Software to Improve the Sound of Internet Radio?

Posted by: Kendrick on 10 June 2014

Has anyone tried improving the sound quality of Internet radio by using a software music player? I didn’t know such a thing was possible until reading an online article today about Channel D’s Pure Music feature called “Play Thru”.  Sonic Studio has announced a similar feature in Amarra 3.0 called SQ, that is said to improve internet radio sound.   I listen to a lot of internet radio on a W4S modified Sonos and would interested in knowing if these software applications work as intended before switching to a Mac Mini.   

Posted on: 10 June 2014 by garyi

I can't think what its going to do to improve 128k stream etc you can't put anything in. I guess it would be like trying to improve a crappy jpeg with smoothing which although removing the grain does not leave anything like the original picture.

 

That being said this is pure speculation on my part.

Posted on: 10 June 2014 by Bart
Originally Posted by garyi:

I can't think what its going to do to improve 128k stream etc you can't put anything in. I guess it would be like trying to improve a crappy jpeg with smoothing which although removing the grain does not leave anything like the original picture.

 

That being said this is pure speculation on my part.

I'm guessing that it can't be much more than an equalizer.  You can't squeeze blood from a rock.

Posted on: 11 June 2014 by Kendrick

Of course low quality music sources are not likely to sound better with some "magic" software.  But higher quality lossless music from Qobuz, or even Spotify at 320K, may sound better when played with Amara 3.0 or Pure Music (play-thru mode).  I have no experience with either but try to keep an open mind on such things.  

 

The Amara software 3.0 is scheduled to be released in a week or two.  This new Amara software includes a feature called "sQ" that is supposed to enhance the quality of experience for all Internet content services.  Pure Music offers something similar with it's "play-thru" mode, or so I've read on Digital Audio Review online magazine.  

 

  

Posted on: 12 June 2014 by Clive B
I realise we've tended to drift away from the Ivor Tiefenbrun source-first logic of late, but it's basically sound. Garbage in means garbage out. You can mould the signal as much as you like, but if you start out with a lousy signal you just end up with a moulded (or should that be mouldy?) lousy signal.

Buy a Naim FM tuner and enjoy the magic that hides therein. As I said in my last post, the NAT01must be Naim's best kept secret.
Posted on: 12 June 2014 by sheffieldgraham
Originally Posted by Clive B:
I realise we've tended to drift away from the Ivor Tiefenbrun source-first logic of late, but it's basically sound. Garbage in means garbage out. You can mould the signal as much as you like, but if you start out with a lousy signal you just end up with a moulded (or should that be mouldy?) lousy signal.

Buy a Naim FM tuner and enjoy the magic that hides therein. As I said in my last post, the NAT01must be Naim's best kept secret.

Not so much a secret as finding someone to part with one I think. 

Posted on: 12 June 2014 by Bart

Where I live, and in perhaps most of the States, the content available on FM radio is pretty dismal. At least here in Boston we do have one good classical radio station.