Another major consideration was poor sound quality. Although it was difficult to define accurately, most musicians and people in the phonograph industry agreed that the closer a recording sounded to the original performance, the better it sounded. Thomas Edison believed that his cylinders would always sound better than the disc records promoted by rival Emile Berliner, in part because the angular momentum of a disc slows near the center of the disc, resulting in increased background noise and distortion. Edison also though that because his grooves sounded better, because they recorded the sound in a vertical, “hill and dale” way rather than the “side to side” wiggle of the discs. Record enthusiasts still debate this issue.
Edison was so concerned with fidelity that he staged elaborate “tone tests” in music halls during these years. These tests featured singers or musicians who had recorded on Edison “Diamond Disc” records. The audience was then challenged to tell the difference, and often they could not. Sometimes, though, they could easily tell, but were still impressed by the demonstration. Also, Edison’s associates chose performers who were capable of imitating the phonograph, so the tests were a little biased. Nonetheless, the Tone Tests helped promote the idea that “good sound” required playback that resembled the original performance. Eventually that idea would have a name: high fidelity.