Four isn't always better than two...speakers, that is. Through the 1960's, music saw an unprecedented advancement in sound recording technology and broadcasting in FM stereo became an FCC standard. When the 1970's came around, the 8-track tape and it's associated quadraphonic sound reproduction hit the store shelves. In "quad" sound, 4 speakers will reproduce four different audio channels. Each speaker should be located in each corner of a square listening area, firing toward the center. This creates the optimum "sweet spot" for the listener. Although this sounded excellent when working correctly, technical problems smeared the reputation of this system. By the time the bugs were worked out, stereo systems sounded better than quadaphonic systems, and home theater packages won over the hearts of those who demanded the latest technology in their living room. Adding even more chaos to the quad system's failure to launch was that a standard in quad sound format came too late. You might buy a record that claims to play quadraphonically to find that it was incompatible with your system. We've come a long way from this horrible flop in audio technology!
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