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HI Westgate, Thanks for the info. I see you are in the woods in Vt, Haha I was in the woods in Sandwich NH ( On Golden Pond ) for more than 20 years.
Now I am in the woods in Northern Mississippi.

Guppy
 
Hi there Quad-lovers,

I have a technical question. I am looking into an old Soundesign AM/FM Stereo/8 track quad receiver. - probably from the '70's. I don't know the product number as I have yet to possess the system.
I have some 8-track tapes that I tried in the system, but I just got sped-up or slowed down versions. The settings were: 1,2,3 and 4 as well as "Quad" which seemed to be an alternate setting, but I couldn't access it.
I guess my question is this: Do you know anything regarding Soundesign receivers and how I could figure out the system? Any forums I can look into (other than this one) or manuals that I could get a hold of?
I do not think the system is broken, just old and I'm unsure of proper settings. If it is broken, I think it is an easy fix. I just need some sort of guide as to where to begin or how to start.
Any thoughts?

Thanks so much!

Cheers,
Quad
 
Hi there Quad-lovers,

I have a technical question. I am looking into an old Soundesign AM/FM Stereo/8 track quad receiver. - probably from the '70's. I don't know the product number as I have yet to possess the system.
I have some 8-track tapes that I tried in the system, but I just got sped-up or slowed down versions. The settings were: 1,2,3 and 4 as well as "Quad" which seemed to be an alternate setting, but I couldn't access it.
I guess my question is this: Do you know anything regarding Soundesign receivers and how I could figure out the system? Any forums I can look into (other than this one) or manuals that I could get a hold of?
I do not think the system is broken, just old and I'm unsure of proper settings. If it is broken, I think it is an easy fix. I just need some sort of guide as to where to begin or how to start.
Any thoughts?

Thanks so much!

Cheers,
Quad

give it some good use - bash it over the head of whomever sold it to you and go buy sansui QRX- X001 series receiver....because all you have is a broken 8-track player that has NO quad performance to bother with.

what quad 8-track tapes u got?
 
Hi there Quad-lovers,

I have a technical question. I am looking into an old Soundesign AM/FM Stereo/8 track quad receiver. - probably from the '70's. I don't know the product number as I have yet to possess the system.

Any thoughts?

if you haven't paid for it yet, don't! move on, find something better.
as the other guys say, soundesign gear is basically junk.
 
Does the Soundesign have 4 inputs like for tapes? If so and you didn't pay anything for it one could stick a DVD-A/SACD player with analog outputs into it and use it for an extra player like say the garage or another room, I would not put money into repairing it, unless it brings back good memories of owning one from the 70's. The Quad 8 tracks could be worth more than the actual unit. It can be fun though to collect weird off brand Quad stuff, provided you have the room.
 
I am currently using a Sherwood RD-6106 Home Theater system for amplification, with three Realistic SA-10 amps running auxillary speakers (I am running 10 channels). For the legacy quad, I have a switchbox connected to a Metrotec SDW-Q decoder, the discrete inputs on the Sherwood, and the SA-10. There is RM circuitry in the switchbox. (But also note that the surround mode of a Pro-Logic decoder is RM).

My system can play any of the following matrix systems:

- Dolby Surround
- RM (including QS, EV and Dyna)
- SQ
- EV universal (The Metrotec, in the "synthesized quad" position happens to be exactly the coefficients for this)
- UMX (using the trick of trading the speakers of an SQ system)
- Matrix H
- CircleSurround
- BHJ Ambisonics
- The short-lived system encoding height into Dolby Surround, for sounds above and below the listener.

I also have a TASCAM 246 Portastudio that I can do discrete cassette recordings on (using the Norrtronics system), and an RM matrix encoder I built myself. I sometimes record local bands in RM surround sound. The recordings play back in Dolby Surround, as well as with any RM decoder.
 
I'm new here, but not deeply into Quad these days. Still, I have some of the original items from the day.

The receiver is a Pioneer QX-949A that has electronic issues. I'd love to get this thing fixed since I've been carting it around for nearly 35 years. I think the major problem was losing channels, but it's in perfect cosmetic condition.

I had that receiver mated with 6 Pioneer speakers. 4 of them were CS-901A's (130 watt) from the overseas market. The other two were CS-911A's (150 watt). I have two of the 901A's up in the music room, and another two hooked into my downstairs TV multimedia setup, with some small JBL ceiling speakers in the rear. Not sure where the heck the 911's are, but they're most likely boxed up and stored in the garage (probably not the best place for them...).

As for other quad gear, I've got the Teac A3340S 4-channel simul-sync tape deck that still works great (had it in a couple of times for tweaks). I used that deck with a Teac AN-300 4-Channel Dolby Noise Reduction processor and a JVC SEA-V7E 4-channel Sound Effect Amplifier graphic equalizer.

I had purchased a Technics SL-1100A manual transcription turntable while I was stationed overseas (special ordered from Japan, delivered to Thailand), but it got ripped off after I re-routed it right back to the states. Got to blame the USPS for that nightmare... Wish I had sent the platter in a different box! I eventually ended up with a Technics SL-1300 direct drive turntable with an Audio Technica ATN15SS 4-ch cartridge with Shibata stylus (I bought two of the stylus's I think...).

I bought a set of Koss Pro5Q 4-ch headphones to top things off and give me a private way to listen to awesome 4-ch sounds.

Last item of a quad nature is my Teac Tascam M-216 mixing console. I still use that all the time (I play guitar) with the decks plugged into it, a cassette, a cd player and an mp3 player along with keyboards and the guitars. It's mostly used in 2-channel mode since I've only got two of the CS-901A's hooked into that rig, but as you can see from the photo, it'll take 4-channels and mix them down into a stereo mix for output to an amp. I've had that nearly as long as the quad equipment, all of which I bought overseas during the last days of the Vietnam war. I had ordered another item (a 4-channel Akai GXD-400DSS 4-ch tape deck), but it got lost in the fog of war and my money had to be returned before I returned to the continental US. Bummer. But, the Teac was a great stand-in with simul-sync capabilities.

I think that was the totality of the system I had back then. I've got two of the Pioneer 4-ch test 45's for setting up the carrier signal on the Pioneer QX-949. That was always fun.

Anyway, while it lasted, I thought it was a great technology. There were those people back then that would say "duh, you've only got two ears, so why bother with 4-ch", but they were dimwits. You certainly could differentiate sounds with CD-4 coming from any of the 4 directions, or any combination within the circle of sound. 4-Channel tecnhology probably didn't stick because of the special CD-4 records you'd have to buy, and that fact that you needed the 4-channel Shibata stylus, etc. You wouldn't want to play your CD-4 disks on a 2-channel stylus lest your ruin them.

Whatever killed it, it just sucks now that we've gotta have 5 ears to hear 5.1, etc. Dunderheads!

I wish there was some chatter about where to get these vintage items repaired (the QX-949A is the only thing out of service...) in our local areas. I'll delve deeper into the site, hoping there are some discussions. My Pioneer amp is way too heavy to be shipping around the country for service, but I'd love to get it back to working condition. I've got two channel amps that get used in the different rooms of the house. And, I still use all of the rest of it (turntable, SEA-V7E, the Quad headphones, etc), but only in a modified 2-ch environment with 4 speakers.

BTW, I always thought that the RM or Regular Matrix on the Pioneer amp worked great to develop 4 nearly distinct channels from a 2-channel source. The SQ setting did ok, too, but I preferred the RM.

All in all, it was great to have such a setup in the day when people only had two ears.

Joe
 

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I'm new here, but not deeply into Quad these days. Still, I have some of the original items from the day.

Whatever killed it, it just sucks now that we've gotta have 5 ears to hear 5.1, etc. Dunderheads!

I had ordered another item (a 4-channel Akai GXD-400DSS 4-ch tape deck), but it got lost in the fog of war and my money had to be returned before I returned to the continental US. Bummer.

All in all, it was great to have such a setup in the day when people only had two ears.

Joe

welcome to QQ, hope you enjoy your time here.

great collection of gear! i did the same re buying while in service (army) in '73, near end of vn war. i was in tokyo for my service time.

curious, you now have a/the gx-400d-ss? or it was lost back in the day and not replaced?
just wondering because of the photo. or is it a stock photo?
they're starting to command some hefty prices on ebay, etc which bums me out a bit as i would like to have one some day.
 
Hi all,

I am using a "lowly" QRX-3500.

Thanks to all of you here, I have learned a great deal since I joined!

J

IMG_0764.jpg
 
welcome to QQ, hope you enjoy your time here.

great collection of gear! i did the same re buying while in service (army) in '73, near end of vn war. i was in tokyo for my service time.

curious, you now have a/the gx-400d-ss? or it was lost back in the day and not replaced?

they're starting to command some hefty prices on ebay, etc which bums me out a bit as i would like to have one some day.

