If I didn’t know better, I would think that this gentleman was putting a coiled up garden hose inside a speaker enclosure. Well, actually, he is putting a garden hose inside a speaker enclosure, as instructed by the January 1972 issue of Elementary Electronics. He wanted to enjoy quadraphonic sound, and thanks to the magazine, he was able to create quadrasonic sound using his existing stereo. The project shown in the magazine took its input from the speaker terminals of the existing stereo. It then created two new channels, adding a 15 millisecond delay to produce a realistic reverberation. This was accomplished by feeding the signal into the hose from an earphone, and picking it up at the other end with a crystal mike. The output (mixed with a non-delayed version) was then amplified and sent to the rear speakers.

According to the magazine, the result was the greatest home entertainment item since the invention of the crystal set, and would place the listener in a galaxy of surrounding sound and a listening wonderland.

If the general idea sounds vaguely familiar, that’s because you’ve seen a similar idea here before. When WBBM and KFAB wanted to synchronize their signals, WBBM had to build a delay into its transmission, and they accomplished this with a section of lead pipe.