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Orban 8100 with XT2 and 222A Stereo Enhancer settings?

T

thejuggler

Hello all

New to the board so be nice please lol.

I have the following combination in my airchain - (small non profit station) and want to get the best out of it.

Orban 8100 with XT2 and 222A Stereo Enhancer
Currently I have the units set using recommended settings from the orban user manual (the smooth settings) and have the stereo enhancer set at '3' but its not blowing me away to be honest

Format is 80's and 90s hits so varies from uncompressed early 80s music to highly processed 90s pop.
Maybe I need to switch to the competitive settings instead. What are your favorite settings for the airchain I have described? I know its old gear at this stage but many say its the ultimate in analogue processing.

I'd appreciate any advice you can offer and would appreciate it if any of the seasoned pros would share their settings with me.

Thanks
 
If you're running as a lower power station I wouldn't go too crazy with the stereo enhancement as it could lead to increased multipath interference. The best thing would be to experiment and see if more aggressive stereo enhancement deteriorate your coverage.
 
I hope someone can help you. What will likely be suggested will be hot rodding or modding your XT chassis.

When hypercompression became prevalent in the 90's on music...the 8100 with stock XT tended to be mushy unless they were heavily modified.

Are you using a composite clipper? And be careful with the enhancement.
 
Sgeirk said:
I hope someone can help you. What will likely be suggested will be hot rodding or modding your XT chassis.

When hypercompression became prevalent in the 90's on music...the 8100 with stock XT tended to be mushy unless they were heavily modified.

Are you using a composite clipper? And be careful with the enhancement.
Click to expand...

In what way were the XT's modified?
 
There were 3rd party input cards for the 8200 that did away with the AGC, I think. The cards were made by Aphex???

I think there was also a mode to change the clipper.
 
Step number the fiirst is lose the enhancer.
Step number the second is to try to getout of the AGC as much as possible on the stuff you mention... most of it has been AGC'd nearly to death already.
Play arpound with the limiter drive and mix anbd see if you can't find soime settings which help your sound along without beating it uptoo much. It can be done if you take time.
 
May i suggest,
222a set for 3 on enhancement.

8100a agc release set for 7,i/p attenuators set to give 15db compression on master meter,bass coupling set to 3.

Xt2 density set for 4.5 to 5.
Presence set to 1,and brilliance set to 3 to 4.
Clipping set to 0.

Also fit card 0 and calibrate as per manual,or like i do adjust safety clipper to same level as overshoot corrector(this is what you do when fitting card 0 except you lift the safety clippers if using card 0.

Other mods involve a lot more work. :eek:

Also check when or if the 8100a/xt2 has been recapped,replacing the 25v/100u caps for low esr types can work wonders!
 
thejuggler said:
An Aphex Compellor was also suggested for AGC
Click to expand...


I highly recommend an Aphex Compellor in front of the Orban 8100A. I never used the 8100/XT2 component myself. But virtually all of my stations use an Aphex Compellor/Orban 8100A combination, especially the Class D station I program and operate. Stereo Enhancement on the Compellor is not recommended on the lower powered FM's (10-100 watts) . More phase distortion can affect the outer contours of the Stereo coverage area. Yes, the 8100A is old 1980's technology. But it's a proven workhorse. Program it right and you'll do just fine.
 
The Ariane is a much better choice than the Compellor. Anyone who thinks a Compellor is transparent is fooling themselves. The Compellor dulls up the audio and does thump. For that matter, a CRL APP-800 is a better choice.
 
Yeah the ariane sounds like a good bet. Are these available second hand? (preferably somewhere in europe). Another option I'm thinking about is to sell on the 8100 and xt2 and get the Broadcast Warehouse DSP Xtra which has the ariane built in and gets good reviews
 
Well..... I would do the same but bare in mind that these are two completely different processors!

I would try to demo the Xtra before ditching the 8100, better safe than sorry.
 
If you're running the 8100 and want a more "bright" sound you may want to consider adding an Aphex Aural Exciter. It also may help with perceived separation. The older type B and C are on Ebay all the time and are quite affordable. If you want to spring for a few more bucks go for one with the "big bottom" feature.
 
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