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Entercom Boston

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WAAF's audio quality on both 97.7 and 107.3 has taken a serious nosedive lately and has sounded really bad for months now... it almost sounds as if they're not broadcasting in stereo or something. Does Entercom Boston not care? Or are they strapped for cash and can't afford to fix whatever is wrong with the audio chain?

It's unfortunate because WAAF is a pretty good sounding radio station but I can't stand listening to them with downgraded audio quality. Also, JAM'N 945 was having similar issues with their audio quality recently but those issues have been fixed since. Does Entercom Boston just not care anymore? Or are they eyeing the exit from this market, remember they're stuck with two AM signals which is kindof a liability these days and WEEI likely isn't the cash cow it once was, with the recent rise of 985 The Sports Hub.

Thoughts? and I'm glad to see this website is back
 
With WAAF it may be economics in the cost to operate and rent the Paxton Tower site. Radio has become very political not like it used to be. Too many stations allocated in close proximity on the band. Regardless of how long an existing fm station occupied a frequency. A good example of radio politics and business is,
WWBB 101.5 owned by Clear Channel also owns The Bull 101.7 in Boston. As we all know Boston is a meet Major Market as opposed to Providence so therefore B101 took the hit. B101 has relocated they're transmitting facility from Reed Street, Rehoboth to Rhode Island on the Hospital trust Tower thus destroying B101 coverage and increasing the bull 101.7. Regardless of whether or not B101 should have grandfathers rights and has been on the air for over almost 50 years and the Bull came out of nowhere, on the air for maybe 10 or so years.
I would like feedback on this if there is more to this issue than I know.
 
I just threw both 97.7 and 107.3 on for a moment to check. They both sound fine to me in both analog and HD, with full stereo separation.
 
Rayradio7973 said:
With WAAF it may be economics in the cost to operate and rent the Paxton Tower site.
Click to expand...

They were trying to improve 107.3's coverage in metro Boston by moving the transmitter from Paxton twelve miles east to W. Boylston, as close as they could legally move it to Boston, and they spent a lot on the attempt. It's much more profitable to serve the Boston metro with the strongest signal possible than to serve central MA, parts of adjoining states, small towns, and rural areas. The move didn't yield quite the improvement they hoped for in Boston, so they bought 97.7 on Blue Hill for a simulcast, but kept 107.3 in W. Boylston just because it's still slightly better in parts of metro and suburban Boston than Paxton was.
 
Eli Polonsky said:
They were trying to improve 107.3's coverage in metro Boston by moving the transmitter from Paxton twelve miles east to W. Boylston, as close as they could legally move it to Boston, and they spent a lot on the attempt. It's much more profitable to serve the Boston metro with the strongest signal possible than to serve central MA, parts of adjoining states, small towns, and rural areas. The move didn't yield quite the improvement they hoped for in Boston, so they bought 97.7 on Blue Hill for a simulcast, but kept 107.3 in W. Boylston just because it's still slightly better in parts of metro and suburban Boston than Paxton was.
Click to expand...

WAAF truly was "The rock and roll air force of New England" when they were in Paxton. I used to listen to them on I-91 from Hartford up to Southern Vermont and well into the Berkshires. The coverage area they gave up does not match the gain in their signal in the greater Boston area. I agree the increase into Boston was not what they expected. I thought they still had an aux site on Paxton -- maybe they should switch back and keep the 97.7 for Boston...
 
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