![Qs-r4-channel-stereo](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/15/Qs-r4-channel-stereo.svg)
Quadraphonic Sound (originally called Quadphonic Synthesizer, and later referred to as RM or Regular Matrix) was a
matrix
Matrix most commonly refers to:
* ''The Matrix'' (franchise), an American media franchise
** ''The Matrix'', a 1999 science-fiction action film
** "The Matrix", a fictional setting, a virtual reality environment, within ''The Matrix'' (franchis ...
4-channel
quadraphonic sound
Quadraphonic (or quadrophonic and sometimes quadrasonic) sound – equivalent to what is now called 4.0 surround sound – uses four audio channels in which speakers are positioned at the four corners of a listening space. The system allows for th ...
system for
phonograph records
A phonograph record (also known as a gramophone record, especially in British English), or simply a record, is an analog signal, analog sound Recording medium, storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove ...
. The system was based on technology created by
Peter Scheiber
Peter Scheiber is a classically trained musician and audio engineer. He is considered to be the originator of multichannel ''matrix'' audio formats, a mathematical formula used to convert four audio channels into two and back again.
Scheiber is ...
, but further developed by engineer Ryosuke Ito of
Sansui in the early 1970s.
The technology was freely licensed and was adopted by many
record label
A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...
s including
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
, Advent,
BluesWay, Candide,
Command
Command may refer to:
Computing
* Command (computing), a statement in a computer language
* COMMAND.COM, the default operating system shell and command-line interpreter for DOS
* Command key, a modifier key on Apple Macintosh computer keyboards
* ...
,
Decca Decca may refer to:
Music
* Decca Records or Decca Music Group, a record label
* Decca Gold, a classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group
* Decca Broadway, a musical theater record label
* Decca Studios, a recording facility in W ...
,
Impulse
Impulse or Impulsive may refer to:
Science
* Impulse (physics), in mechanics, the change of momentum of an object; the integral of a force with respect to time
* Impulse noise (disambiguation)
* Specific impulse, the change in momentum per uni ...
,
Longines
Compagnie des Montres Longines, Francillon S.A., or simply Longines (), is a Swiss luxury watchmaker based in Saint-Imier, Switzerland. Founded by Auguste Agassiz in 1832, the company has been a subsidiary of the Swiss Swatch Group and its predec ...
,
MCA,
Passport
A passport is an official travel document issued by a government that contains a person's identity. A person with a passport can travel to and from foreign countries more easily and access consular assistance. A passport certifies the personal ...
,
Pye, Turnabout and
Vox. Hundreds of recordings using this format were released on vinyl
LP records during the 1970s.
RM (''Regular Matrix'') was often used a synonym for QS, but was actually a standard set by the Japanese governing body, which also embraced the QM (''Quadraphonic Matrix'', consisting of
Stereo-4 and
Dynaquad
Dynaquad, or DY, was a matrix decoder 4-channel quadraphonic sound system developed by Dynaco in 1969.
The system originally had four speakers that were arranged in a diamond shape (centre-front, centre-left, centre-rear, centre-right).
Initia ...
) and QX (''QuadXtra'', based on D.H. Cooper "Dual-Triphonic") matrix systems.
The QS matrix has been found to offer the advantages of excellent diagonal separation and stereo compatibility, and although the adjacent speaker separation is only 3 dB, this symmetrical distribution produces more stable quadraphonic images than some other matrix systems. The QS record track width is as narrow as a conventional stereo track, so the maximum playing time is the same as conventional stereo records. If the four channels are decoded and afterwards re-encoded to one channel, a normal mono sound with no loss results. QS was the only matrix system that could do that perfectly.
History
As early as 1969 engineer and musician Peter Scheiber developed a matrix system very similar to QS.
He also was instrumental in many improvements to
SQ (see above) quality, in collaboration with Martin Willcocks and
Jim Fosgate
James M. Fosgate (born December 5, 1937 in Indianapolis, Indiana) was an American inventor, engineer and businessman. The self-taught son of a television and radio repairman, Fosgate invented the first car amplifier in 1973 and founded Fosgate E ...
.
In the early 1970s Sansui introduced the Four Channel Synthesizer Decoder QS-1 and the QSE-1 Encoder based on the QS system in Japan and debuted export to the United States in March 1971. The channel separation was only 3 dB, but because of the human way of hearing it sounded relatively good.
