Tetrasound 101 - Precursor to the TATE

[JonUrban]

I was digging through some really old stuff I had stashed in a closet upstairs. I am redoing the floors and walls, so everything that's been stored away over the past 35 years is being disturbed and evaluated. You know, as in "If we had a fire, would we miss this?". Anything that doesn't qualify is getting tossed.

Anyway, I found my original spec sheet for my Tetrasound 101 SQ Decoder that I bought from Larry Clifton's "Quad Incorporated" shop back in '82, so I thought I'd scan it so it could sit here in posterity forever instead of hiding in a bedroom closet for 38 years.

I still have the Tetrasound 101 in a box somewhere, with the remote. When I eventually get to it, I will add pictures to this thread. In the meantime, anyone else who had one of this, please chime in. As I recall at the time of purchase, this WAS the Tate Decoder. The Tate II followed a few years later.

Here's a link to doity's thread (with pictures) on his Tetrasound 101from a short time ago:

https://www.quadraphonicquad.com/forums/threads/i’ve-joined-the-tate-family.27706/

 

[par4ken]

I was digging through some really old stuff I had stashed in a closet upstairs. I am redoing the floors and walls, so everything that's been stored away over the past 35 years is being disturbed and evaluated. You know, as in "If we had a fire, would we miss this?". Anything that doesn't qualify is getting tossed.

Anyway, I found my original spec sheet for my Tetrasound 101 SQ Decoder that I bought from Larry Clifton's "Quad Incorporated" shop back in '82, so I thought I'd scan it so it could sit here in posterity forever instead of hiding in a bedroom closet for 38 years.

I still have the Tetrasound 101 in a box somewhere, with the remote. When I eventually get to it, I will add pictures to this thread. In the meantime, anyone else who had one of this, please chime in. As I recall at the time of purchase, this WAS the Tate Decoder. The Tate II followed a few years later.

Here's a link to doity's thread (with pictures) on his Tetrasound 101from a short time ago:

https://www.quadraphonicquad.com/forums/threads/i’ve-joined-the-tate-family.27706/


View attachment 65189

View attachment 65191

The date was 1982 not 72, it would of been wonderful if these came out in 72, maybe the fate of Quad would of been different! I always thought that this unit and the Fosgate Tate 2 were essentially the very same unit, just rebranded. No mention of Tate 2? I just wonder if this one used the National chips?

I remember Fosgate also came out with a Tetrasound decoder for automotive use. I had all the pamphlets and even visited a dealer about it but sadly I don't think that it was ever produced for market. As I recall the original "Fosgate/Tetrasound" company went bankrupt.

 

[Sonik Wiz]

I was digging through some really old stuff I had stashed in a closet upstairs. I am redoing the floors and walls, so everything that's been stored away over the past 35 years is being disturbed and evaluated. You know, as in "If we had a fire, would we miss this?". Anything that doesn't qualify is getting tossed.

Anyway, I found my original spec sheet for my Tetrasound 101 SQ Decoder that I bought from Larry Clifton's "Quad Incorporated" shop back in '82, so I thought I'd scan it so it could sit here in posterity forever instead of hiding in a bedroom closet for 38 years.

I still have the Tetrasound 101 in a box somewhere, with the remote. When I eventually get to it, I will add pictures to this thread. In the meantime, anyone else who had one of this, please chime in. As I recall at the time of purchase, this WAS the Tate Decoder. The Tate II followed a few years later.

Here's a link to doity's thread (with pictures) on his Tetrasound 101from a short time ago:

https://www.quadraphonicquad.com/forums/threads/i’ve-joined-the-tate-family.27706/


View attachment 65189

View attachment 65191

This is cool stuff Jon, thanks for sharing. I also dig the scans you've made from military catalogs. Good luck on cleaning & organizing! I guess it's easier to get rid of something if it goes on the web to live for eternity...

 

[par4ken]

Here are Tetrasound pamphlets found on Steve Kennedy's Audionics S&IC site.

 

[Sonik Wiz]

I always thought that this unit and the Fosgate Tate 2 were essentially the very same unit, just rebranded. No mention of Tate 2? I just wonder if this one used the National chips?

They were similar but not just rebranded. Compare this pic of my Fosgate Tate II to doity's pic Jon linked to above:

Same kinda crappy transformer... but the over all component density looks a bit higher than the Tetrasound and no mystery modules.

I remember Fosgate also came out with a Tetrasound decoder for automotive use. I had all the pamphlets and even visited a dealer about it but sadly I don't think that it was ever produced for market. As I recall the original "Fosgate/Tetrasound" company went bankrupt.

Thanks for the pdf's about the Tetrasound gear. Great pics of Jim Fosgate looking suave & stylish! I have never seen the Tetrasound's mentioned for sale any where I wonder if the one with the EQ & power amps ever made it to market? And the only dedicated Fosgate car decoder I know of was the Gavotte & the RF 8000 (not sure of the latter correct model number).

