Lafayette SQ W just arrived!

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Xdevo1973

Active Member
Joined
May 21, 2006
Messages
96
Location
New Jersey
Hello out there,

Just connected this decoder after finally winning one on Ebay. It does indeed sound fantastic. I have only had the opportunity to play two tracks from Janis Joplin's Pearl album (Mercedes Benz and Me & Bobby McGee) and one from Billy Joel's Piano Man, that being Piano Man.
So far, the three songs sound so much better than before when I was using the Lafayette SQL decoder, the LA64 4 channel amp with onboard SQL decoder and the Sony SQD 2070-full logic.
Interestingly enough, the Sony SQD 2070 is also full logic (apparently) but it doesn't hold a candle to the SQ W.
I will post more as I listen to more of my albums.
 
This is a highly revered decoder. Let us know more after you've tested it further!
 
.
Interestingly enough, the Sony SQD 2070 is also full logic (apparently) but it doesn't hold a candle to the SQ W.
The SQ-W is not just full logic, it full WAVEMATCHING logic (that's what the W stands for). None were better, until Tate.
 
Back again! More epiphanies! I listened to "Nothing" from a Chorus Line which sounds truly amazing-like you are there in the middle of the stage as they are performing; more songs from Piano Man-You're my Home which just unfolds and envelopes one in sound; Carpenters-Singles 1969-73, Ticket to Ride also sounds like they are actually there in the room. This decoder does sound incredibly natural, not gimmicky and it gives me the realization that sq quad actually did work, providing the equipment worked.
 
Ok, so pretty much everything in SQ sounds fantastic! The composer A mode also does well with all of those YouTube Quadraphonic non SQ recordings! I have Isaac Hayes "Joy" in SQ and that sound so discrete! I think if they had the SQ W and the Tate from day one, everyone would be doing SQ and that would be it!
 
Just snagged one from Ebay myself. So far, the only SQ recording I have is DSOTM LP, but WOW. Sweet decoder it is.
 
I think if they had the SQ W and the Tate from day one, everyone would be doing SQ and that would be it!
Even then there was the planned obsolescence approach, so we would have had the same products even if the technology was available in the labs.
 
I haven't visited this site in ages, but as an ex-Lafayette employee (for 14 years), I have extensive experience with this decoder. There were two models of the SQ-W decoder: one with Vari-Blend, and the older one without. Both were very good, but that with the Vari-Blend was an knockout, and certainly the very best of its kind anywhere at the time.

Also as a point of interest: the "Composer A" circuit, which I always thought did a terrific job of simulating quad effects from standard stereo sources, is a near-perfect decoder for material encoded via the Sansui QS, or as it came to be known later, the "Regular Matrix," or "RM" system.

I too believe that if performance such as that from the Lafayette SQ-W decoder, and the more expensive TAte model had been around from the start, quadraphonic sound would never have died as it did, and CD-4 would have had a much harder time gaining converts too.
 
Hi There,

Thanks so much for the reply. It really does do a fantastic job with synthesizing quad from stereo internet streams-especially the wide swing era recordings that were done in stereo from the 60's. I also noticed it does a decent job in the Composer A setting for the Enoch Light 4 channel stereo demonstration record (Project 3). There is no information on the album as to which matrix used.

I'll add more as a listen more :)
 
Hi There,

Thanks so much for the reply. It really does do a fantastic job with synthesizing quad from stereo internet streams-especially the wide swing era recordings that were done in stereo from the 60's. I also noticed it does a decent job in the Composer A setting for the Enoch Light 4 channel stereo demonstration record (Project 3). There is no information on the album as to which matrix used.

I'll add more as a listen more :)

Most of the unmarked (as to format) Project-3 Quad LPs are RM(QS).
 
Well, I took a picture with the digital camera but the file seems too large to upload-it's a jpeg and it's over 1 megabyte! How does everyone else upload their pictures?
 
I compressed the picture in Microsoft. Lets see if this works.
 

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I haven't visited this site in ages, but as an ex-Lafayette employee (for 14 years), I have extensive experience with this decoder. There were two models of the SQ-W decoder: one with Vari-Blend, and the older one without. Both were very good, but that with the Vari-Blend was an knockout, and certainly the very best of its kind anywhere at the time.

