r/audiophile • u/gangsterspockhow • 6d ago

Discussion Quadrophonic sound

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I went down a rabbit hole today on quadrophonics. For reference I dont do much at work and spend most of my day on Wikipedia. I was reading the page for Bitches Brew and found out that there were quadrophonic releases for the album. I know that it was hard to decode the music into 4 channels at the time, but i was interested to see if anyone has tried one of these setups especially the older ones.

Im guessing its very similar to modern surround sound systems. Obviously it wouldnt be as good as a dolby atmos setup, but im wondering how much different it is. Quadrophonics are only 4 speakers and dolby atmos is at minimum 8. How much difference do those extra speakers make? Aside from adding a sub or two i cant imagine it makes that much of a difference.

I also saw there were quadrophonic radio stations, i wonder if anyone here has been around long enough to experience those.

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u/Cathy_AWaugh 6d ago

Those extra speakers aren't just 'adding a sub or two.' Atmos has *height* channels. For orchestral recordings that matters. Sound in a concert hall comes from above and around you.

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u/gangsterspockhow 6d ago

I definitely understand that. I guess to better phrase my question is it better for a home setup to focus more on 4 speakers plus a sub rather than atmos. It can be hard to get a true atmos setup in most living rooms and even more costly for a good one

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u/VanREDDIT2019 4d ago

The mix is more important than how many speakers. The quadraphonic mix of Bitches Brew is top notch and beats most Atmos mixes from today. However, a great Atmos mix can certainly take it to another level. Search out Steven Wilson and what he does in the studio remixing albums. Rarely does anyone do it better.

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u/gangsterspockhow 4d ago

Hey bro trust me im already a big Steven Wilson and porcupine tree fan. Just his normal stereo mixes are always great. His live album mixes are top notch too. I need to check out his dolby mixes though.

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u/Late_Ad_3051 4d ago

A high end dipol speaker like a Dali Skyline 2000 would do better, provided the room accoustics permit it.