In 1973 Sansui introduced the ''QS Vario Matrix decoder'' with 20 dB separation
in all directions (The ''Vario Matrix decoder'' could also play SQ records on ''Phase Matrix'' mode with 6 dB separation. Later Sansui used front-rear logic on the SQ mode.). Two outboard decoders, the ''QSD-1''
and ''QSD-2'', as well as the ''QRX'' series of larger receiver-amplifiers, incorporated this matrix and up-conversion. Sansui's QS decoders also had good stereo-to-quad capabilities, wrapping the L-R panorama to LB-LF-RF-RB in a horseshoe topology. (The ''Vario Matrix'' decoder could synthesize four channel sound with high separation - at least 12 dB.)
The system was often called RM (Regular Matrix) when used on amplifiers or receivers by other trademarks than Sansui. Many Japanese brands like Pioneer or Kenwood had matrix decoders with two modes: - SQ and RM. JVC had two modes on their matrix decoder called Matrix 1 and Matrix 2. That decoder could play both SQ and QS records, but it was a simplified decoder. QS records could also be played on Marantz Vari-Matrix system. (European trademarks like
Philips
Koninklijke Philips N.V. (), commonly shortened to Philips, is a Dutch multinational conglomerate corporation that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, it has been mostly headquartered in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarters i ...
or
Bang & Olufsen
Bang & Olufsen (B&O) is a Danish high-end consumer electronics company that designs and manufactures audio products, television sets, and telephones. It was founded in 1925 by Peter Bang and Svend Olufsen, who designed a radio to work with alt ...
had only decoders for SQ or both SQ and CD-4 - but not QS.) QS records could give some quadraphonic effect, although far from accurate, when played on an SQ decoder.
The QS matrix technology was used to create the five-channel sound system used for première theater engagements of the 1975 film ''
Tommy
Tommy may refer to:
People
* Tommy (given name)
* Tommy Atkins, or just Tommy, a slang term for a common soldier in the British Army
Arts and entertainment Film and television
* ''Tommy'' (1931 film), a Soviet drama film
* ''Tommy'' (1975 fil ...
.''
In June 2018
electronic music
Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroac ...
ian
Suzanne Ciani
Suzanne Ciani (; born June 4, 1946) is an American musician, sound designer, composer, and record label executive who found early success in the 1970s with her electronic music and sound effects for films and television commercials. Her career ha ...
released the album ''LIVE Quadrophonic'' using the QS Regular Matrix system. A limited edition of 227 boxed set copies were released as a 12 inch 45
RPM
Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or with the notation min−1) is a unit of rotational speed or rotational frequency for rotating machines.
Standards
ISO 80000-3:2019 defines a unit of rotation as the dimensionl ...
phonograph record. The box also includes a hardware decoder for correct playback, made by Involve Audio. This was one of the first new quadraphonic phonograph recordings to be released since the late 1970s.
Usage
''j = + 90° phase-shift''
''j = + 90° phase-shift''
When played on a conventional two channel stereo equipment, the front channels are narrower than ordinary two channels because of the low separation. But the rear channels are heard from points outside the ordinary stereo spectrum. So the QS record gives a totally broader stereo picture than conventional two channel stereo. The point behind the listener is out of phase when played in two channel stereo and extinct in one channel mono listening. In mono the volumes of left and right points behind the listener is reduced with only 3 dB (in SQ 6 dB).
(Source: Kjell Stensson: 4-kanalstekniken ännu i startgroparna, in Stereo Hi Fi Handboken 74, Svenska HiFi Institutet 1973, page 30).
Quintaphonic Sound
A five-channel system based on QS, named Quintaphonic Sound, was used for the 1975 film ''Tommy''.
The left and right 35mm magnetic soundtracks were QS encoded to create four channels around the cinema audience, while the centre mag track was assigned to the speaker behind the screen. The mag FX track was unused. This channel layout (5.0) was similar to the now common
5.1 surround sound configuration.
Hardware
The QSD-1 Quadphonic Synthesizer
(a rack-mount module) was introduced in 1971, soon followed by the smaller, boxy QSD-2.
As of 2018 the Australian company Involve Audio is making a QS decoder called Surround Master,
which claims to use the same specifications as the QSD-1. The decoder included with the Suzanne Cianni album used this technology.
Bibliography
* R. Ito and S. Takahashi, Characteristics of the Sansui QS Vario-Matrix (presented at the Audio Engineering Society 43rd Convention, Los Angeles, September 1972
read on-line* R. Ito, “Proposed universal encoding standard for compatible four-channel matrixing,” JAES April 1972. (First presented at the 41st A.E.S Convention, 7 October 1971). Also reprinted in “Quadraphony” Anthology, AES 1975 pp. 125–131.
* Sansui QS Tech Manual (QSD-1
read on-line
References
{{Quadraphonic sound
Sound production technology
Quadraphonic sound
Surround sound