Do I need both a quad sq decoder amp and demodulator along with shabata cartidge to play cd-4 vinyl?

[aifrecords]

confused,and hard to get answer on google. do i need to get a quad amp with sq decoder AND a demodulator along with shabata cartridge to hear cd-4 vinyl? or will a regular 4 cahnnel amp and demodulator with the shabata cartridge suffice?

 

[furui_suterioo]

No, you only need the SQ decoder if you want to play SQ-encoded records, a regular 4 channel amp, a demodulator, and shibata setup will work for cd-4.

 

[aifrecords]

thanks very much

 

[furui_suterioo]

thanks very much

You're welcome, there's lots of good info on here for setting up cd-4, also feel free to ask any questions!

 

[aifrecords]

thank you, actually yes, i have more questions will a shabata cartridge work on all turntables? i have a teac. these shabatas run $80 on ebay, any cheaper options? also how do u hook up the demodulator to a stereo amp, i know every in goes to an out and vice versa, so if i go out of demodulator would that go to in/play of tape one or tape two in back of my amp? then i just plug turntable into my amp phono holes in the back? then set amp to phono control to hear turntable like i always do? ive got some rca quadradisc dynaflex records ever hear of those? are they in the category of qs you think or sq? looked on the labels and front and back of cover and it just says rca quadradisc dynaflex. I also have the following on vinyl biut i dont think they are quad: phase 4 stereo london records,rca dynagroove,spectra sonic sound,4 channel on 35 mm film vinyl,full frequency stereophonic sound,capitol duophonic,stereo fidelity(miller records) ever hear of these?

 

[furui_suterioo]

thank you, actually yes, i have more questions will a shabata cartridge work on all turntables? i have a teac. these shabatas run $80 on ebay, any cheaper options

Turntables from the quad era are likely to have the appropriate low-capacitance for cd-4, modern ones can work too, I'm not sure which exact models. There are multiple carts/styli options for cd-4 but they are not cheap, here is one thread(of many) on this subject:

New to Quad! Which CD-4 Cartridge?

Ok, after years of thinking about it I pulled the trigger. The Receiver is a Kenwood 9940, chosen for the price, power, and CD4 demodulator (?). That beast will power 4 JBL L166s. The turntable is a Marantz 6200 that came with a basic cartridge. Question: Which direction should I go for the...

www.quadraphonicquad.com

i just plug turntable into my amp phono holes in the back? then set amp to phono control to hear turntable like i always do?

Not exactly, if you are using a standalone demodulator, the turntable will be directly connected to the demodulator and then the 4 channels from the demodulator go to the amp(s)/tape monitor. Here is another thread which this was recently discussed:

Marantz CD-400 stopped working

I got two sides out of it before it quit... I played both sides of a Stravinsky quadradisc and it worked flawlessly. Then I went to play a regular LP just for enjoyment and I noticed I was getting significant output out of the rear channels. Now the "RADAR" light lights up whenever the...

www.quadraphonicquad.com

ive got some rca quadradisc dynaflex records ever hear of those? are they in the category of qs you think or sq? looked on the labels and front and back of cover and it just says rca quadradisc dynaflex. I also have the following on vinyl biut i dont think they are quad: phase 4 stereo london records,rca dynagroove,spectra sonic sound,4 channel on 35 mm film vinyl,full frequency stereophonic sound,capitol duophonic,stereo fidelity(miller records) ever hear of these?

"Quadradisc"=CD-4, Dynagroove=not quad, Duophonic=fake stereo, "35mm film vinyl" is Enoch Light(quad format can vary), not sure about the others. Oddly enough, "phase 4" was also being discussed the other day on this thread:

Pye 594 4ch Stereo

This unit i picked up at the same recycle centre as the SK15a speakers. The Pye 594 is complete and working. Previous owner cut the power cord and tossed, bcs the only issue is, it won't turn off. I purchased a new cartridge and needle, but didn't need to as old one works fine too. Have used...

www.quadraphonicquad.com

 

[Doug G.]

As furui said, the turntable outputs connect directly to the demodulator phono inputs and the demodulator outputs connect to high level inputs on front and back stereo amplifiers and so, to the speakers. On the amplifiers, you select whichever input you connected the demodulator to.

May I suggest you read up on all this so it becomes clear? It would make it so much easier for you to work with legacy quad equipment and have an understanding of the difference between the matrix and discrete systems.

