QUADRAPHONICS

Quadraphonics Manual

NeuzTec Quad Sound System designed for exploration.

NeuzTec Quadraphonics Manual

Ver. 2026.004

Written by Wil Shulba, NeuzTec Festival Founder

Download the manual (PDF)

Quadraphonic sound has a long history in electronic, experimental, electroacoustic, and spatial music. In quad, space becomes part of the composition. A four-point sound field allows sound to move, rotate, drift, collide, diffuse, and expand in ways that stereo cannot. Instead of thinking only in left and right, quad invites artists to shape depth, direction, motion, pressure, and room energy.

At NeuzTec, quadraphonic sound is not treated as a novelty effect. It is a flexible performance system. It can support minimal sound work, dense electronic music, modular synthesis, rhythmic material, drones, multichannel composition, improvised performance, and spatial experimentation. The room becomes part of the instrument.

This manual explains how a four-point system is configured, how the speakers are oriented, how bass routing can behave, and how an artist can choose an output mode for a performance. The goal is clarity. With a shared technical foundation, artists and front-of-house can move directly into shaping the spatial character of a set.

1. Quad Orientation

Standing at room centre facing the stage:

  • FL = Front Left
  • FR = Front Right
  • BL = Back Left
  • BR = Back Right
Quad orientation in Wood Hall A rectangular room seen from above with the stage along the top edge. Four loudspeakers sit in the corners, labelled FL and FR at the front and BL and BR at the back, each angled toward the centre. Their axes cross at a listening point in the middle of the room, marked as the room centre facing the stage. STAGE FL FR BL BR room centre, facing the stage LEFT RIGHT BACK OF HALL
The four-corner field, seen from above. Each speaker is angled toward the centre; the axes cross near the middle of the room.

The four main speakers are aligned as a quadraphonic field and angled inward toward the centre of Wood Hall. The speaker axes cross near the centre of the room, producing a stable spatial image and a strong reference point for front/back, side-to-side, and diagonal movement.

The system should be understood as a four-corner field rather than an expanded stereo system. Each speaker position can function as an anchor point, a movement point, or part of a larger spatial image.

2. Configuration Options

Artists may approach the quad system in several ways. The system can support simple mono reinforcement, stereo expansion, dual-stereo layering, full quad playback, multi-quad routing, or independently routed multichannel material. These options can be selected in advance or shaped collaboratively during setup and soundcheck.

2.1 Output Formats

Mono · Stereo · Dual Stereo · Quad · Multi-Quad · Multichannel

2.2 Stereo Placement Modes

Standard Front Stereo · Back Stereo · Quad Spread · Rotated Stereo · Diagonal Stereo · Opposed Stereo Pair · Adaptive Stereo

Mono point-source placement is covered separately in 4.7 Four-Corner Mono Placement.

2.3 Dual Stereo Layouts

Front + Back · Back + Front · Front + Rotated · Rotated + Front · Rotated + Back · Back + Rotated · Quad Spread + Front · Quad Spread + Back · Quad Spread + Side · Diagonal + Front · Diagonal + Back · Diagonal + Side · Centre Mono + Quad Bed · Mono Anchor + Moving Stereo · Adaptive Dual Stereo

The complete catalogue of dual stereo layouts is Section 5.

2.4 Variant Logic

  • Normal — left/right orientation is preserved.
  • Mirror — left/right orientation is reversed within a layer.
  • Inverted — the second layer is opposed across both the front and rear field, creating stronger spatial contradiction than a simple mirror.
  • Primary Layer — the layer treated as the main image.
  • Anchor Layer — the layer used to stabilize the spatial field.
  • Adaptive — FOH may move, reinterpret, or reshape the mapping live.

2.5 Bass Modes

Summed Bass · Spatial Bass · Hybrid Bass · Dedicated Low Frequency Stems

2.6 Additional Options

Motion paths · Spatial scenes · FOH-controlled spatial movement · Timecode-coordinated cues (with advance notice) · Artist-supplied stems or multichannel outputs

3. Subwoofer Architecture

Each quad channel can include its own independent subwoofer send. This allows low-frequency material to behave either as a central shared bass field or as part of the spatial image.

3.1 Summed Bass

All low-frequency signals are combined into a single mono bass feed. This produces strong central bass energy and is useful when the low end should remain stable, powerful, and consistent across the room.

Best for: kick-heavy material · bass lines requiring strong central focus · dance-oriented material · sets where low-frequency clarity is more important than spatial bass movement.

3.2 Spatial Bass

Each subwoofer follows its corresponding quad channel. This allows low-frequency material to move with the spatial image — front to back, left to right, or diagonally through the room. This is the default NeuzTec quad bass mode.

Best for: drones · low-frequency movement · spatial synthesis · bass textures · sound design where directionality matters.