It would be interesting if someone smarter than me could put together a timeline of Fosgate's company & products. Audionics, Fosgate, Rockford & I guess Tetrasound INC. Seems every time he launched 1 or more new products he just started another company.

Edit: It was little known but an option on the Fosgate T II was to lose the tape out put jacks & have a choice of center front & back, or center left & right out put instead. I ordered a black unit with Cf/Cb. I forget exactly but something was damaged or not functioning so I sent it back. What I received back was a silver unit with out the extra chs. Oh, well, at least it worked!

 

[par4ken]

They were similar but not just rebranded. Compare this pic of my Fosgate Tate II to doity's pic Jon linked to above:

View attachment 65230

Same kinda crappy transformer... but the over all component density looks a bit higher than the Tetrasound and no mystery modules.



Thanks for the pdf's about the Tetrasound gear. Great pics of Jim Fosgate looking suave & stylish! I have never seen the Tetrasound's mentioned for sale any where I wonder if the one with the EQ & power amps ever made it to market? And the only dedicated Fosgate car decoder I know of was the Gavotte & the RF 8000 (not sure of the latter correct model number).

It would be interesting if someone smarter than me could put together a timeline of Fosgate's company & products. Audionics, Fosgate, Rockford & I guess Tetrasound INC. Seems every time he launched 1 or more new products he just started another company.

Edit: It was little known but an option on the Fosgate T II was to lose the tape out put jacks & have a choice of center front & back, or center left & right out put instead. I ordered a black unit with Cf/Cb. I forget exactly but something was damaged or not functioning so I sent it back. What I received back was a silver unit with out the extra chs. Oh, well, at least it worked!

Your picture looks a lot like the Composer, even the transformer. Lots of chips with heatsinks, I wonder if they were running some of the op-amps in class A?

In the other picture you can see the DES chips have heat sinks. The interface is in the epoxy encased module, top secret I guess!

I still wonder what chips were used in the Tetrasound 101? Did you notice in the brochure the Tetrasound unit that has the LED directional display? Sadly I don't think they made it into production with the car decoder. I responded to Fosgate when that product was first advertised, they sent to me the brochures and the name of their closest dealer. The dealer didn't know much or anything about it and Fosgate must have folded shortly thereafter.

 

[par4ken]

Rocktron also made a Circle Surround car decoder. I have one in my aging "Pathfinder" and another as a spare. That unit has an adjustable "Surround Level" and sounds very good. It also has "Hush" noise reduction, which would of been really useful if I was still playing cassettes. The Gemini pro SP-1 Circle Surround Processor is similar to the Rocktron car unit just that the surround control is labeled "Rear Effect".

 

[doity]

Great info Jon. Just about the most comprehensive source on the “missing link” Tetrasound 101 anywhere on the Internet. As Sonik alluded to, the build is a lot different between the Tetrasound and the 101A. Not the least the mysterious box hiding the Tate chips. So there had to have been some difference in sound you would think? Maybe small but at least somewhat noticeable.

I do remember reading an old interview with one of the Fosgate employees and he was commenting on how “open” the Tetrasound output was. I wish I could find it again but have never seen it again.

 

[par4ken]

Great info Jon. Just about the most comprehensive source on the “missing link” Tetrasound 101 anywhere on the Internet. As Sonik alluded to, the build is a lot different between the Tetrasound and the 101A. Not the least the mysterious box hiding the Tate chips. So there had to have been some difference in sound you would think? Maybe small but at least somewhat noticeable.

I do remember reading an old interview with one of the Fosgate employees and he was commenting on how “open” the Tetrasound output was. I wish I could find it again but have never seen it again.

The Tate chips are visible, they are the long ones with the heatsink. The interface (between the DES detector chip and the two DES output chips) in encased in epoxy. The Fosgate interface was said to be faster than that of Audionics, Jim Fosgate must of wanted it kept secret.

 

[doity]

The Tate chips are visible, they are the long ones with the heatsink. The interface (between the DES detector chip and the two DES output chips) in encased in epoxy. The Fosgate interface was said to be faster than that of Audionics, Jim Fosgate must of wanted it kept secret.

OK now I see it. More so on the picture that furui took of his 101A because his picture is more detailed. I guess that I always just assumed that the box held the chips as to protect them from any kind of static discharge and/or tampering.

 

[surround.sound.enthusiast]

Here are Tetrasound pamphlets found on Steve Kennedy's Audionics S&IC site.

Those prototypes are wild. I've never seen that literature or those pictures before. Well, I have seen the one with Jim piled up around the car. But otherwise, all new to me. The same goes for SoniK Wiz's comment about a special order version of the 101A with custom order center channels. I wonder if any examples survive?

