Radio One's WERE heats up with Omnia for AM
07 March, 2006 Cleveland Ohio, USA
When it came time to launch "Hot Talk" at Radio One's WERE-AM (www.1300were.com), Chief Engineer Rick "Rocco" Bennett knew just which audio processor to use to turn up the heat: Omnia-5EX HD+AM.
WERE was a music station prior to the flip to talk, and the Omnia-5 was originally installed to deliver AM music listeners the "punch" and fullness that their heritage processing gear couldn't deliver. When choosing the processing upgrade, Bennett explains, Omnia was the clear choice. "I've been a big fan of Omnia for years," he says. "The products are user-friendly and cutting-edge."
After the Omnia was installed, it was quite apparent that something had changed for the better. Listeners called to say that they loved the station's newfound presence: "To me, that is the ultimate compliment — and it demonstrates that there was a definite improvement in sound," says Bennett.
The processing algorithms that power Omnia-5EX HD+AM were designed to give AM broadcasters the legendary "flamethrower" presence and punch that's made Omnia the choice of top-market stations worldwide. It's also the world's first HD Radio & DAB-ready audio processor for AM broadcasters, and it incorporates a unique dual processing structure that routes processed audio from the multiband mixer section to separate, simultaneous output stages — the first optimized for conventional AM broadcasts, the second for HD Radio & DAB, webcasting, satellite and similar digital distribution networks. Features include a two-band AGC, plus wideband AGC and five-band limiter to help restore warmth, clarity and detail to AM broadcasts; the HD Radio/DAB section features Omnia's unique program-adaptive Look-Ahead limiter, plus adjustable low-pass filtering and high-shelf EQ. Omnia-5EX HD+AM also gives users the ability to change processing on a schedule — useful for stations whose programming changes from one daypart to the next.
Recently, WERE switched formats to the new Urban Talk Network, and naturally, processing for "hot talk" demands a different touch than that required for music. But Bennett says that, thanks to his Omnia's flexibility, the change in formats didn't mean having to look for a different processor. "There's a lot of versatility in setting the parameters to fine-tune a station's sound. It's easy for me to customize the processing for different dayparts because the Omnia is so easy to use."
Want to find out more about Omnia-5EX AM+HD? Call Caroline Dorsey at Omnia Audio, +1-216-241-7225, or visit www.omniaaudio.com.
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Omnia, a Telos company, is world-renowned for its digital audio signal processing expertise. Omnia audio processors for FM, AM, TV, HD Radio & DAB, Internet, and audio production are setting new standards for professional audio quality.