I am an old guy and am NOT technically versed at all. I have many quadraphonic LPS that I have played periodically on my stereo since the 70's. My question - HOW do I get quadrophonic sound rather than stereo? I realize this is Quad 101... but I don't get it. I DO have four sets of speakers and my tuner/amp is an OLD Onyko R1 from 1979 or 80 (works great btw). I have two of the four speakers plugged into one jack and the other two into the other... what do I need to do to get quadrophic sound? PLEASE I need 3rd grade grammer and explanation - no techno/geek jargon please. Whats the test to see if I hooked it up correct (after you guys tell me something). THANK YOU
Need Help Decoding Quad LPs
- Thread starter MikeyB
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Help Support QuadraphonicQuad:
Bump for Mikey - someone should be around soon enough to steer ya right Mikey 
To start with, you need another R1 
, well, not exactly another R1 although that would work, but another 2 channels of amplification. You would then have the first stereo amp power the front speakers, then a second stereo amp power the rear speakers.
Now in order to get the 4 channels into the two receivers, you would need something like a Surround Master 2, available here, or some other vintage SQ or QS decoder. The front outputs of the decoder would go to the first stereo amps inputs, and the rear outputs from the decoder would go to the second stereo amps inputs.
Your turntable would connect to the Surround Master, but you might need an in-line amp to boost the signal from the turntable. Now you would be listening to your QS and SQ quad albums the way they were meant to be listened to.
For CD-4 LPs, you would need a CD-4 demodulator and a shibata stylus and a turntable with low capacitance wiring. This would really be a stretch for you. The easiest way for you to go would be targeting the playback of SQ and QS discs as described above.
Anyone else have any other ideas?
, well, not exactly another R1 although that would work, but another 2 channels of amplification. You would then have the first stereo amp power the front speakers, then a second stereo amp power the rear speakers.Now in order to get the 4 channels into the two receivers, you would need something like a Surround Master 2, available here, or some other vintage SQ or QS decoder. The front outputs of the decoder would go to the first stereo amps inputs, and the rear outputs from the decoder would go to the second stereo amps inputs.
Your turntable would connect to the Surround Master, but you might need an in-line amp to boost the signal from the turntable. Now you would be listening to your QS and SQ quad albums the way they were meant to be listened to.
For CD-4 LPs, you would need a CD-4 demodulator and a shibata stylus and a turntable with low capacitance wiring. This would really be a stretch for you. The easiest way for you to go would be targeting the playback of SQ and QS discs as described above.
Anyone else have any other ideas?
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The first thing you need is four channels of amplification. Your Onkyo amp only has two. You can either purchase a four-channel amp or set up a second two-channel amp to power the rear speakers.
However, having four channels of amplification and four speakers is only part of the equation. To properly play back quad LPs, you need a decoding device set up between your turntable and your four-channel amplifier. To make matters even more complicated, there are different types of quad LPs that require different pieces of vintage gear for proper playback. Can you name some of the quad LPs in your collection? Depending on which label they were released on (Columbia, RCA, Warner Brothers, etc), you'll need either a device called an 'SQ Decoder' or a 'CD-4 Demodulator'. Hope that helps!
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