Do 45 rpm 12" LPs really sound better than 33 rpm?

I'll have to go along with "mikelavigne" and here's why: When I was a young man doing my thing in the lounges where a state of the art jukebox contained all the top jazz plus R&B hits that were all on 45, I recalled how good the music sounded; it was not one bit antiseptic or bleached, like in top home audio, but those 45's engrossed you in the emotion and meaning of the music; it communicated. Even today, I'm not satisfied until I have reproduced the nuances I recall.

Agree with Mike L...if all else is equal, the 45rpm will typically sound better. However, is all else is not equal, then all bets are off! As an example, i own several excellent Music Matters Blue Note reissues on the 45 and the 33 label. The 33 in many instances sounds better than the 45! The reason, is that Music Matters changed their studio/recording cabling when they did the 33 reissues, and to my ears, this made a significant and beneficial difference! Therefore, in this instance and with these particular pressings, the 33 sounds better than the 45 issue.

Now that I recall, the sound of the jukebox 45 was "always" superior to the 33 of the same record in the 60's; now we are comparing apples to apples, and not apples to oranges.

While there are two factors involved: the superiority of the jukebox rig, as opposed to the average home audio rig playing the 33, I am accounting for that; plus, keep in mind we are talking about only one cut off the 33 LP that was specifically pressed for the jukebox.

I'm positive there were cuts off "Kind of Blue" that were 45's made for the jukebox.