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Omnia 3FM Settings

K

kj6eo

Hello and thanks for reading my post. I'm trying to set up an Omnia 3FM for a Classic Country/Modern Country format. So far I've been able to get fairly good results for one or the other, but not both. After cranking the knob for two weeks now I'm beginning to think that there isn't any common ground between these two formats. I have a Compellor in front of the 3FM that I currently have set to leveling only (about 12db of gain reduction). Because the Compellor is doing all the gain riding, I disabled the wideband AGC on the 3FM. The 3FM doesn't like to be over driven so I've backed the input gain down to around -7db. Although the AGC on the 3FM is disabled, it's gain parameter still works which I currently have set to +3.0db. I've tried all of the factory presets which didn't provide any common ground between these two formats. In order to get the Modern Country to sound decent, I have to set the High Band X-Over to -4db, and set the Mid Band X-Over to +6db. After that much cranking, when a Classic Country song comes around it sounds horrible. Increasing the Mid Band that much causes peak distortion, so I have to go back and lower the AGC gain until the problem is resolved. I sure would love to fire this format into a couple of prisims and an 8100a. If anyone is running this type of format, I'd certainly appreciate any comments you might have. Especially if you have experience with the 3FM.

Regards,

Bill - GM
KZNQ-LP
Santa Clarita, CA
 
I had similar problems with an Omnia 6. One thing I've learned over the years is that you can overdrive the input to the omnia...even if you follow the recommendations of -12 to -6 on the peak inputs, you'll still overdrive it. I am running a similar format to you, and I wound up having to put an outboard AGC ahead of the omnia to keep the target level going in at about -18 db. This helps in the off-color frequencies present in the older music, while helping to reduce the overall RMS energy going in for the newer stuff. Oddly, I found leaving the AGC enabled on the Omnia while doing this (reducing it to where it's not as aggressive) presents a well rounded, smooth presentation with no distortion or clipping on those frequencies. Daddy's Hands by Holly Dunn, for example, is hard to process in the first place. Cleaned that right up. The only processor that hasn't had the input overload issue is the Omnia 11, and I can't see spending 11k on a processor for a class a station.
 
Hi Zach - Thanks for responding to my post. Evansville eh ... I'm from Paducah, Ky. I've lived most of my live here in the Los Angeles area though. It was obvious that the 3FM wasn't going to do what I wanted. As I previously said, I could EQ for one or the other (Classic Country or Modern Country) but not both. So, I bypassed the 3FM and switched in my backup processors ( 2 Audio Prisims). AHHHHH that nice WARM sound ... how I've missed it so. Were automated, I'm driving the audio chain with a Computer and an M-Audio Delta192 Pro Sound Card. The Prisims were previously set up for AM, so I had to do a little cranking on them to get the sound I wanted. My Compellor 320A is in front of the Prisims and it's set up for leveling only (about 4-6db of gain reduction). What's nice about the Prisims is that I can see the consistency of the leveling from the Compellor on the limiter LEDS. So I used just enough leveling to get the job done. I set the GATE POT at 9 o'clock. I didn't want to over gate the prisims when those Modern Country Songs came along. To my surprise, the Prisims worked wonderfully for both formats. They really produce a wonderful warm sound on the Classic Country stuff. The Modern Country stuff lacked some sparkle, but I have to tell you, it didn't sound bad. It sounded much better than what I've heard on the dial around here (loudness at all cost). We're a new LPFM here in town (KZNQ-LP). We're not on the air yet .. but we're getting close. In the meantime we're on the Internet (http://www.live365.com/stations/kznqfm). I don't have any problems with the two formats on the web stream. The EQ of the M-Audio 192 is so good that I don't even process the web stream. If I had extra money to spend, I get myself an 8100a to replace the prisims. Your suggestions were greatly appreciated.
 
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