Sanyo DCA1500X

[jdmack]

I just came back from my local thrift store, and there I saw the phrase "decoder amplifier" on a piece of equipment. The item was a Sanyo DCA1500X. The front panel had a switch for "2-channel" or "4-channel," and another switch for "matrix" or "discreet." So far, so good. Then I turned this thing around, and on the back, I only saw left and right inputs, left and right main outputs, and left and right speaker outputs. What's up with that? There didn't seem to be anyway to use this in a quad system. Was this equipment designed by two teams working separately and not communicating with each other?

J. D.

 

[geotex]

These type of units are designed to generate your rear channel sound. Many of the quad manufacturers released several units that would decode or synthesize the rear channels. If you have preamp-amp jumpers on your main amplifier, such as for inserting a reverb unit or equalizer, you would connect the preamp outputs to the decoder, then the output back to your main amplifier. The speaker output would be for your rear channels, with your main amp supplying the front channel amplification. You can also use the tape out-in jacks on your main amplifier and set your tape monitor switch accordingly.