Optimod 8100 Lesson

[Groove1670]

I looked at several 8100's with tech confusion. ;D

1. The zero card. Does this replace the optional XT processor. If not, what is the difference in sound using both or just one or any combination.

2. The accessory port on the 8100. Is this for the XT. If the 8100 does not have a port. can you still hook up the XT2.

3. Audio prisms. Do you need a special modification on the 8100 to use them, of acn you them up directly to the 8100 input. It seems at one time a saw prism card for the 8100.

4. Any other cards that were made for the 8100 other than stock cards. Thanks.

5. Last, but not least, how does the 8100 (opinions) stack up to the processors of today.

 

[TomT]

1. The zero card was used to filter anything above the stereo sub-carrier. Theory was it would allow more modulation, especially if the station ran 67/92 khz SCA's

2. Generally the accessory port was for the XT, and, yes, you can add one to a stock 8100 without one. Requires some soldering to the motherboard.

The XT derives its power from the 8100, and there are control voltages going between the two boxes. Also, in order to add an XT chassis, certain cards in the 8100 must be compatible with the XT and there are certain jumpers on those cards that need to be changed. This is all detailed in the manual for the XT which is on-line at Orban.com

3. There were sixteen thousand various schemes to mesh outboard boxes with the 8100. Usually the 3 and 4 cards were changed to "dummy" cards with just a buffer amp. There were various cards made to replace the #5 card as well, Texar was one of the outfits that provided a replacement #5 card and faceplate (since their card had an extra switch or something that didn't match up with the original faceplate).

4. I have, someplace, a DBX card (I believe) to replace the 3 and 4 cards.

5. If you have an 8100, put it one E-bay, and use the proceeds for a down-payment on an Omnia One. You will be much happier.

 

[OKCRadioGuy]

Good advice. At this point it would serve you
Better to buy a One and retire the old technology. The prices people will still pay for an 8100 is more than it should be IMHO.

 

[Kmagrill]

It's really true. You can sell a fully operational 8100 for over $1500. For the same money you can buy a BW DSPX mini and get a lot more processing power.

 

[TomZ]

Who was-it sang: "come on grab the money and run"?

 

[Parasound]

Good advice. At this point it would serve you
Better to buy a One and retire the old technology. The prices people will still pay for an 8100 is more than it should be IMHO.

If you Really want to retire the old technology, then choose the optimod 5500

 

[oldiesstation]

High rated AC,monster billing,,top 30 market,still runs 8100/xt.Could afford a truck load of any of the new boxes.Easily holds it's own,much more musical sounding..Beam me up Scotty.....

 

[chriscollins]

Good advice. At this point it would serve you
Better to buy a One and retire the old technology. The prices people will still pay for an 8100 is more than it should be IMHO.

If you Really want to retire the old technology, then choose the optimod 5500

I will give a +1 on the 5500 on me. It was shocking how well it sounds against my 8300.

 

[OKCRadioGuy]

I have a station that still runs the XT. I agree, if operating properly, it does sound super nice. The trick is first having an XT opposed to just the bare 8100 only, and having one that's in great shape. Otherwise the best approach these days for those that don't have a lot of extra budget to spend is to go with the Omnia One or something like it to get competive again within a budget. The new Orbans do sound VERY nice. We have one of them in this market. I personally would rather listen to that station than others running Omnia 6 units. I suppose most of these boxes can be taylored a lot, but for the most part I like the open sound of the Optimod much more than the Omnia product. It's just that the price of the Omnia One vs. the affordablity really makes it winner for many out there.

 

[oldiesstation]

The combo i mentioned has been updated with new opamps,caps,ps,as has the xt.it's so smooth and open.I like the optimod sound but have used many brands including 8500 and 6exi.Ran the 8500 in 2 band mode on classic hits.The BW Mini SE gets mentioned frequently.For 1500.00 retail it's a steal and sounds amazing(good work,Goran)..That's the deal of the day.You guys need to demo one.

 

[rorban]

If you like the specifics of the 8100/XT2 sound texture, you can get closer with a DSP-based Optimod than with other brands because there is still some "XT DNA" in our current DSP-based product line.

Bob Orban

 

[chriscollins]

If you like the specifics of the 8100/XT2 sound texture, you can get closer with a DSP-based Optimod than with other brands because there is still some "XT DNA" in our current DSP-based product line.

Bob Orban

Bob,

I have often wondered why you don't just throw in an 8100/XT2 Preset with the basic settings, just for everyone that wants it...

 

[Studio1]

I'm going to throw a slightly different angle on this.

I have a pair of original Texar Prisms (completely overhauled, new vactecs, pots, caps etc) and a mint condition 8100A/1.

The plan is to use these on a community station in the near future.

Why?

