Enjoy Radio Paradise? Like Lossless Internet Radio Streams? Read On...

[Redrum]

Jukebox Radio 2 (JB Radio 2, or just JB Radio) https://jb-radio.net/

This was one of my favorite internet radio stations for more than 10 years. Very similar content to what Radio Paradise was years ago. By this I mean that I feel that RP has diverted some focus to world, new, and soundscape music. JB Radio 2 seems more focused (maybe on what I enjoy?) I liked it more than RP over time.

I liked it because it was 320kbps mp3, no commercials, and no talking. Nothing but one song after another. they also go into "themes" where a few consecutive songs will be of similar genre or theme. Quite often you get those "I haven't heard this song in years" or "who is this?" Example - yesterday - Climax Blues Band playing a cover of Spoonful.

At some time last year they said "goodbye". I was bummed. I recently found that they have come back to life!. I have listen for a few days and everything seems the same.

Bonus - they have a FLAC stream! https://www.hiresaudio.online/jb-radio-2/ Unfortunately at this time there is no metadata/image. There are other streams on their website, but I use the tunein stream for general listening as it is 320kbps mp3, and has song information/artwork (so I can get the answer to "who is this?" at a glance).

If you like RP, give it a spin, let me know what you think. If you don't like it at first, give it some time. It really grew on me over time.

Jim

[slartibartfast]

Jukebox Radio 2 (JB Radio 2, or just JB Radio) https://jb-radio.net/

This was one of my favorite internet radio stations for more than 10 years. Very similar content to what Radio Paradise was years ago. By this I mean that I feel that RP has diverted some focus to world, new, and soundscape music. JB Radio 2 seems more focused (maybe on what I enjoy?) I liked it more than RP over time.

I liked it because it was 320kbps mp3, no commercials, and no talking. Nothing but one song after another. they also go into "themes" where a few consecutive songs will be of similar genre or theme. Quite often you get those "I haven't heard this song in years" or "who is this?" Example - yesterday - Climax Blues Band playing a cover of Spoonful.

At some time last year they said "goodbye". I was bummed. I recently found that they have come back to life!. I have listen for a few days and everything seems the same.

Bonus - they have a FLAC stream! https://www.hiresaudio.online/jb-radio-2/ Unfortunately at this time there is no metadata/image. There are other streams on their website, but I use the tunein stream for general listening as it is 320kbps mp3, and has song information/artwork (so I can get the answer to "who is this?" at a glance).

If you like RP, give it a spin, let me know what you think. If you don't like it at first, give it some time. It really grew on me over time.

Jim

Just tried it, first impression was it is very loud even compared to other radio stations.

Sent from my Pixel 3a using Tapatalk

[kidstypike]

Just tried the FLAC stream - plays one track when it ends it crashes the RPi, need to reboot. Happened on 3 consecutive tracks.

[Man in a van]

@Redrum

Thanks Jim

I used to listen quite a lot (I found the Opus to be more reliable than the flac)

will listen some

ronnie

[Redrum]

@slarti - the gain is up there, similar to RP I find. d6jg (jim's) Juke Radio's gain is quite low in comparison

@ktp - sorry, I tried the FLAC for just one song, I usually listen to the 320kbps. I do alot of non critical listening, like on a radio. Per the second link in my post it looks like the FLAC might be in development? I'll try the FLAC today.

Hang in there, it's worth it IMO...

Jim

[kidstypike]

@slarti - the gain is up there, similar to RP I find. d6jg (jim's) Juke Radio's gain is quite low in comparison

@ktp - sorry, I tried the FLAC for just one song, I usually listen to the 320kbps. I do alot of non critical listening, like on a radio. Per the second link in my post it looks like the FLAC might be in development? I'll try the FLAC today.

Hang in there, it's worth it IMO...

Jim

No worries.

Tried the flac stream again, same crash at the end of the track, player kicked of the network.

Mp3 stream seems okay.

[Redrum]

No worries.

Tried the flac stream again, same crash at the end of the track, player kicked of the network.

Mp3 stream seems okay.

yup, flac stream one song - rebuffering 0%, frozen, go back, play again - one song, rebuffering 0%...sigh...

guess it's a work in progress...

Jim

[mamema]

yup, flac stream one song - rebuffering 0%, frozen, go back, play again - one song, rebuffering 0%...sigh...

guess it's a work in progress...

Jim

same with aac stream here.... seems only mp3 is working... well... no!

[slartibartfast]

same with aac stream here.... seems only mp3 is working... well... no!

aac stream works ok for me.

