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I was into dbx, but never got a hold of a dbx disc/l.p. still have all the dbx decoders. Hows the sound on them ? I almost bought a disc on ebay last week just to try it out but seemed to be a bit high in price for me at the time! jsut wonder what else was available , any thing say, rock type , more than likley not! Seems they are all QS types ?
Rob
 
Wow, DBX encoded quad records? That's pretty cool! I have a DBX decoder and a few DBX encoded disks, but none that are quadraphonic as well.

The DBX system works wonders in lowering the noise floor of vinyl on encoded disks. They sound great, but there is something odd about them. It's hard to desribe, but there is almost a "hollow" nature to the playback. It is a very subdued character, but it leaves me feeling agitated after I've listened to it for any length of time.

 
<blockquote><strong><em>Quote:</em></strong><hr>The to play back the record one would need to connect the output of the phonograph preamp into a dbx decoder, then take the dbx decoder output and feed it into a QS decoder which then feeds a four channel amplifier.[/quote]

Note : the decoder had to have the dbx "DISC" decoder to do this, I don't think or am not sure if it will work in the tape formats:typeII or type I. Some tape decks came with the disc type decoder, Then one could play it thru the qs decoder and go from there: correct?
Rob
 
DBX discs are encoded with Type II DBX. Type I was available on a few high end reel to reel tape decks. I have quite a few DBX LPs and I use two 224 units ... for four channels of course. Mike.
 
<blockquote><strong><em>Quote:</em></strong><hr>DBX discs are encoded with Type II DBX. Type I was available on a few high end reel to reel tape decks. I have quite a few DBX LPs and I use two 224 units ... for four channels of course. Mike. [/quote]

So your saying you don't need the dbx disc portion of the decoder, then why is there one!?
I too use 2 224 and also have 8 channels i/o of typeI in my Tascam/388 Studio 8 and 3 400x for routing signals to and from The TateII and QS1 to the inputs of my soumd card and decoders, encoders and ... well you get the idea!
So one could record it to digital and play it back to a 224 and then decode it into 4.0 or 5.0,5.1 and make a d.t.s. cdr! Interesting . I'll have to try it! Any one got a disc they want converted ? Let me know!
 
The DBX disc button is only there to route the incoming line signal (from the preamp, with the phono signal) through the decoder and then back to the preamp tape monitor. If it wasn't there, you would encode and decode the signal and cancel it out with the 224. Basically, I guess it just cancels the encode function and acts for playback only. I also have a 224X-DS which does not have a DBX LP function and I have been able to decode LPs with some fooling around with the source/monitor switch on my Nakamichi ZX-9 cassette deck. Not the ideal way though. As for a DBX CD, I am not sure why you would want to do that. DBX compensated for narrow dynamic range and poor signal to noise ratio in tape and vinyl; neither of which is a problem with a CD. Better to decode the LP prior to making the CD, that is what I have done in the past. I have made some pretty good QS CDs from those LPs ... and no need to use a decoder to play them back. Mike.
 
<blockquote><strong><em>Quote:</em></strong><hr> Better to decode the LP prior to making the CD[/quote]
THAT WAS my intent!;)
 
I have a reel dub of Joe Walsh "Smoker" from the Q8 and it's very discrete, unlike the QS album. Same thing with the Steely Dan Q8 conversions I got from Tab.
 
I have a copy of Jim Croce's "Life & Times" on COMMAND QUADRAPHONIC Q8.... it's very poor. Stereo front and back. I play it in my Dodge Dart's Stereo-8 deck! I'd like to find a copy of the same album on ABC Q8 and see if there is any difference.
 
The Joe Walsh quad LP had the big "Command Quadraphonic" border across the top. This one decodes nicely and is true quad (although the Q8 does sound much better).

I have no doubt that the ABC LP's proudly proclaiming "Command Quadraphonic" are indeed quad. It is the ones that simply have a small, discrete "Compatible Quadraphonic" blurb on them that I question. I mean, all stereo records are compatible quadraphonic. They will all play through a quad decoder, so technically, they are compatible with a quad system.

 
I think what he means is that the Quad 8's that say "COMMAND QUADRAPHONIC" (which are from Canada) do not have the separation of the ABC Quad 8's from the USA of the same title.

