What's the Latest DISCRETE Quad LP Added to Your Pile? CD-4, UD-4

[fredblue]

Toulouse Street - Doobies (CD-4)

Thought I'd start with records I knew in Quad already, so when the time comes it'd make calibrating the CD-4 easier, maybe?
..and when I see these things for like a couple of quid and they don't look beat up to hell, why not..!?
Its not as if there aren't the Q8's to go back to if my CD-4 experiment turns out to be a disaster, is there!?
There's method in my madness.. I think.. I hope!

 

[fredblue]

Reggae - Herbie Mann (CD-4)

 

[fredblue]

Stardrive - Robert Mason (CD-4)

 

[fredblue]

Right Side Up - Ralph McTell (CD-4)

 

[fredblue]

Ain't No 'Bout-A-Doubt It - Graham Central Station (CD-4 LP)

 

[fredblue]

Children Of Lima - Woody Herman (CD-4 LP)

 

[fredblue]

Then Came You - Dionne Warwick (CD-4 LP)

 

[kap'n krunch]

Then Came You - Dionne Warwick (CD-4 LP)

Used to have this in normal LP....liked it quite a bit...
Took her off of my book after I saw her in San Juan in the 80s in Bellas Artes (a big venue) and she only sang for LESS THAN AN HOUR!!!!!! And we paid good money to see her...at least 80 mins would've been acceptable...but I guess she's ABOVE puertorricans

 

[fredblue]

Used to have this in normal LP....liked it quite a bit...
Took her off of my book after I saw her in San Juan in the 80s in Bellas Artes (a big venue) and she only sang for LESS THAN AN HOUR!!!!!! And we paid good money to see her...at least 80 mins would've been acceptable...but I guess she's ABOVE puertorricans

Ah.. she can't afford to be such a diva now, the poor woman is bankrupt ..what interests me most about this one, is that this album got done in Quad at all.. I notice it has The Spinners on the title track.. and there were several Spinners Quads, also on Warner/CD-4 (3..?) I guess somebody in the Spinners camp really liked Quad? I imagine it may have been Thom Bell..? Bell was involved in the Quad remix of Johnny Mathis' "I'm Coming Home" album (which is great surround mix and music btw).. looking forward to hearing this one in Quad (I may never be able to unless I can find a working CD-4 demodulator.. and then get the frickin thing working... but I'm gonna give it my best shot..! )

Edit: I also note with interest, that she added an "e" to the end of her last name on this record.. unless its a huge typo on both the label and the sleeve art, which seems unlikely.. I wonder what's up with that?

 

[fredblue]

Compartments - Jose Feliciano (CD-4 LP)

 

[fredblue]

Pick Of The Litter - Spinners (CD-4 LP)

 

[fredblue]

Mellow Madness - Quincy Jones (CD-4 LP)

 

[JonUrban]

"Compartments" was a quad only LP release from RCA. I remember one time during the early '70s stopping in a record store somewhere in my travels and asking if they had any quadraphonic LPs or Tapes. The dude behind the counter gave me the look like I was some kind of scum troll or something and said "We don't stock that crap here, we listen in stereo and nobody buys quad anyway". (Way to treat your customers!)

Anyway, I walked over to the racks, pulled out "Compartments" and showed him the quadradisc logo above the RCA on the back, then pointed out that he also had Elvis Aloha, Doors best of, and a few others. He said if he had known they were quads he would have sent them back because somebody made a mistake. I told him that was the only way they came and he said I was wrong.

I was wrong to enter that store. True story.

 

[fredblue]

"Compartments" was a quad only LP release from RCA. I remember one time during the early '70s stopping in a record store somewhere in my travels and asking if they had any quadraphonic LPs or Tapes. The dude behind the counter gave me the look like I was some kind of scum troll or something and said "We don't stock that crap here, we listen in stereo and nobody buys quad anyway". (Way to treat your customers!)

