The correct path, and the tight timeline made for some pretty strange bedfellows. For instance, instead of embracing a 4-pickup cassette head for decks thus enabling them to play either direction.... no.... they instead wasted time focusing energy on strange mechanisms that flipped the head, or, more entertaining still; the Akai "Invert-O-Matics" that actually grab the cassette, truck it backwards, physically rotate the tape 180Ā° and then truck it back to the playback area. After all that, somebody suggested using a 4-track head and the entire notion became moot. But by that point, it's what.... 1983?
But imagine if they'd have decided on a 4-track head in 1973? Well then you could either have unit capable of playing either direction without flipping tape OR make it Quad compatible, but play only 1 direction. Cassette's held 90 minutes in stereo, that's 45-mins per side. 45 minutes is enough for 98% of the albums out there. I really don't understand what the issue would have been. Tape costs would be passed along to the customer. Although I imagine a specific Quad shell would be best so that the unit would automatically select 4-channel mode once the tape is placed in the machine. Big deal. Phillips really had a bug up their bum, didn't they?
There was even talk about Quad Elcaset and I've been told that one WOULD have embraced a 4-track head, since it used 1/4" tape anyway.... at 3 3/4 i.p.s. with nearly zero wow or flutter.... that would've definitely taken a chunk out of the Quad 8-track market for sure.