What is the difference between 33 and 78 records

The stylus will be attached to the cantilever will be either a nude diamond, or a tipped diamond. Unsurprisingly, the latter is the premium option as it has a lower mass and tracks more accurately. Spherical, or conical, is the most common stylus type and are the least expensive. It looks a bit like the tip of a ballpoint pen up close. Because of their relatively large radius, spherical styli trace less of the smaller groove modulations that represent higher frequencies.

The effects record wear from spherical styli is ripe for debate within the hifi community. Some claim spherical styli produce the most wear on records because contact area of the diamond is restricted to two specific points, while contenders claim that this actually produces less wear. The next most common stylus type is elliptical, or bi-radial. E lliptical makes contact across a larger area of the groove wall due to its dual radii.

The big hole was apparently supposed to make the two types of records even more incompatible. RCA, though, held out for 18 months, during which time industry sales volume dropped 25 percent as consumers waited for the giants to fight it out between themselves.

Finally, in , RCA capitulated, sort of. A 7-inch record was simply more convenient for single tunes than a inch one. Nonetheless, the public allowed itself to be duped, and in Columbia began making 45s too. Thus we ended with one speed and spindle size for popular songs, and another for symphonies. The 78, mercifully, was out of the picture by Actually, the whole concept of constant turntable speed had been obsolete since the turn of the century.

At a constant turntable speed, the velocity of the grooves moving past the stylus decreases as the record plays — the inner spirals of the track being, of course, much smaller than the outer ones, circumference-wise. If the groove speed were held constant instead of the turntable speed in much the same way that a reel of film plays out at a steady 24 frames a second , it would be possible to record over 90 minutes of material on a single side.

A few phonographs designed on this principal were marketed in the early s. But technology is one thing and show biz is another. For obvious commercial reasons — just imagine how much more crap Barry White would need to pad out an album — this line of development was never pursued.

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Most are inch discs, but inch versions are available. These dubplates will often be unreleased recordings, exclusive versions, or remixes of existing recordings. Traditionally, the material of a dubplate is much softer than pressed vinyl. After about fifty plays, the loss in sound quality becomes noticeable. Most lack dynamics, and sound thin and noisy. Colored vinyl is more popular than ever. There is much debate as to how much the color in vinyl makes a difference to sound quality if at all.

Even if one color did sound minutely different, there are so many other more important factors, such as the quality of mastering and record production.

Music fans of all ages are discovering the joy of vinyl records as a welcome break from the soulless experience of modern streaming platforms. The development of the vinyl record format over time is a fascinating history. Many different types of vinyl records have come and gone over the years, with plenty of obscure formats, shapes, and sizes that go well beyond the scope of this article. Be sure to check the value of your records using a service such as Discogs before making any rash decisions to sell — you never know what treasures could be in those dusty old boxes.

There are quite a few technical details as to why this is the case, so for the purpose of this article, I will try to key this simple: Since 45 records travel faster than 33 RPM, more waveform definition can exist on the record surface; in other words, there are more bumps and grooves created, which means better audio quality. The higher the RPM, the greater the length of vinyl picked up by the stylus, and ultimately, the more accurate our sound reproduction becomes.

Additionally, longer wavelengths, smaller angles in the grooves, and the less complicated geometry at 45 RPM help to cut very precise grooves with very fine detail. The downside to all this, of course, is a reduction in playback time per side.

All the above is true for inch 45 records as well as the usual 7-inch format. Most vintage vinyl records weigh between gm to gram. In more recent years, there is a trend towards heavier weight vinyl between , and most commonly, g. Therefore, the weight of a vinyl record has little to no impact on sound quality. In that case, you can improve the sound quality and value significantly by giving them a quick clean. There are many record cleaning fluids on the market that make light work of removing those pesky pops and clicks.