Editing Quadraphonic sound (section)

{{Short description|Four-channel speaker audio}}
{{more citations needed|date=April 2024}}
[[File:4 0 channels (quadrophonic)(quadrophonie) label.svg|thumb|right|A four channel quadraphonic diagram showing the usual placement of speakers around the listener]]

'''Quadraphonic''' (or '''quadrophonic''', also called '''quadrasonic''' or by the [[neologism]] '''quadio'''<ref>{{cite web|first=Hal |last=Horowitz |title=Review: Is Quadrophonic Sound Back? Rhino Hopes So With Four Releases Pulled From The Vaults |journal=American Songwriter |date=4 August 2023 |url=https://americansongwriter.com/review-is-quadrophonic-sound-back-rhino-hopes-so-with-four-releases-pulled-from-the-vaults/ |access-date=1 December 2024 |quote= In the past few years, Rhino [has] dug into their vaults to release two box sets of four-channel albums (now dubbed Quadio) created for '70s bands still popular and touring.}}</ref> <nowiki>[</nowiki>[[portmanteau|formed]] by analogy with "stereo"]) [[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 the reproduction of sound signals that are (wholly or in part) independent of one another.

Four channel quadraphonic surround sound can be used to recreate the highly realistic effect of a three-dimensional live concert hall experience in the home. It can also be used to enhance the listener experience beyond the directional limitations of ordinary two channel [[stereo]] sound. Quadraphonic audio was the earliest consumer product in surround sound. Since it was introduced to the public in the early 1970s many thousands of quadraphonic recordings have been made.

Quadraphonic sound was a commercial failure when first introduced due to a variety of technical issues and format incompatibilities. Four channel audio formats can be more expensive to produce than standard two-channel stereo. Playback requires additional speakers and amplifier channels. It may also require specially designed decoding equipment.

The introduction of [[home cinema]] products in the 1990s were first intended for movie sound, but also brought multi-channel music reproduction into popularity again. By this time new digitally based formats had been created. Many four channel recordings from the 1970s have been reissued in modern surround sound systems such as [[Super Audio CD]], [[DTS (sound system)|DTS]], [[Dolby Digital]], [[DVD-Audio]] and [[Blu-ray]]. Multichannel home audio reproduction has experienced a revival since 2000 and new four channel recordings have also been released to the public since this time.

A quadraphonic system will reproduce right front, right rear, left front, and left rear audio signals in four separate speakers. The reproduction capability of the rear speakers should be of the same quality or almost the same quality as the front speakers; ideally, a quadraphonic system uses four identical speakers.