Orban OPTIMOD-FM 8700, Operating Manual

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OPTIMOD-FM DIGITAL OPERATION
3-27
If the recordings you play are inconsistent in texture and equalization, you may pre-
fer the
ROCK-SMOOTH preset.
ROCK-SMOOTH MX and ROCK-SOFT MX are also appropriate for this format.
GOLD: GOLD is loud and “hi-fi”-sounding while still respecting the limitations and
basic flavor of the recordings from the era of the 1950s through 1970s.
For example, we do not attempt to exaggerate high frequency energy in
the GOLD
preset. The highs in recordings of this era are often noisy, dis-
torted, or have other technical problems that make them unpleasant
sounding when the processor over-equalizes them in an attempt to emu-
late the high frequency balance of recently recorded material.
GOLD [ ] MX: There are three GOLD presets using MX technology:
GOLD HEAVY
,
GOLD HEAVY BASS
, and GOLD OPEN.

GOLD OPEN is least sensitive to source material and is appropriate for “oldies”
from the earliest rock and roll era (ca. 1954) to the late 1970s. This preset has
no counterpart among the “8500-style” presets. It is a relaxed, clean, easy-
sounding preset that does not attempt to emulate the audio processing of
radio stations back in the day when this music is current.

GOLD HEAVY is appropriate for music from the mid 1960s to the late 1970s. It
produces a denser sound than
GOLD OPEN
with more of a “classic Top-40”
processing flavor.

GOLD HEAVY BASS is appropriate for carefully produced music from the mid
1960s to the late 1970s. This preset can increase the bass centered broadly
around 60 Hz by as much as 6 dB, which provides “bass thump” for material
whose bass was originally weak. Because
GOLD HEAVY BASS
can amplify
bass by a large amount, it can also amplify rumble and AC line frequency
hum (often from guitar amplifiers in the era before noise gating was used
routinely on instrument inputs when records were mixed). Stations using
GOLD HEAVY BASS
should therefore make sure that their source material is
cleaned up to be free from rumble and hum.
This preset was designed by Greg Ogonowski and was inspired by early
homebrew multiband processing found on some popular AM radio sta-
tions in the late 1960s and early 1970s, particularly CKLW.
GREGG, GREGG MX:
GREGG
,
GREGG MX
,
GREGG OPEN
,
GREGG OPEN MX
, and
GREGG LL
all use a 200 Hz band1/band2 crossover frequency to achieve a bass
sound similar to the classic five-band Gregg Labs FM processors designed by Greg
Ogonowski. Dynamically, these presets produce a slight increase in bass energy be-
low 100 Hz and a decrease of bass energy centered at 160 Hz. This bass sound works
particularly well with radios having good bass response, such as many auto radios
today.
In terms of loudness, midrange texture, and HF texture, the non-“MX” versions of
these presets are similar to the
LOUD-HOT+BASS
presets. The MX versions fully ex-
ploit the 8700i’s ability to increase high frequency “air” and transient impact, and