commercial broadcaster grade audio?

[BJ radionut]

Hi-Fi is pleasant to listen to when the signal is strong and not suffering from any selective fade. The wider the signal is, the harder it is to keep the sidebands in phase with the carrier. Ever notice how much less selective fade you hear on DX signals when on SSB versus AM? That's a direct result of the signal being half the bandwidth. On AM the problem is even worse because when the carrier is out of phase with the sidebands, the opposing sidebands can cancel each other out.

The military learned this in the 1940's (or earlier) and is why we have the term "military grade audio". It cuts through with intelligible voice because it's narrow. When you double the bandwidth of your transmitted signal, it also takes twice as much power output, to produce the same signal strength.

Well said. Hence the reason SSB communication has dominated every where but CB Band...Military/Amatuer Radio/Marine and even some limited broadcast shortwave stations went to SSB over AM over 60+ years ago.
When the object is to "communicate" over the longest distance, AM mode is actually a disadvantage.
When the object is to sound good in your own headphones, then AM will be your choice.
All the Best
Gary