Why do 78rpm Records sound so Bad?

People usually think of a 78 as being hissy/noisy. Is it because of the Shellac material used for it? Just Audio Equipment in the studio "back then"? Grooves are thinner?

Probably cause most are over 50 years old.

In theory 78rpm should bring the best sound quality out of all the record formats.

 

Potentially 78s can have better sound than LPs because the disc has a fatter groove and the ripples in the groove fly by the needle much faster than on an LP. But remember that 78s, by and large, are old and abused. All but a few were made with older technology in the recording chain, limiting the bandwidth and dynamics and yes, shellac is noisier. But a huge reason why these discs sound as bad as they do is abuse. A lot of 78s are physically worn out. Remember that the bulk of them have 20/40 more years on them than your VG- copy of "Meet the Beatles" and that record doesn't sound so hot these days, at least after you played it to death before you got decent equipment. And the bulk of 78's were played with steel needles. Those needles should have been discarded after a few plays because of wear to the needles but that rarely happened.

 

78's can... and DO... sound very good. If a 78 sounds "bad", that's usually because it wasn't restored properly with regard to the many pre-RIAA equalizations that were used. Every record company had their own EQ. It's relatively easy to listen to 78's, but restoring them is an art that few bother to properly learn.

 

I have a few 78s that saw little to no use before I acquired them, and they sound truly spectacular, with a reasonably low noise floor.

Most 78s have been damaged through a combination of poor care and primitive playback equipment.

 

When played with a proper setup, 78s sound amazing. If they sound bad it's because (a.) they're being played on a crappy system, (b.) they're being played without the correct stylus/cartridge/player/equalization/speed, or (c.) the 78s are badly worn (probably from being played on a crappy system). That "hissy/noisy" sound is not inherent to the 78 format. Some of mine, even approaching 90 years old, are amazingly quiet and dynamic.

 

Define "bad". This sounds superior to a modern hyper-compressed digital recording:



And this is from an LP of some old 78s, so second generation.

 

Getting somewhat close can make much of a difference when playing 78"s.
I bought a preamp just for playing records, and the turnover, rolloff, subsonic and rumble features
really help with dialing in 78's for their best fidelity.

 

78 vinyl sounds superb especially with newer less harsh active 2 way LS

 

Wrong. 78s sound great without being hissy/noisy!

 

And the SME 3009 S2 Improved tonearm isn't even especially well-suited to 78 playback!

 

Indeed they do!!!

I love my 78s! (I have one EDISON record that is 80)

 

I collected Sun Records for years. The 78s sound much better than the 45s. The 78s had better bass and something else I can only call "presence". I don't know how to describe it. Fuller sound?

 

My avatar disagrees with the OP

 

Agreed! You ain't lived until you've heard Little Richard blasting off a 78. The snare drum is like a ballpean hammer on yo' skull.

 

HK Citation I

 

I'd love to hear one of those Indian or Filipino Beatles 78s, although I doubt that those countries were able to produce quality pressings at that time.

 

Oh wow... Does it have the same loud background hiss that Sun LPs and 45s suffered from? Probably not, since it is not pressed on the same poor quality vinyl, right?

 

Jealous!!

 

That was a great investment. I have lots of rock'n'roll & blues 78s, but nothing on Sun. (I do have a dead mint Willie Love 78 on Trumpet though!)