Doug

 

[Wagonmaster_91]

The CD-4 demodulator has a phono preamp in it, taking the place of the one in your amp, so you want to plug the output of the modulator into a high level input on your amp - Aux, Tape, Tuner or Tape Monitor - but NOT Phono. (Of course you will need an amp that has 4 discrete channel inputs or two stereo amps - one for the front channels and one for the rears.)
Many demodulators (the Marantz CD-400B, for example) have a "direct pass-through" switch that does pass the unaffected output from your turntable via the "direct output" connectors if you wish to play a stereo or mono record and do not want the demodulator in that signal path and do want to use your (front) amp's phono preamp . That 'direct output" connection WOULD need to go into the Phono input of your amp. You don't have to play a non-CD-4 record this way - you can play a stereo or mono LP through the demodulator, but if you mainly play non-CD-4 LPs and don't want to have to turn on the demodulator to play those LPs you can set the demodulator in the "direct pass through" position and set your amp to Phono. Since it is a direct connection within the demodulator, most don't even need to be powered on to play an LP through your Phono input with the switch in this position.
To play SQ or QS encoded LPs you need decoders (or one that does both) for those LPs, but they do not have to play though the demodulator so there is another use/reason for the direct pass through option. (And no special cartridge/stylus needed for SQ or QS LPs.) Those decoders get their signals from your amp(s) (preamp actually), not directly from your turntable, and can use your Tape Monitor loop to do their job.
As stated above, this site has lots of good info on the different formats of quad. I would suggest the best starting point is to learn the difference between matrix based quad LPs (SQ, QS, etc) and discrete LPs (CD-4) and how they are decoded. Once you have a working understanding of those differences, the rest of it makes sense pretty fast. Welcome to the world of quadraphonics and multi-channel music.

 

[jaybird100]

Aifrecords, you don't say what your main system is; whether it's a quad receiver, or what. If you're using a quad era receiver (1970's, mainly), there should be some sort of matrix decoder in it. Some have better matrix decoding circuitry than others, but if you see settings for "SQ" and "RM" or "QS", you'll be able to play those records and get some quad effect from them. How good those circuits are will determine how much channel separation you get. Many of those receivers also have built-in CD-4 demodulators too, so you'll only need to have a suitable cartridge on your turntable, along with the appropriate low-capacitance wiring. You'll find that, after listening to quad, it's hard to go back to listening to plain-vanilla stereo. Even your stereo records, when played through an RM-type matrix decoder, will create a surround effect that can be quite good. Have fun exploring, and enjoying, your new hobby.

 

[jaybird100]

Turntables from the quad era are likely to have the appropriate low-capacitance for cd-4, modern ones can work too, I'm not sure which exact models. There are multiple carts/styli options for cd-4 but they are not cheap, here is one thread(of many) on this subject:

New to Quad! Which CD-4 Cartridge?

Ok, after years of thinking about it I pulled the trigger. The Receiver is a Kenwood 9940, chosen for the price, power, and CD4 demodulator (?). That beast will power 4 JBL L166s. The turntable is a Marantz 6200 that came with a basic cartridge. Question: Which direction should I go for the...

www.quadraphonicquad.com

Not exactly, if you are using a standalone demodulator, the turntable will be directly connected to the demodulator and then the 4 channels from the demodulator go to the amp(s)/tape monitor. Here is another thread which this was recently discussed:

Marantz CD-400 stopped working

I got two sides out of it before it quit... I played both sides of a Stravinsky quadradisc and it worked flawlessly. Then I went to play a regular LP just for enjoyment and I noticed I was getting significant output out of the rear channels. Now the "RADAR" light lights up whenever the...

www.quadraphonicquad.com

"Quadradisc"=CD-4, Dynagroove=not quad, Duophonic=fake stereo, "35mm film vinyl" is Enoch Light(quad format can vary), not sure about the others. Oddly enough, "phase 4" was also being discussed the other day on this thread:

Pye 594 4ch Stereo

This unit i picked up at the same recycle centre as the SK15a speakers. The Pye 594 is complete and working. Previous owner cut the power cord and tossed, bcs the only issue is, it won't turn off. I purchased a new cartridge and needle, but didn't need to as old one works fine too. Have used...

www.quadraphonicquad.com

Pye also had a record label, now known as PRT, that released a series of "4D" LP's. Those records are quad, using the QS system. The repertoir on those records is mostly easy listening instrumental. Despite having a nice stable of pop and rock artists, none of their records were ever released as 4D.