Newb to Quad (but not HiFi) seeks advice

[sunseeker888]

Hi Quad forums! Hope everyone is good this afternoon. Well, I just joined up, and am very interested in the gem of a format called Quadraphonic.

Now, I have read many posts and feel the Sansui's are the nicest of the bunch, as far as decoding AND amplification in one package. However, I recently picked up this Lafayette receiver, model LR3500, for free. It works great, and i am a huge fan of Lafayette radio electronics corp, and miss them being in NYC.

This unit has RCA-jack out's on the back for remote speakers, and the speaker selector switch has a detent marked '4-Channel'. Is this suitable for any quad format, or is it some sort of 'hybrid' surround mode?

Don't get me wrong, this unit is a solid 2-channel contender at 47wpc RMS x 2, and It sounds great. Just wondering if I could fool around with 4-channel on it.

Any tips would really be appreciated. Thanks in advance!!

 

[JonUrban]

Welcome.

Lafayette actually had some great stuff in the '70s, and their quad stuff was actually superior to a lot of the crap one would find in stores. Their SQ decoders are still highly sought out.

Not sure about that model, or what the 4 Ch out might be for. Some later models of receiver/amps had 4 channel outs for "future" quad FM broadcasts. Maybe that's what you have there.

 

[The Quadfather]

It sounds like you have a two channel unit with a hafler circuit. It's just a resistor arrangement on the output to derive the rear speaker signals. It's not quad, if that is what it is. Those were quite common in the quad days. Manufacturers of stereo gear wanted to cash in on quad. All the cheap brands had a "quad" switch. Lafayette did make good stuff, but it doesn't sound like this was one of the better ones. Get a high end Sansui receiver if you want an all in one package. They come with a CD-4 demodulator and a very good matrix QS decoder. Then get a quad rated turntable and a phono cartridge with a linear contact stylus and you're set. Or you can get two stereo amplifiers (the same model) and add an outboard decoder and a demodulator. To either arrangement you can add a quad eight track or quad reel to reel unit. There are other brands of quad gear that are pretty good, but if you buy a Marantz, make sure you get the SQ module that goes in the slot underneath the unit. Many were purchased without the module probably by future upgraders, and the modules were never installed. There were several different modules, with the full logic modules being the best. Don't count on finding a module on Ebay, they do come up, but are about as scarce as chicken's teeth. Happy Hunting!

The Quadfather