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AM radio is long gone in Europe, in Italy the last stations did shut down years ago. The audio quality of AM is too low for any practical use, and didn't evolve

AM radio is long gone in Europe, in Italy the last stations did shut down years ago. The audio quality of AM is too low for any practical use, and didn't evolve in the years, such as implement stereo transmissions. FM is much better, it can provide decent quality with stereo sound. Even FM will not probably be still around for much longer, even if I'm not in favour to the transition to DAB radio since I like vintage Hi-Fi systems in the end it will be abandoned, transmitting with digital is much cheaper since you need less power for a similar coverage and you can multiplex more stations in a single frequency.

kgwgk 4y ago
> AM radio is long gone in Europe Still alive in Spain.
rpep 4y ago
In the U.K. it’s still used to broadcast some national BBC stations (BBC R5 Live, BBC Asian Network) that aren’t available on FM and in some more areas it’s used to broadcast stations that are also on FM (BBC R4). They still also operate some LW! https://www.bbc.co.uk/reception/help-guides/fmmwlw-radio/fm-and-am-radio-frequencies https://www.bbc.co.uk/reception/help-guides/fmmwlw-radio/fm-... Until two weeks ago I used to listen to Absolute Radio in my car over MW but they shut it down.
parasubvert 4y ago
AM is everywhere in North America. News/sports/traffic/weather in particular. So it is still practical. AM Stereo even was thing since the late 80s, just required a receiver.
Johnythree 4y ago
The issue about AM being low quality is a bit misleading... In Europe the audio bandwidth of AM is almost the same as FM, especially with the BBC stations. And likewise in Australia, the gov ABC stations still transmit high quality audio on AM BC. The problem is that most cheap radios were designed for the USA market, where most AM channels broadcast talk shows, and so their receivers are fitted with narrow IF filters. The proof of this of course is to listen to any decent radio which has a narrow/wide switch. Back in the day, the hobbyist magazines would often publish designs for HiFi AM receivers. And many of the modern SDR receivers have a selection of IF filters which can sound quite amazing on AM. There are even a few stations still transmitting Stereo AM, and most of those sound as good as FM on a decent receiver.

kgwgk 4y ago

> AM radio is long gone in Europe Still alive in Spain.

rpep 4y ago

In the U.K. it’s still used to broadcast some national BBC stations (BBC R5 Live, BBC Asian Network) that aren’t available on FM and in some more areas it’s used to broadcast stations that are also on FM (BBC R4). They still also operate some LW! https://www.bbc.co.uk/reception/help-guides/fmmwlw-radio/fm-and-am-radio-frequencies https://www.bbc.co.uk/reception/help-guides/fmmwlw-radio/fm-... Until two weeks ago I used to listen to Absolute Radio in my car over MW but they shut it down.

parasubvert 4y ago

AM is everywhere in North America. News/sports/traffic/weather in particular. So it is still practical. AM Stereo even was thing since the late 80s, just required a receiver.

Johnythree 4y ago

The issue about AM being low quality is a bit misleading... In Europe the audio bandwidth of AM is almost the same as FM, especially with the BBC stations. And likewise in Australia, the gov ABC stations still transmit high quality audio on AM BC. The problem is that most cheap radios were designed for the USA market, where most AM channels broadcast talk shows, and so their receivers are fitted with narrow IF filters. The proof of this of course is to listen to any decent radio which has a narrow/wide switch. Back in the day, the hobbyist magazines would often publish designs for HiFi AM receivers. And many of the modern SDR receivers have a selection of IF filters which can sound quite amazing on AM. There are even a few stations still transmitting Stereo AM, and most of those sound as good as FM on a decent receiver.