3.3 Hybrid Bass

Hybrid bass combines summed bass and spatial bass. The core low-frequency energy remains stable while selected elements retain spatial movement, providing both power and directional character.

Best for: performances with both rhythmic and atmospheric low end · sets with kick/bass elements and moving low-frequency textures · material requiring both stability and spatial depth.

3.4 Dedicated Low Frequency Stems

Artists may provide isolated low-frequency stems for independent routing — kick, sub bass, drones, tones, LFO-driven layers, low-frequency noise, bass pulses. Dedicated stems allow FOH to decide whether each low-frequency element should be summed, spatialized, or treated separately.

4. Spatial Stereo

Stereo material can be placed into the quad system in several ways. These mappings allow a conventional stereo output to become more spatial without requiring the artist to create a full quad mix. All mappings are listed in the order FL, FR, BL, BR.

4.1 Standard Front Stereo

A focused front stereo image. It behaves like a conventional PA configuration and provides strong clarity, articulation, and stage focus.

Best for: vocals · rhythmic material · stereo backing tracks · sets requiring a clear front image.

4.2 Back Stereo

Places the stereo image behind the audience. It can be used as an environmental bed, rear texture, or spatial counterweight to front-focused material.

Best for: rear ambience · environmental sound · hidden or distant sources · call-and-response with front material.

4.3 Quad Stereo Spread

A wide wraparound stereo field. The left image is present on both left-side speakers, while the right image is present on both right-side speakers.

Best for: immersive stereo expansion · pads · drones · dense electronic material · stereo mixes that benefit from room-filling width.

4.4 Rotated Stereo

Sidewall drift and lateral motion. The rear image is reversed relative to the front, creating a rotated stereo field that can feel like movement around the room.

Best for: spatial drift · lateral motion · textural movement · material with wide stereo modulation.

4.5 Diagonal Stereo

Emphasizes diagonal movement across the room. The perceived motion may pull from front-left to back-right, or from front-right to back-left, depending on the source material and FOH balance.

Best for: diagonal tension · corner-to-corner motion · moving drones · spatial gestures.

4.6 Opposed Stereo Pair

  • Option A:
  • Option B:

Maps a stereo pair to opposite corners only. It creates a true diagonal stereo image rather than a four-speaker spread.

Best for: point-to-point motion · diagonal call-and-response · percussive spatial gestures · sparse material.

4.7 Four-Corner Mono Placement

A mono source may be assigned to one speaker only, creating a point-source location within the quad field.

  • A: only
  • B: only
  • C: only
  • D: only

Best for: sound objects · spoken fragments · percussion hits · call-and-response · spatial punctuation.

4.8 Adaptive Stereo

FOH adjusts the stereo placement in real time. The image can shift, widen, narrow, rotate, or move through the quad field during the performance.

Best for: improvised performance · dynamic electronic sets · artists who want FOH to spatialize live · material that changes significantly over time.

5. Spatial Dual Stereo

Dual stereo uses two independent stereo layers — Pair A (Layer 1) and Pair B (Layer 2). Each pair can be placed differently in the quad field. This is useful when an artist has two stereo outputs, such as main mix + effects, drums + synths, voice + electronics, backing track + live processing, front image + rear texture, or rhythmic layer + drone layer. Mappings are shown in the order FL, FR, BL, BR.

5.1 Front + Back

  • Pair A:
  • Pair B:

A clear front stereo image with an independent rear stereo bed. Foreground material remains intelligible while atmospheric or secondary material surrounds the listener from behind.

Best for: narrative electronic music · singer-songwriter with electronics · ambient sets · spoken word with sound design · electroacoustic performance.
Best aligned with: vocals · lead synths · guitar · melodic instruments · field recordings · rear ambience · drones · reverb returns.

5.2 Front Mirror + Back

  • Pair A:
  • Pair B:

Reverses the front stereo image while keeping the rear image normal — subtle spatial disorientation without losing the stability of the rear field.

Best for: experimental electronics · abstract sound design · musique concrète · modular synthesis · noise textures.
Best aligned with: processed stereo sources · reversed delays · granular textures · unstable synth layers · spatial effects.

5.3 Front + Back Mirror

  • Pair A:
  • Pair B:

Keeps the front image stable while reversing the rear image — a strong forward anchor with a rear field that feels more active, reflective, or uncanny.

Best for: ambient · dub-influenced electronics · post-rock electronics · cinematic sound design · drone performance.
Best aligned with: front lead material · rear delays · reverbs · pads · environmental sounds · echoed percussion.

5.4 Front Mirror + Back Mirror

  • Pair A:
  • Pair B:

Mirrors both front and rear stereo images — a less conventional spatial orientation where familiar stereo relationships are shifted across the room.

Best for: disorienting experimental sets · abstract electronic music · sound art · spatial improvisation.
Best aligned with: non-rhythmic textures · manipulated recordings · spectral processing · unstable stereo material.