Anyway, I walked over to the racks, pulled out "Compartments" and showed him the quadradisc logo above the RCA on the back, then pointed out that he also had Elvis Aloha, Doors best of, and a few others. He said if he had known they were quads he would have sent them back because somebody made a mistake. I told him that was the only way they came and he said I was wrong.

I was wrong to enter that store. True story.

Wow.. you employed some serious self-restraint there Jon..! I'd have smacked him one.. still, I pity the poor pr!ck in a way.. can you imagine someone involved in selling music would be so narrow-minded as to send back boxes of LPs of The Best Of The Doors, Elvis Presley etc purely on the basis they were Quad and would pollute his store..!? :yikes

Did he even figure it out they were single inventory!?.. that's moronic.. what a sure fire way to go bust.. I hate to wish ill on anybody but I bet they went bust pretty sharpish with that kind of attitude!

Thanks for sharing with us, even though it is quite a nerve-jangling experience to hear about (it also explains why I have seen the CD-4 of this one a few times while out and about in record stores, etc.. its common because all Compartments LPs were Quad! Who knew? Not me! "eureka!"

 

[4-earredwonder]

Wow.. you employed some serious self-restraint there Jon..! I'd have smacked him one.. still, I pity the poor pr!ck in a way.. can you imagine someone involved in selling music would be so narrow-minded as to send back boxes of LPs of The Best Of The Doors, Elvis Presley etc purely on the basis they were Quad and would pollute his store..!? :yikes

Did he even figure it out they were single inventory!?.. that's moronic.. what a sure fire way to go bust.. I hate to wish ill on anybody but I bet they went bust pretty sharpish with that kind of attitude!

Thanks for sharing with us, even though it is quite a nerve-jangling experience to hear about (it also explains why I have seen the CD-4 of this one a few times while out and about in record stores, etc.. its common because all Compartments LPs were Quad! Who knew? Not me! "eureka!"

Unfortunately, Adam, those CD~4 albums had a lot of problems with poor pressings on sometimes recycled vinyl which caused 'inclusions [ticks, pops, swishes]' on the discs. I remember buying a LOT of Angel SQ albums at the time from a local discount store and I had a friend who used to work there and he would exchange defective album after album for me and sometimes the problems persisted from a bad batch the store received from the distributor. Couple that with the very piss poor processors (QUAD? where's the QUAD) that I finally gave up the battle and opted for QUAD Open Reel which finally gave me goosebumps in the surround department. But as we all know, a lot of those SQ/QS/CD~4s were never released on QUAD Open Reel.

And as you are now aware.....we now have the technology to transfer those wonderful QUAD masters to hi res physical disc and when you do compare them to those old QUAD and CD~4 LPs.....No contest...REALLY.

I really hope you're NOT disappointed when you find your CD~4 demodulator because IMO it WAS the way to go (discrete vs. matrix) but THOSE maddeningly poor pressings and finicky cartridges and the peculiarities of the demodulators spelled disaster in those early days of QUAD.

I did comment when I heard the lovely Floyd Cramer QUAD SACDs from D~V: How they expected to elicit this level of sound from those early CD~4 pressings was inconceivable and I'm sure if you had a Floyd Cramer CD~4 and its companion QUAD SACD and conducted a side by side comparison, you'd be scratching your head, too.

My romance with vinyl is over and done with.

 

[fredblue]

My romance with vinyl is over and done with.

My dear Ralphie, thanks for recounting your personal experience with Quad vinyl, the partial history lesson and your assessment of the Quad situation wrt vinyl Vs. SACD as you see it in 2016, much appreciated.

I'm sorry you had a rough ride and your love affair with Quad vinyl records is all over now.. but to quote Karen & Richard Carpenter (via the songwriting gifts of Mr. Paul Williams) I've "only just begun"...

Now I may come to hugely regret it down the line, when I discover for myself that CD-4 is a pig in a poke, as you suggest.. (tbh I'm prepared for something approaching a nightmare after some of the naysaying I've read on here & elsewhere over the years.. it seems that, for as many people who have disparaged matrix Quad over the years, there are as many who feel negatively towards CD-4..) but despite all that, I just want to give it a try.

