[BC] Omnia.FM

[Rich Wood]

------ At 08:18 AM 10/5/2009, Craig Bowman wrote: -------

>Even though being the loudest FM does not have all the advantages of
>being the loudest AM it does provide real advantages nonetheless.  Since
>the 30's it has been widely (I thought) that louder sounds better:  See
>http://www.webervst.com/fm.htm

I'm not sure the graph indicates louder sounds better, though most 
consumer amplifiers had a loudness button that would boost the low 
end based on the volume control setting. At low levels the low end 
disappears. We found out long ago that an unprocessed signal in a car 
is annoying to listeners. Even the purest Classical stations will 
often process more during drive times than other dayparts. Low level 
passages disappear in the ambient noise of a freeway.

Programming and management  want loudness so the station jumps out at 
you as you tune across the dial. WPLJ, New York, has long been the 
poster child for earthshattering loudness. Now it's just another loud 
signal among a dial full of loud signals.

In FM it's a tradeoff. To be loud you attenuate those frequencies 
that travel into the preemphasis curve and bump everything else up. 
It makes a muddier sound. IBUZ claims to solve that (with the 
addition of annoying artifacts). However, for decades to come very 
few will notice it, especially when stations process both 
identically, either because they're too cheap to upgrade to better 
processors or they don't want an obvious difference every time the 
digital drops out. It's an "if a tree falls in the forest and there's 
no one to hear it ..." situation.

Except for audiophiles who don't include radio in their systems and 
young kids who are finding vinyl is cool there aren't many who value 
great sound so there's little pressure to produce it. With the PPM, 
where Cume is king, TSL is a disadvantage. Irritating sound may even 
help increase Cume as listeners tune in and out to recover from the 
fatigue. It doesn't help Exclusive Cume, but might bump Cume enough 
to better your position in the ratings.

The jury is still out on PPM because there's always a station that is 
compelling enough to keep good TSL and Cume. That leads to good AQH 
listening. Agencies still generally buy on AQH.

Of course, in today's radio, compelling is relative.

Rich