Thanks for the hello, westgate! I was stationed at Udorn RTAFB Thailand from '74-'75, so I was there for the fall of 'Nam (F-4 phantom jet mechanic). I bought all of the quad gear while I was there through the PACEX catalog and had it shipped straight home to Chicago, that is, all except for that pesky turntable and the Akai deck. Already told the story of the turntable... The Akai tape deck was on a container ship called the Mayaguez, which was nabbed by the Cambodians in the last conflict of the Vietnam war. We got the ship back, and saved the American crew, but lost a bunch of guys (~45) in the process. The ship was released and finished the cruise to the customs port at Sattahip Thailand, but the Thai government was so pissed at us (for staging a mini-war from their lands) that they locked up the cargo for months (probably waiting for a payoff or something...). Anyway, long story short, my time came to leave and the deck never got released. Had to get my money back from the Base Exchange where I had special ordered it, and placed the PACEX order for the Teac deck, which turned out to be a nice second choice. Still run the Teac every so often. Lots of 10" reels of music in the library. And, yes, those photos were mostly ones gleaned off the net in the effort to complete the message with photos that explained some of the stuff.

Here's a pic of what the music room arrangement looked like a few years ago. It's basically the same, but the foosball game has been replaced by a drum set, etc.

Music room.jpg

The Teac A-3340 is there, as is another Akai GX-747 behind the glass on the left. The Technics is above the Akai, under the glass, too. In the stack of items in the middle, on top is a cassette-to-cassette deck, the JVC SEA-V7E, a 6-pack CD player, a Teac amp and the Tascam mixing console on the bottom. On the right is a Korg EPS-1 electronic piano, and above it (under the towel) is a Korg Mono/Poly analog synthesizer. The Teac AN-300 Dolby processor isn't hooked up (no room), but it's in a cubby on the computer desk to the right. The two Pioneer CS-901A's are in opposite corners. 2 of my 5 guitars are hanging out and there's a little Gorilla amp on the left and a Roland Cube-60 amp under the pianos. You can see a soft case up on top of the Roland Cube-60 and that's where the Koss Pro5Q headphones are at, staying safe from my 20 yr old son and his minions. There's another set of Telex 2-ch headphones up on the Korg EPS-1 on the right.

All in all, I'm happy with what I have, but I wish I could get the Pioneer QX-949A up and running. It's in a cubby above a microwave on the back wall of this room behind me in the photo. I keep it in here so it stays inside instead of in the garage in the heat and humidity.

Ok, hope that clears up the photo issue. I could do nice digi photos, but what would be the point when I can borrow some off the net. None of the ones I borrowed should come back to haunt me as far as copyright issues, etc., I wouldn't think.

Joe
 
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095.JPG

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I just got my Sansui QRX-9001 back from Chris Ready ([email protected]), and couldn't be happier. It hasn't been used since the late 80's due to channel dropout issues. Chris worked his magic, and it sounds better than ever.

Chris replaced a total of 220 components (caps, resistors, regulator, fuses and all bulbs are now LED.) He cleaned all switches and controls, restained and polished the cabinet, and tuned and calibrated everything. The top photo shows how nice the new LEDs look. The middle shot shows the 2 new main filter caps that replace the 4 originally used by Sansui. Chris says the new caps will tighten the bass. Sounds good to me! The bottom shot shows many of the new audio quality caps used throughout the receiver. Of course, all the solder joints were retinned where necessary.

Chris really knows his stuff! He guarantees his work, and can turn around a receiver in a few weeks (depending on his workload.) I am VERY happy to have my baby back, and Chris took good care of her.

:51banana:
 
wow! that receiver is impressive to look at and the work description is even more impressive!

enjoy!

and welcome to QQ.
 
I have a Lafayette LR-5000 4-channel receiver. It has 40w X 4 rms, built-in RM and SQ Full Logic decoders, and a built-in CD-4 demodulator. I really enjoy it, though I would love to have it fully restored to prolong its life. CobraJet, does Chris Ready repair all brands of receivers or just Sansui units?
 