5.5 Back + Front

  • Pair A:
  • Pair B:

The reverse hierarchy of Front + Back. The rear layer is treated as the primary image, with the front pair used as an anchor or response layer — an immersive rear-first soundstage that pulls the audience into the room rather than projecting everything from the stage.

Best for: ambient · installation-style performance · immersive drone · environmental composition · deep listening.
Best aligned with: rear drones · field recordings · long-form textures · front accents · voice fragments · soft melodic responses.

5.6 Back Mirror + Front

  • Pair A:
  • Pair B:

A mirrored stereo field behind the audience with a stable front anchor — rear movement and depth while preserving a clear point of reference at the stage.

Best for: ambient techno · soundscape performance · electroacoustic work · experimental folk with electronics.
Best aligned with: rear pads · rear delays · front vocals · acoustic instruments · lead synths.

5.7 Back + Front Mirror

  • Pair A:
  • Pair B:

A stable rear image with a mirrored front anchor — a rear-dominant field with a front image that feels intentionally shifted or destabilized.

Best for: experimental pop · art-rock electronics · modular performance · spatial DJ-style sets.
Best aligned with: rear rhythmic beds · front processed leads · stereo effects · distorted instruments.

5.8 Back Mirror + Front Mirror

  • Pair A:
  • Pair B:

Mirrors both the rear primary layer and the front anchor — a fully altered stereo orientation while maintaining front/back separation.

Best for: abstract sound art · noise · glitch · electroacoustic performance · spatial improvisation.
Best aligned with: fragmented samples · reversed textures · synthetic percussion · manipulated stereo recordings.

5.9 Front + Rotated

  • Pair A:
  • Pair B:

A stable front stereo image with a second layer spread into a rotated quad field — clarity plus movement; the main material stays focused while the second layer drifts along the room edges.

Best for: electronic music · modular synthesis · ambient · techno-adjacent sets · cinematic performance.
Best aligned with: front drums · bass · vocals · lead synths · rotating pads · modulation effects · arpeggios.

5.10 Front Mirror + Rotated

  • Pair A:
  • Pair B:

A mirrored front image with a rotated spatial bed — a more abstract front image supported by a surrounding motion layer.

Best for: experimental electronics · noise · spatial improvisation · modular systems.
Best aligned with: mirrored leads · processed stereo synths · rotating drones · stereo delays.

5.11 Front + Rotated Mirror

  • Pair A:
  • Pair B:

Keeps the front image stable while mirroring the rotated layer — a clear stage image with a more unstable surrounding field.

Best for: ambient · electroacoustic · experimental techno · sound design performance.
Best aligned with: front rhythmic material · front vocals · mirrored pads · moving reverbs · modulation effects.

5.12 Rotated + Front

  • Pair A:
  • Pair B:

Treats the rotated layer as the primary field, with the front pair used as a stable anchor — a more immersive and mobile main image while retaining front clarity.

Best for: modular synthesis · live electronic improvisation · ambient techno · experimental dance music.
Best aligned with: rotating synth beds · spatial percussion · front kick/snare · front melodic anchors.

5.13 Rotated + Front Mirror

  • Pair A:
  • Pair B:

A rotating primary field with a mirrored front anchor — tension between a mobile room image and a destabilized stage image.

Best for: noise · glitch · abstract electronics · spatially aggressive performance.
Best aligned with: rotating drones · noisy synths · distorted leads · fractured stereo loops.

5.14 Rotated Mirror + Front

  • Pair A:
  • Pair B:

Mirrors the primary rotated field while keeping the front anchor normal — strong spatial motion with a stable musical reference point.

Best for: ambient · experimental electronic · modular · electroacoustic.
Best aligned with: mirrored rotating beds · front voice · front melody · front rhythmic elements.

5.15 Rotated Mirror + Front Mirror

  • Pair A:
  • Pair B:

Mirrors both the rotated primary field and the front anchor — a fully shifted spatial image that can feel synthetic, abstract, or intentionally off-axis.

Best for: sound art · noise · abstract modular performance · experimental audiovisual work.
Best aligned with: synthetic textures · processed loops · reversed stereo material · non-linear performance structures.

5.16 Rotated + Back

  • Pair A:
  • Pair B:

A rotated full-field layer with an independent rear stereo bed — strong movement around the room with additional depth behind the audience.

Best for: ambient · drone · spatial techno · cinematic electronics · experimental percussion.
Best aligned with: rotating synth layers · rear drones · rear impacts · field recordings · low-frequency textures.

5.17 Rotated + Back Mirror

  • Pair A:
  • Pair B:

Adds a mirrored rear bed to a rotated main field — increased rear tension and a stronger sense of spatial unease.

Best for: darker ambient · noise · industrial electronics · experimental bass music.
Best aligned with: rear noise beds · distorted delays · rotating sub-textures · unsettling drones.

