[BC] AM Stereo

[Kyle Magrill]

You'll get no argument from me on that, Craig.  My second job in radio was at an AM station with a co-located transmitter where we used the feed from a Belar mod monitor to feed the speaker amp.  The first time I heard it, I was amazed.  Then, when I showed some friends the quality, they didn't believe it was an off-air feed, but then one of them offered an observation that was a total bummer.  He said, "Well, it still sounds like a crappy old AM on all of my radios".   That sums it up, doesn't it?

############## You Wrote

AM, before NRSC was technically superior from an audio standpoint.  
20kHz audio was the standard for AM.  The problem is reception.  
Receiver manufacturers have been narrowing the bandwidth of the radios 
since the 70's.  IC's killed AM rather than FM.  If you ever listened to 
a well engineered AM on a modulation monitor feed you would know the 
difference.  I once did a test using the accounting people at one of my 
stations.  We were simulcasting Christmas music on the AM and FM.  Using 
a Carver receiver (which was not NRSC compliant) I A/B the two 
stations.  Each person picked the AM as better sounding (using JBL-4412 
speakers and a Crown D-150) than the FM.  I had to prove to them that it 
was the AM before they would believe me.  Yes, the AM was stereo.