-
Get involved.
We want your input!
Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.
After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.
After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/
Thanks in advance and have fun!
RadioDiscussions Administrators
Omnia 11 first impressions
- Thread starter WNTIRadio
- Start date
Wow, in the old days someone would be shot! 
Most engineers have little time to fool around with processing to the point it is such a super secret.
With that being said, the word on the street is the Omnia is a game changer. The breakaway box coming to NAB is also rumored to be a leap and bound ahead of anything out there right now. I had a chance to listen to an 8600 being tested in market #25. The high end has been opened up quite a bit. It was noticeable on most material, but the typical Optimod signature remains.
Most engineers have little time to fool around with processing to the point it is such a super secret. With that being said, the word on the street is the Omnia is a game changer. The breakaway box coming to NAB is also rumored to be a leap and bound ahead of anything out there right now. I had a chance to listen to an 8600 being tested in market #25. The high end has been opened up quite a bit. It was noticeable on most material, but the typical Optimod signature remains.
PaulyBoy said:
PaulyBoy said:
Look, I don't know Mike Erickson as I don't think he has ever worked in NJ. I just asked a simple question as all you seem to do is come on here and talk about Omnia. I think the question is valid since you are part of the thread about this new product and defend it like it's your lifeblood.
I'm not saying its a bad product. I just liked the sound of another box better than what I heard on WPLJ. I also like the way the 8500 on WKXW sounds and the way the Omnia 6 sounds on WMGQ.
Just a personal observation. Nothing more, nothing less....
Turnpike Tuner said:
Well, the thread IS called Omnia 11 first impressions!
I think the Omnia 11 has been somewhat mysterious for a while, and now that it seems to be spreading, I think many are interested in what the actual performance sounds like in a real world situation. It has been quite a while since Omnia came out with a brand new high end box. The Omnia 6 held its own for years and years, and I think people are anxious to hear this next step.
And really, even if it is known what box is on a particular station, it's no longer like what was literally "behind the curtain" at Z-100. Two people could take the same processor, and get two different results. Sure, each has their own sonic signature, but a talented set of ears can make it sound like they want it to.
I will say that the Orban boxes have a stronger sonic signature than the other brands out there. The Omnia 11 can be very flexible. As I've had a chance to really dig in to the controls, there is the ability to create quite a varied sonic palette. It would be a good box for a multi-format station, like a non-comm that runs different music during different dayparts. You really could change it to suit the music.
I had an 8500 in 30 day evaluation mode, and my issue was that it always had a bit of the Orban sound attached to it no matter how much I tried to open things up. The high end was a bit constrained. I like the Orban sound, but it wasn't going to fit with the project at hand. I'd like to hear the 8600, but to me it seems (right now) like an 8500 with more high end headroom, since the dynamics section remains basically the same. But, as Bob had said somewhere else here, there's a lot more DSP in the new box so I'm sure there will be other improvements coming. Version 1 is only the beginning for all of these amazing works of engineering.
I'd also like to sample the Air Aura as well, and of course the new Breakaway hardware box.
Let's all take a step back and look at where the technology has taken things. Look up and listen to the WYNY airchecks from 1981-1982 and listen to what was on the air then. The pumping, loss of highs, a flat thud that passed as bass and of course all the noise from the carts and lp's. Now we can split hairs over .02% distortion or 1dB of HF headroom. It's a good problem to have. And hats off to all of the engineers that had to "home brew" and kludge together various pieces to get one step closer to better audio. Hell, the Omnia 11 is the result of the long road from an elaborate kludge (the Vigilante). And Bob solved the preemphasis/overshoot problem. I could go on and on, and there are sure a lot more names on the list than Frank or Bob...
I will say that the Orban boxes have a stronger sonic signature than the other brands out there. The Omnia 11 can be very flexible. As I've had a chance to really dig in to the controls, there is the ability to create quite a varied sonic palette. It would be a good box for a multi-format station, like a non-comm that runs different music during different dayparts. You really could change it to suit the music.
