Stereo Or Mono? Decide!
Earlier this week, a very nice thing happened: Altrok Radio was a front-page recommeded web station at Live365. Lots of people tuned in, and lots came back over the next couple of days...but then I think I did something that seemed like the right thing to do, but was in fact not anywhere near correct.
First, some background. Normally, Altrok Radio sounds pretty superior, at least as far as sound quality goes. We use MP3Pro for playback at high quality using low bit rates; our normal 64k stereo format sounds really great without an MP3Pro decoder, and with it, it's roughly CD quality.
But I was on a vacation last week, and without ready Internet access, I realized I had to put as much music into my station as I could, so that it'd be less likely that anyone would notice that it was repeating all week. Since mono files take up less space than stereo files, I changed the station so that it played in mono, at 32K (which, believe it or not, sounds as good as 64K stereo, except that it's not in stereo.) You also don't need as fast a connection to listen to it.
When I came back, I decided to wait a bit before switching back to stereo (it's kind of a baroque process, and I was still unpacking.) So on Monday, when my station got the recommendation, I was in mono, and I saw a bigger listenership than I ever had before.
"Well," I thought, "If those new folks liked it in mono, they'll love it in stereo!" And I changed the station to stereo.
...and they all went away.
So the question is: was that dumb? How would you prefer to hear Altrok Radio? With high quality strereo that takes up more of your incoming connection, or in comparable quality mono that may be more convenient for you?
Let me know...use the Feedback button above to pass a comment along.
By the way, it's Eighties Friday today (as it is every week) so here's who you'll hear on today's extravaganza, all day and on into the night...
ABC, APB, Adam and the Ants
The B-52's, Bauhaus, Blondie, The Bluebells, David Bowie, Buzzcocks
The Call, Jim Carroll Band, Chamelions, China Crisis, The Church, The Clash, Combo Audio, The Comsat Angels, Julian Cope, Hugh Cornwell, Elvis Costello, Josie Cotton, Cult Hero, The Cult, The Cure
The Danse Society, Depeche Mode, Devo, Dexy's Midnight Runners, Thomas Dolby, Dramarama, Ian Dury And The Blockheads
Echo & The Bunnymen, The English Beat, The Europeans
The Fabulous Poodles, Figures On A Beach, Fine Young Cannibals, Fishbone, The Flying Lizards, John Foxx
Gang Of Four, General Public, Go-Gos, The Godfathers, Martin Gore, Robert Gorl
Hilary, Hoodoo Gurus, The Hoodoo Gurus, The House Of Love, The Human League
Icehouse, The Icicle Works, Intaferon, Intro, Inxs
The Jam, Japan, Joy Division
Kid Creole & The Coconuts
Leisure Process, Let's Active, Liquid Liquid, Lords Of The New Church, The Lords Of The New Church, Love And Rockets, Lene Lovich
Mad Daddys, Meat Beat Manifesto, Midnight Oil, Ministry, The Mission UK
Ned's Atomic Dustbin, New Order, Nine Inch Nails
The Ocean Blue, Oingo Boingo, Orbital, Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark
Plastic Bertrand, Plimsouls, Polecats, Polyrock, The Pretenders, The Primitives, The Psychedelic Furs
R.E.M., The Ramones, Renegade Soundwave, Stan Ridgeway
The Screaming Blue Messiahs, Secession, Seona Dancing, Pete Shelley, Shriekback, Simple Minds, Siouxsie And The Banshees, The Sisters Of Mercy, Patti Smith, The Smithereens, The Smiths, Spandau Ballet, Sparks, The Specials, Squeeze, The Stranglers, The Style Council, Sugarcubes
Talking Heads, The Teardrop Explodes, The The, They Might Be Giants, Tom Tom Club, Tones On Tail, Translator
U2, Ultravox
Violent Femmes, Visage
The Waitresses, Wire, The Wonder Stuff, The Woodentops
X
Yazoo
First, some background. Normally, Altrok Radio sounds pretty superior, at least as far as sound quality goes. We use MP3Pro for playback at high quality using low bit rates; our normal 64k stereo format sounds really great without an MP3Pro decoder, and with it, it's roughly CD quality.
But I was on a vacation last week, and without ready Internet access, I realized I had to put as much music into my station as I could, so that it'd be less likely that anyone would notice that it was repeating all week. Since mono files take up less space than stereo files, I changed the station so that it played in mono, at 32K (which, believe it or not, sounds as good as 64K stereo, except that it's not in stereo.) You also don't need as fast a connection to listen to it.
When I came back, I decided to wait a bit before switching back to stereo (it's kind of a baroque process, and I was still unpacking.) So on Monday, when my station got the recommendation, I was in mono, and I saw a bigger listenership than I ever had before.
"Well," I thought, "If those new folks liked it in mono, they'll love it in stereo!" And I changed the station to stereo.
...and they all went away.
So the question is: was that dumb? How would you prefer to hear Altrok Radio? With high quality strereo that takes up more of your incoming connection, or in comparable quality mono that may be more convenient for you?
Let me know...use the Feedback button above to pass a comment along.
By the way, it's Eighties Friday today (as it is every week) so here's who you'll hear on today's extravaganza, all day and on into the night...
ABC, APB, Adam and the Ants
The B-52's, Bauhaus, Blondie, The Bluebells, David Bowie, Buzzcocks
The Call, Jim Carroll Band, Chamelions, China Crisis, The Church, The Clash, Combo Audio, The Comsat Angels, Julian Cope, Hugh Cornwell, Elvis Costello, Josie Cotton, Cult Hero, The Cult, The Cure
The Danse Society, Depeche Mode, Devo, Dexy's Midnight Runners, Thomas Dolby, Dramarama, Ian Dury And The Blockheads
Echo & The Bunnymen, The English Beat, The Europeans
The Fabulous Poodles, Figures On A Beach, Fine Young Cannibals, Fishbone, The Flying Lizards, John Foxx
Gang Of Four, General Public, Go-Gos, The Godfathers, Martin Gore, Robert Gorl
Hilary, Hoodoo Gurus, The Hoodoo Gurus, The House Of Love, The Human League
Icehouse, The Icicle Works, Intaferon, Intro, Inxs
The Jam, Japan, Joy Division
Kid Creole & The Coconuts
Leisure Process, Let's Active, Liquid Liquid, Lords Of The New Church, The Lords Of The New Church, Love And Rockets, Lene Lovich
Mad Daddys, Meat Beat Manifesto, Midnight Oil, Ministry, The Mission UK
Ned's Atomic Dustbin, New Order, Nine Inch Nails
The Ocean Blue, Oingo Boingo, Orbital, Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark
Plastic Bertrand, Plimsouls, Polecats, Polyrock, The Pretenders, The Primitives, The Psychedelic Furs
R.E.M., The Ramones, Renegade Soundwave, Stan Ridgeway
The Screaming Blue Messiahs, Secession, Seona Dancing, Pete Shelley, Shriekback, Simple Minds, Siouxsie And The Banshees, The Sisters Of Mercy, Patti Smith, The Smithereens, The Smiths, Spandau Ballet, Sparks, The Specials, Squeeze, The Stranglers, The Style Council, Sugarcubes
Talking Heads, The Teardrop Explodes, The The, They Might Be Giants, Tom Tom Club, Tones On Tail, Translator
U2, Ultravox
Violent Femmes, Visage
The Waitresses, Wire, The Wonder Stuff, The Woodentops
X
Yazoo
posted 8/18/2006 03:13:00 PM
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