12" 45 RPM records: What's the story?

Pre-echo is a well known fault of LPs, and, to the best of my knowledge, comes about when the master is cut, not when copies are pressed.

Eldartford,

Do you mean it is only at the beginning....or throughout the whole LP??

If you have echo going on throughout the LP (coming from the master or otherwise), I can't imagine how badly that would affect the noise foor (if it happens throughout). imean sometimes it was plainly audible even at low volume levels. What an awful thought... could this be why I preferred the 45's so much and found they had more clarity? (the 45's were insanely expensive compared to buying LP's with 8 or 9 tracks....often the 45 B side was garbage)

Pre-echo is evident throughout the record, if there is a loud passage preceeded by a soft passage. I must also say that I have one cd with pre-echo, but it is a reissue with remastering, so it could be magnetic transfer.

I view pre-echo as one of the liabilities of vinyl like pops and clicks or noisy vinyl on 70s records.

Pre-echo is evident throughout the record, if there is a loud passage preceeded by a soft passage.

I see, so you only hear it clearly when there is a loud passage preceeded by a soft passage...but does that mean it doesn't matter except in these instances?

Shadorne...A heavily modulated (loud) groove will always affect adjacent grooves, before and after, throughout the LP. It is always audible during the silent (supposedly) first groove of a cut but is masked by the music at other times (but is still there as "noise").

If you have an LP of Beethoven's fifth, that would be a good one to check for pre-echo. It begins with loud chords.

I think that pre-echo is ever present. A low noise system will unveil it. I have been listening more for it lately and have heard both on lps and cds. I maybe that good practices with the magnetic tape and important. As yet I have not heard it on any sacd.