I had an 8500 in 30 day evaluation mode, and my issue was that it always had a bit of the Orban sound attached to it no matter how much I tried to open things up. The high end was a bit constrained. I like the Orban sound, but it wasn't going to fit with the project at hand. I'd like to hear the 8600, but to me it seems (right now) like an 8500 with more high end headroom, since the dynamics section remains basically the same. But, as Bob had said somewhere else here, there's a lot more DSP in the new box so I'm sure there will be other improvements coming. Version 1 is only the beginning for all of these amazing works of engineering.
I'd also like to sample the Air Aura as well, and of course the new Breakaway hardware box.
Let's all take a step back and look at where the technology has taken things. Look up and listen to the WYNY airchecks from 1981-1982 and listen to what was on the air then. The pumping, loss of highs, a flat thud that passed as bass and of course all the noise from the carts and lp's. Now we can split hairs over .02% distortion or 1dB of HF headroom. It's a good problem to have. And hats off to all of the engineers that had to "home brew" and kludge together various pieces to get one step closer to better audio. Hell, the Omnia 11 is the result of the long road from an elaborate kludge (the Vigilante). And Bob solved the preemphasis/overshoot problem. I could go on and on, and there are sure a lot more names on the list than Frank or Bob...
B
BabyDJ
Guest
WNTIRadio said:
Alot of people love that sound. It's nearly impossible to square wave an Optimod. I'm still split on the pre-emphasis location. That was the bread and butter of the 8000 and 8100 to control pre-emphasis which was long a plague of FM broadcast, but it can make the highs sound restricted and lacking in details. But there are engineers who like that "never have to worry about splatter" sound... and for a company that was largely a purist company with the 8000 and 8100, the fact that Optimod basically re-equalizes everything to create a consistent sonic texture is a 180.
fm-engineer said:Wow, in the old days someone would be shot!
With that being said, the word on the street is the Omnia is a game changer. The breakaway box coming to NAB is also rumored to be a leap and bound ahead of anything out there right now. I had a chance to listen to an 8600 being tested in market #25. The high end has been opened up quite a bit. It was noticeable on most material, but the typical Optimod signature remains.
Well, at least more than one is being tested in the market right now...
Actually I believe WMGQ is using an Optimod. I noticed their audio cuts off sharply at 15.5 kHz on an audio spectrum graph, just like WKXW and other stations which are confirmed to be using 8500s, whereas the O6's audio extends slightly above 16 kHz before rolling off. (This is by no means a scientific proof, but it does give me a little clue as to who's using what.)Turnpike Tuner said:
I do recall not too long ago that Bob and Frank were arguing about whether or not it was important to have a 15 kHz FM audio brickwall filter steep enough to pass the audio through a 32 kHz-sampled STL without overshoot. Bob said it was, Frank said it wasn't -- thus explaining the steeper slope of Orban's brickwall filter. (But maybe that has changed with the 8600; I'm not priveleged enough to have one to test.)Goran Tomas said:
Starting with the 8500, the filter is out to 16.5 kHz, and can overshoot on 32 kHz STL's and Exciters (Digit). Digital folding occurs when the audio bandwidth exceeds the Nyquist frequency. Digit = Fail, on all modern audio processors except the 8200 and 8400 when using the digital input.
satech said:
Bob taught us all about radio processing, and how it hits the ear. Frank was a student. Orban is the pioneer and originator. I think Orbans are a but easier to set up when taken out of the box.
L
LewFowler
Guest
Les Hollister said:
Not anymore.
On their website, Omnia say they test the 11 using Kelly Clarkson because of you. In New Zealand we had another song by a kiwi artist with a similar "frying". It's 'waiting now' by Opshop. It's available on iTunes and I encourage those with the 11 and 8600 to run it through the processors and let me know how they go. The intro was a killer on almost every station it played on
I had a read of the new Omnia 11 manual. I think all the crap in the front of those is cringe material. Who wants to hear the creator brag about how amazing their own product is? "We chuckle when we see our technical developments show up on the spec sheet of other guys products". The ability to sync bands together. I wonder if anyone else chuckled at this? There's pride in your work then there's arrogance.
Great processors, just need new a control to reduce gain to the self importance
Great processors, just need new a control to reduce gain to the self importance
Now that's funny.Good old trade puffery and if you can't dazzle them with brillance,baffle them with BS.
L
LewFowler
Guest
Who rubbed you guys the wrong way? I see lots of self-serving comments by the other processor guys, some of it a little far-fetched.
- Status