My Trip To Dallas

[Chuck]

Today, I had to make a business related trip to Big D. I did so in my nearly new 2007 Chevy Tahoe, which is equipped with a premium Bose radio, OnStar and XM service. HD was not, and still is not an option on current GM vehicles. My car does have a jack for my iPod though.

Admittedly I have non-traditional tastes in music. After I got out of range of my own station,, I listened to XM for a few minutes. Finding it boring, I went to KPYK AM in Terrell, TX, on the outskirts of Dallas. For AM, it sounded reasonably good. It was unsettling that Len Monkern, the station's owner who passed away a couple of weeks ago, was still on the air. He even did the weather. It must have been recorded long ago, and stored for a day precisely like today. Automation is an amazing thing.

KPYK is a small station that plays Adult Standards and lots of recordings that pre date WW II. Despite the program material, the audio quality on my Bose system was surprisingly decent. It had solid bass, smooth midrange, but rolled off highs. It sounded way better than on my previous car with a factory GM Delco system.

As I approached Dallas, I decided to switch over to another AM station, KAAM, which used to put out a terrific signal. They also play Standards, but with a lot different twist than KPYK. They have recently gone HD. I couldn't believe how awful they sounded in analog. It was a dramatic change from the non-HD KPYK. It reminded me of a telephone answering machine that I had about 1975.

XM sounds weird enough with all the digital artifacting, although some channels are prettty good.. Some channels are better than others. In fact some sound quite good. KAAM's analog audio quality was abysmal. I know for a fact that they have an incredibly competent Chief Engineer. He's a real pro. If that's all he can do with their post-IBOC analog signal, I feel sorry for people who still want to listen with their existing radios. (That’s most of them.) I couldn't handle it. It was telephonic, yet harsh at the same time. There was very little bass, and mids had a grating sound. Highs were non-existent. Keep in mind that this was on a premium car stereo that tends to make everything sound good.

It seems to me that the AM HD will do a great job of alienating their regular analog listeners. I hope they can stick it out until the Digital Revolution gets here.

 

[700WLW]

Well, HD Radio won't be showing up in Hondas:

"Honda to Offer XM in Vehicles for 2007"

http://beradio.com/eyeoniboc/honda-xm-vehicles-2007/

Interesting, that this article showed up in "Eye On IBOC".

 

[SUPERCASTER]

Today, I had to make a business related trip to Big D. I did so in my nearly new 2007 Chevy Tahoe, which is equipped with a premium Bose radio, OnStar and XM service. HD was not, and still is not an option on current GM vehicles. My car does have a jack for my iPod though.

Admittedly I have non-traditional tastes in music. After I got out of range of my own station,, I listened to XM for a few minutes. Finding it boring, I went to KPYK AM in Terrell, TX, on the outskirts of Dallas. For AM, it sounded reasonably good. It was unsettling that Len Monkern, the station's owner who passed away a couple of weeks ago, was still on the air. He even did the weather. It must have been recorded long ago, and stored for a day precisely like today. Automation is an amazing thing.

KPYK is a small station that plays Adult Standards and lots of recordings that pre date WW II. Despite the program material, the audio quality on my Bose system was surprisingly decent. It had solid bass, smooth midrange, but rolled off highs. It sounded way better than on my previous car with a factory GM Delco system.

As I approached Dallas, I decided to switch over to another AM station, KAAM, which used to put out a terrific signal. They also play Standards, but with a lot different twist than KPYK. They have recently gone HD. I couldn't believe how awful they sounded in analog. It was a dramatic change from the non-HD KPYK. It reminded me of a telephone answering machine that I had about 1975.

XM sounds weird enough with all the digital artifacting, although some channels are prettty good.. Some channels are better than others. In fact some sound quite good. KAAM's analog audio quality was abysmal. I know for a fact that they have an incredibly competent Chief Engineer. He's a real pro. If that's all he can do with their post-IBOC analog signal, I feel sorry for people who still want to listen with their existing radios. (That’s most of them.) I couldn't handle it. It was telephonic, yet harsh at the same time. There was very little bass, and mids had a grating sound. Highs were non-existent. Keep in mind that this was on a premium car stereo that tends to make everything sound good.

