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| Realizing the Dream of Audiophiles The disc media for audio recording has changed several times during the last century, from 78- to 45-rpm and then from 33-rpm analogue records to Compact Discs (CDs). As new types of analogue records were developed, the key issues were length of play, improvement in sound quality through reduction of noise and distortion, and expanding the range of sounds recorded. But despite all the improvements achieved, analogue records faced one insurmountable barrier. Analogue signals deteriorate while recording and transmitting. And so, manufactures looked to digital technology. CD players were the first home electronic products to use digital technology. Besides reducing noise and distortion, CDs were light and convenient. These benefits helped make CDs popular and they quickly replaced analogue records. However, while CDs did offer improvements in noise and distortion, their frequency response was less than analogue records. In producing CDs, a filter is used to cut off the top 20 kHz, nearly half the 44.1 kHz recorded, to reduce the turnaround distortion that occurs naturally at high frequencies. This, combined with CD's 16-bit format used in sound reproduction, resulted in CD's harsh or hard sound. Analogue records, with their wider frequency response, are able to retain more overtones, which produces a deeper and richer sound quality. |
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