[BC] Nominations For Best sounding AM

[Warren Shulz]

Frank,
 
Thanks for the positive feedback.  When we were all airing a Presidential speech it was interesting to dart around the AM dial to hear the same source with some dramatic differences.  
 
The WLS-AM C-Quam exciter is fed from an Omnia processor with 10 KHz LP and will be good for 50  Hz to 9.5 KHz response.   I like the idea of L+R feed for redundant audio.  Even if I disable the C-Quam I would leave L+R  in place. The original WLS-AM studios in the 80's were stereo and that has continued over the years and has been treated as if it were a FM stereo station.  For a time we simulcast WLS-AM on FM sister station.  It was just a matter of patch cords and we were good to go.   
 
I  have  three of the Potomac rack mount C-Quam receivers that are of lab quality.  Switchable IF, with a 10 KHz notch filter.  We are recording the i-Pod  hours from the off air Potomac receiver (belar amplified tuned loop antenna) for internet down load.    This will be interesting in lightning season.  i-Pod time shift with static. 
 
As many have posted, the difficulty with AM audio is the receiver IF BW variations.     IF bandwidths all over the place.  If you recall the first TRF receivers were variable BW.  All tank circuits peaked and you have high sensitive and narrow BW.  Stagger tuned you have low gain but wide bandwidth.  Some how that concept got lost as we 'progressed' in receiver design.  Few AM radios have a IF bandwidth switch.  GE Super Radio had a very wide IF option.  I had a proto type Motorola AM dash radio with a wide/narrow button.  One Denon design simply put a 0.1 uF on AM audio out and called it a BW switch.  The death blow to good AM audio was the ceramic IF filter.  Now with DSP radios its another level to evaluate.  Perhaps that would produce a variable IF with many settings.
 
Warren Shulz 
WLS CGO  
 

________________________________

 on behalf of Frank J. Mercurio

Warren,

I was just reading the posts and was going to nominate WLS-AM as
currently having the best sound in this market!  I am listening to it
now with my R-390A in the 16kHz selectivity mode and 20 Watt hi-fi mono
amp driving a Polk Audio speaker!  Even the talk sounds excellent!  WLS
sounds especially good in my '94 Ford Explorer with the CQUAM radio ...
those stereo spots really stand out!

The above is not a paid political announcement!

WGN hasn't sounded good since the new management went for an edgier
sound!  They got it! Their audio so clipped that the voice gets lost in
the music in many spots!  Way too much compression IMHO!  I remember how
good they sounded in AM stereo in the '90s listening with my SRF-42!

Frank Mercurio, W9FM

Warren Shulz wrote:
 > Jeff,
 >
 > Jeff my feelings are hurt. 
 >
 > I felt WGN sounds like listening through a funnel.   I felt WIND and WLS
 > were top runners for audio then WBBM, WSCR and finally WGN. 
 >
 > The WLS DX50 is a very capable transmitter with flat audio and 0.4 %
 > THD.  IMD will run about 1.5% and S/N will hit the -60 dB.  Antenna BW
 > is good to +/- 20 KHz for a low VSWR.  STL is T1 Intraplex or CD Link. 
 >
 > On this list only two are transmitting IBOC.  Have you listened since
 > 2/9??
 >
 > Warren Shulz
 > WLS CGO
 >
 > -----Original Message-----
 >
 >  From: Jeff Glass
 >
 > That's an easy one. Here in the Chicago area, the best sounding AM is
 > WGN.
 > No contest. All the other 50 kW AMs have processing artifacts.
 >
 > Jeff Glass</HTML>
 >
 >
 >
 >
 >
 >