you missed some fun tweaks with those DAP"S.Would make those AM's jump out of the dash.someone has a 610 listed on ebay.don't know if it sold or not.Good tech stuff back then.
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We're getting an Omnia ONE!
- Thread starter whit979
- Start date
WEZN in Bridgeport CT ran on 610s and an MCI STL for a while, sounded killer.
oldiesstation said:
I would like to make a final post regarding my use of the Omnia ONE. I am posting this only out of respect for the dozens of processing users on this board...and out of respect for Bob Orban and his team, who have not been given fair justice in this thread.
I have discontinued use of our Omnia ONE, and have returned our newly-repaired Optimod 8400 to the air. The 8400 is, in my opinion, a better pound-for-pound processor than the ONE.
I will not to go into details publicly as to why I think Optimod is a better processor. I did not give Orban fair justice when initially discussing the Omnia ONE. It would not be fair to Omnia for me to now begin nit-picking their products publicly.
There are some who may see me as a "flip-flopper", or may claim that I'm a novice at processing. All I can say is, do the A/B testing yourself and make up your own mind. My initial reviews of the Omnia ONE were flawed, in that (1): I did not do A/B testing of the ONE against the 8400, and (2): My opinion of the 8400, up to that point, was based on a unit that needed repair.
Thanks to everyone who provided help along the way during our processing difficulties. We intend to keep our Omnia ONE, as its portability between FM and AM will probably be useful in the future.
M
menotti1
Guest
well in all fairness to Omnia, you took a entry level processor like the ONE FM to compare to one of Orban's high end(now discontinued models).A better comparision would be using the Omnia 5ex or 6ex.you're right about one thing, you are a novice at audio processing.if you loved the sound of the Omnia One FM before, how in the heck can your view be flawed? sounds real fickle to me.But from what i hear from other engs, that omnia one is smokin alot of it's high priced competition and SET UP right will hold it's own against the 8400.
littlejohn said:
How long ago was that, littlejohn? I remember back when Stamford's 96.7 ran 610's back when they were Jazz.
C
CalifZeke
Guest
whitfm said:
Perfect case of one who knows little about processing. Same as a high school senior picking on a first grader. Maybe you should A/B that 8400 up against a VolumeMax. Your A/B is flawed. Comparing Orban's high-end against another's low cost.
couple of things.
Firstly
I think we all know the situation. Whit thought new processing was the answer to a sound he wanted, when it turned out to be a problem with something else in the chain / the unit needed servicing. I'm sure if his station could have afforded a new 5ex or 6exi he would have, and yes it would have been a fairer shoot out. When you throw a new processor on the air it changes the signature immediately, most of the time you like what you hear, because its new, exciting and different. The real test is once you've been listening for a week, maybe more, for things you don't like, and trying to ween them out. Whether the Omnia One can 'hold its own' with the 8400, I don't know I haven't used one, but at the end of the day, they needed a back up, and the Omnia One is perfect. It's low price, and most seem to think its good bang for the buck. He's tested both units back to back for the last week, and has decided the Optimod is better (which it should be) so it goes on the air. Nothing fickled about that.
Secondly
Why is it that nobody thought it was unfair to Orban when the unit was taken out, and it was found that the RDS was causing the interference? Now the shoes on the other foot...look out!
Firstly
I think we all know the situation. Whit thought new processing was the answer to a sound he wanted, when it turned out to be a problem with something else in the chain / the unit needed servicing. I'm sure if his station could have afforded a new 5ex or 6exi he would have, and yes it would have been a fairer shoot out. When you throw a new processor on the air it changes the signature immediately, most of the time you like what you hear, because its new, exciting and different. The real test is once you've been listening for a week, maybe more, for things you don't like, and trying to ween them out. Whether the Omnia One can 'hold its own' with the 8400, I don't know I haven't used one, but at the end of the day, they needed a back up, and the Omnia One is perfect. It's low price, and most seem to think its good bang for the buck. He's tested both units back to back for the last week, and has decided the Optimod is better (which it should be) so it goes on the air. Nothing fickled about that.
Secondly
Why is it that nobody thought it was unfair to Orban when the unit was taken out, and it was found that the RDS was causing the interference? Now the shoes on the other foot...look out!
Couple of things having nothing to do with processing itself, but with a couple of people who have replied to my message.
