What's the Latest MATRIX LP/CD Added to Your Pile? SQ, QS, RM, EV

[inquadwetrust]

My pleasure! I love sharing pictures, but maybe we need a thread for that? QQers who travel could benefit along with those better suited for vicarious travel

 

[inquadwetrust]

I kind of felt obliged to get this and have dutifully done the first side and made adjustments as directed. Harder in a world where channel levels are buried in menus but still I tried my best. Turns out my set up wasn't terribly far off and I'm happy again to report that the Surround Master SQ Vinyl Beta had no issues with this record at all. Being the Project 3 obsessive I am I have this on order in QS as well - I also found two versions on Q4 open reel that are going sky-high on Ebay as I type.

 

[Quad Linda]

In a word, yes.

Wouldn't they be more vulnerable to warping?

 

[JonUrban]

I kind of felt obliged to get this and have dutifully done the first side and made adjustments as directed. Harder in a world where channel levels are buried in menus but still I tried my best. Turns out my set up wasn't terribly far off and I'm happy again to report that the Surround Master SQ Vinyl Beta had no issues with this record at all. Being the Project 3 obsessive I am I have this on order in QS as well - I also found two versions on Q4 open reel that are going sky-high on Ebay as I type.

There's also the CD-4 version of this record as well.

https://www.quadraphonicquad.com/Project3.htm

 

[fredblue]

Wouldn't they be more vulnerable to warping?

By the laws of Physics I guess so.. all I can say is I have 40-year old Dynaflex RCA LPs that are still perfectly flat and sound great.. there'll be good and bad pressings (and good and bad masterings) on thinner records one might say.. of course it's been said by many people many times over the years that it's preferable to have a thicker slab of vinyl if possible and who wouldn't rather have a thicker one at their disposal.. but I have a fair few floppier thin old 12 inchers that still satisfy to this day.

As regards this current Quad vinyl spree I'm on, I've noticed that earlier Columbia/CBS SQ discs are generally thicker while later SQ discs are thinner and floppier.. I've read over the years that the better chunk of the Quad era was served by inferior vinyl due to the economics etc of the time.. still I'm finding many lovely sounding thinner SQ discs from 74/75/76 which should by many accounts sound inferior, which couldn't be further from my findings so far.. I realise I've a LOT of catching up to do in so many respects, just reporting what I'm experiencing along the way.

I feel like a stuck record (!) but I'm really loving rediscovering my love affair with records.. while discovering things about the wacky world of matrix Quad! Just wish I had more time.. hopefully around October time in the new flat and with less work on, I'll be able to go to town on this vinyl revival pallava.. though best intentions and all that, I'll probably have even less time now until the start of the new year but in Jan/Feb when business goes quiet and I'll have less new house-y things going on will more than likely be "the time"). Ahh.. time for a beer! Cheers my friends! :friday:

 

[fredblue]

PS. From cursory plays tonight, the Redbone and New City SQ's both sound amazing!

One is thick and one is thin.

Guess which is which!!

 

[Quad Linda]

BS&T New City is the thin one.

PS. From cursory plays tonight, the Redbone and New City SQ's both sound amazing!

One is thick and one is thin.

Guess which is which!!

 

[inquadwetrust]

There's also the CD-4 version of this record as well.

https://www.quadraphonicquad.com/Project3.htm

Oh man, CD-4 - am I ready for that yet?

 

[fredblue]

BS&T New City is the thin one.

Now there's a woman who knows a thin one from a thick one!

 

[fredblue]

Oh man, CD-4 - am I ready for that yet?

I'm not! (but I've started buying CD-4 discs anyway in anticipation of getting the setup one day! )

Edit: I need your advice please my experienced Quaddy friends!

So, the cart on my cheapo Pro-Ject TT is elliptical but 'only' extends upto 25khz according to the Ortofon specs.. Does it have any kind of chance of playing back the CD-4 carrier signal at all..?