5.18 Rotated Mirror + Back

  • Pair A:
  • Pair B:

Mirrors the rotated main field while keeping the rear stereo bed stable — a moving field with a grounded rear reference.

Best for: immersive ambient · live electronics · electroacoustic · modular drones.
Best aligned with: moving synth textures · rear pads · rear harmonics · sustained tones.

5.19 Rotated Mirror + Back Mirror

  • Pair A:
  • Pair B:

Mirrors both the rotated main field and the rear bed — a fully altered rear-weighted spatial environment.

Best for: experimental sound art · noise · abstract electronics · installation-style performance.
Best aligned with: rear-heavy drones · mirrored noise fields · processed recordings · spatial feedback textures.

5.20 Quad Spread + Front

  • Pair A:
  • Pair B:

A wide immersive stereo bed with a focused front image — fullness without sacrificing clarity.

Best for: electronic music · ambient pop · experimental rock · cinematic sets · singer-songwriter with electronics.
Best aligned with: quad pads · stereo backing tracks · front vocals · front guitar · front lead synths.

5.21 Quad Spread + Front Mirror

  • Pair A:
  • Pair B:

A wide quad bed with a mirrored front image — a full surrounding field with a front element that feels spatially shifted.

Best for: psychedelic electronic music · experimental pop · abstract vocal work · art-rock.
Best aligned with: surrounding pads · mirrored front vocals · processed guitar · stereo leads.

5.22 Quad Spread Mirror + Front

  • Pair A:
  • Pair B:

Mirrors the immersive bed while keeping the front anchor stable — a familiar front image against an unfamiliar surrounding field.

Best for: ambient · electroacoustic · experimental folk · cinematic sound design.
Best aligned with: stable vocals · stable melody · mirrored environmental beds · wide textures.

5.23 Quad Spread Mirror + Front Mirror

  • Pair A:
  • Pair B:

Mirrors both the surrounding bed and the front image — a fully reoriented stereo field that still maintains a front-focused element.

Best for: abstract electronic music · spatial sound art · noise · experimental audiovisual sets.
Best aligned with: mirrored full mixes · processed vocals · synthetic textures · reversed stereo sources.

5.24 Quad Spread + Back

  • Pair A:
  • Pair B:

A wide immersive bed with an independent rear focus — room-filling width with added depth behind the listener.

Best for: ambient · drone · field recording-based work · cinematic electronics · deep listening.
Best aligned with: quad pads · rear textures · rear voices · rear percussion · environmental recordings.

5.25 Quad Spread + Back Mirror

  • Pair A:
  • Pair B:

Keeps the quad bed stable while mirroring the rear focus — rear movement and contrast within an otherwise coherent immersive field.

Best for: ambient · dub electronics · experimental techno · soundscape performance.
Best aligned with: rear delays · rear reverbs · rear rhythmic echoes · wide pads.

5.26 Quad Spread Mirror + Back

  • Pair A:
  • Pair B:

Mirrors the quad bed while keeping the rear image stable — a rear anchor inside an altered immersive field.

Best for: drone · electroacoustic · experimental electronics · spatial composition.
Best aligned with: rear drones · rear harmonic beds · mirrored stereo textures · field recordings.

5.27 Quad Spread Mirror + Back Mirror

  • Pair A:
  • Pair B:

Mirrors both the quad bed and the rear image — a rear-oriented field with a deliberately altered sense of left and right.

Best for: noise · abstract sound design · installation-style performance · experimental ambient.
Best aligned with: rear-heavy textures · reversed stereo beds · spatial noise · processed recordings.

5.28 Quad Spread + Side

  • Pair A:
  • Pair B:

A wide stereo bed across the room with a second layer that creates lateral motion — immersion plus side-to-side movement.

Best for: ambient techno · modular synthesis · electronic music · psychedelic performance · dance-adjacent experimental sets.
Best aligned with: pads · arpeggios · stereo modulation · side delays · rhythmic textures.

5.29 Quad Spread + Side Mirror

  • Pair A:
  • Pair B:

Adds a mirrored side-motion layer to a stable quad spread — a more complex lateral field while maintaining the wide stereo foundation.

Best for: experimental electronics · glitch · modular synthesis · electroacoustic.
Best aligned with: stereo effects · modulated synths · granular textures · moving percussion.

5.30 Quad Spread + Side Inverted

  • Pair A:
  • Pair B:

A wide immersive stereo bed with an inverted lateral layer — strong spatial opposition, making the field feel more unstable, rotational, or disorienting.

Best for: noise · industrial electronics · abstract modular · experimental bass · intense spatial transitions.
Best aligned with: aggressive synth layers · distorted effects · rising tension · noise sweeps · transition sections.

5.31 Quad Spread Mirror + Side

  • Pair A:
  • Pair B:

A mirrored quad bed with a normal side-motion layer — contrast between an altered surrounding field and a more familiar moving layer.

