Omnia Audio Omnia A/XE - Manual (Page 59)

that famous Omnia clarity sought after by top engineers all over the world. We encourage
all end-users to utilize the power of the Omnia A/XE to create good, competitive loudness
while maintaining a higher degree of quality.
Clarify Your Processing Objectives
Whether one is seeking better overall quality or specific spectral improvements, try to
articulate and write down your goals. Do you want a little more loudness or “presence” in
the final master or stream? Are there certain characteristics of the sound of other recordings
that you like, want to emulate, or just surpass? Are there any you want to avoid? When
adjusting processing, please give thought—real thought, to how you’d like your final master
to sound. What do we mean by that? Well, if your desire is to add loudness, and in most
cases it probably will be, decide on the degree of loudness that you want.
The Adjustment Procedure
1. Review your objectives.
2. Once you’re up and running, start with a degree of processing that is similar to what
you’d normally use and then, if desired, become more aggressive. A careful approach is
less likely to draw hasty, or even negative, opinions.
3. Listen for a while, then adjust, and listen for a while again. Try to avoid the tempta-
tion to continuously “fiddle” with adjustments, just moments after getting the system
running. Remember that you should evaluate the operation over time, not moment to
moment!
4. While making changes to the system, we recommend that you do not make hasty or
radical changes. Also, do not make too many different adjustments all at once. If too
many parameters are changed at one time, it is hard to determine which change made
the difference you may hear. That can be frustrating, whether the change made your
station sound better or worse. Take your time. In order for you to become comfortable
with your new sound, you should learn the limits of each control. We suggest making
changes in increments of no more than +0.5 dB or -1 dB, or in 1 or 2 step increments.
Try turning different functions on and off. Working this way, you will be able to get a
better feel for the sound that the Omnia A/XE is capable of producing.
5. Use the “sleep on it method:” Spend time adjusting and then listening, and when the
system gets to a point where it sounds good, stop! While making changes to processing,
there does come a time when the ears become less and less sensitive to the adjustments
you’re performing. Ears tire, and that’s why spreading the adjustment period over a
number of days is recommended. If what you’ve done still sounds good after you have
“slept on it,” stop adjusting. If you’re not quite there yet, continue with small iterations
until you’re satisfied. If you are homing in on your goals, you’ll find that each day the
discrepancies become smaller and you’re making fewer adjustments.
6. When you get it where you like it, stop and enjoy!
Getting the Sound You Want
If you believe that your desire is to process aggressively, here are some suggestions that
should help you achieve that goal. Conversely, if you have the rare luxury to strive for
increased sound quality, we have suggestions for you too! Omnia A/XE is designed to
minimize the impact of the quality vs. loudness trade-off.
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