Best/Worst Sounding AM/FM Stations

[Techman]

The following does not mean programming it's sound quality

Test was done on many radio's including car radio's to GE super radio's by a team of radio radio people with good ears and radio's.

Test done in the Central Jersey area

Best AM sound quality station goes to WCTC AM 1450

Best FM sounding station goes to Kiss 98.7

Worst sounding AM station goes to WKMB 1070

Worst sounding FM station goes to the Breeze 107.1

 

[westlife]

> Best AM sound quality station goes to WCTC AM 1450

...in AM Stereo where available!

The 1170 WWTR / 1250 WMTR simulcast also has excellent sound, perfect for the Oldies format, even if they're only mono.

> Best FM sounding station goes to Kiss 98.7

Try one notch lower: "Magic 98.3" (WMGQ New Brunswick). They are one of the VERY few FM popular music stations who values quality and clarity over loudness. It's almost astonishing to hear music on FM without it being plagued by annoying over-compression and clipping distortion!

> Worst sounding AM station goes to WKMB 1070

They'd sound ten times better if they actually knew how to properly set their audio levels. For the past few weeks they've been consistently overdriving their STL and/or limiter, causing massive distortion. Very ugly sound from a station that used to sound so fantastic.

> Worst sounding FM station goes to the Breeze 107.1

My vote goes to three of the most hideously over-processed stations on the dial: 94.5 WPST, 95.5 WPLJ, and NJ101.5.
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[BJD]

> > Best AM sound quality station goes to WCTC AM 1450
>
> ...in AM Stereo where available!
>
> The 1170 WWTR / 1250 WMTR simulcast also has excellent
> sound, perfect for the Oldies format, even if they're only
> mono.
>
> > Best FM sounding station goes to Kiss 98.7
>
> Try one notch lower: "Magic 98.3" (WMGQ New Brunswick).
> They are one of the VERY few FM popular music stations who
> values quality and clarity over loudness. It's almost
> astonishing to hear music on FM without it being plagued by
> annoying over-compression and clipping distortion!
>
> > Worst sounding AM station goes to WKMB 1070
>
> They'd sound ten times better if they actually knew how to
> properly set their audio levels. For the past few weeks
> they've been consistently overdriving their STL and/or
> limiter, causing massive distortion. Very ugly sound from a
> station that used to sound so fantastic.
>
> > Worst sounding FM station goes to the Breeze 107.1
>
> My vote goes to three of the most hideously over-processed
> stations on the dial: 94.5 WPST, 95.5 WPLJ, and NJ101.5.
> WHAT ABOUT SOUTH JESERY? The best fm is wayv 95.1 the processeing is great over all its one of the top.

 

[tom]

I think New Jersey 101.5 has the overall best audio,
especially during music programming.

The worst would be most of the XM Satellite channels,
with total lack of level control and drastic changes
in volume from song to song or song to liner. Yuck.

On AM - WMID in Atlantic City sounds sweet, with it's
new transmitter and Optimod, uncompressed WAV files
from the automation, and a slight touch of reverb.

Worst on AM would be any station that has 3 year old
tubes and 50% modulation with a hum ....

> The following does not mean programming it's sound quality

 

[tdee]

>
NJ 101.5 has a ground loop hum in there audio. Listen very carefully when there's silence or dead air. This inturn cause's harmonic distortion in the audio at certain frequencies. Getting ground hum out of audio chains is a speciality plus being an audio freak I can set a stations audio processing with my ears. When I was CE for WKMB I had put in my own audio chain using used junk equipment. No Optimod. I had that puppy sounding rich and full for a AM. Now someone screwed it up since I'm gone from there and it's all distorted. The Breeze has low audio and very weak compression along with no bass, worst then CBS-FM Jack. Also Star 99.1 has no bass. Top sounding NY stations are 98.7 101.9 and 105.1.

I think New Jersey 101.5 has the overall best audio,
> especially during music programming.
>
> The worst would be most of the XM Satellite channels,
> with total lack of level control and drastic changes
> in volume from song to song or song to liner. Yuck.
>
> On AM - WMID in Atlantic City sounds sweet, with it's
> new transmitter and Optimod, uncompressed WAV files
> from the automation, and a slight touch of reverb.
>
> Worst on AM would be any station that has 3 year old
> tubes and 50% modulation with a hum ....
>
> > The following does not mean programming it's sound quality
>

 

[Neal]

I will agree with WWTR/WMTR as sounding really excellent.
But WCTC? yeah its got really great sound too for Being mono 99% of the time with stereo Music and Ads...(stereo light on not always in stereo)
call me One sided.. But WTTM is probably the Best sounding AM station In NJ for now. and in Full stereo( ok so Its ethnic Big deal).
some of the Production spots are not the greatest quality but thats the PD.



> > > Best AM sound quality station goes to WCTC AM 1450
> >
> > ...in AM Stereo where available!
> >
> > The 1170 WWTR / 1250 WMTR simulcast also has excellent
> > sound, perfect for the Oldies format, even if they're only
>
> > mono.

 

[westlife]

> Getting ground hum out of audio chains is a
> speciality plus being an audio freak I can set a stations
> audio processing with my ears. When I was CE for WKMB I had
> put in my own audio chain using used junk equipment. No
> Optimod. I had that puppy sounding rich and full for a AM.

Not as rich and full as the Rontimod, though! I still miss the way that thing sounded on the air, even moreso than WKMB's Stirling Country format. It gave 1070 an amazing "sonic signature" that made them sound unlike any other station on the dial -- especially when Bob Hunt was on the mike.

p.s. Tony, if you ever managed to download that photo of the Rontimod from your camera, I'd still love to see it. Post it here using <a target="_blank" href=http://tinypic.com/>tinypic.com</a> or shoot me an e-mail!
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[tdee]

>
WTTM sounds good because Neal and I installed an Ariane in front of an old Optimod 9100 which is much better then the new 9200,that is if your caps are good. The station is loud beacause of the Ariane and it has rich bass when of course a new type of Indian song plays. They have another week or 2 to decide if they will purchase it or I got to pull it and give it back to Jim Huste former CE of WOR who manufactures these units. If the breeze had this in there audio chain they would sound great. WMTR does sound much better. Mike the CE got it sounding nice and the stream is good too. If you really want to hear a good sounding clean AM station that I'm proud of being CE of, take a drive up North and listen to my station WNNJ AM 1360. It's got a nice clean silky sound with rich bass and nice highs like I had KMB sounding before they went in there with a little greenie I will not tell how I do it. And I'm not using a Ariane.

I will agree with WWTR/WMTR as sounding really excellent.
> But WCTC? yeah its got really great sound too for Being
> mono 99% of the time with stereo Music and Ads...(stereo
> light on not always in stereo)
> call me One sided.. But WTTM is probably the Best sounding
> AM station In NJ for now. and in Full stereo( ok so Its
> ethnic Big deal).
> some of the Production spots are not the greatest quality
> but thats the PD.
>
>
>
> > > > Best AM sound quality station goes to WCTC AM 1450
> > >
> > > ...in AM Stereo where available!
> > >
> > > The 1170 WWTR / 1250 WMTR simulcast also has excellent
> > > sound, perfect for the Oldies format, even if they're
> only
> >
> > > mono.
>

 

[JerseyShor]

I can't get much of a signal (if ANY signal at all) off of those stations here in Ocean County, but from what I can get clearly:

Best:
WMGM
WPUR
WKXW-FM

WORST:
WPST
WBBO
WVLT