Can we go back to 33's please?

LP = Long Play. I never had an awesome TT like you guys do but I used to buy roughly half of my music as 12" 45 RPM in the old days. Some of the best sound I EVER heard was from these 45 RPM's (perhaps I am being nostalgic). Part of the benefit is that a 12" single 45 is INTENDED to be played back on an awesome Dance Club system costing many tens of thousands of dollars more than average Joe at home, and more importantly, this soudn is never intended to be heard in a car (where most music is heard these days). This is partly why the sound quality was so good.

There is plenty of dynamic range in a dance club at 105 db SPL because there is little to no masking problem and the amplifiers and speakers can actually handle a large dynamic range without distorting. A lot of stuff mixed to sound good on radio anticpates that it needs to sound good in a car where you get terrible masking from background noise....not as bad as listening to music in the shower but nevertheless a compressed crap sound will be more audible in your car than a high quality recording.

Recently, I have confirmed that the "production and target market" does indeed mean that recording quality is very different. I have found that 12" singles made for dance clubs also sound much better on CD (where in theory there is absolutely no dynamic range advantage over the regaulr album CD like you get with a Vinyl 45 RPM versus the compressed LP, Long Play)

We've had, and will continue to have, a lot of 33rpm reissues: Speakers Corner, Classic Records, Analogue Productions, Pure Pleasure... All have done and will be doing 33rpm reissues. The 45rpm reissues are a special treasure. For most of us, these will be the best sonics in which we will ever be able to hear these recordings. I only wish we could have more classical music issued at 45 rpm with the same care as Music Matters is devoting to the Blue Note 45rpm reissue series. May they continue!
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Birdies - I changed from the Armageddon to the Lingo2, as there was just too much good music coming out on 45. That Linn adaptor is impossible.

Agree with Thomasheisig:The original RCAs sound better than the re-issues.Must be the original tube driven units-more natural/organic.Especially "Bob n Ray".
I believe the analogy between running reel-to-reel decks holds true for analog:The faster, the better.
I loved Harry Belafonte,but the 45 re-issue has a smoother response and better detailing.Just LOVE:Jamaican Farewell.

Regarding some comments on the 45 rpm RCA classical reissues, I continue of the opinion that the Classic Records 45rpm reissues are vastly superior to the originals (that I've been able to hear) and superior to any of the 33 rpm reissues. Not to offend those who love the originals, which definitely have an appeal for being warm, smooth and luscious, but to my ears the originals also sound compressed, congested and rolled off. If you're a classical music lover and you haven't heard some of these 45 rpm Classic Records reissues, it's worth finding a friend who has some and taking a listen. (Anyone near Richmond, Virginia, is welcome to listen here.) As with all things, some are better than others simply because the recording and master tapes are better.

Four Classic Records 45 rpm RCA reissues to recommend: the Rozsa Violin Concerto with Heifetz (LSC 2767-45); the Vieutemps Violin Concerto No. 5 with Heifetz (LSC 2603-45); the Royal Ballet Gala Performances (LSC 2327-45); and the Sibelius Finlandia with Mackerras (LSC 2336-45).
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