A, B, C, DMX
By general reckoning, 1950 was the year that marked the beginning of the hi-fi era and of the audio industry as a distinct entity. The "hi-fi nut" of that time was trying to reproduce music with the highest sound quality from the long-playing 33 1/3-rpm vinyl record and from FM broadcasts.
In those days, all audio equipment operated with vacuum tubes, and the sound was totally monophonic. It must also be remembered that the magnetic tape masters from which the LP discs were cut were recorded without any noise reduction. The first use of Dolby noise reduction was by Decca (London Records) in 1966. Thus, the signal-to-noise ratio of LP discs was such that audible tape hiss, along with all the surface noise artifacts, was an omnipresent annoyance.
Although such factors as microphone choice and quality, and engineering skills, had a direct bearing on FM broadcasting, it was generally considered that FM was the best source for high-fidelity music signals. In those heady days of FM broadcasting, it was possible to tune in live concerts by the New York Philharmonic. Earlier, Major Edwin Armstrong, the father of FM, had personally paid to run 15-kHz equalized phone lines from the National Symphony Orchestra concerts, in Washington, D.C., to his 800-foot-high transmitter tower atop the Palisades on the Hudson River in New Jersey. The music would then be transmitted to the local New York/New Jersey metropolitan area with a signal-to-noise ratio approaching 70 dB! Audiophiles who wanted to record these wide-range FM broadcasts had to use the relatively primitive Brush Soundmirror or Pentron tape machines, and ironically, even the higher quality Magnecorders had S/N ratios no better than 50 to 55 dB! In 1953, Armstrong was developing FM stereo multiplexing, and I worked with him, making special stereo tape recordings in Carnegie Hall and furnishing him with stereo recordings of the Chicago, Minneapolis, and Detroit orchestras as well as stereo recordings of the Benny Goodman, Woody Herman, and Stan Kenton bands. Armstrong had a very simplistic, "purist" (if highly impractical) attitude to FM stereo broadcasting: There was a left channel and a right channel. Moro phonic compatibility was only a minor consideration! Luckily, the multiplex system we use today is a sum-and-difference system that does not shortchange those who listen to FM monophonically. (Colleague Len Feldman and I have each long since chronicled Murray Crosby's system, which not only used the sum-and-difference method but would have given us 16 dB better S/N than today's system.) In any case, even with its less-than-optimum multiplex system, stereo FM was (and is) a major source of music for millions of people. After all, not everyone can afford an extensive library of LPs, audio cassettes, or CDs.
However, addressing FM stereo broadcasting strictly from the standpoint of classical music and the sonic fidelity of the signals, today's FM listeners have fallen on parlous times indeed. According to the 1991 edition of Audio's Annual Equipment Directory, there are 104 FM tuners on the market, ranging in price from $120 to $12,800! A great many audiophiles own FM tuners, and many of them listen to classical music on either a casual or a dedicated basis. I haven't had an FM tuner in my system for over 15 years, and in checking with other audiophiles, I found that they also have not used FM tuners for quite a few years. Our reasons for this indifference to classical music on FM is the universal lack o' live concert broadcasts (due to union rules, concerts are taped and then broadcast) and poor fidelity of transmission, including severe compression. Far higher fidelity of sound is available to us from CDs and other recorded sources.
Nonetheless, the many people who do still listen to classical music on FM have been and are increasingly being subjected to the most appalling conditions in respect to the technical shortcomings (i.e., gross distortion and high signal compression of many FM broadcasts. Worse yet are the programming practices for classical music broadcasts on FM stations throughout the country.
Small town or big city, FM stations broadcasting classical music have a new format that supposedly is the result of computer-based demographic studies of the 24- to 55-year-old age group. The rah-rah pundits in advertising agencies and purported media experts tell the broadcasters that their target audience in this group "lives life in the fast lane" and its cultural pretensions in respect to classical music must be satisfied in special ways that save their valuable time. The music must be served to them in palatable, easily digested slices. Everything must be upbeat, and profundity must be scrupulously avoided. Thus, we have such incredible dictums from FM broadcasters as not playing the second (slow) movements of concertos, because the slow movements are too draggy, not lively enough, are too introspective, or perhaps have negative connotations.
