Quadraphonic records (LPs to you and me)

tatyana69

So the quadraphonic lps need a special cartridge ... and phonostage then. So presumably playing with a normal cartridge and phonostage some channels are missing, hence maybe a weaker sound for a number of reasons, presumably, from what you are saying?

No, all of the quad LP formats were compatible with two channel playback, at least as far as I can recall.

I am looking at Ebay uk an item called
CARLY SIMON ~ HOTCAKES ~ USA QUADRAPHONIC STEREO AUDIOPHILE LP
So the "stereo" word is out of place, or indeed wrong?

No, it's not wrong at all. Quadraphonic is a type of "stereo," just as two channel is a type of stereo. "Stereo" is not confined to two channels.

So is any quad beneficial element picked up in a normal cartridge and phonostage, or just "wasted"?
From what you are saying all elements are in principle "recovered"?
I feel I am either being stupid or missing something here
If the Bryston decodes elements into separate aspects to surround speakers I was wondering if the input already into 4 may provide an easier or more varied decoding

So the quadraphonic lps need a special cartridge ... and phonostage then. So presumably playing with a normal cartridge and phonostage some channels are missing, hence maybe a weaker sound for a number of reasons, presumably, from what you are saying?
Must be for a very limited market place these records then

I feel I am either being stupid or missing something here
If the Bryston decodes elements into separate aspects to surround speakers I was wondering if the input already into 4 may provide an easier or more varied decoding

You are missing something- the history.
4-channel was a thing that showed up in the 1970s. It was very much a precursor to surround sound and home theatre.

There were several formats- several forms of 4 channel tape, 4 channel encoding on FM stereo (usually SQ) and three competing formats on LPs.

The three LP formats were CD-4, SQ and QS. All are compatible with 2 channel playback. A decoder was required to extract the 4 channel information. In the case of CD-4, the rear channels were encoded on an FM carrier track that was outside of the audio band (and so needed a special cartridge, although many modern cartridges have the bandwidth and stylus that can do the job). The special cartridge saw the introduction of the Shibata stylus.

QS was the Sansui encoding, and SQ (if memory serves) was Columbia. They used phase information encoded in the grooves to extract the rear channel information.  Because of the method of phase encoding, its not surprising to hear that they don't sound as 'strong'.

All of these systems are analog based. If I understand correctly, the Bryston is not- so it can't decode these LPs. You'll have to look out for the decoders on ebay- they are easy to find and not expensive.

You need a proper real Quad receiver, whether is was SQ formate  or the synthesized stereo-based format QS format. The discrete 4- channel was available on tape .... reel or 8-track.

I experienced it back in its heyday: The LP was a flash in the pan novelty bordering on a gimmick even back then, with limited appeal to users. It's audio reproduction was nothing to get excited about 

it it has some fad appeal in tape format but again a rapid flame-out.

i wouldn't bother chasing after it today- its not worth it IMzo,  other than very isolated nostalgia appeal .

http://www.obsoletemedia.org/sq-quadraphonic/

SQ Quadraphonic (from ‘Stereo Quadraphonic’) was a system for providing quadraphonic sound from four speakers on vinyl records. It was introduced by CBS Records in 1971, and was adopted by a number of other record companies including EMI and Sony.

It was a matrix format, so the four channels were encoded into the stereo grooves of a 12-inch LP and then decoded back to four channels. As the grooves were slightly broader than a standard LP, playing time on an SQ record was reduced.

Of the different quadraphonic systems for vinyl, SQ has the largest discography and this was partly because SQ records were fully compatible with stereo equipment. Some early Compact Discs still used the SQ mix.

Consumers needed to buy an SQ decoder to take advantage of quadraphonic sound, but early versions provided poor separation. The sound separation of the SQ system was greatly improved by the introduction of SQ Full Logic decoding in 1975, but by this time all quadraphonic systems were declining in popularity and by the end of the 1970s, virtually no SQ Quadraphonic LPs were being released.

akg_ca

You need a proper real Quad receiver, whether is was SQ formate or the synthesized stereo-based format QS format.

This is mistaken. There’s no reason to confine yourself to a "quad receiver" to reproduce quad. You just need a proper decoder - these were available as outboard devices.

... or the synthesized stereo-based format QS format ...

QS quad was no more "synthesized" than SQ quad. It was four channels matrixed to a two-channel format.