It seems to me that the AM HD will do a great job of alienating their regular analog listeners. I hope they can stick it out until the Digital Revolution gets here.

Defective, destructive, HD is destroying radio. FM as well as AM.
HD Radio IS "the digital revolution."
It is a shame that a defective, incompatible, destructive, system such as HD is what broadcasters have chosen, and the FCC accepted for interim approval.
Total digital conversion using the proposed HD system will make things even worse, and require people to buy new radios again!

 

[hipporadio]

For many dozens of years, some of the very finest AM audio in Indiana WAS on 1070 WIBC Indianapolis. Despite its highly-directional array, it cranked out some of the brightest AM "fidelity" on the dial. It is now in HD--and that is no longer the case.

Another example would be 1530 WSAI (now WCKY) Cincinnati. For many years in the 90s it offered a fine adult standards music format--up until '05 it was RealOldies 1530 with EXCEPTIONAL audio (BEFORE they turned on the HD radio). I have MANY times heard people comment on that station's sonic quality--as AM "quality" goes--it was a legend!. Back in the spring of '04 they began transmitting in IBOC--the degredation to the analog signal was striking--I noticed it the very first day on a C Crane radio. I did not realize what the culprit was initially until I emailed their PD and got the "We're in experimental HD now" response.

In BOTH cases--formerly fine analog audio was degraded. On a quality AM radio--you can actually hear the IBOC "hash" on the background main channel audio! I just DON'T get it! These are 50kw stations in large markets with resources and technical attention that brought the quality of their signal to an exceptional level--then management chose to turn on IBOC for the 7-8 people who could actually decode it, and their audio suffered greatly for the balance they depended on for listenership.

 

[wkbam1690]

Same with WCCO in Minneapolis. They used to have a really good quality audio signal, until going HD. Now the sound is very strident, to the point of unlistenability. I used to listen in wideband mode on a GE Superadio 3, but now switching to WB mode only allows me to hear the hiss in the background, with no increase in fildelity. My TSL with WCCO has gone WAY down!

Of course, maybe this is part of the plan. Make AM sound super-crappy on all existing radios, so listeners will be forced to buy new HD radios, just to be able to hear the quality we formerly could.

 

[700WLW]

I just don't think that terrestrial radio is important enough to most people, to spend hundreds on new HD radios - people would just say to hell with terrestrial radio, or switch to Satellite Radio...

 

[Chuck]

I just don't think that terrestrial radio is important enough to most people, to spend hundreds on new HD radios - people would just say to hell with terrestrial radio, or switch to Satellite Radio...

I fear that may be the case. Microsoft's new MP3 player, Zune, is making quite a dent in iPod sales. Zune seems to be the hot toy for this year. In any case, it's sure selling lot better than HD radios. It is capable of sharing audio files via 802.11 wireless. To counter, I understand that Apple plans to market an iPod that is capable of receiving wireless Internet streams.

That should make things interesting....

 

[700WLW]

"To counter, I understand that Apple plans to market an iPod that is capable of receiving wireless Internet streams...."

I would assume, they would be able to download and store songs on-the-fly - if that is the case, good-luck to HD Radio. Ipods already rank almost straight across Amazon's top 25 best sellers in electronics - wait until this happens.

 

[Chuck]

"To counter, I understand that Apple plans to market an iPod that is capable of receiving wireless Internet streams...."

I would assume, they would be able to download and store songs on-the-fly - if that is the case, good-luck to HD Radio. Ipods already rank almost straight across Amazon's top 25 best sellers in electronics - wait until this happens.

Presumably so. Even if they can merely receive wi-fi radio streams, it will be vert significant.

 

[jd]

KAAM's analog audio quality was abysmal. I know for a fact that they have an incredibly competent Chief Engineer. He's a real pro. If that's all he can do with their post-IBOC analog signal, I feel sorry for people who still want to listen with their existing radios. (That’s most of them.)

