I too am wondering what I need to do to transform my stereo turntable into Quad. I just acquired the following: Phase Linear 8000 linear tracking turntable, Pioneer QC 800 pre amp, Pioneer QM 800a power amp. I have a line on a Ortofon SL 15 Q cartridge which is good for CD 4. What is necessary to install it on the PL 8000 aside from normal stylus set up to enable Quad?
There are/were three major quadraphonic era systems: SQ, QS and CD-4. The SQ and QS systems can use any ordinary two-channel stereo cartridge, so, they are the easiest to set up. A good QS / SQ decoder is needed to play these formats. The Involve Audio's Surround Master V2 is an excellent modern QS / SQ decoder. A search on this website will turn up a lot of information on this unit.
----------------------------------------------------------CD-4 ---------------------------------------------------------------------
To successfully play a CD-4 (aka Quadradisc) disc, you will need the following:
1. CD-4 encoded record. It should say CD-4 or Quadradisc on the cover.
2. CD-4 demodulator, either stand alone or built into a receiver, preamp or integrated amplifier.
3. CD-4 capable phono cartridge. i.e. capable of frequency response to 45kHz. The carrier frequency, 30kHz., is frequency modulated from 20kHz. to 45kHz. Conical or elliptical shaped diamonds are not suitable for frequency response to 45kHz. The Shibata diamond tip was introduced specifically to play back the high frequencies found on CD-4 records. Other stylus shapes, “Quadrahedral”, “4 Dimensional”, “mico-ridge”, “line contact”, etc. were also developed for CD-4 disc use.
4. Turntable with low capacitance arm wiring and low capacitance interconnects. The total capacitance from headshell to the end of the cable that plugs into the CD-4 capable phono inputs should be < 100pF.
Some examples of CD-4 (Quadradisc) records: