A novel technique of Phase Randomization (PR) for bit rate reduction in perceptual coding of high quality audio is presented. Instead of actual phase information, the decoder utilizes nevertheless?carefully?formulated `random' phase information for signal reconstruction with the help of a code sent by the encoder in every frame of data. The coding scheme is tested on the Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB) Standard, for which broadcasters often desire an increase in the number of transmission channels for densely populated areas. The codec achieves the aim of providing good quality audio at a reduced bitrate assessed with the help of ITU-R BS. 1116 methodology for the subjective assessment of audio quality.