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Audio at Star 94

S

sman02

Is it just me or has anyone else noticed recently that Star has just increased the level of bass in their audio overall? It just does not sound good at all...
 
I think Star sounds pretty good. Q really is emphasizing the mids and highs, comparatively speaking- yes Star has more bass than Q but I don't think it has been adjusted on Stars end. Any one know what they are using for processors?
 
Hmmm, wonder if thats why the stream distorts now more than it used to. It seems more bassy on there too, especially when songs like Alicia Keys kick in!! Distorts when the jocks talk too sometimes :(

Still an awesome station though
 
I'm not comparing them simply to Q... 95.5 doesn't use that much bass either and they're more hip hop.

Star is still a good station... they just need to tweak the audio.
 
If I were Star I would get a slutty engineer intern to throw some cold cuts on the audio processor's backside.
That's what I would do......
 
taylorengineer said:
If I were Star I would get a slutty engineer intern to throw some cold cuts on the audio processor's backside.
That's what I would do......
Click to expand...

Exactly. Virginia Honey ham works best for that. No salami.
 
I know Star's audio chain. It was set up to have a very, very bassy sound. The extra bass helps on some of the harder rock songs they play because the guitars and vocals are so compressed that the bass drums can get drowned out sometimes. The big bass boost helps to bring out the mids and highs in a different way, but it's very unique and it keeps them loud. By comparison, when Q100 first started broadcasting at 99.7 they were clearly still using the 99x processing. Notice that Q100 at 99.7 had a lot more bass in the 'punch' region than they had when they were on 100.5. Different processors at Star and Q100/99.7 but it's the same principle both ways. With Star's setup there will always be a big jump in the bass on audio that's compressed more lightly (including voice), that's the nature of the processor they use, but it's very consistent and good for their market position.
 
Running your audio through a processor with coldcuts on it's backside would actually improve station audio.
This concept, as silly as it sounds, is no more stupid than applying audio to a spring to create reverb.
I can't explain the physics but it has something to do with the transformation of fat to phat.......
I am available as a consultant for anyone who would like to try this "secret weapon." You must, however, supply the slutty engineering intern...
 
Persons using Taylorengineer's processing system should be aware, the results are quite subtle. It requires an excellent audio system to discern the nuances. Particularly, the loudspeaker connections must be pristine. Happily, I am able to offeer Littlejohn & The Bushman's Loudspeaker Connection System at a discount for interested parties. You too can overcome the limits orf mere wire between your amplifier and loudpeakers.
 
whitfm said:
I know Star's audio chain. It was set up to have a very, very bassy sound. The extra bass helps on some of the harder rock songs they play because the guitars and vocals are so compressed that the bass drums can get drowned out sometimes. The big bass boost helps to bring out the mids and highs in a different way, but it's very unique and it keeps them loud. By comparison, when Q100 first started broadcasting at 99.7 they were clearly still using the 99x processing. Notice that Q100 at 99.7 had a lot more bass in the 'punch' region than they had when they were on 100.5. Different processors at Star and Q100/99.7 but it's the same principle both ways. With Star's setup there will always be a big jump in the bass on audio that's compressed more lightly (including voice), that's the nature of the processor they use, but it's very consistent and good for their market position.
Click to expand...

What processor do they use?
 
I don't think they would appreciate it if I gave that information. Sorry.
 
I use gold plated, 4 inch, copper strap to hook up the "kosher curve" audio meat-er weapon so the audio will not suffer losses due to "skin effect." Higher frequencies have a tendancy to favor current flow in the intestinal skin of the salami. In an effort to maintain linear connection impedances across the audio spectrum I use strap-to-meat connections.
I highly recommend Little John and Bushman's speaker connection service. But you still hafta supply the slutty intern and coldcuts......
 
whitfm said:
I don't think they would appreciate it if I gave that information. Sorry.
Click to expand...

Ahh ok, I guess that information would be quite important. Over here in the UK its not considered as secret, its more the settings than the actual manufacturer of the unit, but thats cool no problem :)
 
Actually, it makes substantially less difference than how the box is set up. The advent of really sophisticated DSP chips at reasonable prices makes for incredibly flexible boxes for massaging audio. I doubt a doubleblind test would allow the listener to discern which of the top two (Optimod and Omnua) was being used. Normally, when someone says Box A is far better than Box B, it should be understood to mean "I can set Box A better than I can Box B." Also remember, in a digital plant, the final processor is incorporated in the stereo generator portion of the exciter. We are probably at the point where the topology of the exciter makes more difference than who build the proc amp. Whether or not there is upconversion, how the modulated waveform is generated, etc.
HD introduces a different paradigm, it will be fun to see how it plays out. Currently most broadcasters are processing it to make the transition from analog to digital seamless or nearly so, which in my opinion doesn't take full advantage of the possibilities of the HD system. Presumably, increased receiver penetration will lead to processing for the best possible sound from the HD, witht he analog kind of following along.
 
sman02 said:
Is it just me or has anyone else noticed recently that Star has just increased the level of bass in their audio overall? It just does not sound good at all...
Click to expand...

Star has sounded awful for years. Everything compressed to hell. Very little stereo separation.
 
anyone have experience using omnia 6 hd+fm with the cosmic preset?
 
I love Star, but their audio has been a wreck for some time, especially on rhythmic-leaning Pop records like Justin. They need to fix it.
 
I tuned by the other day, and the audio was horrible. I couldn't stay on it for more than a few seconds. Cats in heat sounded much better. A couple of the songs sounded like someone 200 feet away blasting the subwoofer on a car stereo.

Has anyone notified their engineering department about this? Do they have something along the line going bad? With crappy audio like that, it makes you wonder if they even have an engineer.
 
Don't blame the engineers - programming decides how the station should sound. The programming types at Star have hit the panic button.....so waht do you do first?? That's right - change the jingle package and crank the "SUX" control up on the audio processing.
Can they make it sound worst than Q100? I'm sure they will try!
FWIW....I listened to Star tonight on an Infinity Bose car system and Star sounded as good as anyone else with the exception of:
WCLK 91.9
WABE 90.1
Everyone else sounds like dog squeeze....if you can't tell then you need to see a ENT.
My college station(WRAS)audio even sucked! And so did the audio on the Georgia Tech station.....run by engineers!
So I don't know why your picking on Star.......
 
taylorengineer said:
Don't blame the engineers - programming decides how the station should sound. The programming types at Star have hit the panic button.....so waht do you do first?? That's right - change the jingle package and crank the "SUX" control up on the audio processing.
...
My college station(WRAS)audio even sucked! And so did the audio on the Georgia Tech station.....run by engineers!
Click to expand...

Tom, I dispute that! WREK is not using the "SUX" preset - we're only using "SUX - Light". I did put it on "SUX - Heavy" for a few weeks when we first got the box, and it was as loud as all the rest.

And most of the music on Saturday evenings is on LPs or 78s, so I'm sure there were some authentic pops and crackles.
 
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