Vinyl

Vinyl records can either be Short-playing (SP) or Long-playing (LP) records. Albums are generally Long-playing records, which are ten or twelve inches in diameter. Turntables have two speed settings, one for LPs and the other SPs.

The speed setting for LPs is 33-1/3 rpm, whereas for SPs its 45 (diameter is smaller, at 7 inches). Therefore, SPs are sometimes referred to as '45s'. Both LPs and SPs can play on both sides, a twelve inch LP can store forty five minutes of music per side.

The process of playing a vinyl record begins with the circular table spinning. It starts spinning when the arm is lifted. At the end of the arm is a cartridge which houses a needle. The needle is then placed within a groove on the vinyl record.

A long playing record has upwards of fifteen hundred grooves per side. The quality of the audio (mono to stereo), and length of play did increase for vinyl over time. Therefore, from decade to decade the properties of vinyl altered throughout the twentieth century.

Vinyl versus CDs

Digital technicians cannot fully fathom why some audiophiles prize vinyl so highly. When CDs were first launched there was a valid issue, the conversion of master recordings from analogue to digital took some time to iron out.

Present day, the 'warmth' audiophiles claim vinyl has, in comparison to the 'sensed' sterility of CDs, seems to be an artifact of it's compression and distortion. Whilst vinyl can produce a lower frequency, CDs do reach as low as 20 Hz, which is as low as the average human ear can hear.

Therefore, fans of digital find it difficult to fully explain why vinyl is so prized, considering the drawbacks such as the hissing and popping.