Japanese qx matrix

[quadtrade]

Doing the Ebay work and came across this. This is Japanese LP called Sharp Five. This was done in the Columbia QX format, an early matrix which it looks like no one has even brought up in our English speaking forum. Do the Japanese have a Quad Forum??? Maybe they can answer more questions about the format. But if you look at the scans, it looks like they want this to be used with side speakers, each one channel, a rear channel, and 2 speakers for the front channel. Makes 5. I can not read it, so no idea if the front is both same channel, but that seems likely after seeing the drawings. Anyone read Japanese?

 

[Q8]

I've found that a lot or all Japanese Columbia SQ catalog numbers start with QX. So maybe they called SQ QX for a minute?

Also on the Mark Anderson discography page abbreviation key it says:

QS - Matrix Format Vinyl LP (Applies to RM & QX)


So maybe QX was just Japan's non-sansui terminology for QS, as we used RM.

That's all I can add to the mystery at this point.

 

[quadsearcher]

Sharp Five? Big Operation For 4 Channel! Looks interesting....

 

[Quad Linda]

That Columbia logo appears to be an EMI Columbia logo,



not a CBS/Sony Columbia logo.

 

[jdmack]

A bit of Google-ing may turn up an mp3 of this album. I can say no more.

J. D.

 

[Quadwreck]

Columbia got broken off in Japan as a result of WW2, just as the Victor company became RCA in the US and JVC in Japan. I don't remember the circumstances that made Columbia's UK operation a part of EMI, but something similar happened with the labels Brunswick and Decca. Same names, different companies.

 

[Quad Linda]

Columbia Records' history is rather circular in various countries.

It was founded in 1888, from what had been the American Graphophone Company. Prior to that, it was the Volta Graphophone Company. Columbia is the oldest brand name in pre-recorded music. It was the first record company to produce pre-recorded cylinders. In 1938, it was purchased by CBS, the Columbia Broadcasting System, which was itself co-founded by Columbia Records.

In 1922, Columbia sold its UK subsidiary Columbia Graphophone. In 1925, Columbia Graphophone bought its former parent for $2.5 million. In 1926, it acquired Odeon Records and Parlophone. In 1931, Gramophone and Columbia Graphophone Company merged and became Electric and Musical Industries (EMI). American anti-trust laws forced EMI to sell its American Columbia operations to CBS in 1938.

English Columbia's product was licensed from CBS until 1951 when Philips Records took over British distribution. English Columbia continued to distribute CBS' Okeh and Epic product until 1968. CBS then distributed all their labels themselves in the UK as CBS Records, which resulted from CBS' purchase of Oriole Records in 1964.

Nippon Columbia was founded in 1910 as Nipponophone Co., Ltd. It was affiliated with UK Columbia Graphophone Co. In 1946, it became Nippon Columbia. Outside Japan in 2010, the company became known as Savoy Label Group, operating SLG, Savoy Jazz and Denon labels. Until 2001, it also made Denon electronics, which was then sold to Philips.

 

[Q8]

Columbia Records history is rather circular in various countries.

It was founded in 1888, from what had been the American Graphophone Company. Prior to that, it was the Volta Graphophone Company. Columbia is the oldest brand name in pre-recorded music. It was the first record company to produce pre-recorded cylinders. In 1938, it was purchased by CBS, the Columbia Broadcasting System, which was itself co-founded by Columbia Records.

In 1922, Columbia sold its UK subsidiary Columbia Graphophone. In 1925, Columbia Graphophone bought its former parent for $2.5 million. In 1926, it acquired Odeon Records and Parlophone. In 1931, Gramophone and Columbia Graphophone Company merged and became Electric and Musical Industries (EMI). American anti-trust laws forced EMI to sell its American Columbia operations to CBS in 1938.

English Columbia's product was licensed from CBS until 1951 when Philips Records took over British distribution. English Columbia continued to distribute CBS' Okeh and Epic product until 1968. CBS then distributed all their labels themselves in the UK as CBS Records, which resulted from CBS' purchase of Oriole Records in 1964.

Nippon Columbia was founded in 1910 as Nipponophone Co., Ltd. It was affiliated with UK Columbia Graphophone Co. In 1946, it became Nippon Columbia. Outside Japan in 2010, the company became known as Savoy Label Group, operating SLG, Savoy Jazz and Denon labels. Until 2001, it also made Denon electronics, which was then sold to Philips.