I thought the same thing the last time I listened to KAAM, and considering their target demo, I'm wondering why they just don't drop the IBOC for now. I noticed one of your posts back in March that quoted an article in the WSJ about IBOC: "...a listener in Elkridge, Md., who has had trouble tuning into WTRI(AM), 1520 kHz, since WT[W]P, at 1500 kHz in Washington, went HD Radio about a year ago." WTRI has a format similar to KAAM, and supposedly there was an outcry from their listeners about the IBOC hash. It's being reported now that WTWP has apparently dropped HD, along with another DC area station, WXTR 730, an ESPN and Redskins affiliate.

 

[SUPERCASTER]

KAAM's analog audio quality was abysmal. I know for a fact that they have an incredibly competent Chief Engineer. He's a real pro. If that's all he can do with their post-IBOC analog signal, I feel sorry for people who still want to listen with their existing radios. (That’s most of them.)

I thought the same thing the last time I listened to KAAM, and considering their target demo, I'm wondering why they just don't drop the IBOC for now. I noticed one of your posts back in March that quoted an article in the WSJ about IBOC: "...a listener in Elkridge, Md., who has had trouble tuning into WTRI(AM), 1520 kHz, since WT[W]P, at 1500 kHz in Washington, went HD Radio about a year ago." WTRI has a format similar to KAAM, and supposedly there was an outcry from their listeners about the IBOC hash. It's being reported now that WTWP has apparently dropped HD, along with another DC area station, WXTR 730, an ESPN and Redskins affiliate.

According to iBiquity, the HD cartel, and many of the engineers HD stations "employ", and other HD supporters, including official reports and testimony to the FCC and government officials, there has been no outcry or reports of HD interference. "All reports of HD problems with HD radio, interference, buzz, hash, bad HD reception, HD caused interference to analog broadcast signals, and other stations, do not exist"- So ordered by the Official, Imperial iBorg collective, by edict. Anyone opposing this edict shall face the eternal vengeance and personal attacks of the iBorg, who will decisively demonstrate that the Constitution, freedom, and democracy, are myths of the unwashed masses.

 

[rbrucecarter5]

I have to disagree with the comment about KAAM having an incredibly competant engineer. Yes, he knows his stuff. But any engineer that turns a blind side to objective reality is NOT a good engineer. He needs to take an objective look at the 99.99% of the listeners who now receive terrible audio vs. the tiny percentage that have HD radio - and take an unpopular, but courageous stand with management. The time for a station to convert to HD is when there are 50% or more of the audience who own HD radios. Until then, it is highly advisable to keep a really good, wideband, analog signal - and since the market penetration of car radios equipped with C-Quam is high - run C-Quam and wideband analog audio until there is a reason to do the conversion. This is not a popular thing to propose to management gung-ho on HD. But it is the reality of the situation: screw up analog audio, and ratings will suffer. Radio is a business, and as a business it has to make money. If people tune out because the audio sounds terrible - the ratings suffer. Lower ratings, lower advertising revenue, the station suffers. Take care of listeners, give them what they want - quality music with quality audio - they will come. Hopeing they will buy HD radios in masses while turning your back on analog listeners is foolish. A REALLY good engineer would fight for the quality of his sound, and not take the easy road of being a corporate yes-man.

 

[Chuck]

I thought the same thing the last time I listened to KAAM, and considering their target demo, I'm wondering why they just don't drop the IBOC for now. I noticed one of your posts back in March that quoted an article in the WSJ about IBOC: "...a listener in Elkridge, Md., who has had trouble tuning into WTRI(AM), 1520 kHz, since WT[W]P, at 1500 kHz in Washington, went HD Radio about a year ago." WTRI has a format similar to KAAM, and supposedly there was an outcry from their listeners about the IBOC hash. It's being reported now that WTWP has apparently dropped HD, along with another DC area station, WXTR 730, an ESPN and Redskins affiliate.

