Omnia Audio Omnia 8x - Manual (Page 35)

processing changes over time to achieve your ultimate goal. Just remember to know your goals, take your time, and
adjust methodically.
Increasing Loudness
Try to resist the temptation to just crank up the aggressive processing sections, like the limiters. Those will add
loudness of course, but usually at the cost of quality. Many times, building a little more RMS level in the AGC
sections will do the trick instead, and with no obvious sonic penalties. The following are some suggestions on where
to begin to make changes. We suggest that you them in the order described.
Increasing loudness can be accomplished in four ways:
1.
Alter the following parameters in the AGC sections:
• Increase the AGC Drive to the WB (wideband) AGC section.
• Increase the Drive to each band of the Multiband AGC screen.
• Increase the Release time settings in each band to make it operate faster.
2. Drive the Final Limiter section harder.
3. A combination of the above steps, but in small increments! It might sound crazy, but it’s true! In this
situation, resist the temptation to make too many changes at once. When that occurs, it becomes difficult to
determine why the result of an adjustment did or did not make sense. Focus on one specific area of your
sound at a time. Once that area is satisfactory, then move the focus to the next area, as needed.
Based upon the above suggestions, you can experiment with different styles of processing. Some prefer to have their
processing be perceptibly loud, but dynamic. This may give the illusion of loudness, retaining detail and clarity, and
reducing listener fatigue. This can be done by centering your efforts in the multiband section, and avoiding heavy
use of the final limiter. One trick that works well is to use fast release times in the multiband limiters, but do not let
them produce more than 5 dB - 7 dB of gain reduction. This keeps the IM distortion of the limiters to a minimum,
and doesn't "over-squash" your sound. Adjusted in this manner, the Limiter sections are relied upon to generate
higher long-term RMS levels, which translates into increases in perceived loudness.
If the quest is to produce a “loud and proud” signature, then the limiters should be leaned upon a bit more. Loudness
at all costs is usually the reason for moving the processing in a direction like this. Using larger amounts of drive to
the multiband limiters, along with faster release times will generate a signal of high short-term density. The effect of
the processing set in this manner is that the audio is consistently loud at all times . . . a wall of sound. The drawback
is that the density can cause fatigue. While Omnia 8x is designed to minimize fatigue, it is capable of generating
large amounts of density that could eventually lead to fatigue. Be careful!
Adding More Detail—When Loudness Isn’t the Last Word
Now that we’ve “squashed the grape,” lets look at what it takes to undo a heavily processed signal. Basically, just
reversing the procedures listed above will do the trick:
1.
Reduce the drive to the Final Limiter.
2. Back off on the influence of the multiband stages:
• Reduce the amount of Drive to each band in the multiband.
• Reduce the Release times to slow down recovery.
3. Ease up on the Wideband-AGC sections:
• Reduce the Drive to the WB AGC.
• Reduce the Release time to operate slower.
Backing off the Limiting sections first will allow the processing to retain a level of competitive loudness while
enhancing quality, and the overall dynamic texture will be affected less. Start with reducing the Limiter amount in
0.5 dB steps. It’s surprising how much detail can be restored from just a small change of 0.5 dB. Generally, changes
in the Limiter drives will have the most noticeable effect on quality, but it will also affect the relative loudness
level, too. You’ll need to find a “happy medium” that’s right for you.
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