He mentioned Sansui and Marantz, but I'm sure he can fix anything, especially if he has a schematic. I would suggest shooting him an email and see how his workload looks. He always has a small backlog, but that's a good thing...keep him busy and he'll stick around for us. Hate to lose that kind of talent to Best Buy or Wal-Mart. :)
 
That's good to know. I actually do have the schematic for the unit (I got it from A.G. Tannenbaum), so that will be helpful I'm sure. Also, if I'm not mistaken the LR-5000 was probably made for Lafayette by Pioneer; it was made in Japan.
 
he is rebuilding - repairing my sansui au-9500 amp - that is old school.
he did a complete redo for my sansui 8080db - that is newer old school.
he is repairing both technics 6700x - with the scope - thats rare old school
and he is actually going to rebuild my bose wave radio...and that is new school.
i dont think he loves - tubes - but he said he's never come across one he couldnt fix.
but keep in mind there are some things that do have parts that are no longer available - the big kenwood - uh - the big one kr-9600 - that has a few parts that are off the market now - no new alternatives - so if those particular parts are not available or dont have cross reference new pieces made - well youre out of luck - but he wont start something he cant finish.
i did send him one of these - knight kg337 - or something like that - called a "knight color translator" - it had obsolete parts in it - so i had to find another to get the job done - so we shelved that until one comes up - and ive never seen one since - 5 years. hey anyone got one of those?

and chris does do this full-time - - -back in the day he worked for ..toshiba(?) and did this stuff on the side - but as the economy went sour - he got smart and took on all gear - full time - man you wanna talk about an economic revolution - he once was bitter - but now he is sweet - and as the gear keeps flowing in - forums like this keep him going and going. funny how what could have been an economic downturn has turned into an economic revolution for him - and as far as quadslob goes - he's repaired quadslobs repairs - and points out how much of his work had to have been performed by someone with all thumbs - and in a hurry. thats me putting words in his mouth - but ss9001 had his quadslob sansui repaired after it began to fail. so what quadslob thought were his own personal secrets about the 9001 and its problems are no mystery to chris. its all in these posts somewhere.

bottom line is - if chris can rebuild the marantz 4400 and the sansui qrx-9001 - - two of the most complicated receivers out there - then give him a shout out - and send it.


w.a.r.
 
What's the "basic cost" to work through a receiver? My Pioneer starting losing channels one by one. Not even sure where it stands now, but it's easy enough to find out. Trouble is the damn thing weighs so much, it probably isn't worth the effort of sending & returning, etc. Where is he located??

Joe
 
im not sure what his hourly rate is - i know for sure - you are right about one thing - shipping sucks up money. what ive dealt with so far is i ship to him - he emails me back what is ailing or needs to be fixed - or the cost of a TOTAL REBUILD - and he can take things further - like options on a car - you can go v-6, or v-8 or supercharged v-12. also LED lights and what i like most - is the lights - i like to change the color of things - ever seen a purple LED sansui qrx 7001? me either - but i am going to.

but back to the question - he looks it over - tests for power output rating - tests the channels - and then gives you options - is that free - i dunno - ive never stopped there before. he is boothwyn PA 19061

i hate shipping so much that i cut out the middle man - when i buy on EPAY - i added him as a confirmed address with paypal and ship it to him - he does me the favor of opening upon receipt - looks up the ebay auction - compares item description to what he has in his hands - if it passes that first test - not all do - then he shelves it until ready for Chris Ready. but i do know this to be true - marantz power boards go out - fairly common - and he will take a single board and repair/rebuild it and ship it back - but thats labor on your end and up to you to know what you are dealing with - there is a marantz collector close to me thats been doing that for a while.

sometimes it depends on if this is the receiver you want for life - or is it just the one you have - i do a little of both. the qrx-7001 is for life - the bose wave radio is for life - the technics 6700x with scope - i have 2 of them - might go to auction once finished....maybe i will keep one. the 8080db is for life and a kenwood model nine might go to auction - but if it slips under the radar and doesnt go for what i have in it - then i might just sit on it - the 2 sansui au9500 amps are to power the qrx 7001 - im having him add pre amp outputs - one amp for front l/r and one amp for rear l/r.

so thats the real question - are you wanting to fix what you have got - or are you looking to sink some dough into something for life? if its a lifer - spend the dough and get it done right and one time - if its just what youve got and are just looking for a fix - well, about $60 bucks each way from texas to PA. for shipping - but some people have had their receivers or whatever since highschool and it has nostalgic memories - so even if it aint top of the line - it must be fixed...so you can take it to the grave.

hope that helps - or at least gave you something to munch on - email him - or call - i would put his number here - but i changed at&t phones and for some shitty reason i ended up with exactly one half of my contact numbers - i only have a thru L ...see how bad i am with electronics - i cant even figure out my phone bro - its the yellow Rugby by samsung - anyone know what i did wrong?

w.a.reid
 
I sent him an e-mail earlier this evening. I am hoping he will tell me he has time to take a look at my LR-5000. I really do like it, and I'm probably never going to get lucky enough on eBay to win a Sansui QRX-9001.
 
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