Quote Originally Posted by Beckman
Do 45 RPM records sound better than 33RPM.
In the war to develop long playing microgroove records in the late 1940s and early 1950s, two standards emerged. One by Columbia records, the 33 1/3 12 inch LP we have come to know as the universal standard for most long playing records and the 45 RPM system developed by RCA. Because of its shorter playing time, the RCA system was marketed as a small 7 inch doughnut suitable for "singles" played on pop radio stations. It wasn't sufficiently long playing for albums or longer compositions which required one or both sides of at least one 33 1/3 12 inch disc. Of course there were some 45 RPM 12 inch "audiophile" discs and some smaller 7" and 10" 33 1/3 discs produced but these were the rare exceptions.

The 45 speed is inherently superior to 33 1/3 in its capability for extended frequency response. However, 33 1/3 records proved adequate for the most demanding recordings and the response was actually extended out to 40 Khz in the 1970s to produce the discrete 4 channel cd 4 system. Of course you needed a special cd4 cartridge capable of tracking and reproducing the extended response. So the inherent technical advantages were insufficient to convince the recording companies to forgo the advantage of longer playing time of the 33 1/3 speed.