Behind The Scenes (Oct. 1973)

by Bert Whyte

THE OTHER day I was leafing through the pages of that venerable British publication, The Gramophone, and I came across a wonderful "letter to the editor," in which the writer was heartily condemning quadraphonic sound. "Sound around me . . . a concert hall experience?" he asked. Then he went on to say that "the only sounds I ever hear behind me at a concert are the coughing of my fellow concert-goers and the whispering of bored ushers." It goes without saying that this "Bah! Humbug!" attitude is not too unexpected. People have always resisted change. The transition from mono to stereo began in 1958 and it is only in the past several years that record manufacturers in this country ceased production of mono discs. Some of my friends in the European hi-fi press have told me in no uncertain terms, that Europe still is quite substantially a monophonic market.

Be that as it may, and with all due respect to our fustian friend in The Gramophone, quadraphonic sound is an idea whose time has come. Certainly the advent of the universal four-channel receiver at the CES is indicative that we are well and truly beginning the era of quadraphonic sound. It is well to remember that in this space age, things can happen a great deal faster than was the case in 1958. New developments in four-channel stereo are frequent these days, and the time factor in turning a laboratory exercise into a commercial product is remarkably brief. A case in point is the use of Dolby B-Type noise reduction in stereo and quadraphonic 8-track cartridges.

Readers of this column know I have been advocating this idea for some time. In my report on the CES, I related that 3M/Wollensak had two cartridge units fitted with Dolby B circuits, and that Ampex Stereo Tapes made available a Dolbyized demonstration cartridge. Now, in short order, I learn that by the time you read this, Columbia, and EMI ( England), will be issuing both 2and 4-channel Dolbyized cartridges, and Hispavox (Spanish Columbia) will be issuing 2-channel stereo cartridges. I now have a Dolby level set cartridge, Catalog #54, which is the same 185 nWb/m flux level as the open-reel standard. With the Dolby B chip now available, it is obvious we will soon have cartridge units capable of Dolbyized quadraphonic playback.

Thus in retrospect, from the time I started to nag about the need for Dolbyized 8-track cartridges to the actual appearance of such a product (plus Dolbyized playback equipment) is slightly over a year. That's what I call space age hustle! I have always maintained that one of the big problems with quadraphonic sound is that most people who are exposed to it rarely get a proper demonstration of the true worth of the medium.

Admittedly, the configurations of many hi-fi dealers' showrooms aren't conducive to good speaker placement. And the noise levels in these places is definitely inimical to demonstrations of ambient-type quadraphonic. The more venturesome dealers have invested in special four-channel stereo sound rooms. A few of them are really splendid facilities, but it is becoming apparent that even when the effort is made in furnishing such amenities, their value is negated by lack of sales personnel who are knowledgeable about quadraphonic sound and by poor utilization of the various formats of four-channel stereo music. It is obvious that as we get further into the quadraphonic era, special training in this medium is going to be a requisite for dealer personnel.

Part of this training may have to originate with the manufacturers of quadraphonic hardware, or become a function of their sales reps. The training classes at the Society of Audio Consultants in New York could also be a most significant factor. And I repeat again, some method of getting loan equipment into the home of the customer is unquestionably the best way to convince him about the virtues of quadraphonic sound.

My personal involvement with quadraphonic sound is quite extensive (as you may have noticed!). I have many people visit me, some of whom have never heard any kind of quadraphonic sound, and others who have heard it, but were either unimpressed or even soured on the whole idea. Of course I have friends who are "believers" too! In any case, I am equipped to give these people a good quadraphonic demonstration, whatever their cultural or economic levels. For example, I am currently utilizing the following equipment: An Ampex 440-4, running half-inch wide tape at 15 ips through four Dolby A361 units. Commercially recorded tapes in this format are not available so you must either make your own live recordings or be a member in good standing of the "Intra-Industry Tape-Swapping, Chowder and Marching Society." Some splendid recent acquisitions are a rousing 1812 Overture, the Bartok Concerto for Orchestra and Petrouchka. Needless to say, this is discrete four-channel stereo and Grade A ... all the way! For quarter-inch discrete four-channel stereo tapes, I use the big Crown 8444CX, running through four channels of Dolby 505 B-Type noise reduction for things like the Vanguard "fore and aft" Dolbyized quadraphonic recordings. Incidentally, Ampex Stereo Tapes will soon be issuing open-reel Dolbyized four-channel tapes.

Four-channel eight-track cartridges are nicely handled by a Wollensak 8060 unit which, by the way, I have just checked out with the new Dolby level set cartridge and soon will bring you a report on recording Dolby cartridges.

