A22 blug-ins is just WAY better then a $100k Tek MSO scope for working on analog signals.

View attachment 100287

YES... See I LOVE gear like the Infinity speakers. Vintage gear is SO much cooler then all this fancy new stuff.

I build my own speakers, I can do a better job then any mass produced system. No way I am spending $150 / pr of speakers when i can make a pair that sound better for $3k.. Older gear can be better then newer stuff.

I am a analog engineer at heart. My fully modded and restored analog bench. I *do* have to drag out digital test equip for things like HDMI and Ethernet, but most of my work is done with analog test equip, because, ITS BETTER.. A Tektronix 7904 scope with 7A22 blug-ins is just WAY better then a $100k Tek MSO scope for working on analog signals.

View attachment 100287

With all this, maybe you are the guy who can design an updated CD-4 de modulator for all our CD-4 discs we have?

 

[Doug G.]

Maybe even take Lou Dorren's (RIP) design and what he had done, so far, and finish [t.

Doug

 

[kfbkfb]

With all this, maybe you are the guy who can design an updated CD-4 de modulator for all our CD-4 discs we have?

Here ya go!
https://www.quadraphonicquad.com/forums/threads/working-cd-4-software-demodulator.24900/


Kirk Bayne

 

[MidiMagic]

I made my first quadraphonic recording in November 1970.

I made a set of sound cues for a stage play. We used the Hafler diamond. I think it was the first time ever that matrix quad was used in a stage play.

A stage crew helped us set up a Hafler diamond system in the auditorium, putting large stage speakers on a catwalk that circled the audience area.
I built my own mixer-encoder and used a sound plot to encode each cue from its own direction.
We had sound cues coming from all around the auditorium. They were recorded on quarter track standard stereo tape.

 

[SeeMoreDigital]

Oh wow... Most of the audio gear in the pictures looks terrifying