Pete Fowler wrote: >> keep in mind: a lot of broadcasters, probably even classical stations, >> apply EXTRA multi-compression to things to keep the signal/noise ratio > > Okay, now I'm confused. This is streaming digital FM, not broadcast. > Are you saying they compress everything even if bandwidth isn't an > issue?
I can't address your particular radio station's stream, but you are confusing two separate ideas. This is common, as the same word (compression) is used in two totally different contexts. The meanings are orthogonal. 1) People compress audio files by taking PCM (.wav files in Windows) data and pushing the data through a codec to make the file smaller. Or to make the stream of the file smaller. In this context, the compression is on the size of the file, but not on the loudness of the music. 2) Radio stations, and audio engineers, also use compression on the audio itself. This is an effect. The soft signals are made louder, the loud signals are left alone. The end result is that the differences in loudness are made smaller (less dymanic range). This has zero (or very little) impact on the size of the audio file as it is saved or streamed (context 1). The reason people do #1 is to make the file smaller to store or transmit. Smaller bandwidth, etc. The reason people do #2 is to make the sound either "better" or to make it sound at all in noisy environments such as in your car. The radio stations do this for the signal that they transmit over the radio to make the signal go farther. More physical distance (miles, KM, etc.) from the station's tower to the user's radio. HTH Loudness wars are all about #2. A lot of folks in the music business think that if their song is really loud, it will sound better on the radio, and thus they will sell more of the record. -- Pat Farrell http://www.pfarrell.com/ _______________________________________________ audiophiles mailing list [email protected] http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