I don't appreciate getting knocked by people on this board who just happen to be vocal proponents of Omnia products. All of a sudden, my whole comparison is flawed because I'm comparing Orban's flagship processor to Omnia's low end product. So where were you guys when I said that I initially liked the ONE better than the 8400? Oh my gosh, somebody's got a different opinion than somebody else on this board, he must be an idiot!
You can think I'm a novice if you want but I don't really care. You're not in my market and processing is subjective anyway. I use presets. Sorry that I can't contribute any awesome custom settings to this discussion but my station still sounds damn good, so you can think whatever you want.
Thank you stace for your kind words. We're definitely not done with the ONE. We've still got plenty of uses for it as we also own an AM station. And just like I told everybody else, I intend to keep working with the ONE, upgrading with each update, and learning what I can. For now, this is just what works best for us.
You like Pepsi, I like Coke. That's what makes the world go 'round. So, menotti and Zeke: have a Coke and a smile.
I don't appreciate getting knocked by people on this board who just happen to be vocal proponents of Omnia products. All of a sudden, my whole comparison is flawed because I'm comparing Orban's flagship processor to Omnia's low end product. So where were you guys when I said that I initially liked the ONE better than the 8400? Oh my gosh, somebody's got a different opinion than somebody else on this board, he must be an idiot!
You can think I'm a novice if you want but I don't really care. You're not in my market and processing is subjective anyway. I use presets. Sorry that I can't contribute any awesome custom settings to this discussion but my station still sounds damn good, so you can think whatever you want.
Thank you stace for your kind words. We're definitely not done with the ONE. We've still got plenty of uses for it as we also own an AM station. And just like I told everybody else, I intend to keep working with the ONE, upgrading with each update, and learning what I can. For now, this is just what works best for us.
You like Pepsi, I like Coke. That's what makes the world go 'round. So, menotti and Zeke: have a Coke and a smile.
A/B that 8400 up against a VolumeMax.Not to sound rude, but the AGC in the old volumemax is probably better than the AGC in the 8400.Smoother & faster..ha just kidding.whitfm, you're young but learning.Just make sure your comparisons are fairly similar,you know apples to apples, etc.Good luck and have fun,that's what it's all about.Maybe one day you'll have the funds for a new Omnia 6EXI or the 8500.they are both excellent boxes.Just don't get too agressive on the presets.Remember TSL is important so you want a preset that is not over fatiguing.i've heard some that are WAY over the top.Big and small markets.Had to racket down quite a few in my time.
oldiesstation said:
Up until the 8500, I've NEVER liked ANY internal AGC. The Omnia 3fmt, and Omnia.FMs was very lazy and didn't consistantly drive the multiband AGC (maybe a ratio thing), 2200 was very slow, and the 8200 + 8300 did nasty things when using fast release times. The new orban AGC is a very effective leveller, shame it didn't happen earlier...aye Whit!
I'd say give him a break, and give him time.
Several of us helped him out a lot in figuring out his issues. He got through it, and his station us back up and running...pretty impressive for
someone who hasn't delved too deeply in this stuff before.
After working for 'Team Omnia' during the birth of the Omnia Classic, and seeing the early stages of what would become the Omnia 6, you can imagine that I'm very comfortable with Omnia's as I understand the terminology and concepts behind each control. Having said that, my first time on the menu screen on the Optimod 8400 was a bit like buying a Foreign car for the first time, and finding that the nomenclature on the instrument panel and manual was all still written in the native language. Very off-putting, and easy to want to throw up your hands at the amount of stuff to figure out.
I just took this experience, plug in the opposite scenario for Whit.
It takes time to learn someone else's terminology, and figure out what all the 'knobs' do. Once you get the hang of it, you're off and going.
While I agree that comparing the Omnia 6 to the 8400 would be a fair comparison (actually comparing the Omnia 6 to the Optimod 8500 would be more fair), I'd say give him time to keep playing with the one, and making himself familiar with the new range of controls at his disposal.
You never know...his opinion may change again ;-)
-Cornelius
Several of us helped him out a lot in figuring out his issues. He got through it, and his station us back up and running...pretty impressive for
someone who hasn't delved too deeply in this stuff before.
After working for 'Team Omnia' during the birth of the Omnia Classic, and seeing the early stages of what would become the Omnia 6, you can imagine that I'm very comfortable with Omnia's as I understand the terminology and concepts behind each control. Having said that, my first time on the menu screen on the Optimod 8400 was a bit like buying a Foreign car for the first time, and finding that the nomenclature on the instrument panel and manual was all still written in the native language. Very off-putting, and easy to want to throw up your hands at the amount of stuff to figure out.
