Re: modifacation Optimod 8100A
I have unpotted all the black modules from the 8100a,and the xt2.
Also i have done some careful upgrade/modifications over the years with great sucess.
Also i have unpotted the "Mr gibbs" module from the Unity 2000 processor.
Carefully unpotting these modules took a very long time!
The 8100a and xt2 limiter is a superb design,especially given the age.
If using the prisms before a 8100a,i much prefer using the Rcf card 5,but the prisms do require an agc before them,to keep them in a sweet spot.
I tried out the Cobalt blue card,that glen made,but that was way too agressive,it made the rcf card look like a slow agc,by comparason!
On the xt2 limiter i made a mod that required band 6 limiter control to be put back,as in the xt,but with modifications.
This made band 6 limit no more than band 5,but band 6 can release independantly from band 5.
This mod means that dull material,on band 6,would limit less than band 5,and harsh upper vocals that would sometimes limit band 5 would not limit band 6 to the same degree.
On bright material,band 6 would simply limit to the same as band 5(as in the xt2).
With various other mods on my 8100a/xt2,this setup is louder than my 8200 optimod,for the same amount of distortion.
The 8100a/xt2 and the 8200 have different sonic characters,but the 8100a/xt2 does not push the midrange/vocal back with music,like the 8200!
The 8100a/xt2 i find more listenable over time,than the 8200.
Cyberseb,you were asking for a card 0,i myself removed mine,and instead set the safety clippers to clip at the same level as the overshoot compensators differential clipper.
This in effect tightens up the safety clipper by 1 db,this was also mentioned in the xt manual for max loudness.
As here in the UK we do not use sca,this works fine when using rds.
As for doing this compared to using the card 0(which gives the same loudness),i find no difference on audio quality,on my tuner.