THE DETAILS

As I mentioned before, the simplest and most accurate way to explain my concept (which also happens to be exactly how I originally perceived it) is that I replace the two speakers in a traditional stereo configuration with quadraphonic audio planes - that is why I call it "Stereo Quadraphonic". It is really that simple. A more detailed explanation is that I place eight speakers in a rectangular configuration to create a sound cube and connect/manipulate the corner points of that sound space to create multiple quadraphonic audio planes around and within that sound space. Another way to explain the concept is that the same way that moving those two original stereo speakers around the walls of a room changes the apparent source/position of a sound centered between those two speakers, by moving the position of a sound within the parallel quadraphonic sound planes (the exact same thing that was done by moving the stereo speakers around the walls) and adjusting the balance/volume/panning between the parallel quadraphonic sound planes any point within the three dimensional space defined by the eight corner speakers can be addressed. In fact, any specific point within that sound cube/space can be defined by a multitude of combinations of positions within the stereo quadraphonic audio planes? To sort through all the potential confusion that results from the multitude of combinations and configurations (mono, stereo, quad, etc.) possible in a three dimensional rectangular space, I discovered the simplest way to visualize and manipulate that 3D space is to think in one exponential level lower than the geometry defines. It is really just simple mathematics. As you increase the number of sound sources (speakers) in an audio environment, the result is an exponential increase in the number of directions available to move a sound. The basic rule that I have discovered in the time I have been exploring a stereo quadraphonic audio system is that exponential mathematics rules in all directions. Yeah, right, exactly what does that mean? For example, in stereo you think positioning/moving a mono sound between the two speakers, in quadraphonic you think positioning/moving a (mono or stereo) sound around and between four speakers, and in octophonic you think positioning/moving a sound (mono or stereo or quad) around and between eight speakers using one dozen quadraphonic planes - as far as your basic audio format/element is concerned. I can remember when stereo FM radio replaced mono AM radio as the listening medium of choice. I can also remember when quadraphonic challenged stereo some time later. And each time the audio environment was expanded it was not only the additional speakers that were the key ingredient, it was ability to move a sound between all of the speakers that increased the listener’s level of enjoyment. Stereo can only go in one direction – towards the other speaker. Quadraphonic increases that to three other speakers to move sound towards within that single (usually horizontal) quadraphonic audio plane. And three-dimensional octophonic increases the number of speakers for sound to move towards up to seven. But it is how those connections are configured that creates the exponential expansion.