Re: [ARSCLIST] Can 78s sound better than LPs?

[Steven Smolian <smolians@xxxxxxxxx>]

Hi, Marcos,

Louder is a matter of signal-to-noise.  Good shellac is noiser than good 
vinyl. The rest of it is up to your volume control setting.

Much also depends on the program.  A classical piece with silences is far 
more revealing of continuious noise- material, cutter, hum, etc., than a 
piece with bass and a  drum and cymbal rhythm beat to mask silences during 
pauses.

DGG made late 78s from tape rather than lacquer masters which used a thinner 
groove of variable width which can sound terrific, even though the groove is 
narrower than most other records contemporary with them, including its own 
78s.  Dunno why.  They were labelled "variable micrograde."  I expect that, 
in part, their processing chain was more careful than that for pressings 
made in the U.S. and England at the time.

Upper frequency range for 78s made at the same time as LPs should be 
greater, or so theory says.  My ear tells me that a) it's a tie and b) the 
78s wore more quickly, possibly due to the required extra tracking weight, 
thus grinding off the highs.

What I've found on both 78s and mono LPs that stereo never seemed to capture 
is the slam of a trombone chord and similar events.  Most good "Pictures at 
an Exhibition" made in mono, for example, best stereo in this regard every 
time. Which brings up a question about mono, is it better coming from one 
speaker or two?  Personally, I'm still undecided.

Steve Smolian




----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Marcos Sueiro Bal" <mls2137@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <ARSCLIST@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Friday, August 25, 2006 9:05 AM
Subject: [ARSCLIST] Can 78s sound better than LPs?


> I have noticed that when recommending sound cards for podcasting 78s, some
> on the list have not chosen top-of-the-line models with the assumption 
> that
> the sound quality of 78s is inherently inferior to that, of, say, LPs. 
> That
> seems generally to be the case, but I do remember once hearing a pristine 
> 78
> RPM acetate of a live jazz recording that blew me away --the sound was big
> and detailed, clean, and also quite louder than the average LP.
>
> My question is: is the 78 "system" inherently an inferior product? I do 
> not
> know enough about it, but it seems to me that it is moving faster and the
> grooves are wider, so, potentially at least, it could sound better than 
> 33s
> (stereo notwithstanding). Or could it?
>
> Marcos
>
>
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