Is the problem that the radio stations are applying dynamic compression to the signal before it's broadcast?
Old tapes reveal how BAD FM became
A few weeks ago, I opened a box of old reel to reel tapes I made when I was a younger man.
I remember very well when people put serious money into tuners.
Any of you remember the DJ's announcing a week in advance they would be playing a new album front to back, without interruption?
Flash ahead 36 years and one would think the tapes I made as a younger lad on that Teac 4010 would be a joke.
Wrong.
Even though my present system was unattainable 36 years ago, the recording from 102 WAQY FM in Springfield, MA that night in 1976 stands the test of time...and then some.
A few days ago, I heard the opening bars of the same piece on FM using my NAD tuner. (Think about a upper end 90's NAD tuner compared to mid 60's budget Fisher gear.) I remembered that I had the reel still on the shelf, so I quickly grabbed it and cued it up before the song was even finished playing on the radio.
I played the ancient copy. The snap and crackle of the stylus could plainly be heard along with something we seem to have completely lost in broadcast. DYNAMICS!
I feel like a man who opened up a time capsule and found out it was better in the past.
I think through the years, I just became complacent to lousy FM radio.
I thought it was that my system had come to a level that it showed the shortcomings of FM radio. Not true.
36 years ago, with a very basic tuner, I captured real dynamic music that sets toes to tapping.
Stuff on FM radio now sounds like a very poor quality MP3 in comparison.
I understand it is no longer cost effective to have a DJ manning the board and spinning vinyl 24/7...but does it have to be flat, lifeless garbage?
My tape is proof that FM radio, even with its inherent issues, can be a source of pleasant music.
When is the last time you actually sat down and tried to listen to FM radio? What have they done to it?
Why has it been ruined?
I remember very well when people put serious money into tuners.
Any of you remember the DJ's announcing a week in advance they would be playing a new album front to back, without interruption?
Flash ahead 36 years and one would think the tapes I made as a younger lad on that Teac 4010 would be a joke.
Wrong.
Even though my present system was unattainable 36 years ago, the recording from 102 WAQY FM in Springfield, MA that night in 1976 stands the test of time...and then some.
A few days ago, I heard the opening bars of the same piece on FM using my NAD tuner. (Think about a upper end 90's NAD tuner compared to mid 60's budget Fisher gear.) I remembered that I had the reel still on the shelf, so I quickly grabbed it and cued it up before the song was even finished playing on the radio.
I played the ancient copy. The snap and crackle of the stylus could plainly be heard along with something we seem to have completely lost in broadcast. DYNAMICS!
I feel like a man who opened up a time capsule and found out it was better in the past.
I think through the years, I just became complacent to lousy FM radio.
I thought it was that my system had come to a level that it showed the shortcomings of FM radio. Not true.
36 years ago, with a very basic tuner, I captured real dynamic music that sets toes to tapping.
Stuff on FM radio now sounds like a very poor quality MP3 in comparison.
I understand it is no longer cost effective to have a DJ manning the board and spinning vinyl 24/7...but does it have to be flat, lifeless garbage?
My tape is proof that FM radio, even with its inherent issues, can be a source of pleasant music.
When is the last time you actually sat down and tried to listen to FM radio? What have they done to it?
Why has it been ruined?
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- 18 posts total
- 18 posts total