@:

 

[jdmack]

Well, I decoded an mp3 of this album using both SQ and QS AA scripts (I've lost track of which scripts are the "correct" ones to use, so who knows if I used the "correct" ones). And for me, it's a draw. In many parts of the album, the positioning of the instruments is the same in both SQ and QS decoding. However, a number of times the SQ decoding will have an instrument front left only and the QS decoding will have the instrument both left front and rear. And the SQ decoding places the drums mostly rear left while the QS decoding places the drums rear center. The QS decoding has an overall more pleasing sound to me though. The SQ decoding added a harshness to the midrange for me. So I don't know how this album is supposed to be decoded.

J. D.

 

[Mark Anderson]

the Mark Anderson discography page abbreviation key it says:

QS - Matrix Format Vinyl LP (Applies to RM & QX)

Nippon Columbia promoted QX (QuadXtra, Dual Triphonic Matrix System) in the summer of '72 based on D.H. Coopers circuitry and was reported to conform to the regular matrix (RM) standard established by the Electronic Industries Association of Japan and adopted by Japanese record manufacturers. I am not aware of any QX decoders as RM playback was available.

 

[Circular Vibes]

Nippon Columbia promoted QX (QuadXtra, Dual Triphonic Matrix System) in the summer of '72 based on D.H. Coopers circuitry and was reported to conform to the regular matrix (RM) standard established by the Electronic Industries Association of Japan and adopted by Japanese record manufacturers. I am not aware of any QX decoders as RM playback was available.

I have seen receivers from Nippon Columbia with a QX setting on them, they also suggested strongly a different style layout with 4 or 5 speakers, the 4th and 5th being front center. These were cheaper all in one systems that came with speakers to match as seen on Yahoo Japan auctions.

 

[Mark Anderson]

To cool. Who would of thought they would produce hardware for a system that they only endorsed for maybe less than a year. Thanks for the info.

 

[Mark Anderson]

QXA-1 Columbia QX Dual-Triphonic Adapter advertisement with a 5-channel speaker layout. Note the rear center. Definitely different concept.

 

[Mark Anderson]

I ran across this album from Hong Kong that has a great add for a Denon QX matrix system the center rear speaker. When this came out, I was kid and I certainly would have loved one more speaker.



Lin Ying is the artist on the back cover and by the smile on her face it has to sound good.
And then I find another ad. How did I miss this whole lineup of Dual Triphonic Stereo Systems!

 

[Mark Anderson]

Nippon Columbia 4 channel QX record ad

 

[Mark Anderson]

One more QX Stereo ad on a record

 

[DuncanS]

Great old Quad adverts :sun

 

[MidiMagic]

Denon's Dual Triphonic system was basically the Dynaco diamond with two blended speakers up front instead of a single front speaker. Articles about it appeared in Audio Magazine in the early 1970s.

There were actually two different things called QX. The first was this Dynaco clone.

The others had to do with the two Japanese standards organizations:

JPRA - Japan Phonograph Record Association
EIAJ - Electronics Industry Association of Japan

They issued 4 standards for matrix records:

RM - Regular Matrix - essentially QS, with equal separation between adjacent channels.

QM - Quadraphonic Matrix - the forward-oriented matrix systems such as Stereo-4 and Dynaquad

PM - Phase Matrix - essentially SQ, but also including the EV universal system

QX - Denon's BMX matrix

 

[MidiMagic]

My previous reply has an error.

This is correct (discovered after much research)

JPRA - Japan Phonograph Record Association
EIAJ - Electronics Industry Association of Japan

They issued 4 standards for matrix records:

RM - Regular Matrix - essentially QS, with equal separation between adjacent channels.

QM - Quadraphonic Matrix - the forward-oriented matrix systems such as Stereo-4 and Dynaquad

PM - Phase Matrix - essentially SQ, but also including the EV universal system

UM - Denon's BMX matrix, BBC Matrix H, and Ambisonic UHJ

 

[surround.sound.enthusiast]

So, in keeping this discussion about a Japanese matrix curiosity alive, here is a link to a QXA-1 for sale in Russia:

QXA-1 for sale

And some photos from the auction:



The unit appears to be in really nice condition, and is slightly different than the one Mark Anderson posted the literature on. It might be a later production, or the one pictured in the literature may be a prototype unit.
If you have some QX encoded records and are curious what was intended to be heard, and are willing to take a chance on the sale, the seller is only asking 2,997 Rub. + 5,400 Rub. international shipping.
About $129 / £102 / €114 all total.

If I wasn't still hunkered down in saving mode, I would probably go after it. I'm still rather interested despite that. Check out the two different speaker arrangement outputs on the back. And of course, the fifth channel
(probably ambient extraction) connectors.