Best for: experimental ambient · electroacoustic · modular performance · sound art.
Best aligned with: mirrored drones · normal stereo movement · evolving textures · sidewall effects.

5.32 Quad Spread Mirror + Side Mirror

  • Pair A:
  • Pair B:

A mirrored quad bed with a mirrored side-motion layer — a fully shifted lateral environment.

Best for: abstract electronic music · spatial noise · experimental audiovisual work.
Best aligned with: mirrored modulation · processed stereo loops · synthetic sound masses.

5.33 Quad Spread Mirror + Side Inverted

  • Pair A:
  • Pair B:

A mirrored quad bed against an inverted side layer — maximum spatial opposition within the quad spread family.

Best for: disorienting sound art · noise · intense modular performance · transition-heavy electronic sets.
Best aligned with: harsh textures · unstable drones · rising synth layers · spatial rupture moments.

5.34 Diagonal + Front

  • Pair A:
  • Pair B:

A diagonal spatial pull with a stable front anchor — movement across the room while preserving stage clarity.

Best for: electronic music · experimental pop · ambient · post-rock electronics · cinematic performance.
Best aligned with: diagonal pads · moving synths · front vocals · front melody · front percussion.

5.35 Diagonal + Front Mirror

  • Pair A:
  • Pair B:

Keeps the diagonal field active while mirroring the front anchor — a stronger sense of spatial tension at the stage.

Best for: experimental electronics · psychedelic music · abstract vocal work · modular sets.
Best aligned with: diagonal drones · mirrored lead synths · processed vocals · stereo delays.

5.36 Diagonal Mirror + Front

  • Pair A:
  • Pair B:

Mirrors the diagonal field while keeping the front image stable — diagonal motion with a clear musical reference point.

Best for: ambient · electroacoustic · cinematic sound design · experimental folk with electronics.
Best aligned with: front vocals · front acoustic instruments · mirrored diagonal textures · field recordings.

5.37 Diagonal Mirror + Front Mirror

  • Pair A:
  • Pair B:

Mirrors both the diagonal field and the front anchor — a fully shifted diagonal image with a front presence.

Best for: abstract electronic music · sound art · noise · experimental performance.
Best aligned with: processed leads · stereo synths · mirrored drones · manipulated recordings.

5.38 Diagonal + Back

  • Pair A:
  • Pair B:

Diagonal movement with a rear stereo anchor — motion across the room with added depth and rear focus.

Best for: ambient · drone · electroacoustic · cinematic electronics · spatial percussion.
Best aligned with: diagonal beds · rear drones · rear percussion · environmental textures.

5.39 Diagonal + Back Mirror

  • Pair A:
  • Pair B:

A diagonal field with a mirrored rear anchor — rear spatial tension combined with corner-to-corner motion.

Best for: darker ambient · noise · industrial textures · experimental bass.
Best aligned with: rear noise · rear delays · diagonal synths · distorted spatial effects.

5.40 Diagonal Mirror + Back

  • Pair A:
  • Pair B:

Mirrors the diagonal field while keeping the rear anchor stable — altered diagonal movement with a grounded rear image.

Best for: immersive ambient · electroacoustic · field recording work · live electronics.
Best aligned with: rear soundscapes · mirrored diagonal pads · slow movement · drones.

5.41 Diagonal Mirror + Back Mirror

  • Pair A:
  • Pair B:

Mirrors both the diagonal field and rear anchor — a fully shifted rear-weighted diagonal environment.

Best for: abstract sound art · noise · experimental ambient · installation-style sets.
Best aligned with: rear-heavy drones · mirrored field recordings · manipulated stereo textures.

5.42 Diagonal + Side

  • Pair A:
  • Pair B:

Reinforces the diagonal/side movement by using the same spatial structure for both layers — a strong, coherent motion field.

Best for: modular synthesis · ambient techno · rhythmic electronics · evolving drone.
Best aligned with: arpeggios · modulated synths · moving percussion · stereo pads.

5.43 Diagonal + Side Mirror

  • Pair A:
  • Pair B:

A diagonal field against a mirrored side-motion layer — increased motion complexity and spatial counterpoint.

Best for: glitch · experimental electronics · electroacoustic · noise.
Best aligned with: granular textures · stereo modulation · delay networks · contrasting synth layers.

5.44 Diagonal + Side Inverted

  • Pair A:
  • Pair B:

A diagonal field with an inverted side layer — strong opposition between the main diagonal image and the second stereo pair.

Best for: aggressive experimental music · industrial electronics · noise · intense transitions.
Best aligned with: distortion · feedback · rising tension · harsh modulation · dramatic section changes.

5.45 Diagonal Mirror + Side

  • Pair A:
  • Pair B:

A mirrored diagonal field with normal side motion — a shifted primary image with a more readable moving layer.

Best for: experimental ambient · modular synthesis · electroacoustic composition.
Best aligned with: mirrored pads · moving arpeggios · side delays · evolving drones.

