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Intro to the Classic Vinyl Listening Experience

Ron — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 22:19:34 +0000

Welcome to the Sound Exchange blog-roll about vinyl records. On these pages we will explore any and all topics that are relevant to the enjoyment of vinyl records and specifically to the main goal of understanding and enhancing your own Classic Vinyl Listening Experience.

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The Emergence of Long Play (1948)

Ron — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 20:51:14 +0000

As I will define it, the Classic Vinyl Listening Experience began with the emergence of the 10” and 12”, 33 1/3 rpm, Long Play, Micro-Groove, Vinyl Record in 1948, and its smaller sibling, the 7” 45 rpm record, at about that same time. I choose to start here because this is the technology that provided the...

Sound Exchange Tampa Bay - Your hometown music store since 1987!

The Modern Vinyl Record (1960s)

Ron — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 16:03:48 +0000

Let’s define what is meant by the term the modern vinyl record. It has a relatively long playing time and does so while reproducing sound in what is called high fidelity. High fidelity, or Hi-Fi for short, simply means that the device is capable of reproducing sound accurately throughout the full hearing range of the human ear,...

Sound Exchange Tampa Bay - Your hometown music store since 1987!

Classic Stereo Equipment (1950s)

Ron — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 16:32:28 +0000

Stereo equipment is one more significant variable that can greatly affect the Classic Vinyl Listening Experience. In addition to the quality issues surrounding turntables and preamps, amplifiers, receivers, and speakers also greatly affect overall quality of sound reproduction. It is worth reminding you that these variables affect all forms of music playback, including CDs and...

Sound Exchange Tampa Bay - Your hometown music store since 1987!

The Record Player

Ron — Sat, 05 Feb 2011 15:57:39 +0000

This brings us to the record player, or should I say “turntable.” There is a difference between the two. “For the record,” a record player is generally thought of as a turntable with a built-in amplifier and speaker(s). Portable units are typically record players. A turntable is simply just that: a turning table to...

Sound Exchange Tampa Bay - Your hometown music store since 1987!

Modern Long Play Records

Ron — Sun, 06 Feb 2011 14:45:53 +0000

The modern long play, micro-groove record brought to the market had a tremendous impact on artistic creativity. Artists were now free to create music that could last 20 minutes or longer, rather than just fill out a three-minute single. And although classical music was never limited by time, virtually all “popular” music had to fit...

Sound Exchange Tampa Bay - Your hometown music store since 1987!

The Classic Vinyl Listening Experience Timeline

Ron — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 12:04:32 +0000

So let’s put all of this information in the form of a timeline: So where does the sweet spot lie? Pick a time, all things considered, which you would say represented the pinnacle of the Classic Vinyl Listening Experience. You could make a good argument for the 1950s and early 1960s, with the advent of the...

Sound Exchange Tampa Bay - Your hometown music store since 1987!

Which is better, CDs or Vinyl Records?

Ron — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 02:38:16 +0000

Perhaps you have heard of the debate about which is better, vinyl records or CDs. This question can be reduced to studying their differences. When playing vinyl records you are typically listening to an analog representation of a musical performance. When playing a CD you are typically listening to a digital representation of a musical performance.

Sound Exchange Tampa Bay - Your hometown music store since 1987!

How Sound is Created and Heard

Ron — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 02:13:28 +0000

This discussion begins with the creation of sound itself. Everything in nature that creates a sound creates an analog sound, which also happens to be the only kind of sound that we can hear. And don’t forget the importance of air because without air we have no sound. It is the air pressure pulses in...

Sound Exchange Tampa Bay - Your hometown music store since 1987!

Analog to Digital Conversion

Ron — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 13:56:37 +0000

Have you ever seen this displayed on a CD or a vinyl record? “This is a pure digital recording” Well let’s stop right there. First you must realize that a digital recording can be converted to analog for playback on vinyl, and that an analog recording can be converted to digital so it can be...

Sound Exchange Tampa Bay - Your hometown music store since 1987!