8 April 2002, Las Vegas, NV USA
Omnia Audio, a leader in the field of digital audio processing for broadcast, is stepping into a new arena – unveiling a new line of audio processors designed for audio mastering studios at this years NAB.
The new mastering processor, Omnia-6cd, is already in use at New York’s Sterling Sound and Planet To Planet studios. Planet To Planet owner Kirk Yano says that Omnia-6cd has been “a huge help in mastering CDs and even movie soundtracks. Although I have only had the product about a month, I can't imagine being without it.”
Omnia-6cd “has the ‘Three C’s,’” continues Yano: “clear, clean and cool.” Media Blaster's director and producer, Christopher Sippel, who is also working with Omnia-6cd, calls it “the magic audio box.”
A multi-band processor based on the hugely popular Omnia-6fm found in top radio stations worldwide, Omnia-6cd employs a unique final limiter specially designed for Compact Disc mastering which eliminates the processor-induced aliasing distortion often generated when processing for a “hot” sound. It also provides precise peak control so that mastering can be done at 0 dBfs.
Omnia-6cd developed as a result of a trend in recording studio mastering practices, says Telos Systems President Frank Foti. “About three years ago, we began noticing that CDs arriving at radio stations had been pre-distorted in production or mastering to increase their apparent loudness.”
This practice is actually counter-productive, Foti explains: “Broadcast audio processors react to pre-distorted CDs exactly the same way they react to accidentally clipped material: they exaggerate the distortion. The end result is more grunge, not more loudness.”
So, applying lessons learned in broadcast processing, the Omnia development team devised a unique final limiter especially suited to the needs of the mastering environment. Using Omnia-6cd, harmonic energy from the clipping process is controlled and managed in the final limiter's filtering process, giving recording engineers the ability to master “hot” while avoiding offensive aliasing products.
Omnia is a pioneer in the field of digital audio processing, and Omnia audio processors were the first digital systems to offer an alias free clipping method that also controls harmonic distortion (THD). Using an innovative proprietary method, this system yields added perceived loudness yet retains the punch and clarity that is desired by so many producers and engineers in the broadcast and recording fields.
Omnia processors are used in 4 of 5 leading stations in New York, 2 of the 3 top stations in Los Angeles and 5 of 6 of the most listened to stations in the US. They are on the leading stations in Paris, all of the BBC’s FM stations in the UK, and the number one stations in Canada, Ireland, Germany, Finland, Australia, India, China, Denmark and Sweden.
Pricing and availability of Omnia-6cd are to be announced. To find out more about Omnia, visit the Telos Systems / Omnia booth at the NAB, Booth L2251 in the Las Vegas Convention Center Radio Hall.
Telos Systems, with headquarters located in Cleveland, Ohio, and offices in Baltimore, Maryland; San Diego, California; and Freising, Germany is a leading manufacturer of ISDN, digital network and telephone interface products for talk-show programming, call-in radio segments, teleconferencing, audio production, remote broadcasts, and intercom applications.
Omnia, a Telos company, is world-renowned for its innovative digital audio signal processing expertise. Its family of digital audio processors for FM, AM, TV, DAB, Internet, and broadcast audio production are setting new standards for audio quality in the broadcast and Internet industries worldwide.
To find out more about Telos Systems, call +1 (216) 241-7225 or e-mail info@telos-systems.com.