Tools to sound like the radio

[ecc83]

This idea of a "radio sound" is alien to me. When I listen to the news on Radio 4 the sound quality is exactly the same as that on BBC TV News at Ten or indeed any of a myriad BBC talk programmes. That is to say, of the clearest, highest professional quality.

The presenters on Classic FM on the other hand all have 'hairy chests' Including the gals!

The point really is to BE UNDERSTOOD!


Dave.

 

[TalismanRich]

I don't know about the UK, but in the US, especially on FM music programs, the sound is compressed and equalized quite a bit. If you directly compare a CD with an FM broadcast of the same song, the differences are easily heard.

There are a few reasons for this. First, like Youtube and other streamers, they want levels to be constant between various different songs which can be very different at the source. You want the signal level high so that it doesn't get buried by ambient noise, especially in places like a car.

As for the gals with "hairy chests", well, that's an image that I would prefer to get out of my head!

 

[ecc83]

I don't know about the UK, but in the US, especially on FM music programs, the sound is compressed and equalized quite a bit. If you directly compare a CD with an FM broadcast of the same song, the differences are easily heard.

There are a few reasons for this. First, like Youtube and other streamers, they want levels to be constant between various different songs which can be very different at the source. You want the signal level high so that it doesn't get buried by ambient noise, especially in places like a car.

As for the gals with "hairy chests", well, that's an image that I would prefer to get out of my head!

Morning Rich. "Radio" had a very different start in UK from in US. Very quickly the BBC was formed and had a total monopoly* on broadcasting.

Everyone in those very early days was struggling with the technology but we in UK were very fortunate IMHO that the BBC embraced the highest engineering principles and especially in delivering sound as close as the original as possible. They do of course have a vast repository of audio design information.

The commercial nature of US radio meant they were competing 'to be heard' and so you had the start of the "loudness wars". Classic FM is the only commercial station I listen to and that rarely but the close micc'ed, "intimate" style which give that proximity boost even to females is very evident.

*As kids we sought out "Radio Luxemberg" as it played 'pop' music not then found on the Beeb. The distance and the AM format made for infuriating listening with whistles and constant fading. It was actually technically illegal to listen to other than BBC stations!

Dave.

 

[rob aylestone]

In fairness, Radio Luxembourg was routinely called a pirate radio station, but it's difficult to justify that as the issue was Luxembourg as a country did not subscribe to or sign the Lucerne Convention - an agreement for all country members to jointly agree frequencies and avoid as much as possible interference, the biggest issue with MW/LW broadcasting that varied as the time of day, and even weather changed! The BBC had their pop music station wiped out in the 70s early evening by Albania's attempt to prevent their youth being corrupted by Western Pop Music - which they jammed with a repeating trumpet loop!

Radio Luxembourg was a pirate, if you accept a country being a pirate by not subscribing to an international agreement. This would make all the communist countries pirates too?

 

[Papanate]

Oh my! I found these VSTs broadcast processing softwares. $2000+ for a VST with no FREE TRIAL whatsoever..

View attachment 116667
Im just not crazy enough for this...You think they will have a sale like the Plugin Alliance? Reg $2061.00 Sale price $29.99! No

Quote an assumption they have:

The 9X/2 is not simply a streaming processor-encoder, but a complete audio management system that will actually improve the flaws found in most recorded source material – both music and voice – as well as address the specific technical challenges of Internet.

 

[CoolCat]

I don't know about the UK, but in the US, especially on FM music programs, the sound is compressed and equalized quite a bit. If you directly compare a CD with an FM broadcast of the same song, the differences are easily heard.

There are a few reasons for this. First, like Youtube and other streamers, they want levels to be constant between various different songs which can be very different at the source. You want the signal level high so that it doesn't get buried by ambient noise, especially in places like a car.

As for the gals with "hairy chests", well, that's an image that I would prefer to get out of my head!

yeah, the FM was so much better than AM, FM was loud, and more studio sounding very nice compared to the old mono am car radios...it was a huge change of sound in the cars when FM and car stereo's came about. in high school the stereos would be better than the car it self...lol

like that funny commercial the kid comes in the garage to tell his buddies to invest in Microsoft and the one says "nah " I put all my money in my new 8 track car deck.

 

[maxman65]

I'm wondering if another simple way of looking at it is to consider what an old radio speaker limitation in frequency response is and cut that area out with EQ to get the general effect

 

[ecc83]

I'm wondering if another simple way of looking at it is to consider what an old radio speaker limitation in frequency response is and cut that area out with EQ to get the general effect

Depends, if talking AM then the upper response transmission limit was about 4-5kHz and practically any speaker would get to 10kHz and beyond. FM had a brick wall at 15kHz so AS good as most dynamic mics and in any case most adult males have very little at 15k.

Dave.

 

[TalismanRich]

I don't think the OP was so much looking at reproducing the limited response of an old cheap radio, especially AM. I often listen to FM radio on the same system as I do CDs, Onkyo stereo receiver and Vandersteen speakers. The difference when listening to the same song on FM radio and a CD is very noticeable. There's a change in the timbre and dynamics.

That's due to the processing that is done at the station, everything is equalized and compressed so that the Fleetwood Mac song is the same volume as the Moody Blues or Peter Frampton. The Orban processors apparently are still very widely used, although it's been 30+ years since I was in a radio station.

 

[ChrisBungo]

I don't think the OP was so much looking at reproducing the limited response of an old cheap radio, especially AM. I often listen to FM radio on the same system as I do CDs, Onkyo stereo receiver and Vandersteen speakers. The difference when listening to the same song on FM radio and a CD is very noticeable. There's a change in the timbre and dynamics.

That's due to the processing that is done at the station, everything is equalized and compressed so that the Fleetwood Mac song is the same volume as the Moody Blues or Peter Frampton. The Orban processors apparently are still very widely used, although it's been 30+ years since I was in a radio station.

Yes, I don't think the OP was looking for an AM radio sound - who would want THAT? My favorite song to listen to on an FM station is Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody." So MUCH dynamic range in there that the FM radio station's audio processor has to contend with!

 

[rob aylestone]

He said he wanted to improve the quality of the radio, like in the 80s. The only thing that came to my mind was band limiting and compression?