Optimod 8300 vs 8400

[cdkirk]

When the 8300 was intro'd a few years back it was meant to be a step back from the 8400. With the 8400 now being discontinued and the 8300 still current and recieving new software lately I wonder if that is still the case? I have had the opportunity to play with each and I must say I really like what has been done with the AGC section in the latest 8300 software. I haven't had the opportunity though to compare them side by side. Almost seems to me at this point that if somebody is unable to justify the expense of a new 8500 the 8300 is a better move than a used 8400 in the Orban line.

Has anyone on the board had the opportunity to do a side by side comparison?

 

[rorban]

When the 8300 was intro'd a few years back it was meant to be a step back from the 8400. With the 8400 now being discontinued and the 8300 still current and recieving new software lately I wonder if that is still the case? I have had the opportunity to play with each and I must say I really like what has been done with the AGC section in the latest 8300 software. I haven't had the opportunity though to compare them side by side. Almost seems to me at this point that if somebody is unable to justify the expense of a new 8500 the 8300 is a better move than a used 8400 in the Orban line.

Has anyone on the board had the opportunity to do a side by side comparison?

V2.0 software made the 8300's processing essentially equivalent to the 8400HD except that the 8300's HD look-ahead limiter has a less advanced design that takes fewer DSP resources. Version 2.1 software added our new AGC design to the 8300, which makes the processing better than the 8400.

Bob Orban

 

[whit979]

V2.0 software made the 8300's processing essentially equivalent to the 8400HD except that the 8300's HD look-ahead limiter has a less advanced design that takes fewer DSP resources. Version 2.1 software added our new AGC design to the 8300, which makes the processing better than the 8400.

Bob Orban

Bob,
Any possibility of another 8400 upgrade? Sure would be nice to get it back on-par with the 8300 or 8500 ;D

 

[fm-engineer]

Not speaking for Bob O, but I do believe the 8400 is discontinued. There was an 8400 signature series that was out for a while too. The 8300 is a really nice unit. To me, the new AGC seems to handle hypercompressed material better than the previous design. Currently, my company is recommending Optimod 8300 or 8500's for everything but active rock, classic rock, and urban hip hop. In those formats we suggest the Omnia 6 Exi. HD installations get either 8500 or Omnia 6 Exi following the same guidelines.

 

[menotti1]

whit,you may find the omnia 5ex or 6ex may work better for your format.i know you have not been pleased with the 8400 for quite awhile.Have you considered putting an Ariane in front of the 8400? i'm sure budget is a concern and that expense may not be feasible now..If Bob O can't get you happy,i'm not sure what you need to do.you may try a demo 5EX,if you like it sell or trade the 8400...

 

[cdkirk]

Currently, my company is recommending Optimod 8300 or 8500's for everything but active rock, classic rock, and urban hip hop.

What is the reasoning behind this? The 8300 I've worked with has been on an active rocker, the 8400 a classic rock. I've been pleased with the results I've gotten, especially lately with 8300. Have not worked with an 8500 as of yet. How does the 8500 sound relative to the 8300,8400?

The classic rock station had been using a 2020 mkIII prior to the 8400. IMO the 2020 starts sounding pretty nasty when you try to make it loud.

 

[menotti1]

Your opinion is dead on target regarding the 2020.Just pitiful when you pushed it..Hell the competition was blowing me away and i was using a mod science clipper with it...Put in the little Omnia 3 turbo and it was day and nite difference.since then moved up to the O6 .won't ever forget installing a 8200 .man, that 8100a with the gentners was put back in that rack very quickly.that 8200 was not ready for prime time and i guess it just spooked me in using orban products ever since...i'm sure the 8300 and 8500 are good boxes.May give them a try one day.the 8300 sounds like a good value.

 

[whit979]

whit,you may find the omnia 5ex or 6ex may work better for your format.i know you have not been pleased with the 8400 for quite awhile.Have you considered putting an Ariane in front of the 8400? i'm sure budget is a concern and that expense may not be feasible now..If Bob O can't get you happy,i'm not sure what you need to do.you may try a demo 5EX,if you like it sell or trade the 8400...

Sure would be nice to switch to an Omnia or even an Optimod 8500...but management has said "no" time and again. No processing upgrades until the processor falls apart. It would be more likely that we'd get our 8400 refurbished before we ever get it replaced. Safe to say we'll be running this 8400 unit until the cows come home. Maybe one of these days, I'll get it dialed in. One of these days...

 

[Sgeirk]

Have you asked for help from Orban? Other things could be holding you back, too.Especially when competing against a station running full linear digital STL's and boards. It makes a difference.

 

[whit979]

Have you asked for help from Orban? Other things could be holding you back, too.Especially when competing against a station running full linear digital STL's and boards. It makes a difference.

Yep, you said it. We are on the bad side of the 'digital divide'. Orban help is iffy. I've had some great help from other engineers, though.

 

[gtomas]

Sure would be nice to switch to an Omnia or even an Optimod 8500...but management has said "no" time and again. No processing upgrades until the processor falls apart. It would be more likely that we'd get our 8400 refurbished before we ever get it replaced. Safe to say we'll be running this 8400 unit until the cows come home. Maybe one of these days, I'll get it dialed in. One of these days...

