Thanks, I got the impression initially that the issue with audio quality on Magic in Melbourne (and Brisbane too I think), wasn’t to do with bit rates, but more to do with the quality of the feed from Sydney (where the content is played out)?
I don’t know about Magic but 4BH in Brisbane is loud on DAB. Significantly louder than other DAB stations.
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Just got this DAB radio free from my doctors office… they said it wouldnt power up and were going to throw it out… got it in the nick of time… turned out to be a bad power cable when i got home with it… not much of a repair… really happy with it… have found something funny though… 4BH is sounding like a horrible internet stream on it… everything else dab is great(for what limited bitrates u get) However the FM on this thing is the star if the show, its sound is so rich and full and has a full RDS capability with PI codes and everything!
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Yeah, Panasonics are always good. Good get.
Yeah I was amazed… its technical readouts are amazing when u hit the display button… it even says Joint Stereo on a few stations instead of stereo… forgive me I have no idea what Joint stereo is… Anyone?
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I’m pretty sure that joint stereo is a compressed version of stereo…something among those lines.
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Ahhh makes sense… mostly saw it on the SCA digital onlys… and I only just noticed some of the bit rates… are sca really running stations at 32kbps???
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Sadly yes. And it just gets worse and worse with each passing year.
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well thank god im sticking with 4BH, nova 90s and smooth 80’s plus smooth brisbane… 4BH has a very high bit rate reading (104kbps) but sounds worse than SCA’s dab’s very interesting issue there wondering if it is the radio. I do miss smooth relax!
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Correction it isnt the radio my Jaycar DAB Component radio on my Stereo system is exhibiting the same behaviour on 4BH
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Joint stereo on DAB+ - otherwise called Parametric Stereo - broadly sends a common mono signal, plus information to attempt to recreate some of the stereo separation. The common mono section gets significantly more bits than the data for the stereo, so in general it sounds better than true stereo at the same bit-rate, just sacrificing true stereo.
In my view stations probably switch to using true Stereo at too low bit rates - for example Smooth Relax in Melbourne is Stereo at 40Kbps, but other stations are using PS at that same rate (Fox, Urban Hits, among others) and to me sound a little better. There’s other factors onto sound quality, but I don’t think you get the gains from true Stereo below 64kbps.
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You’ll find VERY few receivers decode the PS correctly.
I’ve found one, and it cost $60,900 and has its own built in diesel motor, and has 7 seats.
Makes “California Dreaming” sound interesting on the cheap receivers.
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Thank you for the detailed response, wouldn’t that sacrifice alot of stereo imaging in songs though… I mean it sounds to me like it would be down to the specific radio on how it presents the separation information as a opposed to the mono signal, I can see manufacturers cheaping out here…
I have noticed some really weird artifacting in my Jaycar bought Digitech Component Tuner in my home stereo system. Which is used with a Pioneer VSX-5900 from 1989 on some Klipsch Reference Speakers. And now you mention it, seems to be only occurring on Joint/Parametric Stereo stations… this might be food for thought to upgrade that tuner to a better component.
Although other than that its been a rock solid tuner with an almost unbelievable FM section. Surprisingly beating the built in tuner on the Pioneer!
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My understanding of this is that The Wave should be more robust in fringe reception than Coast FM. But I have noticed the opposite! My new Panasonic SC-PMX92 is less sensitive than the LG I had, so I get plenty of times with the audio dropping out, and this always seems it happens more with The Wave than Coast FM. On further investigation the dropouts also happen with the SEN Peel and KIX Country SW. Coast FM seems the most robust, maybe it is Coast FM with the enhanced error protection?
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Ah ha, correct! Coast FM is now using EEP -1A protection and The Wave has changed to EEP -3A. I think this occurred when KIX Country SW was added to the multiplex. I have no idea why they changed this.
I observe the same as you living in fringe reception area - Coast FMs 1A often the only station decoding. Even more so during multi path costal ducting. Huge 30db+ signals from Mandurah and Perth, but Coast Fm the only station playing on.
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Thanks @robtog and @Informer. Fascinating to read of the practical consequences of the more robust DAB error protection.
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Elf Radio is the first Christmas station to disappear - the bits just jumped over to KIIS/Gold - making those stations 64k, but that leaves all the other stations on 32k.
So,
The Edge - 32kbps
KIIS 90s - 32kbps
Gold 80s - 32kbps
CW Remix - 32kbps
Kinderling - 32kbps
Gold 104.3 - 64kbps
KIIS 101.1 - 64kbps
Ideally for me they would move Kinderling and CW Remix over to their unused space on 9A at 32k, and then increase the bits of the other stations, but either way I think it’d be better for them to improve their digital only stations than boost the ones with FM simulcasts.
Sure personally I listen to Gold 104.3 via DAB all the time - as FM reception is quite poor in my location while DAB is fine - but 32kbps stations are just terrible to listen to, while 48k or even 40k is much more tolerable.
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Meanwhile, in Sydney, the current bitrates for the ARN stations are as follows:
WSFM - 48kbps
KIIS 1065 - 48kbps
WSFM 80s - 48kbps
KIIS 90s - 48kbps
The Edge - 48kbps
CW Remix - 32kbps
Kinderling - 32kbps
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Don’t know if this is the right thread for it, but…
Are there/were there any devices that would allow someone get DAB broadcasts through their TVs? (Besides what the ABC and SBS do on their DTV multiplexes) I know some DAB radios can be plugged into an aerial, as I have a Cord DAB adaptor for my stereo, but it didn’t like my aerial splitting configuration.
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