45 LPs

Dave, yes, I have quite a few LPs cut at 45 rpm, and not all of them "audiophile" specials.  They can sound great, but the short playing time can be a pain. Most annoying is when the disc label is not obviously marked at 45 rpm.  It can give some interesting results.  In fact I remember one hifi show when we were running an Avid Acutus with Aro and Superline.  Someone had a Kraftwerk disc that had no indication of the correct speed (either that or the low light in the room mean't it couldn't be read).  The really odd thing was that it sounded really good at either speed, just rather different...

I recently bought a copy of The Bride by Bat for Lashes. I was surprised how deep Natasha Kahn's voice was! As mentioned above there was no indication of playing speed on the label. Great album when played at the correct speed. 

My friend bought a 45rpm version of Miles Davis' Nefertiti at the Bristol show. It sounds bloody awesome but then for £45 it should do! Other 45rpm albums were as much as £68 - I still love my LP12 but I'm not biting when hi res streaming is around the corner.

I remember 12" singles always delivered great SQ.

I purchased Steve Rothery's album, 'The Ghosts of Pripyat' which is a 45rpm double album. I forgot about the speed and played it recently at 33rpm. That sounded quite good too and I didn't realise until I lifted it off to turn it over! 

I've got a few, but as Richard's mentioned the short playing time per side's a bit of a pain. However, the ones I have do sound superb - the best is a toss-up between "Dusty in Memphis"  and that hi-fi show favourite "Roadhouses and Automobiles " by Chris Jones, recently issued on 45rpm vinyl.

I have a couple and I can't remember which they albums are, so I guess that sums up my feelings about them, basically a lot of fuss over not much improvement and extra walking.

To be fair haven't bought a new album for ages, the stupid prices being asked for some and these multi album sets are getting too much.

I have a Style Council Lp 'Cost of Loving' pressed at 45 on 4 sides and it sounds a lot better compared to the single Lp cut on 33rpm.

SInce i started my record collection i always lovedI 12" singles, they usually sound much better than the equivalent track on 33rpm lps. If you collect certain groups are also big value on the 2nd hand market. On the other hand i never liked 7" , which in comparison are poor prints in flimsy sleeves with even less music on, as Richard pointed out.

Regards

Roberto

OFF TOPIC ALERT:

BigH47 mentions above about "a lot of fuss over not much improvement" in respect of 45rpm discs. I'm not sure if agree with that in the context of 45rpm albums, but I'd say that statement could certainly be applied to most albums on 180g vinyl (which applies to most new albums these days). So often I find these to be inferior to the thinner vinyl of the past. Also I reckon the frequency of albums which are warped, despite being made of thicker vinyl, is on the increase. Why do we need 180g vinyl? I suspect the warping is simply a lack of process control and the process being rushed. I guess the record companies can charge more for heavyweight vinyl, but evidence suggests that it doesn't add to audio quality. What do others think?

I totally agree about 180g vinyl. It's only a marketing argument, nothing to do with real performance. In fact i have various Vinyl180 reissues and in my opinion the sound is flat and dull compared  to originals. On the other hand these records are now sold at big premiums over RP

Regards

Roberto

Clive B posted:

OFF TOPIC ALERT:

BigH47 mentions above about "a lot of fuss over not much improvement" in respect of 45rpm discs. I'm not sure if agree with that in the context of 45rpm albums, but I'd say that statement could certainly be applied to most albums on 180g vinyl (which applies to most new albums these days). So often I find these to be inferior to the thinner vinyl of the past. Also I reckon the frequency of albums which are warped, despite being made of thicker vinyl, is on the increase. Why do we need 180g vinyl? I suspect the warping is simply a lack of process control and the process being rushed. I guess the record companies can charge more for heavyweight vinyl, but evidence suggests that it doesn't add to audio quality. What do others think?

rsch posted:

I totally agree about 180g vinyl. It's only a marketing argument, nothing to do with real performance. In fact i have various Vinyl180 reissues and in my opinion the sound is flat and dull compared  to originals. On the other hand these records are now sold at big premiums over RP

Regards

Roberto

 

Regarding comments about recent 180gm Lp's I pretty much agree with what's been said. However the best album I have from a packaging, product and SQ quality is the 180gm. Jennifer Warnes "famous blue raincoat" on the Impex label. Came in a quality re-usable plastic cover. The sleeve is heavy card with a quality antistatic insert + sleeve notes. At £32 it wasn't cheap but it shows what can be done if companies make the effort.

 

Regarding comments about recent 180gm Lp's I pretty much agree with what's been said. However the best album I have from a packaging, product and SQ quality is the 180gm. Jennifer Warnes "famous blue raincoat" on the Impex label. Came in a quality re-usable plastic cover. The sleeve is heavy card with a quality antistatic insert + sleeve notes. At £32 it wasn't cheap but it shows what can be done if companies make the effort.

 

There are many excemptions of course, like 2x 45 edition of classic lps like F. Mac, Doors etc.

Regards

Roberto

I have a couple 45's in reissue and they sound great.   Staples Singers "I'll Take You There", for example, or Richard Thompson's "Oops I Did It Again" are both remarkable.   Miles' "Kind of Blue" is off the chart.  My problem is the corollary of the short length per side: more records per album just eat shelf space that I don't have.   You should seek out a couple of your favorites and see if they don't impress you.   

One thing I have noticed with the Superline-Supercap Lyra Kleos setup: I care less about audiophile pressings than ever.   Just the basic LP, once cleaned carefully,  sounds plenty good here.  I have quite a bit of audiophile and reissue vinyl but I prefer vintage LP's now, and they are easier on the budget.

The only 45rpm album I have is Pet Shop Boys Introspective.

sorry.

regarding the heavyweight vinyl, is that all you can buy new now? I can't remember the last time I went into a shop and saw anything but 180gm