The Orban 8400 is a very solid box and not that far from 8500. True, with v2 software 8300 came essentially up to paar with 8400 making 8300 currently the best sound-for-money Orban processor, but 8400 can quite well compete with it and the rest of the crowd. It's definitely not a processor to be thrown away or the one that needs replacing (although I'm sure I'd be pushing for 8500 in your situation as well ).

The new bells and whistles in new software releases are not necessarily always an improvement - they can offer you different sound texture, but if that's not the flavour you're looking for, the new feature is essentially useless. In couple of situations on different stations I actually turned off such improvements like look-ahead in the compressor or used (ultra) low-latency preset, because the client wanted a harder sound or a particular bass that you can't get with the look-ahead turned on. Also, the older 8400 AGC (not window gated) although not as good at maintaining the levels, gives the overall sound punch and "feel" you can't exactly get with the new one. If your levels are OK to begin with or you have board-operators/DJs running the station, I personally might actually prefer the sound of the old classic Orban AGC in contrast to new one, in terms of the sound. It all depends on different personal preferences, what is you market, what do you want to achieve, etc. Quite often it might be better to have a good sound that's actually different than the others, instead of chasing somebody else's sound. Let them chase you for a change


Regards,
Goran Tomas

 

[stace]

I definatly prefer the window gating design. I really like the way it feeds the multiband with consistant levels without squashing the sound further. You can use a faster recovery time without it becoming muddy.

Even the ol' Unity 2000i has window gating on the AGC. I wonder why Frank ditched the idea with the newer models?

 

[FFoti1]

Even the ol' Unity 2000i has window gating on the AGC. I wonder why Frank ditched the idea with the newer models?

Ah...This is news to me. We've always employed windowed gating.

-Frank Foti

 

[stace]

apologies...my mistake

 

[BofH]

Frank,

Any idea where we should be looking to fix a Unity AM displaying random ASCII characters which change as the jog wheel is rotated. It sounds like something on the display board behind the front panel? We've checked the voltage readings on the PSU and they check out OK.

It wouldn't be so much of an issue if there was another way to enable the com port/modem so we could get into the settings that way, but I don't think there is.

Matt

 

[Tom Wells]

Frank,

Any idea where we should be looking to fix a Unity AM displaying random ASCII characters which change as the jog wheel is rotated. It sounds like something on the display board behind the front panel? We've checked the voltage readings on the PSU and they check out OK.

It wouldn't be so much of an issue if there was another way to enable the com port/modem so we could get into the settings that way, but I don't think there is.

Matt

If the characters display randomly without turning the knob, you have a keyboard decoder issue,
If turning the knob brings up characters that are unexpected, it is likely that the knob itself has continuity problems,
and instead of one character per "click", multiple "clicks" are being generated, and appearing to be random.

Excercising such a wheel, spinning it around several times quickly, can often clean up the BCD or whatever bitwise output
comes from the multiple lines of the knob encoder. Oxidized contacts at the knob will cause unexpected operation.
If there's no improvement, a shot of De-Oxit D5 into the knob's switch area may help.

If that fails, you'll need to try a new knob/switch board, or a new decoder.

It is very common for such knobs to "get funny" after being left untouched for long periods.

 

[FFoti1]

Frank,

Any idea where we should be looking to fix a Unity AM displaying random ASCII characters which change as the jog wheel is rotated. It sounds like something on the display board behind the front panel? We've checked the voltage readings on the PSU and they check out OK.

It wouldn't be so much of an issue if there was another way to enable the com port/modem so we could get into the settings that way, but I don't think there is.

Matt

Matt,

Sounds like the decoder got sick. If you need help, please contact our Support Dept (216) 241-3343 and they will assist.

-Frank Foti

 

[BofH]

Thanks Frank and Tom,

It's more of a "corrupted display" full of random ASCII characters. A bit hard to explain but many of the characters are half formed and have missing pixels etc and it's like that from power on (even before touching any buttons / moving the jog wheel) I should take a photo, it looks like it's now an Alien language edition

This particular Unity has spent some time in a salty environment too, so it could definately be oxidisation. We'll pull it down and clean the boards, etc. The mainboard that the cards slot into could be in a poor state too where the ribbon cable connects to the display board.

Will let you know how we go, luckily the CPU board etc appears to be OK, the led metering and processing still works OK

Matt

 

[gtomas]

A bit hard to explain but many of the characters are half formed and have missing pixels etc and it's like that from power on (even before touching any buttons / moving the jog wheel) I should take a photo, it looks like it's now an Alien language edition

Maybe it's the message from the other side... Are characters falling down? ;D


Regards,
Goran Tomas

 

[The F Mister]

A bit hard to explain but many of the characters are half formed and have missing pixels etc and it's like that from power on (even before touching any buttons / moving the jog wheel) I should take a photo, it looks like it's now an Alien language edition

Maybe it's the message from the other side... Are characters falling down? ;D


Regards,
Goran Tomas

Did you take the blue pill or the red pill?