Who asked for this?


I personally think the new 2-album 45 rpm craze is a PITA and that the record companies could have brought out a product that was 98% as good on one 33.3 rpm disc. Who wants to clean and store and extra disc with every record? Well, the vinyl industry must have heard my plea and is now releasing an even bigger abomination: FOUR single-sided 45 rpm discs per record. I'm sure you can't wait to get your hands on this stuff so you can spend even more time screwing around with the records and less time listening. (nothing personal - just a rant)

http://store.acousticsounds.com/d/61219/Dave_Brubeck_Quartet-Time_Out-45_RPM_Vinyl_LP
chayro
No, I haven't heard them and I doubt I will. I have several of the new 45 rpm reissues and some are very good. However, I have numerous 33.3s that I think are equal in quality without the extra fussing. Even assuming that someone thinks 45s are better, is it really necessary to go to 4 single-sided discs?
MoFi - they may well sound excellent, but do you really think it's because they used 4 single-sided discs as opposed to using 2 double-sided? Or one 33.3 disc made with equal care and expense?
I have to agree with you to a degree. I have a lot of two album 45rpm and a few of the Clarity Vinyl sets. They do sound nice. But, my best sounding LP's happen to be very well done 33 1/3. I would like to see higher quality 33 1/3. I don't mind changing the record on the 45's but am getting tired of having so many vinyl disks. I love my vinyl and if I only had one source it would be vinyl, but I think we are going to suffer from the retro bandwagon trends for awhile due to it's new found popularity.
I don't have any, but I don't doubt that they (can) result in the best LP sound possible. The science of it just makes sense. I wouldn't mind the extra fuss, cleaning, etc. It would be worth it for superior sound. it's the price that keeps me away, too many discs in the box.
There are technical reasons why 45rpm discs could sound better than 33/⅓s, but one reason for the proliferation of 45rpms is that the number of craftsmen who know how to cut long playing sides has greatly diminished due to retirement and death. For the same length of music it is easier to cut a 45 than an equivalent 33⅓ at the same level of fidelity.