I just took this experience, plug in the opposite scenario for Whit.
It takes time to learn someone else's terminology, and figure out what all the 'knobs' do. Once you get the hang of it, you're off and going.
While I agree that comparing the Omnia 6 to the 8400 would be a fair comparison (actually comparing the Omnia 6 to the Optimod 8500 would be more fair), I'd say give him time to keep playing with the one, and making himself familiar with the new range of controls at his disposal.
You never know...his opinion may change again ;-)
-Cornelius
Thanks Cornelius! Your comparison of the different brand processor to a foreign car is a great analogy. I look forward to continuing to learn about the processor. The medium-market and large-market near us both mostly have users of Omnia products. If they can do it, so can I. But right now is the spring ratings period, and it's not a good time to be playing with processing if you're in the midst of a ratings battle. One wrong move with either one and we could be ticking off our target demo (adult women). Gotta go with what works while I'm still a newbie to the Omnia stuff.
Thanks again for your ongoing help!
Thanks again for your ongoing help!
whitfm said:
It's always good to have both flavors as management and consultants change from time to time. My stations that use Optimods all complain of the lack of punchy bass. Adjusting the EQ section gets you nothing as it is taken away in the limiter section. To slow the attack down you have to use the computer remote control, as those adjustments are not available from the panel. Raising the bass clip threshold to me sounds distorted. I guess what I'm saying is no matter how I try to adjust a digital Optimod, the sound stays basically the same. Very consistent, dense, and either soft or loud if you want. The rock open presets come close to allowing some dynamic range and better bass. The new AGC was an improvement on hypercompressed material. All of the other competitive presets are too dense for my taste. This is not an attack on Optimod, just my observations. If anyone out there knows Optimod bass tricks, I'm all ears. ;D Good luck with the 8400! Let us know what the Omnia 1 sounds like on AM. I'm looking forward to a demo of the AM Omnia!
M
menotti1
Guest
whitfm, when we began these discussions on and off board,it was you that wanted to sound like a particular Atlanta station.well they just happen to use the Omnia 6EXI.you won't get there with a 8400.But if you are satisfied with the unit now so be it.Plus you had no budget for the high end omnia and orban units.that's where the omnia one fm came into the equation,as i felt it offered the most bang for the buck.i still maintain that if the ONE is set up properly it will sound better than the 8400.
M
menotti1
Guest
To me it means maybe starting with a preset and get under the hood and adjust for taste and preference,like you start with a base and work from there with a good old pot of cajun food.YUMMY..
menotti1 said:
Yes..I agree with this and your previous post.
That's whay I say give him time....let him get used to the controls, and what they do, ie: PLAY with it for a while. Since he has his original processor on the air, he can now be free to hook it (the Omnia One) up, and bang away on it -- just like StephanieNYC is doing.
When learning all this stuff about audio processing from a newbie point of view, it's one of the best ways to get a feel for a processor without the grief of getting it wrong on the air for all of management to hear.
I'd add for both Whit, and Stephanie that the ideal thing to do is to get hold of an unused FM exciter, drive it into a dummy load, feed the processor under test into this exciter, and compare your work to what you have on the air. This way, what you are doing is being heard on a tuner just like the over the air stations. Make sure you have some way to check the modulation on the test setup to make sure you aren't fooling yourself.
For the *best* comparison, try to do tests feeding the same radio station program source to the test setup, and you can compare apples to apples.
Just some ideas to help the newest members of our audio processing community!
-Cornelius
C
CalifZeke
Guest
cgould said:
The "newbies" should spend more time learning about processing as compared to posting foolish comments. Seems there's more who can't wait to post ego driven editorial, instead of taking the time to learn.
O
OttoM
Guest
CalifZeke said:
And the veterans on this board should be helping the newbies learn about processing rather than ridiculing them because they criticize one's favorite processor brand. Try emulating Cornelius for a change, Zeke.
CalifZeke said:
Forgive me for not having all the answers, Zeke. We can't all be born with them like you. :
menotti: I agree with your statement, the potential is there to make it great. By the way: the station you and I previously discussed in Atlanta is actually on an 8100! Just found out a few days ago...took me by surprise
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