The Tetrsasound 101 is a rare character itself. Until doity posted his pictures of his unit, I'd only ever seen one poorly photographed front image of one. Now Jon confirms that he has had one since way back. That's now two that I know of.

 

[doity]

I gotta get one of those Tetra 2 units. If anyone has one for sale or trade I would be willing to part with a Gilbert O’Sullivan Q8 and beatup copy of Kiss Alive on vinyl for a straight across trade .

What I don’t get is how Fosgate went from these beautiful designs to the black and silver boxes that we got? Maybe someone could ask Jim if he has a few of these in a closet somewhere? Maybe he has a large stash of them and he has been waiting for the “right time” to release them to the world? Could be......

 

[john wetzel]

I don't normally jump in on these threads. but I believe someone asked if there are any more Tetrasound 101's out there.

I have one, serial number TS-042, and it is in prime condition and - don't ask - it will never be for sale. I found it being advertised in the back of a magazine in 1982, and purchased it immediately. It has been a cherished possession ever since.

At the time, I was aware that Fosgate Research was coming out with the Fosgate 101A, so I asked them what was the difference between the 101 and the 101A. I was told that electronically, the two models were identical, except for the tape monitor switch on the 101A, which was apparently left off the 101.

It seems that Fosgate began a short production run and realized that they forgot to add a tape monitor switch, which was of some importance in 1982 as the decoder was intended be connected to the tape monitor loop of a front channel amplifier, possibly replacing an existing tape recorder. Fosgate remedied this by adding the tape monitor switch to the 101A.

I have attached a photo of the 101 sitting on top of a Sony SQD-2020 (which is a lousy decoder), but the Sony has two sets of discrete four channel inputs, making it easy to connect external decoders for A/B comparisons.

I also have an Involve Audio SM V2 (not shown), and I have connected the 101 and SM V2 to the Sony SQD-2020 to make comparisons, both by listening to and measuring the outputs with a four channel oscilloscope.

The 101 is an excellent decoder with great, smooth separation and, up until the SM V2 appeared on the scene, unequalled. But the SM V2 uses muti-band decoding and sensing circuitry that mimics the response of the human ear, thus adding an additional dimension that is hard to describe.

I have also read the patents for the TATE and SM V2. I have degrees in Mathematics and Electrical Engineering, and I find the TATE patent to be one of the most beautifully obfuscated technical descriptions I have ever attempted to read. (Somewhere in another thread, Lynn Olson makes a similar comment). Apparently, the TATE circuit first does some simple (no logic) SQ decoding, then processes the four outputs by somehow cancelling unwanted crosstalk.

The SM V2 is a variable matrix decoder with advanced sensing circuitry realized through DSP, resulting in an "open" sound field. While the SM V2 can readily localize corner locations with great separation (30 dB or more), it seems to maintain an ambient field that adds to the listening experience.

There is no connection between me and Involve Audio other than I have purchased and am greatly impressed by their product. But I still love my TATE decoder!

So, if you're disappointed that a TATE decoder may never come up on Ebay or any other forum, check out the SM V2. Its amazing that after more than 40 years that such a product even exists.

 

[JonUrban]

I don't normally jump in on these threads. but I believe someone asked if there are any more Tetrasound 101's out there.

I have one, serial number TS-042, and it is in prime condition and - don't ask - it will never be for sale. I found it being advertised in the back of a magazine in 1982, and purchased it immediately. It has been a cherished possession ever since.

At the time, I was aware that Fosgate Research was coming out with the Fosgate 101A, so I asked them what was the difference between the 101 and the 101A. I was told that electronically, the two models were identical, except for the tape monitor switch on the 101A, which was apparently left off the 101.

It seems that Fosgate began a short production run and realized that they forgot to add a tape monitor switch, which was of some importance in 1982 as the decoder was intended be connected to the tape monitor loop of a front channel amplifier, possibly replacing an existing tape recorder. Fosgate remedied this by adding the tape monitor switch to the 101A.

I have attached a photo of the 101 sitting on top of a Sony SQD-2020 (which is a lousy decoder), but the Sony has two sets of discrete four channel inputs, making it easy to connect external decoders for A/B comparisons.

I also have an Involve Audio SM V2 (not shown), and I have connected the 101 and SM V2 to the Sony SQD-2020 to make comparisons, both by listening to and measuring the outputs with a four channel oscilloscope.

The 101 is an excellent decoder with great, smooth separation and, up until the SM V2 appeared on the scene, unequalled. But the SM V2 uses muti-band decoding and sensing circuitry that mimics the response of the human ear, thus adding an additional dimension that is hard to describe.

I have also read the patents for the TATE and SM V2. I have degrees in Mathematics and Electrical Engineering, and I find the TATE patent to be one of the most beautifully obfuscated technical descriptions I have ever attempted to read. (Somewhere in another thread, Lynn Olson makes a similar comment). Apparently, the TATE circuit first does some simple (no logic) SQ decoding, then processes the four outputs by somehow cancelling unwanted crosstalk.

