Just how many encodes do you think actual target a strong signal in CB ?
And listening in mono ? Well come on now , it's mono ! Not at all audiophile quality is it ?
Matrix quad was designed for a good matrix quad system. Stereo was a secondary consideration for compatibility.
I think it rather unfortunate that mono listeners had far too much say over how any Quad Matrix recordings should sound .
Mostly Audiophiles that failed to grasp the potential of something new and exciting . I think it's a MAJOR injustice that they had so much pull on how a recording should sound in Quad , mostly ambience in the rears .
And a further injustice is that they denied for so long that quad SQ was a viable format by insisting Columbia Records (CBS) should release separate stereo and SQ albums , rather than going single inventory as most Record Store owners (Chains) ,kept calling for Yearly , and even Monthly !
That fact and a lack of recordings in quad were some of the biggest complaints Record Companies involved in quad releases heard over and over .
You can find this to be a regular occurrence , by reading through Billboard's August Quad Specials , published throughout the mid 70's .
No doubt these topics weren't exclusive to Billboard , as other Audio Magazine Publications from the 70's, pointed out these short comings as well.
And MONO ! Really ?
Given the actual number of quad matrix encoded recordings that got played over AM radio , one should think this Center Back placement in a quad encode, is a non issue. Most especially for people like myself that found quad matrix and discrete recordings the new reality for all future recordings .
I think far too many Mono and Stereo Audiophiles were stuck in the past when it came to 1970's quad recordings . One of the many reasons that put nails or spikes in the "Quad coffin".
It's too bad they had far too much influence on the future of Quadraphonics , which by the way seemed to get too much in the manner of negative reviews .....even from it's onset.
With very few exceptions , imho.
Maybe one of the problems was the FCC (Federal Communications Commission). They always required that any new system that was broadcast over the air on an existing service would provide a complete program to people who did not have the new device.
Another problem was that broadcasters were afraid of losing customers. We have to remember that in 1970-1974, not everyone had audiophile equipment and not everything was set up for audiophile reception. Our kitchen radio was tube AM. So broadcasters had to watch that stereo and mono listeners received a complete program.
Broadcasters also hated CD-4, because they could not slip-cue the records or cue them from dead stops. They produced swooping sounds if these were done. They had to back cue with the fader down and then fade up once the record achieved speed. This was true even without a CD-4 demodulator. I knew a DJ who hated anytime someone requested a song from the Elvis "Aloha via Satellite" album.
- During that period, our local rock station was AM, and it had some country segments. The two local FM stereo stations had all classical music. Rock did not go on FM here until 1979. The rock on FM during this period was from stations 50 miles away that required a large antenna (that might not get stereo).
- Of the 3 cars I was driving in that period, the '57 Chevy had an AM radio, and the two Oldsmobiles ('67 and '72) had mono AM-FM radios. Stereo-FM was an extra-cost accessory then (and usually included an 8-track). Any quad that was broadcast would have been lost. And anything encoded to center back by any available matrix system would disappear in the mono play.
- I had only one stereo FM tuner available to me. It was in a console TV-stereo in the basement. Fortunately it had jacks for tape in and tape out. I used this (and my Collaro Conquest and two 2ch tape recorders) for my major quad source equipment until 1973.
The real reason quad failed was that the marketing "experts" misread the market:
- When they started selling Q4 reel equipment it sold like hotcakes.
- I went nuts for matrix quad, but had trouble finding records.
- Unfortunately, nothing else sold like the reel units sold.
- The "experts" thought this meant people wanted discrete sound. Not true.
- I was servicing audio equipment at the time, and noticed that all of the Q4 units I ever saw were in home recording studios, not quadraphonic systems.
- Finally the experts figured this out, and dropped quad.
- TASCAM and others started producing portable studios. I have two.
With all of the hype and incompatibilities removed, surround sound evolved correctly with Dolby Surround.
