I was digging around in a box earlier, and I came across this UK CBS SQ releases brochure. I think I picked it up in late 1976 as I started University and got interested in Quad.
UK CBS SQ LP & Tape Releases Brochure from about 1976
- Thread starter DuncanS
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Nice! This kind of stuff is great.
Thanks for posting this!
Thanks for posting this!
I like the very casual question in the brochure; Why not add to your current stereo an SQ decoder (plus, of course, the additional two speakers and stereo amp) and there you have it. Yeah, as simple as that. Hah! I bought my Pioneer QX-949 receiver in about 1973 for around $750 through a friend who was in the military at that time. Otherwise I believe the retail price would have been in the $900 range. In today's dollars that $750 would cost me about $3,750. Let's say at the time I already owned two of my Sansui SP-3500 speakers and only had to add two more. I actually got my 4 speakers from my buddy when he returned home from the Army, but I'm guessing they would have retailed for around $200 each. So, that would be another $400 investment in 1973 dollars equaling about 2 grand in today's dollars. So back in 73 I'm now into this for about an equivalent of $5,750 in today's money. And that would just get me to the point of being able to experience SQ quad. If I wanted quad reel, quad 8-track and CD-4 the costs continue to rise. It's actually amazing anyone jumped on the quad bandwagon back during it's inception.
What dr8track is saying is true, but it's also true that back in the '70s, we were still in the "HiFi" era, and to many people, their "stereo" was as important to them as their cars and more than their TVs. Receivers were all the rage, and if you had a Marantz, Sansui, Pioneer, or any one of the "big names", you were styling. Huge speakers? Tops!
Music was part of the fabric of the time, a very important part of it. Radio was still king and you had to listen to a lot of marginal crap to get a good tune or two, so your LPs and Tapes were the primary listen, and every new album release you got you played all the way through, suffering through the songs on the side you did not like (at first).
Going Quad was indeed a huge investment. The equipment was expensive (the cheap crap useless), and the LPs were $1 more (which would lead to many a wife/husband "issue" ), along with the speakers taking over the room and all (much like today)
It's a shame there wasn't a uniform format that was easy to use and played back with perfection. I suppose the Quad Reel was that format, but the reels were far and few between, and the machines were big and expensive.
If quad had made it, that was the era for it to do it. These days, the general public feels that music is something for your phone, not your house. Too many other things take priority.
Music was part of the fabric of the time, a very important part of it. Radio was still king and you had to listen to a lot of marginal crap to get a good tune or two, so your LPs and Tapes were the primary listen, and every new album release you got you played all the way through, suffering through the songs on the side you did not like (at first).
Going Quad was indeed a huge investment. The equipment was expensive (the cheap crap useless), and the LPs were $1 more (which would lead to many a wife/husband "issue"
), along with the speakers taking over the room and all (much like today)It's a shame there wasn't a uniform format that was easy to use and played back with perfection. I suppose the Quad Reel was that format, but the reels were far and few between, and the machines were big and expensive.
If quad had made it, that was the era for it to do it. These days, the general public feels that music is something for your phone, not your house. Too many other things take priority.
Thank you again, Duncan S for posting this.
The list appears to have been compiled in early '74, based on the titles listed.
It seems curious that many titles were available on SQ or Q8, but not both!?! More curious is that the 2 SQ/Q8 titles Mass and Bach: Brandenberg are only available as 3 and 2 Q8's, respectively. I have the Mass on both formats. The 3 Q8 box is impressive looking. There was a post card enclosed to send for the free the LP-size book. Both are titles I highly recommend.
Being obsessive about all this, I counted 76 titles that I own on one or both formats.
Having been in the business back then, it was astounding how much the gear cost. Even in light of free gear and accommodation discounts, it was a lot of money. Most Quad customers either started with a Quad receiver and two speakers, or bought it all piecemeal. I had $1100 into mine, which retailed at $3600.
Add these costs, competing formats, oil crisis/recession, and a larger footprint. It's no wonder Quad "sank without a trace," as a colleague at Pacific Stereo commented. Yet, though seemingly without a trace, Quaddies are still still enjoying surround goodness.
:51banana:
The list appears to have been compiled in early '74, based on the titles listed.
It seems curious that many titles were available on SQ or Q8, but not both!?! More curious is that the 2 SQ/Q8 titles Mass and Bach: Brandenberg are only available as 3 and 2 Q8's, respectively. I have the Mass on both formats. The 3 Q8 box is impressive looking. There was a post card enclosed to send for the free the LP-size book. Both are titles I highly recommend.
Being obsessive about all this, I counted 76 titles that I own on one or both formats.
Having been in the business back then, it was astounding how much the gear cost. Even in light of free gear and accommodation discounts, it was a lot of money. Most Quad customers either started with a Quad receiver and two speakers, or bought it all piecemeal. I had $1100 into mine, which retailed at $3600.
Add these costs, competing formats, oil crisis/recession, and a larger footprint. It's no wonder Quad "sank without a trace," as a colleague at Pacific Stereo commented. Yet, though seemingly without a trace, Quaddies are still still enjoying surround goodness.
:51banana:
It looks like I put an asterisk next to the LPs I was after. The only album I managed to get on the list was Edgar Winter's "They Only Come Out At Night". I've managed to get most of the Mahavishnu Orchestra & Santana in SQ in the last 6 months. Since I got into 5.1 in 2001-2002, all that I've got that was on the list that's been re-released is the SACD of Isley's "3+3"!
