Like Jon said, Q~Eight......look what they did achieve........releasing thousands of surround titles within a short period of time. Never in the history of recorded music have that many surround titles been prepared/released at any one time.
Problem was, these matrix/CD~4 systems might've worked in a 'laboratory' environment but with all the variables involved......sans that 'controlled environment' the average Joe Public would not be able to duplicate those results in his home.
I'm sure the studios used the best turntables/arms/cartridges at the time and we know Lou Dorren used a custom 'tweaked' CD~4 demodulator to get the results he achieved but the average person was not privy to such refinements.
All I ever got out my SQ/CD~4 home receivers and turntables was AGITA until I switched to QUAD Open Reel with an outboard dolby b decoder and then so few Open Reel QUADs were ever released and then the plug was pulled altogether. And there was NO world wide net to know exactly what was released in QUAD OR so I never even knew Japan was releasing them to the general public at that time.
Oh, I know exactly where you're going. It's funny too because I'm also an armchair CED collector and have a small collection of discs with a couple players. CED's also aren't necessarily bad - it's a very flawed system. But, when you think about what they achieved (video off an LP?) - that's fucking amazing!
Same goes for Quad. What they actually released is a drop in the bucket compared to what rumours state was mixed and left locked away! Nearly 50 years later, here we are talking about this stuff and opening the eyes (and ears) of yet another generation to what we've been saying all along was a great idea just poorly executed.
But then, I honestly have NO problem with Quad 8-tracks. With a half decent amp, a foursome of quality speakers and a pair of 10-band, 2-channel equalizers; I've made believers out of the humble Q8 tape. CD-4.... once again, great idea - poorly executed. SQ? Terrible idea (and I own a Tate!!) QS..... "meh".
I'm sure 45 years ago, a freshly stamped CD-4 LP with a good cartridge, stylus & demodulator must've sounded great. I've got a couple Japanese CD-4's that I'm going to assume are relatively low-mileage and they sound great!
I think one of the biggest differences between "then" and "now" are just the simple fact that companies (and people) back then were willing to take a chance. The moon landing wasn't a sure-thing - they took a hell of a chance - and look what they accomplished! I think that sort of ideal trickled down into other areas of society. Look at some of the advancements in the auto industry at the time. How about the advancements in television construction, quality, etc. The record companies must've also thought "Hey, we can do this! Let's give it a shot!" It wasn't about the bottom line, it was about getting there first with the next big thing.
Sure, I don't believe neither the market, the public nor the technology itself was ready. The end result was that they
tried and that's bloody admirable.
We're only
NOW starting to see companies take risks again like Tesla and Ford. But most refuse to because it's all about the bottom line and keeping the shareholders happy and keeping the gravy train rolling. Status Quo and away we go.