The SM V2 is a variable matrix decoder with advanced sensing circuitry realized through DSP, resulting in an "open" sound field. While the SM V2 can readily localize corner locations with great separation (30 dB or more), it seems to maintain an ambient field that adds to the listening experience.

There is no connection between me and Involve Audio other than I have purchased and am greatly impressed by their product. But I still love my TATE decoder!

So, if you're disappointed that a TATE decoder may never come up on Ebay or any other forum, check out the SM V2. Its amazing that after more than 40 years that such a product even exists.

Wow! First post from a member who joined in 2004! What took you so long?

Thanks for posting about the 101. It sure was a great decoder for the day, and sadly was not available in '72 instead of '82, as par4ken mentions above in Post #2. I have to admit, having purchased the SM and then the SM2, with those two boxes in operation, I never felt the need to utilize my Tetrasound 101, which is why it's still sitting in a box somewhere.

When I finish my upstairs work on the house, I will did it out and add pictures and all. Anyway, welcome John and I am very glad you made your first post here! Don't wait another 17 years to do so, please, as I'll for sure be dead by then!

 

[doity]

Great post there John and a great picture of “the stack.” Yes, I have also seen a few 101’s besides mine on EBay so they are out there. What I like about mine, after figuring out how it works and dialing it in, is that the Surround effect is very natural sounding and doesn’t seem to move things around just for the sake of moving them around. I have noticed zero pumping effects and the audio output is very complimentary to the original. Not that I have anything against quad mixes that have so-called “ping pong” or swirling effects if that is what the artist and producer intended, but to hear that constantly is tiring on the ears.

Not sure how the 101 differs from the 101A in that regards but that has been my experience so far with it. Maybe down the road I will give the SM another shot and see how I like it. If they could put it in a beautiful package like the Tetra 2, I would plunk my money down so fast that they would hear it in Australia!

 

[Flaquad]

Thank for the memories Jon! Your post inspired me to see how long it would take me to find my Tetrasound. Fortunately, it was in the first place I looked. I also found an invoice from Bob Popham from 2001. I sent him my Tetrasound and 101A for tweaking in 2001. I recall talking to him on the phone about the units. Bob said you could measure the superiority of the 101A but he doubted anyone would be able to hear the difference. Here are some pictures of my unit. (Serial no. TS-024). Also posted some info Nick Perugini sent me ages ago. The list price at the time was $549.95. The remote control was $99.95 if purchased with the unit.

 

[doity]

Wow.....they are all coming out of the woodwork. The Tetrasound 101’s that is. Thanks for the documentation Flaquad. It really gives me a better understanding of how the Tate(s) worked. And they even used the adjectives of “Open” and “Spacious” when describing the sound quality. That is exactly how I described it but wasn’t sure if I was supposed to be hearing more sound moving around from channel to channel like some of the matrix decoders that I have used seem to do.

I wonder if it is not too late to subscribe to the ‘Evolution’ magazine? Does anyone know what that was?

 

[JonUrban]

Wow.....they are all coming out of the woodwork. The Tetrasound 101’s that is. Thanks for the documentation Flaquad. It really gives me a better understanding of how the Tate(s) worked. And they even used the adjectives of “Open” and “Spacious” when describing the sound quality. That is exactly how I described it but wasn’t sure if I was supposed to be hearing more sound moving around from channel to channel like some of the matrix decoders that I have used seem to do.

I wonder if it is not too late to subscribe to the ‘Evolution’ magazine? Does anyone know what that was?

Evolution started out as a Quad group called "4Quad". It was run by Jay Frank from California, and quad collectors from around the world joined for a small fee and they put out a newsletter, monthly I think. It's where I first connected with folks like Mr' Flaquad up there, along with Mike Robin, Gerhard Thilgen, Tad Bartel, Larry Clifton, Brian Moura, Nick Perugini, and many others I can no longer remember.

"4Quad" evolved into "Evolution" and eventually Jay was a big dealer in LaserDiscs and A/V stuff. Not sure what he's up to now, but he was an important person in keeping the Quad fires burning after the deluge.

 

[fizzywiggs41]

Back in 83 .....I had my Fosgate 101a returned from some repair.

With it's return I received a couple fact sheets on up and coming products.
One of which was a new Tate Decoder .

Fosgate Model : 201 TATE II SURROUND STEREO SYSTEM





I don't think it ever went in to production , though. Too Bad
No picture of this unit.....just the initial fact sheet.

 

[par4ken]

Sad that yet another SQ automotive decoder was promised by Fosgate but never delivered.

The Soundmaster being powered by 9 volts could be easily be adapted for automotive use. I would love to hear if anyone has done that yet.