Re: [ARSCLIST] 45rpm sound quality with respect to their 33rpm counterpart?

[David Breneman <david_breneman@xxxxxxxxx>]

--- On Sat, 10/25/08, D. Blake Werts <bwerts@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> My layman's assumption
> is that since recorded music is 
> covering more ground with the increased rpms on a 45, that
> you could expect 
> better sound quality.  However, maybe this is offset by the
> difference in 
> tonearm angles since the groove is tighter around the
> center hole?

The linear velocity of a 12" 33 is greater for the first few
minutes, but from that point on the 45 has the advantage.
In practical terms, however, the real question is how much
care did record companies put into single vs LP manufacturing.
In the 1950s I'd say it was about the same.  After that,
it probably veried widely from company to company.  Some of
RCA's research is presented in this description of the 45
format:

http://www.tildebang.com/jukebox/rec_and_changer_comp_design_45.pdf