Station's new space provides the sounds of silence

The folks at 89.7 FM, the radio side of WGBH, also speak highly of the new building.

"The room itself is so quiet," says audio engineer Jane Pipik, who is sitting behind the broad console of the new digital mastering suite, where rows of controls are topped by computer terminals. Music plays as Pipik moves a computer mouse, and the audio waves of the recorded concert appear as graphic peaks and valleys.

Although a huge window looks out onto busy Market Street, only music can be heard. "I just saw a fire truck go by," she says. "The lights were on, but I heard nothing."

But perhaps the most significant development in the new building is the move from an analog to digital system.

"With all the digital consoles throughout the facility, there are an incredible amount of things you can do," says John Voci, director of radio stations. "You could have an ensemble in, and you could do all your settings on the console and then save all those settings. You could then set up another very different ensemble and save all of those settings, multiple times."

In addition, says Pipik, because of the nature of digital electronics, engineers can work on sound files without translating or copying them. The signal, she explains, "never leaves the digital realm so the quality is so much better. So the quality that 'GBH can provide to its listeners has gone up tremendously."

She also notes the ease in sharing digital files. "All the producers upstairs can send me stuff," she explains. "It's just so fluid and easy and intuitive with this. In the old days, you'd grab the mouse and drag things around. This is my second day on it, and I'm already flying faster than I ever did in the old rooms."

CLEA SIMON