Mono on FM? Only in an emergency, in my opinion.
We have a mono output on our board that goes to the transmitter room just in case we need it. Our stereo feed is our primary signal source to AM and FM. Although our AM is in mono we use a small mixer to combine left and right.
When I returned to KRFE after so many years I found out that previous engineers told management that “talk radio doesn’t need stereo because no one will notice.” Even the stream audio was a left channel sample split to left and right stream! I also couldn’t find a lot of equipment that was on the old station inventory lists. Maybe our stereo equipment found better use in other stations?
Our network shows are in glorious stereo so we will utilize it to the fullest and yes, you can tell a difference. Dana Loesch sounds remarkable in proper stereo.
Technology isn’t an issue with us as long as our listeners are happy. And stereo talk radio sounds great in vehicles and in homes.
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