Omnia Audio Omnia F/XE - Manual (Page 33)

OmniA F/XE PrESEt EditOr | 31
When excessive limiting is used, intermodulation distortion is increased, making the audio sound “mushy”,
and “smeared.” The added short term density can also cause the audio to be “tight”, “squashed”, or “dense.”
The “dynamics” artifacts caused by excessive limiting might sound like “pumping,” “breathing.” The rule
for limiting is “a little goes a long way!”
When excessive clipping is used, harmonic distortion is increased. The audio level is in effect “running into
the brick wall.” Too much clipping can cause the audio to sound “broken-up,” “torn,” “rough,” or “edgy.”
The harder the limiters and clippers are driven, the louder the audio perception. However, increased
intermodulation and/or harmonic distortion may be encountered.
The following sections are provided to assist in designing the personality of your sound. There is no precise
recipe for setting up audio processing. While there are some basic fundamentals which can be used to get
started toward the desired sound, it may require a concerted effort with extended listening and subtle
processing changes over time to achieve the ultimate goal. Just remember to set goals, take time, and adjust
methodically.
Increasing Loudness
Try to resist the temptation to just crank up the aggressive processing sections, like the limiters. Limiters
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. Here are some suggestions
on where to begin to make changes [best implemented in the order provided]:
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. In this situation, resist the temptation to
make too many changes at once. When multiple changes are made, it becomes difficult to determine
why the result of an adjustment did or did not make sense. Focus on one specific area of the sound at
a time. Once that area is satisfactory, move the focus to the next area as needed.
Based upon the above suggestions, experiment with different styles of processing. Some prefer to have pro-
cessing 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 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 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” the 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.
Note:
While Omnia F/XE is designed to minimize fatigue, it is capable of generating large amounts
of density that could eventually lead to fatigue. Be careful!