Orban Optimod-PC 1101 Operating Manual Download

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OPTIMOD-PC

OPERATION

3-23

The Two-Band structure preserves the frequency balance between midrange and
high frequency elements in the programming while permitting gentle automatic re-
equalization of the balance between these elements (in the “Master” band, which is
above 200 Hz) and elements in the “Bass” band (below 200 Hz).

The AGC and two-band crossovers can be configured to be either phase-linear (i.e.,
constant-delay) or “allpass.” “Allpass” provides minimum time delay along with a
frequency response that is free from peaking or dipping when band gains are un-
equal. “Allpass” also helps make speech waveforms more symmetrical. The delay-
line derived phase-linear crossover has the same desirable smoothness in its fre-
quency response as “allpass,” while adding 4 ms of delay to the processing. Most
two-band presets use the delay-line derived phase-linear crossover configuration.

Factory Programming Presets

Factory Programming Presets are our “factory recommended settings” for various
program formats or types. The Factory Programming Presets are starting points to
help you get on the air quickly without having to understand anything about adjust-
ing OPTIMOD-PC’s sound.

You can easily edit any of these presets with the

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control to optimize the

trade-off between loudness and distortion according to the needs of your format,
although this is often unnecessary. It is OK to use unmodified factory presets on the
air. These represent the best efforts of some very experienced transmission process-
ing sound designers. We are sometimes asked about unpublished “programming
secrets” for Optimods. In fact, there are no “secrets” that we withhold from users.
This manual reveals our “secrets” and the presets embody all of our craft as process-
ing experts. The presets are editable because other sound designers may have dif-
ferent preferences from ours, not because the presets are somehow mediocre or im-
provable by those with special, arcane knowledge that we withhold from most of
our customers.

Start with one of these presets. Spend some time listening critically to your sound.
Listen to a wide range of program material typical of your format and listen on sev-
eral types of audio systems (not just on your studio monitors). Then, if you wish, cus-
tomize your sound using the information in the Protection Limiter, Two-Band and
Five-Band sections that follow.

Each factory preset has full

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capability. The table shows the presets, in-

cluding the source presets from which they were taken and the nominal

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setting of each preset. Some of the Five-Band presets appear several times under
different names because we felt that these presets were appropriate for more than
one format; these can be identified by a shared source preset name.

Important!

If you are dissatisfied with the sound available from the fac-

tory presets, please understand that each named preset is actually 19 pre-
sets that can be accessed via the

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control. Try using this control

to trade off the amount of dynamic range reduction against processing