33rpm vs 45rpm - which is better
Growing up, I was a big Peanuts comics fan including Vince Guaraldi’s music.
Recently, a remastered from tape “Great Pumpkin” vinyl was announced in both 331/3rpm and 45rpm, both are a single LP each at Elusive Disc. Both albums have the same number of songs.
It seems that playing slower allows for wider grooves, while faster may mean longer grooves. If so, I’ve no clue which one is better.
Which version offer the best sonics?
+1, @holmz …..You won’t know until you compare both side by side. I just looked at specs on both records. The 45RPM Lacquer cut by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio so 45RPM should be slightly superior sounding. And the 33 1/3-rpm version presented on Limited Edition Pumpkin-Shaped Translucent Orange Vinyl…both are reasonably priced, heck why not buy both 😊 PS: You didn’t say anything about your analog setup, does your system allows you to discern differences between 33 1/2 and 45 RPM vinyls? |
In theory, the higher speed pressing should sound truer to the master, as with tape speed. 15 inches per second sounds closer to the source tan 7.5 ips. But with records, you may not want to have a 2 record set or get up every 10 minutes to turn them over. Personally, I prefer 33.3 pressings in general. Or if you love the music that much, just buy both for fun. Plenty of people have multiple copies of the same recordings |
+1 @mijostyn
The highest quality audiophile recordings I have are 45 rpm… typically causing one disk to need to be split into two… and requires flipping disks at a ridiculously short interval. But they do tend to be more dynamic. |
I was taught by the various audio magazines that 33rpm LP was the best available format for sonics, and yet when a friend bought round his 45rpm 12 inch single of Duran Duran's 'The Wild Boys' the dynamics were something my Linn/Naim system had never before conveyed.
In fact I can't recall hearing a poor sounding 12 inch 45rpm single. Therefore my vote goes to the 45rpm. |