On the disc aspects of quadraphonic sound, my QS matrix recordings are decoded by a Sansui QS 500, the SQ matrix recordings through the full/wave matching logic section of the Lafayette LR-4000 receiver. CD-4 discrete quadraphonic discs are played back with a Panasonic demodulator using either the Audio-technica AT20S cartridge or the new Stanton 4DQ780 cartridge. The cartridges are mounted in a Rabeo SL8E radial-tracking servo arm, and the turntable is the Technics by Panasonic SP10. I must take a moment to tell you that this is a most extraordinary turntable, utilizing a direct-drive brushless DC motor and a servo speed control system. The wow and flutter are at a

0.03% WRMS level and rumble is a totally inaudible -65 dB (DIN A). Most important is that vertical rumble, which can raise hob with stereo and quadraphonic recordings, is also inaudible. The 33 1/3 and 45 rpm speeds can be adjusted plus or minus 2% with a strobe light indicator to tell you when you are "on the nose." The SP-10 turntable is mounted on a special shock-mounted base (model SH-10B1). Rarely have I been as satisfied with a hi-fi product as with this beautifully finished turntable. The motor is completely silent and placing your hand on either the turntable framework or the wooden base reveals no vibration whatever. Playing recordings with heavy bass at high level with the turntable practically next to a speaker elicits not the tiniest hint of acoustic feedback.

As you can see from the foregoing line-up of equipment, I should be capable of handling any kind of quadraphonic eventualities.

My fancy disc playback equipment has been kept busy the past few days, since the first batch of Elektra/Nonesuch CD-4 records finally arrived. These are the first CD-4 records from other than RCA or JVC, and the overall impression I have formed thus far, is that Elektra/Nonesuch know what they are doing. On an album entitled "Stardrive," EQ5058 Elektra, which is a sort of far-out semi-rock, pseudo-spaceship type music featuring the electronic synthesizer of Robert Mason, it is obvious the original intent was a quadraphonic recording. Although it is true that instruments can be placed anywhere in the four-corner scene of surround sound, you usually can tell if a quadraphonic recording was the result of taking some sixteen-channel stuff out of the vault and hoping the quad mix will be acceptable, versus the deliberate instrumental positioning and arranging for maximum dynamic effects in a quadraphonic original.

Good clean sound throughout this disc, apparently at or close to standard stereo level and with a solid bass line. On another Elektra Quadradisc, "The Best of the New Seekers," EQ5051, we have an excellent vocal group, 3 male, 2 female, who along with appropriate instrumental background harmonize on some pleasantly innocuous ballads. The main point is that here again is audible evidence of care in arranging and positioning with quadraphonic sound in mind. Bright, clean sound, nicely articulate voices, good level and bass.

Turning to classical material, we have Kurt Weill's Suite from the Three-penny Opera, coupled with Darius Milhaud's La Creation du Monde on Nonesuch Quadradisc HG 1281. Conductor Arthur Weisberg and the Contemporary Chamber Ensemble do a thoroughly workmanlike job on these two disparate pieces of music. Yes, both works have so-called "jazz" elements incorporated into the scores, but in my opinion each represents a different milieu. The fine engineering was the work of my good friend, Marc Aubort, of Elite Recordings. Marc has found a certain church in New York with superbly spacious acoustics, which, however, with just the right mike placement, allows for excellent orchestral detail as well. This is ambient style quadraphonic recording, and the enhancement of the principal "up front" information is masterfully handled by Marc, so that at a rest in the music where the sound has a chance to naturally decay, your ears perceive the sound progressing from front to rear. Here too, nice clean sound, fine instrumental balances, with normal levels and good bass. I have saved mention of record surfaces until now.

The pop recordings were beautifully quiet, but alas, the classical disc was full of spits and sputters. It is said that the lubricant in the CD-4 compound (and in the case of RCA with the antistatic material as well) will, under certain circumstances having to do with the heating/cooling cycle during the pressing process, deposit out in the record grooves in the form of tiny crystals. When the stylus encounters these crystals, you get the sputtering and popping sounds, even though the record is brand new from its shrink-wrapped sleeve. Lou Dorren of Quadra-cast and CD-4 chip reknown, says that after playing an offending record several times, and then cleaning it with some special "glop" he concocted, the noise disappears. Lee Kuby of Harman/Kardon has a bottle of this stuff and says he will let me try some. (He's a lot nearer to me than Lou). I understand RCA has a new compound, with superior overall characteristics to what is used at present and that with this material this noise problem has been licked. Undoubtedly, with all the cooperation among the Quadradisc people, Elektra will be privy to the information on this compound.

In the meanwhile, 9 more new Elektra/Nonesuch CD-4 discs to audition,' and on the basis of what I have heard thus far, they are off to a good start.

(Audio magazine, Oct. 1973; Bert Whyte)

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