Most of KAAM's current listeners will be dead before HD AM is of much importance. That is assuming it doesn’t meet an early end due to lack of interest. I'm surprised that KAAM want to be an early adopters, since the age group thy appeal to will be the last to get HD radios. If we can believe the tripe that advertisers consider to be gospel, people 50 and up are not traditionally early adopters. I'm a part of that age group, and don't like being grouped as the trailing edge. Nonetheless, I've found that some modern devices are way more trouble than they are worth. Until HD is easy to deal with; that is, built into my car radio, it is simply a non-issue. I'm not going to get an after market radio installed in my new car. I like the one that came with it. I think most KAAM listeners feel the same way I don't need ultimate fidelity, but listening to something that resembles voice mail is very fatiguing.

Maybe the "powers that be" at KAAM just don't get it.

 

[Tom Wells]

I have to disagree with the comment about KAAM having an incredibly competant engineer. Yes, he knows his stuff. But any engineer that turns a blind side to objective reality is NOT a good engineer. He needs to take an objective look at the 99.99% of the listeners who now receive terrible audio vs. the tiny percentage that have HD radio - and take an unpopular, but courageous stand with management. The time for a station to convert to HD is when there are 50% or more of the audience who own HD radios. Until then, it is highly advisable to keep a really good, wideband, analog signal - and since the market penetration of car radios equipped with C-Quam is high - run C-Quam and wideband analog audio until there is a reason to do the conversion. This is not a popular thing to propose to management gung-ho on HD. But it is the reality of the situation: screw up analog audio, and ratings will suffer. Radio is a business, and as a business it has to make money. If people tune out because the audio sounds terrible - the ratings suffer. Lower ratings, lower advertising revenue, the station suffers. Take care of listeners, give them what they want - quality music with quality audio - they will come. Hopeing they will buy HD radios in masses while turning your back on analog listeners is foolish. A REALLY good engineer would fight for the quality of his sound, and not take the easy road of being a corporate yes-man.

It is difficult to be a hero who would take such a stand, as you are then putting your paycheck on the line, in the face of a giant corporation who says otherwise, and has gotten FCC approval.

The shame should be rightly upon those engineers 'way back, who should have explained the electro-mechanical problem of high data rates
and wavelength distortions in MW.

But they too, face the corp brass, who said to make the thing work.
No one want to be the guy to tell the emperor his new clothes do not exist.

 

[rbrucecarter5]

Well put, Tom. I am pretty sure it was a forced conversion. Still, there has been a time or two in my career that I have stuck my neck out, and taken a stand for a customer. You would be surprised how fast upper management caves when a grateful customer calls and thanks them for my courageous dedication to their best interest. I just had to make absolutely sure I was right, and of course be willing to walk out the door if it blew up in my face. As far as Crawford broadcasting is concerned, they are fortunate with KAAM that they have a group of loyal, dedicated listeners - which I am sure are waiting out HD mania. If polled scientifically, every single one of them who does not own an HD radio would probably be complaining. As I predicted - the 5 kHz filters are NOT Bessel, and as a result the group delay makes all of the vocals sound like the performer is hoarse with a sore throat. AWFUL. They won't be attracting many new listeners, and will have a steady defection of old listeners at that rate. I'm in their demographic, too, and used to listen a lot more. I AM interested in better quality audio, and since KAAM sounds awful, I will probably investigate audio streams like red 104 from St. Louis. I am also generally an early adopter of new technology - but HD is not worth my time because it won't be around long enough to justify my purchase.

 

[Chuck]

As I predicted - the 5 kHz filters are NOT Bessel, and as a result the group delay makes all of the vocals sound like the performer is hoarse with a sore throat. AWFUL. They won't be attracting many new listeners, and will have a steady defection of old listeners at that rate. I'm in their demographic, too, and used to listen a lot more. I AM interested in better quality audio, and since KAAM sounds awful, I will probably investigate audio streams like red 104 from St. Louis. I am also generally an early adopter of new technology - but HD is not worth my time because it won't be around long enough to justify my purchase.

I would be willing to bet that if someone took a DFW rim shot FM and switched it to a decently programmed Standards format, KAAM would lose most of their listeners. People will put up with weak FM signals if they deliver something they want to listen to. With the amount of people in the DFW area who are 50+, you could make a very comfortable living at it.

Oh, I forgot. Most radio is operated by the "go for the jugular" approach, so it isn't OK to have something that just rocks along making a modest but comfortable place for itself.