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Just now, Peter-E said:

How do you know what format a record was recorded in?
 

 

Size and the material it is made from are the first indicators.   Shellac means an older record, usually 78 rpm give or take (a lot were recorded at 80 rpm for example), and needing a larger stylus.  A very few 78s were made of vinyl.  Mostly early vinyl is 33 rpm in the 12" and 10" sizes.  7" is usually 45 rpm, but a significant number were made in 33 rpm format (especially classical).   After that, anything stereo will be marked as such.  Mono may have nothing.  Speed is also nearly always on the label somewhere.

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2 hours ago, Peter-E said:

 

How do you know what format a record was recorded in?
 

 

Do you mean by format, the difference between 'AAA' and, say, 'ADA'?

 

Or are you referring to what av was talking about:

  1.  33 or 45 ... or even 78?
  2.  stereo or mono?

 

Andy

 

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There  were DBX encoded discs that required a  complementary decoder for playback.  the process enabled a reduction in signal to noise and an increase in dynamic range, at least while the records were in decent condition.

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20 hours ago, Peter-E said:

stereo/mono...

I think to find the answer to your question you need to understand the recording technology used in different eras.  Learning about the technology will also help you listen to the characteristics of this technology's sound (especially if your stereo is very good quality).  There are some people who can actually recognize the brand of some of the studio equipment being used in a recording.  So, in general...

 

Early records were only recorded in mono.  Later, multi-track machines started to appear in the 50's and 60's.  Early ones were three track, and this slowly expanded over time to 32/64/128 tracks from the 70's.  The multi-track recordings were then mixed to be released in either mono or stereo.  When stereo was new, mono and stereo mixes were made, with differences in some of the mixes (eg. in some Beatles, Dylan releases).  From about 1968/69 only stereo mixes were made, many mono releases were "fold-downs" of the stereo record (the l+r channels shorted out, this creates a different mix with music mixed in the center being emphasized.  Because the later multi-track recordings allowed many tracks to be mixed, this would increase the hiss, so dolby noise reduction and dbx compression was often incorporated into the recording process, to the detriment of sound quality.  Also in the 1970s many valve mixing desks were replaced by solid-state desks.  Digital recording started to come about in the 80's, and this tended to replace all tape-based recording studios.  The capabilities of the digital studios increase with time and computing power.  The introduction of pro-tools and other digital editing again started a revolution of what was possible and expected, again not always in the interests of artistic and audio excellence.  The use (usually over-use) of noise-reduction software (eg. CEDAR) again affected (negatively) archival CD releases.  In more recent decades the expectation of compression in mastering, and the use of auto-tune and other software-based music-editing/changing technology has influenced another style. 

 

21 hours ago, Peter-E said:

...Whether it's dolby digital/pro logic II ?

Find out about when this technology was released - it can't have been used before it was made available!  Research which recording studios incorporated it, and who they recorded.  You need to play detective to find the info you had hoped be included in the liner notes!

 

 

 

 

 

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21 hours ago, Peter-E said:

stereo/mono
Whether it's dolby digital/pro logic II ?

Modern recordings will be Stereo unless otherwise stated. Some new releases are released in Mono and Binaural etc. 

 

Early LP's from the 50's and 60's may be the opposite. If nothing is stated on the label or jacket it is probably Mono and they will certainly state if it is Stereo as a new technology. 

 

There are many technologies used over time such as the wonderful sounding 35mm film recording method from Mercury Records. 

As Aussie Vintage has mentioned--any special technology used will be hyped on the packaging and media. 

 

 

 

 

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