5.46 Diagonal Mirror + Side Mirror

  • Pair A:
  • Pair B:

Reinforces the mirrored diagonal structure across both stereo layers — a coherent but reversed spatial movement field.

Best for: sound art · abstract electronics · spatially focused ambient.
Best aligned with: mirrored drones · stereo synth fields · sustained textures · evolving modulation.

5.47 Diagonal Mirror + Side Inverted

  • Pair A:
  • Pair B:

A mirrored diagonal field against an inverted side layer — a highly active spatial contradiction, useful when the room itself should feel unstable.

Best for: noise · experimental modular · industrial sound · abstract performance.
Best aligned with: unstable drones · harsh effects · synthetic pressure · spatial disruption.

5.48 Centre Mono + Quad Bed

  • Mono Anchor:
  • Quad Bed:

A mono source at the front centre using FL and FR equally, while a stereo or quad-spread layer surrounds it — the main source remains focused while the room carries the surrounding material.

Best for: vocals with electronics · spoken word · experimental folk · singer-songwriter · cinematic performance.
Best aligned with: voice · narration · lead instrument · kick · bass anchor · melody · surrounding pads.

5.49 Rear Mono + Quad Bed

  • Mono Anchor:
  • Quad Bed:

A mono source behind the audience while the quad bed fills the room — a rear focal point that can feel distant, hidden, environmental, or theatrical.

Best for: soundscape work · theatre-influenced performance · ambient · installation-style sets.
Best aligned with: rear voice · distant instruments · environmental sounds · ghost tones · rear drones.

5.50 Mono Anchor + Moving Stereo

  • Mono Anchor:
  • Moving Stereo:

A fixed mono source while stereo material moves through the quad field — stability plus motion.

Best for: vocal electronics · live modular · techno-adjacent performance · experimental pop · spoken word with spatial sound.
Best aligned with: fixed voice · kick · bass · lead instrument · moving synths · moving delays · rotating textures.

5.51 Opposed Stereo + Front Anchor

  • Pair A:
  • Pair B:

A true diagonal stereo pair with a front stereo anchor — point-to-point diagonal movement while retaining stage clarity.

Best for: sparse electronic music · experimental percussion · modular synthesis · electroacoustic performance.
Best aligned with: diagonal hits · panned percussion · front leads · front rhythm · call-and-response material.

5.52 Opposed Stereo + Back Anchor

  • Pair A:
  • Pair B:

A true diagonal stereo pair with a rear stereo anchor — a more immersive and rear-weighted diagonal image.

Best for: ambient · drone · soundscape · experimental percussion · spatial composition.
Best aligned with: diagonal sound objects · rear beds · rear field recordings · sparse rhythmic elements.

5.53 Ring / Rotation Mode

This is not a static routing — it is a motion mode. A stereo or mono element is moved around the quad field in a circular pattern:

FL → FR → BR → BL → FL (or reversed) FL → BL → BR → FR → FL

Sound can rotate around the audience, build tension, mark transitions, or create a clear sense of motion.

Best for: modular synthesis · noise · experimental techno · ambient builds · audiovisual performance · transition sections.
Best aligned with: drones · risers · noise sweeps · arpeggios · percussion loops · delay throws · feedback gestures.

5.54 Adaptive Dual Stereo

  • Pair A:
  • Pair B:

Both stereo layers can shift dynamically, allowing continuous evolution, real-time spatial shaping, and collaborative performance interaction between the artist and FOH. The spatial field can respond to musical energy, density, dynamics, and audience experience in real time.

Best for: improvisation · modular synthesis · live electronics · electroacoustic performance · experimental DJ sets · hybrid acoustic/electronic sets.
Best aligned with: evolving textures · live stems · improvisational layers · dynamic effects · responsive spatial movement · full-performance spatial interpretation.

6. Spatial Quad

Full quad routing uses four discrete input channels:

1 = FL · 2 = FR · 3 = BL · 4 = BR

This allows artists to send a prepared quadraphonic mix or perform with four independent outputs. The NeuzTec system supports up to four independent quad sets, for a total of 16 channels, depending on advance technical requirements and available input capacity.

Best for: prepared quad compositions · four-channel modular systems · spatial playback · live quad panning · multichannel DAW output · artists who already work in quad.

6.1 What to Bring

The house console is a Midas M32R with 16 mic/line inputs on XLR, feeding four full-range tops and four subwoofers on dedicated outputs. To use the quad routings:

  • Stereo or dual stereo: two or four line-level outputs (balanced TRS or XLR preferred; unbalanced is fine over short runs). Bring the cables from your gear to the console position, or ask in advance.
  • Full quad: an audio interface or mixer with at least four discrete line outputs, one per corner, in the order FL, FR, BL, BR.
  • Multi-quad or multichannel: up to 16 discrete outputs; tell NeuzTec the channel count and the layout in advance so the patch can be prepared.
  • Modular and hardware: direct outs at line level are easiest; DI boxes are available for instrument-level sources.
  • Playback: stereo files can be routed live into any layout in Section 4; prepared quad or multichannel files should be delivered as separate mono stems or a multichannel file with the channel order noted.