Sent from my Pixel 3a using Tapatalk

[slartibartfast]

@slarti - the gain is up there, similar to RP I find. d6jg (jim's) Juke Radio's gain is quite low in comparison

@ktp - sorry, I tried the FLAC for just one song, I usually listen to the 320kbps. I do alot of non critical listening, like on a radio. Per the second link in my post it looks like the FLAC might be in development? I'll try the FLAC today.

Hang in there, it's worth it IMO...

Jim

The waveform looks brickwalled compared to Radio Paradise. The first half of this waveform is Janis Joplin from JB Radio, the second half is Peter Gabriel Solsbury Hill from Radio Paradise.

[ian_heys]

In the same vane I've been listening to Czech Radio's flac streams classical and jazz. (there are several others)

CRo ran an experimental classical flac station for years which disappeared a couple of years ago.

Now it's back on a more formal basis;

<outline URL="http://amp.cesnet.cz:8000/cro-d-dur.flac" icon="html/images/radio.png" text="CRo Classical D-Dur - CZ - FLAC" type="audio" />
<outline URL="http://amp.cesnet.cz:8000/cro-jazz.flac" icon="html/images/radio.png" text="CRo Jazz - CZ - FLAC" type="audio" />

There are occasional very short bursts of speech between tracks on both stations, but it it is very limited.

Their web site has meta data and it would be great if someone who knows what they're doing could create a plugin, but understand it may not have sufficient following to warrant the effort.

[Paul Webster]

In the same vane I've been listening to Czech Radio's flac streams classical and jazz. (there are several others)

Just for fun ... I have added the Jazz flac station to my beta RadioNowPlaying plugin.

They do not always show artwork.

For now it has a basic logo that is not specific to the station because I will have to craft one as a .png/.jpg from their .svg

So users of my beta plugin via the Juke Radio testing will see it version 0.0.5i

I still have to make too many edits to the Perl source to include a new station group so I still consider this to be early days for the beta.

[Redrum]

The waveform looks brickwalled compared to Radio Paradise. The first half of this waveform is Janis Joplin from JB Radio, the second half is Peter Gabriel Solsbury Hill from Radio Paradise.

I'll say...

I never really noticed, I just felt that the gain wasn't low, like some stations. When I would turn it on, especially on nice kit (as compared to say a radio or boom), I would think "this sounds good!". I guess I am a sucker for the perception that louder sounds better .

Janis and Peter do sound different Which Janis song?

There are different definitions of brickwalled, are you saying you think they are limiting, compressing the dynamic range? I can't say I hear it, but my ears have alot of years on them, and maybe I am not listening for it,

I would be interested in what a waveform looks like for say a Van morrison, Ray Lamontagne, even older less dynamic, like Moody Blues.

I listen to this station on good equipment quite a bit and always think it sounds good, like RP. I has always attributed it to the higher bitrate than the typical 128kbps of alot of other stations.

Very interesting...

Jim

PS - There is another radio station that I have alweays thought "sounds hot" (the audio signal) - Planet Pootwaddle https://planetpootwaddle.com/ wonder how this compares..

[slartibartfast]

I'll say...

I never really noticed, I just felt that the gain wasn't low, like some stations. When I would turn it on, especially on nice kit (as compared to say a radio or boom), I would think "this sounds good!". I guess I am a sucker for the perception that louder sounds better .

Janis and Peter do sound different Which Janis song?

There are different definitions of brickwalled, are you saying you think they are limiting, compressing the dynamic range? I can't say I hear it, but my ears have alot of years on them, and maybe I am not listening for it,

I would be interested in what a waveform looks like for say a Van morrison, Ray Lamontagne, even older less dynamic, like Moody Blues.

I listen to this station on good equipment quite a bit and always think it sounds good, like RP. I has always attributed it to the higher bitrate than the typical 128kbps of alot of other stations.

Very interesting...

Jim

PS - There is another radio station that I have alweays thought "sounds hot" (the audio signal) - Planet Pootwaddle https://planetpootwaddle.com/ wonder how this compares..

The Janis Joplin track was Cry Baby. Comparing two different tracks wasn't really a fair test so I compared Small Faces - Itchycoo Park from JB Radio to my own CD rip of the same song. I also compared Radiohead - Decks Dark from Radio Paradise to my CD rip. I think the waveforms speak for themselves
First image is Radio Paradise vs CD, second is JB Radio vs CD.

[garym]

Is JBRadio the top or bottom section of the second graph?