Again, for much the same reasons, the broadcasters do not play any organ music. This is a particular no-no, being far too funereal and depressing.
Most solo vocal recitals are taboo, and, of course, most operas are out or, at best, are broadcast in the wee hours of the morning. Symphonic music must not be too ponderous, and the broadcasters are fond of presenting shorter movements, rather than complete symphonies, as this conveniently allows the placement of commercials at frequent intervals. If you think I am exaggerating this, there was a lengthy article in The New York Times some months ago, in which the incredulous reporter enumerated all this new "hip" classical music programming and expressed his outrage.
I spoke to the program director of a major classical FM station who freely indulges in these practices and confesses quite candidly that such programming is the "new reality," that their demographic slice has no time for "involvement." He then crassly informed me that this new format "makes money," while the "old fud formula" does not. I find this argument rather hard to swallow.
Perhaps I am an old mossback, and not "with it" in respect to this abuse of the FM medium. But I am more dismayed about the lack of sensitivity to, and lack of respect for, great music, both on the part of the FM broadcasters and their shallow listeners.
Bemoaning the point doesn't help this situation. There are still many people who would appreciate listening to classical music unsullied by technical shortcomings or compromised presentations. Take heart, because I have just recently found not merely an alternative to classical music via FM, but a very sophisticated, exciting new concept in music presentation: Digital Music Express (DMX). This service is programmed, marketed, and distributed by International Cablecastings Technologies (ICT) with Scientific Atlanta, a company known for its satellite and cable TV activities, contributing on the technological side.
ICT maintains a vast CD library which is continuously updated and covers all types of music from classical to heavy metal and everything in between. Special CD playback equipment in the DMX library outputs the standard Sony/Philips 16-bit/44.1-kHz digital signal, which Scientific Atlanta uplinks to the Satcom F-4 satellite, parked in a geostationary position 22,300 miles above the earth. The satellite then downlinks the digital signal to a cable TV operator. The cable TV company sends the signal, still in the digital domain, over the cable lines that also carry its video programs to their subscriber. The subscriber is furnished with a digital tuner/decoder.
This unit outputs the CD signal through a one-bit D/A converter and then to an analog output for connection to the customer's stereo system. Or the digital signal is output through a coaxial port for connection to the subscriber's own outboard D/A converter. The DMX decoder provides 30 separate music channels, individually selectable via remote control. Among these channels, classical music is offered in symphonic, chamber and opera modes.
There are channels for a half-dozen rock/pop formats, easy listening, big bands, jazz, country, gospel, etc. An optional remote control has a scrolling LCD display that furnishes the title of the album, title of the song or selection, and artist name. This service operates 24 hours a day and has a very low repetition rate. Another feature of the DMX service and decoder is that the cable TV operator, at his own discretion, can provide digital simulcasts of soundtracks from virtually any video channel-HBO, Cinemax, Disney, MTV, etc., as well as special events.
This DMX system is not off in the future, like such things as Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB) or Direct Satellite Broadcasting. Actually, the DMX service has been available for some time and is currently available in some 20 markets with over half a million subscribers, to be gradually expanded to over 20 million through cable companies in the U.S. The local cable companies charge approximately $8 to $9.95 per month for the DMX service and furnishes the subscriber with the DMX digital tuner/decorder. Apparently, in my area, the cable company is about to offer the DMX service. (This is a fairly progressive company in that they have proposed rewiring their system with fiber optic cable and should be entirely shifted to the fiber optics by 1993.) When the DMX service is available to me, I plan to use it. While I have a great many Compact Discs, most of them classical, once in a while it would be nice to listen to some jazz, swing, or big band music!
(adapted from Audio magazine, Nov. 1991; Bert Whyte)
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