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01-15-2004, 12:25 AM
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#1 of 55 
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Frequenc Spectrum of CDs vs. LPs
I thought I'd pass this along...
Today I went to a local "hifi" dealer here in Tempe, Arizona. I spoke on and off with the owner in between my listening sessions of the setups in the store. After a while a gentleman walks into the store and starts talking to the owner about the frequency spectrums of CDs and LPs. The owner then proceeds to tell him that LPs have a 'far superior' frequency spectrum than CDs. "Up to 88kHz," he says.
Now, my gut instinct was, "what the bloody hell is he thinking?!?" I know that the Nyquist theorem limits a CD to 22kHz (44.1kHz sampling rate).
Well, an LP is an analog source...So how can I tell what the frequency spectrum is? I've looked online, in books, here, and there is nothing I can find to justify his claim. I'm VERY skeptical of this claim, and was wondering if anyone knows of any credible sources to back him up?
What gives???
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01-15-2004, 06:51 AM
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#2 of 55
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According to a textbook i have Audio in Media by Stanley R Alten, isbn 0534196020. the frequecy response for an lp is 40hz to 10,240hz. A cd has a frequency response of 20 hz to 16,000 hz.
I am not sure if I am answering your question though.
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01-15-2004, 10:21 AM
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#3 of 55
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Quote:
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The owner then proceeds to tell him that LPs have a 'far superior' frequency spectrum than CDs. "Up to 88kHz," he says.
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No way he can know that first hand - his dog must have told him. 
Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt
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01-15-2004, 10:57 AM
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#4 of 55
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A good phono cartridge for LP playback does have a wider bandwidth than CD, but less than the theoretical limits of SACD or DVD-A. Check out some of the specs on phono cartridges and you'll find most in the range of 5hz to 32kHz, with more expensive ones going even higher, possibly up to 88kHz. The specs don't mean a lot though because phono pre-amps usually limit the usable audio spectrum on LPs from 20hz to 20kHz. One of the problems according to audiophiles with CDs is that filters sharply cut off frequencies above 20kHz resulting in a certain harshness to the sound. This is why audiophiles will say they prefer the sound of LPs over CD. SACD and DVD-A are touted as superior to CDs in part because they have frequency ranges that do not cut off sharply.
Audio, ergo sum.
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01-15-2004, 12:51 PM
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#5 of 55
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Quote:
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According to a textbook i have Audio in Media by Stanley R Alten, isbn 0534196020. the frequecy response for an lp is 40hz to 10,240hz
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Then the media is the limiting factor, despite the higher limits of the cartridge and the phono preamp, it sounds like.
DJ
Lecktor: Then how did you catch me?
Graham: You had disadvantages.
Lecktor: What disadvantages?
Graham: You're insane.
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01-15-2004, 02:14 PM
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#6 of 55
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I'm not sure how old Stanley Alten's textbook is, but the frequency response limits for vinyl haven't been at those levels since the 1950s. Most people didn't have speakers capable of reproducing sounds beyond those levels so there was no need to put full frequency recordings on vinyl. Vinyl as a medium has a higher potential limit for high frequency reproduction than CD because there's no built in brick wall frequency response limit for vinyl. Whatever frequencies are put on vinyl can be played back. Put on a copy of the Cardas Frequency Sweep LP and look for Track 2a which goes from 30Hz to 30kHz. People won't be able to hear the limits of the frequency sweep, but a turntable can reproduce the sounds.
Audio, ergo sum.
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01-15-2004, 10:05 PM
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#8 of 55
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So from the looks of it, there's only one credible source so far, and that claim is only to 10.24kHz. For those of you giving the better specs on the lps, what are your sources?
As for Cardas, if it's the same George Cardas who makes $3 cables and sells them for $1000, I won't even consider that garbage.
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01-15-2004, 10:14 PM
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#9 of 55
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Mat_M, Your wrong.
First, in the 70's there was 4-channel LP's where the 2 "surround" channels was in the 30-40KHz range on the vinyl.
Second, according to Kevin Grey (that cut vinyl's daily) his cutting system; With frequency response from 7 Hz to 25kHz (I think his laters measuring was at 27KHz. Taken from: http://www.recordtech.com/prodsounds.htm
David Judah, Well, according to Kevin Grey again, vinyl has; over 75 dB dynamic range possible.
The reason he say over is because you can with good gear "hear thru the noise floor".
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01-15-2004, 10:16 PM
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#10 of 55
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