About “Radio” Sound

When you hear a disk on the radio, the emitted sound is not the same as the one on the CD.

As a matter of fact, radios adjust the CD’s sound in order to broadcast with maximum volume.

Multi-band compression (notably with Orban or Aphex devices) is the main tool used.

The goal is to indulge the listener’s ear right away so that they do not change channels.

On the flip side*, over-compression distorts the sound and damages its quality.

Therefore, if you hope to hear your song on the radio someday, it is absolutely necessary that your CD has not already been adjusted for the radio.

Otherwise, the broadcast music will have undergone the same processing twice.

Pay attention to the hi-fi stereos or to recent televisions, which have a processor before their amplifier. This adds harmony to the sound.

The goal is to give the impression of the bass, which small speakers cannot actually reproduce.

This psycho-acoustic principal, called the “missing fundamental,” disturbs the training of an objective ear.