Also as a point of interest: the "Composer A" circuit, which I always thought did a terrific job of simulating quad effects from standard stereo sources, is a near-perfect decoder for material encoded via the Sansui QS, or as it came to be known later, the "Regular Matrix," or "RM" system.

I too believe that if performance such as that from the Lafayette SQ-W decoder, and the more expensive TAte model had been around from the start, quadraphonic sound would never have died as it did, and CD-4 would have had a much harder time gaining converts too.
Long time no thread...

How do
You know if you have the variblend sq-w?

Is it noted on the unit?
 
The Variblend decoder has "Lafayette" on the faceplate as opposed to "LAFAYETTE" (which was the earlier decoder). I read this at the time I bought my SQW on ebay. I remember the bidding was going up fast in the last couple of minutes and was over $200, but at the last second I put in a bid for $301, hoping the bidding would stop at $300 and I was right. I wanted this particular SQW because it was touted as new, the cables with it were still factory packed and it was the "Lafayette" version. The decoder even had that new electronics smell when I powered it up. I had seen other SQW's on ebay going over $400 at the time and they were not in nearly as good of condition as this one. Anyway. I taped all of my SQ records to a 4 channel RtoR then put the decoder away. I read the composer A circuit is like Sansui's "QS" circuit, but Lafayette didn't want to name it as such because they thought it would add more quad confusion. I recently played my SQW decoded "Toys in the attic" Q4 and it really is unbelievable for a matrix decoded disc imo (and I have the "Toys" Sony SACD) ! The first SQ record I played after I got the decoder was "Me and Bobby Magee". I got chills when I heard that organ begin playing in the back channel. In regards to the Billy Joel SQ's, they are to SQ what the Beatles "Love" is to DVDA. The above info I "read" about this decoder is exactly that, what I read about it.
 
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The Variblend decoder has "Lafayette" on the faceplate as opposed to "LAFAYETTE" (which was the earlier decoder). I read this at the time I bought my SQW on ebay. I remember the bidding was going up fast in the last couple of minutes and was over $200, but at the last second I put in a bid for $301, hoping the bidding would stop at $300 and I was right. I wanted this paticular one was because it was touted as new, the cables with it were still factory packed and it was the "Lafayette" one. It even smelled like a new component when I powered it up. I had seen other SQW's on ebay going over $400 at the time and they were not in nearly as good of condition as this one. Anyway. I taped all of my SQ records to a 4 channel RtoR then put the decoder away. I read the composer A circuit is Sansuis "RM", but lafayette didnt want to name it as such because they thought it would add more quad confusion. I recently played my SQW decoded "Toys in the attic" Q4 and it really is unbelievable for a matrix decoded disc imo (and I have the "Toys" sony SACD) !
So... just a matter of all capital letters if you want to visually tell the difference?
 
Hello out there,

Just connected this decoder after finally winning one on Ebay. It does indeed sound fantastic. I have only had the opportunity to play two tracks from Janis Joplin's Pearl album (Mercedes Benz and Me & Bobby McGee) and one from Billy Joel's Piano Man, that being Piano Man.
So far, the three songs sound so much better than before when I was using the Lafayette SQL decoder, the LA64 4 channel amp with onboard SQL decoder and the Sony SQD 2070-full logic.
Interestingly enough, the Sony SQD 2070 is also full logic (apparently) but it doesn't hold a candle to the SQ W.
I will post more as I listen to more of my albums.
I ordered the Pearl album thanks to your recommendation here and it sounds fantastic! I also have the LA64 to match it with. Mercedes Benz when she says for everyone to join in really brings up her vocals to the back, and Get it while you can is really recorded well for this. I blew a couple fuses and started researching on this thing, and from these forums recommending and comparing other Lafayette's out there found a LR-5000 for sale to try out. Doesn't look to come with the CD-4 module but SQ-W in this day and age is hard to come by! Also recommend for fun, try a brand new ACDC Back in Black album on the SQ setting, it's absolutely not a quad record but I don't think I can listen to it on stereo the same way ever again!
 
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