As for cost, well I built a Quad decoder in my second year using the Motorola chip and a home made PCB, and was given my father's old stereo amp and speakers which I used for the rear channels. But I really wanted CD-4!
1976 "Turbo" Quad system 
:
Marantz 4400 receiver: $1300
Marantz Remote: $50
Marantz SQA-2(a) full logic: $70
Marantz CD-4 demodulator: $130
Marantz wood case: $50
Altec Voice of Theater speakers: $500 x 4
Teac (A)-3340S 10 1/2" 7 1/2 ips/15 ips reel: $1000
Akai CR-80 DSS Q8 Recorder: $350
Marantz Turntable: $250
Audio- Technica AT-15S CD-4 phono cart: $100
Teac A-450 (2 ch) cassette: $400
Russound QT-1 tape switcher: $150
TOTAL $5850, not including shelving or tax.
Deduct $1200 to substitute 4 large bookshelf speakers for Altec's.
Deduct $800 for a low-line Quad receiver, and you have $3850 for a complete Quad system able to play all formats.
$2850 without a Quad reel.
Now calculate what each of those totals cost in 2014 dollars.
:Marantz 4400 receiver: $1300
Marantz Remote: $50
Marantz SQA-2(a) full logic: $70
Marantz CD-4 demodulator: $130
Marantz wood case: $50
Altec Voice of Theater speakers: $500 x 4
Teac (A)-3340S 10 1/2" 7 1/2 ips/15 ips reel: $1000
Akai CR-80 DSS Q8 Recorder: $350
Marantz Turntable: $250
Audio- Technica AT-15S CD-4 phono cart: $100
Teac A-450 (2 ch) cassette: $400
Russound QT-1 tape switcher: $150
TOTAL $5850, not including shelving or tax.
Deduct $1200 to substitute 4 large bookshelf speakers for Altec's.
Deduct $800 for a low-line Quad receiver, and you have $3850 for a complete Quad system able to play all formats.
$2850 without a Quad reel.
Now calculate what each of those totals cost in 2014 dollars.
The dollar is worth about a quarter what it was in '76; so in today's dollars:
TOTAL $23,400, not including shelving or tax.
Deduct $4800 to substitute 4 large bookshelf speakers for Altec's.
Deduct $3200 for a low-line Quad receiver, and you have $15,400 for a complete Quad system able to play all formats.
$11,400 without a Quad reel.
TOTAL $23,400, not including shelving or tax.
Deduct $4800 to substitute 4 large bookshelf speakers for Altec's.
Deduct $3200 for a low-line Quad receiver, and you have $15,400 for a complete Quad system able to play all formats.
$11,400 without a Quad reel.
WOW!!! Please don't tell all those ebay sellers about these prices or none of us could afford it!
Digging deeper in the box today, I've found this. My home made Motorola 1312 based SQ decoder from 1977-ish, looks like I copied the PCB/circuit from the September 1973 issue of Practical Electronics going by the text I scratched on to the PCB.
Doug G.
2K Club - QQ Super Nova
Of course, even though there weren't enough people to support quad in the mainstream, there were enough of us who realized we could never be satisfied again with regular two channel stereo that, when the internet became a reality, there was bound to be this place and it's wonderful.
I still love all the quad logos too.
Doug
I still love all the quad logos too.
Doug
kap'n krunch
2K Club - QQ Super Nova
Well, thanks to my stepfather I turned into a Quad Junkie,,,
Although he had a "low level" Panasonic Q8/receiver and to me , it sounded heavenly....
Although, I think that NOW is a MUCH better time be a Quad/Surround freak than in the 70's....
A decent system is still quite a chunk o'change but now there are the NEW mixes....just imagine "Starless and Bible Black" in Quad back then!!!!!!! (ELP's Tarkus, BSS, Genesis' Lamb, SEBTP, etc!!! to name just a few...), and , yes, the old stuff is VERY hard to come by in good condition....we QQer's are VERY LUCKY that way...
Still , I LOOOOVE the gold colored Q8 cart "sleeves"....
Although he had a "low level" Panasonic Q8/receiver and to me , it sounded heavenly....
Although, I think that NOW is a MUCH better time be a Quad/Surround freak than in the 70's....
A decent system is still quite a chunk o'change but now there are the NEW mixes....just imagine "Starless and Bible Black" in Quad back then!!!!!!! (ELP's Tarkus, BSS, Genesis' Lamb, SEBTP, etc!!! to name just a few...), and , yes, the old stuff is VERY hard to come by in good condition....we QQer's are VERY LUCKY that way...
Still , I LOOOOVE the gold colored Q8 cart "sleeves"....
I especially like the older "shiny" Columbia Q8 sleeves.
Oh Linda, No way - are you really?!!!!
Anybody else notice that the tape in this advert is a white GRT label Q8 with the red "coloured-in" Q8 symbols and the album art covered up?
View attachment 13299
I still use this setup in my office at work. Think about how perplexed people look the first time they enter my office and see an 8-track player!
I still use this setup in my office at work. Think about how perplexed people look the first time they enter my office and see an 8-track player!
kap'n krunch
2K Club - QQ Super Nova
And it's NOT a QUAD cart...!!!!
I dunno.... I can kinda see a notch in the top left.... hard to see though.
Doug G.
2K Club - QQ Super Nova
I can see the notch too.
Doug
Doug
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