| Vinyl | Cassettes | 8-Tracks | CD's | MiniDiscs | DCC's | DVD's | |
| Type of Medium | analog | magnetic | magnetic | optical | optical | magnetic | optical |
| Channels | mono stereo quad |
mono stereo |
mono stereo quad |
stereo | mono stereo quad |
mono stereo |
stereo quad |
| Frequency range | 30-16,000Hz | 2-10,000Hz (20Hz-20kHz) |
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| S/N ratio | 45 to 55 dB | 45 to 50 dB | 90 dB | ||||
| Dynamic range | 90 dB (78 dB) |
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| Harmonic distortion |
< 0.005% | ||||||
| Wow/Flutter | 0.2 | 0.25 | not measurable |
not measurable |
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| Tape Speed | -- | 1 7/8 ips | 3 3/4 ips | -- | -- | -- | |
| D-A conversion | -- | -- | -- | 16 bits (14 bits) |
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| Sampling frequency | -- | -- | -- | 44.1kHz | 14.7kHz(?) |