Sound and setup

Bitrate, buffering, data, devices — the practical questions.

• Radio Audio Quality Explained: Bitrate, AAC vs MP3, and What 320kbps Means — What bitrate means for radio streams, how AAC compares to MP3, and when 320kbps is genuinely worth it — explained without the jargon.
• How Much Data Does Internet Radio Use? (With Real Numbers) — Internet radio data usage in real numbers: around 58 MB per hour at 128kbps. See the full table by bitrate, plus easy ways to use less.
• How to Get Better Sound from Radio Streams (EQ, Bitrate, Headphones) — Practical ways to make radio streams sound better: pick higher bitrates, set your EQ properly, and choose headphones that suit live radio.
• Why Your Radio Stream Keeps Buffering (and How to Fix It) — Radio stream keeps cutting out? Work through this 10-minute checklist — connection, browser, bitrate and station-side fixes that actually help.
• Why Some Radio Stations Aren't Available in Your Country — Some radio stations can't be heard everywhere due to licensing. Here's why geo-restrictions exist and how to find stations that stream freely to you.
• What 320kbps Actually Sounds Like (And When You'll Hear the Difference) — What 320kbps audio actually sounds like, when the difference from 128kbps is audible, and when it honestly isn't. A no-hype guide to radio stream quality.
• How to Listen to Internet Radio on a Smart Speaker — How to get internet radio playing on Alexa, Google Home, or Sonos — via Bluetooth, casting, or voice commands — and what to know before you start.
• How to Listen to Internet Radio in the Car — How to play internet radio in your car using Bluetooth, an aux cable, or your phone's speaker — plus what to know about CarPlay and Android Auto.
• 72FM Keyboard Shortcuts and Power-User Tips — The confirmed 72FM keyboard shortcuts — including the Cmd/Ctrl+K search shortcut — plus power-user habits for faster discovery, browsing, and daily listening.
• How to Play Internet Radio Through Your TV or Hi-Fi — How to play internet radio through your TV or hi-fi system using screen mirroring, casting, or a simple audio cable — plus tips for the best sound quality.
• Listening Across Devices: How Cross-Device Sync Works on 72FM — How 72FM's cross-device sync — free with an account — keeps your favourites and history consistent across phone, laptop, and tablet, with no manual setup.
• How to Listen to the Radio on a Laptop or PC — Windows dropped its radio app and macOS never had one. How to listen on a laptop in five seconds, make it behave like an app, and fix a stream that will not play.
• Radio on Your Phone: iPhone and Android — Your phone already has the only radio app it needs. Playing with the screen off, what it costs in data and battery, the car, and why a stream sometimes refuses to start.
• Headphones for Long Radio Listening — Radio runs for hours and arrives compressed, which changes what is worth paying for. Comfort, open versus closed, wired versus wireless, and what to skip.
• Speakers for Radio: Desk, Kitchen and Living Room — Radio was built for a speaker. What it actually needs from one, the right kind for a desk, a kitchen and a living room, and the free fixes worth doing first.
• Wi-Fi Internet Radios: What to Buy, and What to Avoid — What a Wi-Fi internet radio is, the features that keep one working for years, the kinds worth buying for a kitchen, a living room or a relative, and when to skip it.
• How to Find a Radio Station's Stream URL (and Use It in VLC or an M3U Playlist) — Find any radio station's direct stream URL, play it in VLC or on a Wi-Fi radio, build your own M3U or PLS playlist, and fix a stream address that stopped working.
• Radio Alarm Clocks: Waking Up to a Station That Actually Starts — DAB, FM and Wi-Fi clock radios, wake-up lights and smart speakers: what to look for in a radio alarm, why a backup tone matters, and whether a phone can do it.
• Radio for Older Listeners: Simple Set-Ups, Familiar Voices, and Dementia-Friendly Listening — Setting up radio for an older relative: simple radios with big buttons, help for hearing loss, the stations that matter, and gentle listening with dementia.
• Kitchen and Shower Radios: Splashes, Steam and Wet Hands — What a kitchen radio and a shower radio really need: splash and IPX ratings, battery power, big buttons, under-cabinet mounting, and phone-plus-speaker set-ups.
• Playing the Radio at Work or in a Shop: Do You Need a Licence? — Why playing the radio in an office, shop or café usually needs a music licence: TheMusicLicence in the UK, the US small-business exemption, and other countries.
• How to Listen to Radio on an Amazon Fire Tablet or Fire TV — Listen to live radio on an Amazon Fire tablet, Fire TV or Echo Show: the Silk browser with no app, Alexa, Appstore radio apps, and keeping it playing.
• How to Listen to Radio on a Smart TV: Samsung, LG, Roku and Google TV — Play live radio on your TV: the Samsung Internet and LG Web Browser apps, AirPlay and mirroring for Roku, casting to Google TV, and keeping the radio on.

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