Orban OPTIMOD-FM 8600Si, Operating Manual

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OPERATION ORBAN MODEL 8600Si
ation.
The Five-Band Structure’s Full and Advanced Setup Controls
The tables below show the Multiband and Band Mix controls in the dynamics sec-
tion. The AGC, Equalizer, Stereo Enhancer, and Clipper controls are common to both
the Two-Band and Five-Band structures and are discussed in their own sections
above.
Except as noted, these controls affect both the analog and HD processing
chains.
MB Drive control adjusts the signal level going into the multiband compressor and
therefore determines the average amount of gain reduction in the multiband com-
pressor. Range is 25 dB.
Adjust the
MB D
RIVE control to your taste and format requirements. Used lightly
with slower multiband release times, the multiband compressor produces an open,
re-equalized sound. The multiband compressor can increase audio density when op-
erated at faster release times because it acts increasingly like a fast limiter (not a
compressor) as the release time is shortened. With faster release times, density also
increases when you increase the drive level into the multiband compressor because
these faster release times produce more limiting action. Increasing density can make
sounds seem louder, but can also result in an unattractive busier, flatter, or denser
sound. It is very important to be aware of the many negative subjective side effects
of excessive density when setting controls that affect the density of the processed
sound.
The
MB D
RIVE interacts with the
MB R
ELEASE setting. With slower release time set-
tings, increasing the
MB D
RIVE setting scarcely affects density. Instead, the primary
danger is that the excessive drive will cause noise to be increased excessively when
the program material becomes quiet.
You can minimize this effect by carefully setting the
MB G
ATE
T
HRESH
control to “freeze” the gain when the input gets quiet and/or by activat-
ing the single-ended noise reduction.
When the multiband compressor’s release time is set to its faster settings, the setting
of the
MB D
RIVE control becomes more critical to sound quality because density in-
creases as the control is turned up. Listen carefully as you adjust it. With these fast
release times, there is a point beyond which increasing multiband compressor drive
will no longer yield more loudness and will simply degrade the punch and definition
of the sound.
We recommend no more than 10 dB gain reduction as shown on the meters for
band 3. More than 10 dB, particularly with the
F
AST release time, will often create a
“wall of sound” effect that many find fatiguing.
To avoid excessive density with the
F
AST
multiband release time, we rec-
ommend using no more than 5 dB gain reduction in band 3 and compen-
sating for any lost loudness by speeding up the
MB R
ELEASE
instead.