Topic: Taping Radio VS FM internet

[SpareRibs]

I like to tape music from a local radio station but they also broadcast their show on the internet too.
If I tape off the internet from the headphone jack of the speakers with my Hi MD recorder, will the sound be better than just taping from the headphone jack of my FM tuner?

The reason I ask is because I've heard that the sound quality decreases a bit once it hits the airwaves. So would internet feed be better?

I will be getting the Verizon DSL soon, the $14.95 month special if that helps with answers.

[deadhoarse]

I like to tape music from a local radio station but they also broadcast their show on the internet too.
If I tape off the internet from the headphone jack of the speakers with my Hi MD recorder, will the sound be better than just taping from the headphone jack of my FM tuner?

The reason I ask is because I've heard that the sound quality decreases a bit once it hits the airwaves. So would internet feed be better?

I will be getting the Verizon DSL soon, the $14.95 month special if that helps with answers.

What format are they broadcasting in on the web?  It's most likely a crappy RealAudio stream, so don't bother.  Also, use the line out jack on your computer and radio instead of the headphone jack.  The headphone jack will always be noisier than the line out.

[zowie]

If you're going to record streaming audio, that's the wrong way.  You would be going D/A, through an analogue amp, through an analogue cable, and then back A/D in the recorder.  Total Audio Recorder and similar products will record the stream digitally to your hard drive in wave or any of several other format, yielding much better quality (as well as more convenience).

Internet feeds are compressed.  Some are highly compressed, like to 20kbps and sound absolutely awful.  Some that are at 128kbps or higher sound pretty decent, while others do not; there are more factors at play than simply the data rate.  The quality varies by a very wide margin among streams.

A good FM transmission on a good tuner sounds much better than any internet stream I've ever heard.  However, a bad FM transmission on a good tuner, or any transmission on a sufficiently crappy tuner, may not sound better than a good quality stream.  Although I have a nice tuner, there are a couple of syndicated shows that I listen to or record from an internet stream because I don't get very good reception of the local station that broadcasts them.

[bconnolly]

It really depends on the stream.  KEXP in Seattle broadcasts their live shows to premium members at 1.4 megabits per second, so that should be a nicer source than regular FM.  I don't know if any other radio stations do this, but such streams do exist.

[cpatch]

Check this out as another possibility:

http://www.griffintechnology.com/products/radioshark/index.php

Craig

[ellaguru]

Check this out as another possibility:

http://www.griffintechnology.com/products/radioshark/index.php

Craig

damn, i may have to get one of those...very cool device

cr

[zowie]

It's been out for a year or two.  At that price and from that company, I am dubious its sound quality.  But I have not heard it.