 

[inquadwetrust]

The last of the Steely Dan QS Vinyl quads; any comments from owners of the expensive but available Japanese pressings of these? Do I stop here or is it worth the big dollars for those? I love this, love the mix, the album - I even love the alternate 'Reelin' which really irritates a lot of folk on here. I'm craving a pinch more fidelity than this pressing but the separation is pretty phenomenal on this so I'll settle if this is as good as it gets.

 

[The Bushmaster]

Fredblue... You have over 10,000 posts and have been on this sight sense 2009. ??? Have you not been reading the posts of other people about the need of at least a cartridge that is 45,000 Hz capable and a shibata (or equivalent) stylus?:yikes

Or...Are you busy tuggin' on our collective leg?

 

[inquadwetrust]

Finally got around to this QS encoded CD, even though I have a lovely mint QS LP. For $4 all in it was worth it. Sonically I'm not sure - perhaps the CD is tighter and brighter somewhat but lacks the warm bottom end of the LP. Either way I like this mix which pretty much sits the way the LP liner notes say it does although I'm hard pressed to hear if one decodes better than the other.

 

[MyCuff]

A few more recent adds...

 

[jaybird100]

Finally got around to this QS encoded CD, even though I have a lovely mint QS LP. For $4 all in it was worth it. Sonically I'm not sure - perhaps the CD is tighter and brighter somewhat but lacks the warm bottom end of the LP. Either way I like this mix which pretty much sits the way the LP liner notes say it does although I'm hard pressed to hear if one decodes better than the other.

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This CD is stereo, not QS. Sony Music isn't going to release it in QS since they were aligned with CBS when this album came out. That meant SQ. But the Japanese vinyl quad of this album was CD-4, and since Ode Records was distributed in the US by A&M, they used QS at the time. Play the record and make the comparison. I guarantee you'll see what I mean.

 

[bigbillquad]

Hi. inquadwetrust
The trouble may lie in, if you are using the Surround Master for Decoding it is the same setting on the unit for QS as it is for synthesising stereo to surround and because SM does such a great job of synthesising Stereo at times I swear it is discrete this is what I have found.
Bill...

 

[fredblue]

The last of the Steely Dan QS Vinyl quads; any comments from owners of the expensive but available Japanese pressings of these? Do I stop here or is it worth the big dollars for those? I love this, love the mix, the album - I even love the alternate 'Reelin' which really irritates a lot of folk on here. I'm craving a pinch more fidelity than this pressing but the separation is pretty phenomenal on this so I'll settle if this is as good as it gets.

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Why do so many of the Steely Dan Quad LPs have their corners chopped off? Did they all go to the cutout bins or something?

 

[fredblue]

Fredblue... You have over 10,000 posts and have been on this sight sense 2009. ??? Have you not been reading the posts of other people about the need of at least a cartridge that is 45,000 Hz capable and a shibata (or equivalent) stylus?:yikes

Or...Are you busy tuggin' on our collective leg?

No, I'm serious.

I'm only just getting back into vinyl for the first time in many years so I've had no interest in Quad vinyl while I've been a member here.

So it's 45k or bust if you want to get CD-4 to work. Thanks for the info Bushmaster

 

[fredblue]

Finally got around to this QS encoded CD, even though I have a lovely mint QS LP. For $4 all in it was worth it. Sonically I'm not sure - perhaps the CD is tighter and brighter somewhat but lacks the warm bottom end of the LP. Either way I like this mix which pretty much sits the way the LP liner notes say it does although I'm hard pressed to hear if one decodes better than the other.

View attachment 20566View attachment 20567

I had that CD on my shopping list for the longest time.. Glad I never got round to buying it since the QS LP I just got sounds sensational, I doubt the CD would be any improvement!

 

[fredblue]

A few more recent adds...
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Ooh! Such beauty! :banana:

I really want Tyranny & Mutation SQ but having a tough time finding a half decent copy that doesn't cost an arm and a leg! :yikes