:-jon
 
How did the dbx records sound?

The sound varied from recording to recording. Some, if not all, of the first discs were made from digital masters. The first series of dbx encoded discs that I remember were sold under the M&K Realtime Records label. The three M&K records that I own are part of the “Digital Masterpiece Series” which used, as one may expect, digital masters. These are fairly early digital recording, circa 1979, using the then new Sony PCM-1600 16-bit Digital Studio Recorder. The M&K records in this series are classical music.

Of the three Varese Sarabande Digital dbx encoded LP’s that I have, one was recorded in 1978 and the other two were recorded in 1980. All three recordings were made using the Soundstream System recorders. The Varese Sarabande Digital recordings are classical music.

Other record labels with dbx encoded recordings include Arabesque Recordings, Sine Qua Non Superba, Laurel Record, Turnabout VOX, Musical Heritage Society, Mark Levinson presents... , Mushroom Records and Nautilus Recordings SuperDiscs. Of all the dbx encoded records that I have, only the Turnabout VOX records are QS quadraphonic.

The appeal of the dbx encoded discs was that one could now have recordings with wide dynamic range without the surface noise intruding on the listening experience. The system worked well. The lack of record surface noise at that time was almost eerie! Cai’s criticism of the harsh sound my be due to the early digital recorders used to make some of the master recording. Not all of the dbx encoded discs used digital masters. Many, if not all, of the popular releases on the Nautilus SuperDiscs label were from multi-track analog masters. The Turnabout VOX records are from analog masters.

dbx Decoders.

The dbx type II decoder is the correct one for playback of dbx encoded LP’s. dbx sold the Model 21 dbx disc decoder ($109) as well as the Models 222, 224, 228 Type II noise reduction systems that had disc decoding. dbx later (1983-1984?) introduced the NX-40 an inexpensive ($129) compander that also had a disc decoder push button position for decoding records.

Technics introduced two cassette decks (RS-M270X and RS-M240X) with built-in dbx noise reduction in about 1981. These two decks included a switch position marked disc which could be used to decode the encoded dbx records. These were the first of several cassette decks that Technics produced with the dbx compander system built in.

Sincerely yours,

tcdriver

 
I didn't say DBX records through a DBX decoder sounded harsh. I said they sound kind of hollow. You get some decoding artifacts that I would describe as "breathing". It's one of those things that sound great at first (low noise floor, incredible dymanics and bandwidth) but after a while you sense that something isn't quite right. In my opinion, it was a great (but flawed) concept. You can't compress the audio by 50% and not expect to lose something in the equation. File DBX LP noise reduction under "close, but no cigar".

 
Wasn't there "CX" noise reduction too? I remember seeing a copy of Pink Floyd "The Wall" with the round "CX" logo on it. I almost bought it as a collectible back then. Now I wish I did. I bet those are rarer than the Mastersound LP set.

:-jon
 
I'm not familiar with CX, but I've heard it mentioned before. I wish I could say I have that Floyd LP but I don't!

 
CX is a noise reduction system by CBS used under license on RCA SelectaVision or CED Video Discs, I don't know if was used anywhere else. Incidentally CED Video Discs is where I spent my money after the death of quad, then that died so I got into laser discs now that's dead, I hoping DVD A and SACD will survive for many years to come.
 
A number of laser discs were released with CX noise reduction, and some lps too. I have a laboratory test record and an lp by Orchestral Maneuvers In The Dark from 1981. I've never played either one, I might if I find a decoder.
 
Hey macdaddy - yo uhave an even worse record than I! Got into 8tracks -- gone. Into quad -- gone. Into vinyl -- well, not quite. Are you a mac user (vs pc)? Now you're scaring me!
Macpunk
aka Marc
 
Hey, I still have BETA 8o I also have a David Bowie Beta tape that is encoded in Tate SQ format. I have never listened to it through my Tate though; I guess I should one of these days. Might be an interesting DTS video conversion though. :eek: Mike.
 
Yes, I collected 8 tracks too, quad 8tracks. After letting them collect dust from the late 70's I decided to get rid of them about 3 years ago. I sold them to Mark Anderson of The Surround Sound Discography for a decent price and even tossed in the player if he would take the whole collection. If I had only waited for ebay.
 
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