7. Spatial Multi-Quad

Multi-quad routing allows multiple four-channel groups to operate at the same time:

Quad SetFLFRBLBR
Set 11234
Set 25678
Set 39101112
Set 413141516

This format supports more complex compositions where separate instrument groups, stems, or sound objects occupy independent quad fields.

Best for: advanced multichannel performance · DAW-based spatial composition · stem-based quad mixing · layered spatial systems · large modular or hybrid electronic setups.

8. Multichannel

Multichannel routing supports independent sources that do not need to arrive as stereo pairs or full quad groups — percussion stems, drones, textures, melodic lines, harmonic beds, field recordings, noise layers, spatial objects, automated cues, live inputs, and effects returns. Each channel can be routed independently in the quad field, giving FOH and the artist maximum flexibility in placing, moving, or balancing material.

Best for: artists with stems · live electronics · hybrid acoustic/electronic sets · complex spatial arrangements · performances requiring FOH spatial interpretation.

9. FOH Collaboration

Quad performance works best when the artist and FOH engineer share a clear spatial intention. Artists provide the source material, output format, and preferred spatial behaviour; FOH shapes balance, routing, movement, bass behaviour, and room response in real time.

Useful artist notes may include:

  • Which sounds should remain stable
  • Which sounds may move
  • Which sounds should feel close or distant
  • Which sounds should be front-focused
  • Which sounds should surround the audience
  • Which elements should use spatial bass
  • Whether FOH may actively perform the spatial mix
  • Whether cues or scenes are fixed or improvised

The best quad performances often emerge from collaboration: the artist defines the musical intention, and FOH helps translate that intention into the physical room.

10. Joy of Quad

10.1 Why Quad

Stereo asks where a sound sits between two points. Quad asks where it sits in a room. In stereo, placement runs along a single line drawn between two speakers, and depth is implied rather than stated. In quad, placement is a position in a plane: front and back, left and right, and every point between. A sound can arrive from behind the audience, cross the room diagonally, settle into one corner, or occupy the whole field at once.

Three things change when a stereo practice moves into quad.

  • Direction becomes a musical parameter. Where a sound comes from can carry as much weight as its pitch or its loudness. Two similar textures separated front to back read as two distinct voices rather than one thick one.
  • Motion becomes available. A sound that rotates, drifts, or jumps is doing something a static mix cannot do. Slow movement reads as breath and weather; fast movement reads as gesture and event.
  • The audience's orientation becomes material. Listeners turn toward what interests them. A sound placed behind the room pulls attention away from the stage, which can be used for surprise, disorientation, intimacy, or relief.

Quad rewards restraint as readily as spectacle. A set can sit in a conventional front image for ten minutes and then open into the full field once, to great effect. The contrast is the instrument. A performance that moves constantly in all four corners can flatten into a wash, in the same way that a mix compressed to a constant level stops having dynamics.

Practical qualities worth knowing before planning a set:

  • The sweet spot is broad but real. Wood Hall's inward-facing array holds a stable image near the centre of the room. Toward the walls the nearest speaker dominates. Material that depends on precise placement is best treated as an effect available to most of the audience rather than a structural element every listener receives identically.
  • Front and back are not symmetrical. Audiences face the stage. Front material is heard as the performance; rear material is heard as environment, comment, or intrusion. The asymmetry is an expressive resource.
  • Separation buys clarity. Dense material that fights for space in stereo often opens up when its layers are given different corners, without any change to the mix itself.
  • Low frequencies behave differently. Bass is less directional than the rest of the spectrum, which is why bass mode is a separate choice (Section 3). Spatial bass moves the felt weight of the room; summed bass holds it steady.

10.2 A Short History

Composers have treated loudspeaker placement as a compositional parameter since the 1950s, well before the recording industry attempted to sell surround sound to households.

At the 1958 Brussels World's Fair, Edgard Varèse's Poème électronique played inside the Philips Pavilion designed by Le Corbusier and Iannis Xenakis, with sound routed along paths through several hundred loudspeakers built into the structure. Karlheinz Stockhausen composed Kontakte (1958 to 1960) for four-channel tape, producing its rotations by mounting a loudspeaker on a turntable, surrounding it with four microphones, and recording the result to four tracks. The music was made by moving a sound in a physical space and capturing what the room did to it.

Quad reached popular music in the 1960s. Pink Floyd's "Games for May" concert at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London on 12 May 1967 used a four-channel system with a joystick controller, the Azimuth Co-ordinator, built by EMI engineer Bernard Speight; Rick Wright moved the sound around the hall from the stage. The controller was stolen after that first concert, and a second was built for the band's Royal Festival Hall concert on 14 April 1969.

