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renewingmind

New member
Joined
Jan 6, 2025
Messages
5
Location
Lititz, PA
Hello everyone,

Quad was still a thing when I was a kid, but I honestly didn't know anyone who had a quad system. I just remember some records we had stating they were quadraphonic and wishing I could hear them that way. Over the last decade as streaming has become the way people consume music I've rekindled my love of just sitting and listening to music.

The end result is that I have a Denon DRA-425 I purchased new in 1991 or so in my bedroom coupled with a Technics SL-D3 and some Polk LSi-9's, a Denon DRA-1025R in my basement paired with a Denon DP-45F turntable and an amazing set of Bose 901 series VI's, and germane to this conversation my living room has a very nice 5.1 system that is a collection of items I've assembled over the years: an Anthem MRX720, Klipsch KG5.5's, a Polk LSi-9c, and Niles Pro 870FX speakers as my rear surrounds.

Recently it occurred to me that this system would probably playback quad really really well, and that led to me finding Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon in quadraphonic on youtube. Hearing this album properly for the first time ever was a revelation (and that's with the low bitrate of youtube). It led me down a hole which ended here.

I've ordered a couple of Quadio discs but would really like to know how to land some of the other content that was originally produced in quad.

What do I listen to? Huge fan of Jazz. I'd love to own digital copies (blu-ray, flac or any other lossless) of things like the Herbie Hancock albums that were produced back in the day as well as anything else. Mingus is in my cart on rhino... I own every Genesis album on vinyl and CD, but it seems like there might be a quad mixed concert out there I'd love to get my hands on. Big fan of Pink Floyd, Steely Dan, and classic rock, but I don't see a ton of titles on lists of quad content that appeals to me.

I find 5.1 mixes mostly annoying, as they just overuse the center channel and drop a little spice in the rear speakers. That's the reason I'm more interested in the quad mixes.

Joel
 
There is a section here on quad discographies that should interest you. The polls section will allow you to read user reviews of quads and other immersive formats before you buy. Welcome to the rabbit hole!
 
Alas, I have no way to read an SACD. My blu-ray player is a Panasonic DP-UB820.

Sigh.

Joel

No worries. There are many vintage SACD/Blu-ray players and SACD/DVD-Audio players that either have analog RCA or HDMI outputs for roughly $50 on eBay. Most of us have collected multiple disc players. Well under the price of a Box set or the price of a few SACDs. It depends on what you want and what your needs are.

Others can chime in here as to what make and models to recommend.

EDIT: There’s a lot of Quad titles from Rhino Records “Quadio” release program on Hi-Rez Blu-ray:

https://store.rhino.com/en/search/?q=Quadio&lang=en_US
 
It’s kind of a shame that so many modern re-releases have such limited pressings, but I understand that the folks who do that don’t want a lot of incentory sitting on their shelves after the original excitement has died down. That means there’s a limited window of opportunity to acccess many wonderful recordings, and it means that there’s a rich marketplace for resales.

I’ve found a handful of good copies available through discogs - sellers there seem to care about their reputation, but ebay is also generally a decent place to find out-of-print recordings.

Money is going to be spent. Enjoy the ride. I know I am enjoying mine.
 
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What do I listen to? Huge fan of Jazz. I'd love to own digital copies (blu-ray, flac or any other lossless) of things like the Herbie Hancock albums that were produced back in the day as well as anything else. Mingus is in my cart on rhino... I own every Genesis album on vinyl and CD, but it seems like there might be a quad mixed concert out there I'd love to get my hands on. Big fan of Pink Floyd, Steely Dan, and classic rock, but I don't see a ton of titles on lists of quad content that appeals to me.
Hello and welcome!

Formats and out-of-print content are going to make your head spin and your wallet likely hemorrhage, but just with those bands you mentioned: basically the entire Genesis studio catalog was released on DVD, DVD-Audio, and/or SACD in 5.1. Lamb recently got a new Dolby Atmos mix, and those are backwards-compatible with your 5.1, but it's locked in an expensive box set.

The Mingus Moves quad blu-ray will not disappoint! Herbie Hancock's Head Hunters, Sextant and Thrust all got quad SACD releases, and Gershwin's World was released in 5.1. There's a lot of jazz out there on SACD and streaming in Atmos. Floyd and Steely Dan are well-represented in surround but there's asterisks on just about everything (Meddle, for instance, was released in 5.1 but hidden on a disc in a box set that has to be ripped on a computer to hear the mix, there's no way to get to it on a DVD player!) and Steely Dan has stuff still trapped only on analog formats (and no sign of an official surround mix of Aja or The Royal Scam on the horizon, sadly!). So part of the learning curve is just gonna be learning what's out there, and then how the heck to actually listen to it, because while surround music is amazing, the availability and ease of use are... not.
 
Is there a place that lists quad releases and their modern re-releases as quad mixes? It feels like the 5.1 and Atmos releases often use the rears as spice only, and I love the substance of a quad mix. But it’s so hard to tell and I am not independently wealthy to just buy everything… That’s what I love about quadio, it’s crystal clear what they are and they sound great. I bought the duke ellington disk and ripped it to my plex server and play it frequently.
 
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