Quad recordings on Dolby 5.1 systems

[captain nemo1701]

I've recently discovered the joy of one of my fave albums, Rick Wakeman's Journey to the Centre of the Earth. Someone on Youtube mentioned that the quad tape version in the 70's was awesome and I was delighted to discover that a box set with four different versions has been released, including a quad recording. While I contemplate shelling out £40 for it (it also has another live recording in addition to the 1974 original), what do quad recordings sound like on a Dolby 5.1 surround system?.

 

[raleighnut]

In theory a quadrophonic recording properly transferred will sound accurate on a surround system, the reason they never really took off in the 70s was that reproduction systems really weren't up to the job (ideally you need 4 separate audio tracks which was only possible with 'open reel' tape) with a 5:1 setup you can have this easily. (the :1 part is just a subwoofer)