• Get involved.
    We want your input!
    Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.

    After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
    If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.

    After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
    https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/

    Thanks in advance and have fun!
    RadioDiscussions Administrators

WLTW's Muddy Audio

W

wmgcbs

Guest
What's up with New York's 106.7's (what a mouthful!) muddy audio? WLTW used to sound so crisp, but now, it sounds ridiculously muddy with little treble. I put on 101.1, then 102.7, then 106.7, and the difference was quite noticeable. They really messed around with this station within the past year -- the music, the moniker, and now the processing. Why tone down the highs so much? Just put it back to the way it was a year ago -- it sounded PERFECT!

What used to be one of my favorite stations has left my pre-sets. It's just rolling downhill, in my opinion. Luckily, the ratings and billing are still good.
 
I've been talking about this for a while. I've been asking around if anyone else has been hearing the muddy sound and not many have been listening for a while to notice. It really does sound terrible.
 
K-Tel said:
I've been talking about this for a while. I've been asking around if anyone else has been hearing the muddy sound and not many have been listening for a while to notice. It really does sound terrible.
Click to expand...

I honestly can't stand it. I put it on for a while today and had to switch to 101.1. I only occasionally listen to WLTW now, especially since WCBS-FM is back. I even started to listen to Fresh before 101.1 returned because the audio on Lite was so crappy. But, I always 106.7 on 24/7 when they do their Christmas music. I don't know if I will be able to listen to it as much this year, as it really sounds nasty, and it causes me to change the station. It's probably the worst sounding commercial FM in NYC in this respect. It used to sound AMAZING. But, after they played around with the audio earlier this summer, EEK! Just put it back to where it was, and it'll be fine. It doesn't cut it the way 106.7 sounds now.

I don't know how people can listen to this while they work. I wouldn't be able to. Not only has the music gotten worse, but I've heard better processing in much smaller markets. You can't beat WLYT in Charlotte--the processing is just AMAZING. I think it's better than ANY station here in NYC.
 
Nick said:
Probably a failure of the main studio-transmitter link, and the backup is low bitrate.
Click to expand...

It's been muddy all summer. Would it take that long for something like that link to get fixed? (I don't know about things that technical... :))

I think they might actually WANT it to sound muddy...
 
WLTW's audio has been "lacking" since Bob Tarsio left. I remember last Christmas when there were times when LTW and WHUD were playing the same Christmas song, and HUD just blew LTW out of the water... same goes for WKJY on Long Island, and they have an 8100 in serious need of a visit to recapville (I know their chain was out in 1998, I doubt it has been out since).
 
wmgcbs said:
I think they might actually WANT it to sound muddy...
Click to expand...

Interesting ploint. The target of the station is female, to the extent they do not even research male listeners (so I am told, and that is true at many AC's). For this reason, they may have done some testing with focus groups or individual listeners to find the EQ curve that creates the least fatigue and is not irritating to women. It's failrly well known that male engineers over abut 50 tend to adjust audio to a point that is annoying to women, so WLTW may actually be on to something.
 
wgliradio said:
WLTW's audio has been "lacking" since Bob Tarsio left. I remember last Christmas when there were times when LTW and WHUD were playing the same Christmas song, and HUD just blew LTW out of the water...
Click to expand...

... and was prolbably quite irritating to females.
 
wgliradio said:
WLTW's audio has been "lacking" since Bob Tarsio left. I remember last Christmas when there were times when LTW and WHUD were playing the same Christmas song, and HUD just blew LTW out of the water...
Click to expand...

Well....that'll teach them for playing the same Christmas songs!

Maybe it's simply a "Muddy Song Weekend"
 
chacha said:
WLTW's audio has been "lacking" since Bob Tarsio left. I remember last Christmas when there were times when LTW and WHUD were playing the same Christmas song, and HUD just blew LTW out of the water...
Click to expand...

I did not realize that Bob Tarsio was still working. He was the cheif engineer of a local radio station I worked at in the late 70's, early 80's.
 
DavidEduardo said:
wgliradio said:
WLTW's audio has been "lacking" since Bob Tarsio left. I remember last Christmas when there were times when LTW and WHUD were playing the same Christmas song, and HUD just blew LTW out of the water...
Click to expand...

... and was prolbably quite irritating to females.
Click to expand...

Last Christmas, WLTW sounded decent. It was earlier this summer (maybe mid to late June) when I really noticed this. If it's what the target audience wants, I guess there aren't going to be any changes. It just means I certainly won't be tuned in as often. This audio seems to have the opposite effect on me. I tune out quicker than I used to. No matter how much I crank up the treble in hopes that it won't sound as badly as it does, it just doesn't work.
 
cawasinnj said:
DavidEduardo said:
... and was prolbably quite irritating to females.
Click to expand...
And females hate CD's too I suppose.
Click to expand...

How many CDs, in general, are sold to females over the age of 35?

Sorry, I don't buy it.
Click to expand...

CDs don't have a preemphasis curve added... and we are talking of EQ on a total product, which has been prodcessed for level modulation and to prevent overmodulation.

In any case, I offered the comment as another possibility, neither claiming it to be right or wrong. It is conceivable they are doing whatever they are doing processing wise to make the audio less strident, particularly for at-work listening locations. On the other hand, they just may have messed up the processing. But concluding that because it sounds flat to a young male ear it must be messed up is ignoring the "other" possibilities.
 
DavidEduardo said:
... and was prolbably quite irritating to females.
Click to expand...

That theory is overblown. WALK on Long Island is about as clipped in the mids and highs as they come (irritating as hell) and they have no issues, as is CHR WBLI, which is TOO bright. WHUD is not bright, just well balanced and #1 12+ in its main market (#140 Newburgh/Middletown).
 
It seems when they drop the Lite-FM branding the station has been going down hill. Now the audio is muddy. Thats a win for Fresh 102.7 and WCBS-FM 101.1 as listeners that don't like how their music is sounding on 106.7 will change the station.
 
Actually, 106.7 sounds better today, 8/13, in the 5PM hour. The audio is crisper. It sounds significantly better than it has in a LONG time! I still think they can do a little bit better, though. I remember WLTW sounding a bit better than this. At least it's a small step in the right direction.
 
Actually, 106.7 sounds better today, 8/13, in the 5PM hour. The audio is crisper. It sounds somewhat better than it has in a while! I still think they can do a little bit better, though. I remember WLTW sounding crisper and cleaner than it is now. At least it's a small step in the right direction.... But more work needs to be done.

Update... it sounds like they're playing around. Sometimes it's good, and other times, I feel like not much has changed. Strange... I'd still like to hear it more like 102.7 or 101.1 in terms of processing.
 
DavidEduardo said:
How many CDs, in general, are sold to females over the age of 35?
Click to expand...

Actually...from the data available in 2006 on domestic CD's purchased by consumers 35 and above.
73% were femaile.
 
Status
This thread has been closed due to inactivity. You can create a new thread to discuss this topic.


Back
Top Bottom