Audio Quality and Coverage
Much debate about whether digital audio quality is better than FM analog has gone on over the years. The diagram below is a commonly used reference for analog and digital coverage.
While audio quality can be subjective to a user's historical experience, the noise suppression characteristics of digital radio is superior to FM analog, and as with CD's versus LP's, it will soon be safe to say “gone are the days of that analog background noise”.
Comments about “improved” coverage need to be considered carefully. The perceived gain in coverage is as the diagram shows, based on the distance a signal is able to be clearly understood or heard, within the RF signal footprint. In the case of NXDN™ versus FM analog, total RF coverage is at minimum the same, however, experience from the field indicates that the NXDN™ signal in many cases provides a wider footprint than analog.
For more details on specific equipment technical specifications, refer to the respective manufacturer's product data.