At Expo '70 in Osaka, Stockhausen's spherical auditorium in the German Pavilion held fifty loudspeakers in seven circles, with the audience platform suspended near the centre of the sphere and three of those circles below it, so that music arrived from above and beneath as well as around. An ensemble performed there daily across the fair's 180 days.

The 1970s attempt to bring quad into the home is the part of the story usually remembered as a failure. Three incompatible formats competed at once: CBS's SQ and Sansui's QS, which folded four channels into two by matrix encoding, and JVC's CD-4, which carried four discrete channels on a vinyl record. Buyers faced incompatible decoders, uncertain catalogues, and the cost of two more speakers and an amplifier. Home quad faded by the end of the decade, taking the word "quadraphonic" down with it.

The practice itself continued in concert halls and studios. In 1974 François Bayle built the Acousmonium at the Groupe de Recherches Musicales in Paris, an orchestra of loudspeakers of different sizes and voices arranged around and among the audience and played live from a mixing desk, first presented at the Espace Cardin. Suzanne Ciani has performed in quad on the Buchla since the 1970s, treating four-channel placement as part of the instrument rather than a delivery format; her live quad recording was not released until 2017, four decades into that practice.

10.3 Quad at NeuzTec

The festival's own quad begins with Ciani. In 2018 the Garden City Electronic Music Society collaborated on bringing Suzanne Ciani to the University of Victoria for a Buchla lecture-recital, four channels treated as part of the instrument rather than as a delivery format. That spring NeuzTec presented its first quadraphonic soundsystem at Fort Tectoria, and quadraphonic sound has been part of every edition since. She remains the significant inspiration behind the festival's quad programming.

Wood Hall's inward-facing quad array creates a defined listening field with strong spatial consistency near the centre of the room. Movement across the field, front to back, side to side, or corner to corner, can shift audience focus, widen or compress the image, and change the perceived energy of the performance.

Quad systems extend control beyond amplitude and frequency. Direction, movement, distance, contrast, and spatial pressure become compositional elements. Signals can rotate, translate, collide, diffuse, anchor, or disappear into the room. These behaviours influence listener orientation, immersion, perceived dynamics, and emotional intensity.

An artist does not need a quadraphonic composition to use the system. A stereo set placed into one of the layouts in Section 4 is already spatial work, and dual stereo (Section 5) gives two independent images to place against each other without writing a note of new material. Artists who work in four channels or more will find the routings in Sections 6 to 8.

The NeuzTec quad system is designed to support intentional choices, experimental workflows, and the expressive potential of spatial audio. Whether used simply or extensively, the system offers artists a spatial vocabulary for shaping the room as part of the work.

Revision History

Ver. 2026.004 (2026-09-18)
  • 10.3 Quad at NeuzTec now opens with the origin of the festival's quad: the Society's collaboration on bringing Suzanne Ciani to the University of Victoria for a Buchla lecture-recital in 2018, and the first quadraphonic soundsystem at Fort Tectoria that spring.
  • 9.1 Requesting a Configuration removed; the manual is written for any four-point system rather than for one festival's intake, and the opening paragraph no longer points a reader to Section 9.
Ver. 2026.003 (2026-09-17)
  • Section 1 retitled Quad Orientation and given a room diagram on the website.
  • Sections retitled: 2 Configuration Options, 4 Spatial Stereo, 4.3 Quad Stereo Spread, 5 Spatial Dual Stereo, 6 Spatial Quad, 7 Spatial Multi-Quad, 8 Multichannel, 9 FOH Collaboration; the note in the 2.3 heading moved below its list.
  • 6.1 What to Bring added: console inputs, connections and file delivery.
  • 9.1 Requesting a Configuration added, with the contact address and the catalogue numbering.
  • Section 10 retitled Joy of Quad and expanded into 10.1 Why Quad, 10.2 A Short History and 10.3 Quad at NeuzTec, with sources checked (Philips Pavilion 1958, Kontakte, the Azimuth Co-ordinator, Expo '70, the 1970s home formats, the Acousmonium, Suzanne Ciani).
  • The revision note moved here from the top of the manual; a PDF of the manual is offered on the website.
Ver. 2026.002

Corrected from Ver. 2026.001 per the technical review:

  • 5.33 and 5.47 — the Side Inverted layer now reads , matching its definition in 5.30 / 5.44 (was printed as a plain Quad Spread map).
  • 4.5 note extended: Rotated, Diagonal, and the Side layer share the base map L R R L; they differ only by FOH interpretation, not channel assignment.
  • Naming standardized on Quad Spread (formal name Full Quad Stereo Spread given once, in 4.3).
  • 2.3 labelled as a representative summary; full catalogue is Section 5. 2.2 now points to mono placement (4.7).