WHAT'S THE DEAL WITH YOUR FIVE DOLLAR USED CDs?

Our used CDs are on sale for $5 per disc. Every day. That's right. $5 each, every day. That means, Lauryn Hill's Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (one disc) would be only $5; Pink Floyd's the Wall (two discs) would be $10. Feel free to call 585.244.1210 to check on the availability of any title you're looking for.

I WANT TO SELL RECORD ARCHIVE MY USED CDs. WHAT'S THE PROCEDURE?

We'll take a look at your CDs any time our store is open. The final price we offer is based on artist, title, condition, what we have in stock, and we don't purchase CDs without their original artwork and case. We don't buy bootlegs. Oh, and we need a valid New York State license or I.D. from you when you sell us stuff.

HOLD ON, DUDE, YOUR SIGN OUT FRONT SAYS YOU BUY CDs FOR FIVE DOLLARS EACH.

No it doesn't. It says, "Used CDs ON SALE $5 EACH."

UH...WHAT'S THE DEAL WITH YOUR 4 FOR $10 VINYL RECORDS?

We have used LP's that are priced $3 each, 4 for $10 or 10 for $20.

YOU CARRY DVDs?

DOur used DVDs are $5 for each movie disc - box sets and new DVDs are priced as marked.  Our DVD section is huge and always growing, we've got quite the selection. Feel free to call 585.244.1210 to check on the availability of any title you're looking for.

I WANT TO GET RID OF MY USED DVDs. WILL YOU BUY THEM FROM ME?

Yup. If your DVD is devoid of scratches, has the original case, and we need it, we'll offer you anywhere from .50 to $2 for each DVD. A valid New York State license or I.D. is required when you sell us stuff.

WHAT DO YOU MEAN, YOU CAN'T TAKE THIS DVD/CD? THERE AREN'T ANY SCRATCHES ON THIS.

Chances are, we've seen a lot of it already. You're getting rid of it, and everyone else and their brother is too. We don't want it because either we have too many in stock or it probably doesn't sell, or you've just pissed off the buyer.

HEY, MAN. I CAN'T FIND A TITLE IN YOUR STORE. CAN YOU SPECIAL ORDER IT FOR ME?

We sure can. We special order those hard-to-find titles for no extra charge, and they usually take a few days to a week to come in. Sometimes it takes a little longer, depending on the availability of the title to the distributor.

DO YOU HAVE GIFT CERTIFICATES?

Gift certificates? No sweat. Any amount, and they're good for anything we sell except concert tickets. They're also never expire.

DO YOU BUY VINYL?

Yes we do. We recommend you call (585.244.1210) ahead of time before stopping in and making sure that a vinyl buyer is there.

CAN I WORK AT RECORD ARCHIVE?

So you think you've got the chops? Well, then print out this application and bring it into the store. We'll take a look and let you know.

SAY, I'VE GOT EIGHT TRACKS AND REEL-TO-REEL TAPES FOR SALE. YOU WANT THEM?

Both formats are niche items with a very small market, so we're very selective in what we buy..

I'VE JUST FINISHED MAKING THE GREATEST ALBUM EVER AND I'M READY TO CONQUER THE WORLD. DO YOU GUYS TAKE CONSIGNMENTS?

Yes we do take consignments. You can call 585.244.1210 to talk to Cam. Our consignments are 90 days, and we'll charge an average of $1.99 above your cost.

DOES RECORD ARCHIVE SELL TICKETS?

We do have tickets for some shows, so you can always just call us at 585.244.1210.

WHO SHOULD I MAKE THIS CHECK OUT TO?

Sorry, but the Record Archive no longer accepts personal checks. We're just tired of dealing with all the bad checks. No more people! NO MORE!

WHAT'S YOUR PHONE/FAX NUMBER?

Our telephone number is 585.244.1210 and our fax number is 585.244.7408

CD VERSUS VINYL?

Audio purists have long claimed that the sound of a good turntable and cartridge combination is superior to the sound of CD. Here's what's going on:

The way that CDs work is that they take a "sample" of one or many sounds every so often (in this case its 44,000 times per second). Each of the 44,000 events per second is called a sample. The data in the CD records the volume (loudness) of the sound or sounds that the recorder is recording. If a recording lasts exactly 10 seconds, then the recorder stores data for the 440,000 samples. If the recording is for exactly one minute, then there are (440,000) X 6 -- or 2,640,000 samples. When the sound is replayed, the samples are played back and we hear roughly the same sound that we heard when it was recorded. The advantage of CD is that the data does not contain much background noise (the first CD Players had the noise floor about 90 dB below the loudest signal while vinyl has a signal to noise ratio of about 60 dB when things are perfect, but when CD was introduced 50dB was considered about normal). What the CD engineers did not forsee is that the details in the music (the artsy crowd refers to nuances) are generally caused by sounds that last less than 1/44,000 of a second. Its likely that a detail that is that short will not be recorded at all, or perhaps worse, recorded as "instant on" which sounds highly unlike the original sound, because musical sounds almost always quickly change volume when they begin or end! The CD recording makes it all there or all not there, because the size of the sample is too long!!!

Like the guys at Sony when they designed CD as a format, you are probably thinking "I can't hear anything that short!" Check out this experiment: Blindfold yourself and have a friend drop a quarter on a large hard surface that you are close to. As soon as you possibly can, point to the quarter. If you have two fully functional ears, this was no problem for you. You actually heard the quarter twice! Once was in the left ear and the other time was in the right ear. The reason that you could point to the correct location is that the sound traveled from the hard surface to one of your ears quicker than it did to the other ear. Its a matter of distance and the speed of sound. The speed of sound does not change (significantly). We hear the difference in arrival times and, because of experience, can properly place where the quarter fell. I know you are wondering where I'm going with all of this! Here's the kicker: The amount of time between the two sounds you heard is smaller than 1/44,000 of a second. You can hear sounds that short and do on a regular basis.

Try this: Get a copy of an album that you already have on CD. Listen for details, plucks of strings, etc. An acoustic guitar and a good close microphone move faster than the CD sampling rate will allow in order to get a correct recording!