From: bill@bilver.uucp (Bill Vermillion)
Newsgroups: rec.audio
Subject: Re: Best news about LPs...
Date: 31 Jul 92 15:45:37 GMT
Organization: W. J. Vermillion - Winter Park, FL

In article <5=mm=2#.vlad@netcom.com> vlad@netcom.com (Vladimir Kuznetsov) writes:
>In article <4729@othmar.lulea.trab.se> sture@lulea.trab.se (Sture Jonsson) writes:
>>t8800568@phillip.edu.au writes:
>>3) Some people hate the recordcompanies for throwing out the LP so soon, just
>>   to make a nice profit. The introduction of the CD must be one of the most
>       .........

>>   But then again, the recordcompanies don't care the least about music.
>>   They even help introduce DCC and MiniDisc, systems that are worse than CD:s,
>>   since they think (like some component manufacturers) that CD:s are of an
>>   unnecessary high quality for use in a normal home. Sheesh....

>And it is not the first time in history. In a past, they replaced
>superb sound of 78 RPM's for definitely inferior sound of LP's. Then
>they invented "stereo" that was no more then a marketing gimmic, 
>just to extort more money from us. Now it is CD.

>Thing that drives me nuts, is that every time there were audiophiles
>complaining about it, but greedy companies did not listen and 
>uninformed ignorant crowds were embracing new inferior format. 

But Vladimir, the new formats were inferior to the original at the
first release of the formats.  And later on the inferior format evolved
to be superior.

The first 'stereo' LPs were sadly lacking in frequency response.  They
were limited to about 8KHz, because of cutter resonance, while the mono
LPs were typically 15KHz on the top end, with a few to 20KHz.  

Improvements were made and they were better.   Just before the 'stereo'
LP came out, one of the showpiece disks was a 78RPM microgroove release
from Emory Cook.    It had a s/n ratio and frequency response that made
the LP's sound poor.   In latter years the 45RPM microgroove LP direct
disk was attempted.

The nice thing about analog is that there were always room for
improvements and advances.

I don't go along with your conclusion that 'stereo' was a marekting
gimic.  It truly existed in the audiophile arena for many years before
the first stereo LP existed. (If I mis-interpretted your conclusion,
then I apolgize, and the rest of this message is superfluous).

The first stereo tape recorders had two playback heads about 2" apart
because the technology did not exist >at that time< to make a record or
playback head with two channels in 1/4" space.

And then when that technology evolved you could order your two track
tapes in stacked or staggered configuration.

Now - in those days a mono LP was about $4.   A 2-track stereo tape was
about $8 - and it contained typically only 1/2 of the LP performance.
There were a few release that included the full LP and these were 2
reels (7") of two-track - and they were about $15.

The 4 time cost premium limited this to only the purest and richest of
the audiophiles.  Once the technology existed for 4-track stereo
machines, a full LP was possible on one reel.  But the costs were
still too high.

Then many pre-recorded stereo tapes were issued at 3.75ips to save
tape.   The cost of the tape wasn't really that MUCH more for a full
reel.  Most of the cost was in packaging and duplication.   But it
permitted a modest reduction in pricing at a higher profit point.

My "Yellow Submarine" tape is a 3.75ips, while I have several RCA
pre-recorded 7.5 ips 2track tapes.     They are really quite amazing
for quality.   Hiss level - even on a 1955 lp - is so much more than we
expect today.

I would think that it will be much harder to
extend a fixed digital format (eg CD, DAT, DCC) than a relatively open
ended analog format.  In the studio I had tracks that had information
well past 20KHz ( I didn't hear it but it was there ) and our Studer
was flat to about 30KHz.  But unless you took exceptional care none of
that ever made it to LP.


-- 
Bill Vermillion - bill@bilver.oau.org  bill.vermillion@oau.org
                - bill@bilver.uucp 
                - ..!{peora|ge-dab|tous|tarpit}!bilver!bill
Newsgroups: rec.audio