Ps. I spent the latter half of 2015 discovering the pros and cons of matrix vinyl, be a sport and indulge me wth this year's potentially foolhardy folly of playing around with CD-4 vinyl..eh ?

Pps. It'll only get worse in 2017 anyway (for that is the year I plan on reacquainting myself with the 8-track... in Quad form..!! :yikes )

 

[4-earredwonder]

My dear Ralphie, thanks for recounting your personal experience with Quad vinyl, the partial history lesson and your assessment of the Quad situation wrt vinyl Vs. SACD as you see it in 2016, much appreciated.

I'm sorry you had a rough ride and your love affair with Quad vinyl records is all over now.. but to quote Karen & Richard Carpenter (via the songwriting gifts of Mr. Paul Williams) I've "only just begun"...

Now I may come to hugely regret it down the line, when I discover for myself that CD-4 is a pig in a poke, as you suggest.. (tbh I'm prepared for something approaching a nightmare after some of the naysaying I've read on here & elsewhere over the years.. it seems that, for as many people who have disparaged matrix Quad over the years, there are as many who feel negatively towards CD-4..) but despite all that, I just want to give it a try.

Ps. I spent the latter half of 2015 discovering the pros and cons of matrix vinyl, be a sport and indulge me wth this year's potentially foolhardy folly of playing around with CD-4 vinyl..eh ?

Pps. It'll only get worse in 2017 anyway (for that is the year I plan on reacquainting myself with the 8-track... in Quad form..!! :yikes )

Adam, I'm always supportive of people who retroactively discover older formats, especially with as much enthusiasm as you've displayed. I just don't want you to be disappointed. Your excursion into SQ Vinyl via the Surround Master is a discourse I've been following since your acquisition and I know it has brought you MANY hours of extreme pleasure (sure beats a vibrator).

As for CD~4 and 8 track.........I'm NOT as enthusiastic. 8 tracks have SO many inherent problems and being a RABID 'former' Open Reel enthusiast, I was less enthused [actually royally pissed] when they switched from 7 1/2 to 3 3/4 ips......a step in a VERY backwards direction, IMO. Since all 8 tracks move at 3 3/4 and have those sensing strips which over time have to be replaced necessitating taking the cartridge apart and risking further damage....that IS YOUR CALL...NOT to mention that ghastly CLICKING between tracks which frankly reminded me of Catholic Grammar school where the nuns would use a 'clicker' to guide us to sit or stand in church. Click!

If they were GIVING these CD~4s and Quad 8 tracks away for a pittance, I'd say.....knock yourself out....BUT THEY'RE NOT! But knowing your penchant for QUALITY (and quantity, VERY much like myself), my advice: Future Landfill items. I know this from experience. I have SO many OLDER 8 tracks (not Quad), Laserdiscs, VHS, BETA, 8MM, CASSETTES, Vinyl records, Open Reels, etc in my house (yes, I'm a hoarder) and yet I always find myself gravitating towards HI RES BD~V and the latest DVD~As and SACDs, both stereo and quad that frankly, I'm advising you as a 'caring' parental figure to contemplate your future purchases WISELY and instead concentrate on upgrading your equipment rather than spend vast sums on FORMATS that have since been superceded by newer and SUPERIOR technology.

Yes all those CD~4s and Quad 8 tracks MAY never see a Hi Res release but they represent an era which was never in my mind READY FOR PRIMETIME.....and in fact, probably prevented QUAD from resurfacing until the late 1990's, so bitter was the sting from QUAD's initial failure.

But as always, ADAM, I will support you whatever your choices.

Do I have a choice?

 

[fredblue]

Diamond Girl - Seals & Crofts (CD-4 LP)

 

[fredblue]

Killing Me Softly - Roberta Flack (CD-4 LP)

 

[fredblue]

New And Improved - Spinners (CD-4 LP)