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Essay on Vinyl vs. Cd: the Format War

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Running head: VINYL VS. CD: THE FORMAT WAR

Vinyl vs. CD: The Format War
Ty A. Graham
Introduction to Effective Written Communication COMM/105 Verenice Gutierrez, PhD
University of Phoenix November 29, 2008

Vinyl vs. CD: The Format War Some people say vinyl long play records (LPs) have a warmer, more honest sound, others' believe the sound of compact discs (CDs) are clear and more precise; a number of factors besides sound characteristics effect both LPs and CDs, the debate about which format dominates has been going on within the disc jockey (DJ) community for over 20 years. Four strong factors in this debate include: portability, storage capacity, sound characteristics, and fidelity; all which help the user decide…show more content…
Each format has very distinct sound characteristics. LPs retain every frequency from the recording; this may be why people argue that the sound is warmer, and gives an experience of being at an actual concert. CDs do not retain all the frequencies from the live recording; this can make the playback sound sterile, almost too clean. Lee (2007) stated: Vinyl uses a wider range of frequencies than CD does. Although the first counter argument to that statement would be to remind you that the human ear cannot hear the extra frequencies that vinyl uses, some suggest that perhaps it’s not necessarily something you can hear, but rather something you can feel. One common conviction that has come out of the thousands of “CD vs Vinyl” debates is that vinyl has a warmer, fuller sound while CD has a digital, mechanical sound (¶ 7).
So, while neither format has a “more dominate” sound, it depends on what the DJ wants the audience to hear, or the experience he or she would like to deliver. Fidelity works in conjunction with sound characteristics. Fidelity, as stated by White and Louie (2005, p. 148) is, “the accuracy with which a music reproduction system will re-create the sound of the original music. True fidelity would be perfect reproduction, which can be considered an ideal to be aimed for.” The level of fidelity depends on the equipment being used; one can purchase top-notch equipment for both formats and achieve
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