Passage:
In the late nineteenth century, the nascent recording industry was defined by a rivalry between Thomas Edison's phonograph and Emil Berliner's gramophone. While Edison's phonograph utilized hollow wax cylinders to record and play back sound, Berliner's gramophone employed flat zinc discs. The phonograph recorded sound vertically, cutting grooves of varying depth into the cylinder—a method known as "hill-and-dale" recording. In contrast, the gramophone utilized lateral recording, tracing grooves of constant depth that wiggled from side to side. Edison's cylinders maintained a constant linear speed past the stylus, which preserved audio quality from start to finish. Conversely, Berliner's discs suffered from inner-groove distortion as the stylus moved toward the center, though the discs were far easier to mass-produce than Edison's fragile cylinders.
According to the passage, what was one key difference in how Edison's phonograph and Berliner's gramophone recorded sound?
- The phonograph engraved grooves of varying depth vertically, while the gramophone engraved grooves of constant depth laterally.Answer
- BThe phonograph utilized flat zinc discs, while the gramophone relied on hollow wax cylinders.
- CThe phonograph suffered from inner-groove distortion near the center, while the gramophone preserved consistent audio quality from start to finish.
- DThe phonograph was designed for easy mass-production, while the gramophone produced fragile mediums that were difficult to copy.