1) The above equipment cost me very little. I sure didn't have to take out a mortgage, part with my right arm or sell my mother.
2) The sound quality (if you adjust for quality vs loudness) is pretty damn good.
3) We don't need to be the loudest station on the dial.
4) If any of this equipment fails, I can repair it pretty quickly and without major cost.
5) It was the best around when it was new out of the box and aside from the progress in technology, it's no different now.


There's a whole heap more I could say about this stuff, but I don't want to get into the analog vs digital debate - and that's where it would head, I am sure.
I fully acknowledge that many commercial stations these days need to have flexible, practical and effective processing in a ratings driven environment.
For a small station, just starting out though, I think this combination is a winner. It beats using a standard wide-band processor, and it also preserves a little broadcasting history for people to see.

 

[chriscollins]

I'm going to throw a slightly different angle on this.

I have a pair of original Texar Prisms (completely overhauled, new vactecs, pots, caps etc) and a mint condition 8100A/1.

The plan is to use these on a community station in the near future.

Why?

1) The above equipment cost me very little. I sure didn't have to take out a mortgage, part with my right arm or sell my mother.
2) The sound quality (if you adjust for quality vs loudness) is pretty damn good.
3) We don't need to be the loudest station on the dial.
4) If any of this equipment fails, I can repair it pretty quickly and without major cost.
5) It was the best around when it was new out of the box and aside from the progress in technology, it's no different now.


There's a whole heap more I could say about this stuff, but I don't want to get into the analog vs digital debate - and that's where it would head, I am sure.
I fully acknowledge that many commercial stations these days need to have flexible, practical and effective processing in a ratings driven environment.
For a small station, just starting out though, I think this combination is a winner. It beats using a standard wide-band processor, and it also preserves a little broadcasting history for people to see.

You have a good point on the repair issue. Pretty easy to get an 8100 running again after a lightning/electrical hit. You'll be sending the other boxes back for repair.

 

[OKCRadioGuy]

And praying a lot that it didn't toast more than you can afford to fix LOL!!! So true!

 

[oldiesstation]

Like the one grand motherboard my eng friend replaced on his digital box.Yikes...

 

[WNTIRadio]

I'll take the chance of a fried motherboard over leaky caps, dried caps and other analog things going bad. The 8100a was an amazing lasting design for its day, and can still sound quite smooth if set up properly with a good AGC in front of it. But, the flexibility of the Omnia One that I have as a company loaner unit out does any of the nostalgia for the 8100a. It can be an FM, AM, web or HD processor all with the switch of the firmware which takes 30 seconds. I think I'm going to unload my 8100a (with Zero Card) and 9100B (stereo unit) soon.

Never liked the XT-2 on FM, though did like the same 6 band setup on AM with the 9100B. Everything on FM sounded the same.

With that being said, for an LPFM a set of prisms and the 8100a will do just fine. It'll keep them from falling off the dial and better than the "processing" in one of those stupid Crown transmitters. If the poster wants the RCF-1 card to go with the Prisms PM me...

 

[Sgeirk]

I will always have an 8100 on the shelf. Gotta say that.

I've been using Breakaway Live and Broadcast for a stream and FM, without a hiccup, for over a year. Louder, cleaner and better on voice, than any older digital processor...by far.

I can appreciate using a box, but unless I have the fortune required to buy the latest and greatest, Breakaway comes awfully darn close, at a fraction of the cost.

I can repair, build, or rebuild a computer a hundred times faster than sending a unit back to any factory...THAT is for sure. Your needs and your mileage may vary, but I love the analog sound of Breakaway.

 

[WNTIRadio]

I like Breakaway, especially for the price it's pretty amazing that it does what it does. I own a copy myself.

However, what I don't like about Breakaway is that you're essentially stuck with the presets and that's it. You can speed it up or slow it down, play with the nebulous bass boost control (jeez, would it hurt to put in some kind of Hz on the scale) and adjust clipping. I know, what do I expect for $199. It would be nice to see some individual controls for the bands and the agc, instead of everything ganged together. Some form of EQ would be good. How about an "expert" menu for those of us who want to create some more presets and share them among users?

I already know the answer to all that is "buy the Omnia 9". But for those of us who don't have an extra $9k collecting dust...

For roughly $2,700, the Omnia One is hard to beat. No matter the client's format, band or stream, I can swap it in and dial in an appropriate sound for the situation. Can't say that about the 8100. I really don't want to part with it, but the extra $1,500 it can bring in would be handy right about now. I agree, it is like giving an old friend the boot...

 

[radiosaur]

The Prisms can be placed in front of a stock 8100 with great results if:

(1) You put something like a Compellor or other leveler in front of the Prism to keep them in the sweet spot and (2) you let the prisms do all the compression. The 8100 should be running no more than 2-3 db of total gain reduction. Pay particular attention to the “presence band” of the prisms.