The Omnia.11 v4.0 Difference

In this episode of Behind the Sound, we hear from several Omnia.11 users on their experience with the 4.0 update and the significant differences they noticed in their stations’ sounds.

With a wide variety of perspectives, we get to hear from CJ Jackson (Director of Engineering for Salem Media Group in Atlanta, Georgia), Scott Fisher (radio and television voiceover artist), Matt Levin (Chief Engineer and Consulting Engineer for multiple radio stations), and Michael Mutschlechner (radio technician for Radio Holiday in northern Italy).

You can view the Behind the Sound - The Omnia.11 v4.0 Difference interview and read a transcription of the interview below.

Justin Gelske: Hey everyone! We are back again. I'm your host, Justin Gelske, and today we have several guest speakers for this episode of Behind the Sound. Why are they all here? To talk about Omnia.11's most recent and significant update: version 4.0. We'll be hearing a collection of thoughts, experiences, and unique perspectives on this update touching on everything from the brand new Silvio Clipper to new and updated presets. So without further ado, let's hear what they had to say.

Paul Kriegler: Can you just tell me a little bit about how you would compare the sound of the Silvio clipper that's in the Omnia 4.0 version that's out there now for free update with say 3.7, the version that was up previously.

Matt Levin: The biggest immediate thing I noticed was it's like somebody took a veil off the highs. It just, especially if you're into that clipper at all, the previous iterations to the clipper tended to get a little mushy in the highs and this new clipper it doesn't do that. It just, the highs are open and clear and the clarity is unbelievable. And the base clarity was there was a noticeable improvement in the base clarity as well. And then as the betas kind of went through and got better continuing to make tweaks to other sections with that update, I started noticing even more punch and detail and dynamics coming through as well, and just kept getting better, and better. So, it is a night and day improvement in my book over the previous clipper.

And, the previous clippers to get that detail and punch back, you had to really back out of the clipper because when you ran it aggressively for aggressive markets, everything just got a little mushy, which has been kind of how all clippers have been to this point, right? I mean that's a pretty standard thing that happens when you eat and do a conventional left right clipper, things start to get mushy. And, I don't know what kind of black magic corny worked on this new clipper, but you don't get that same effect on this new clipper. You can still achieve that same market loudness, but it's like, you're actually backed out of the clipper about 2db. That's how much clarity there is.

Paul: I consider it to be louder and more open.

Matt: Yes. And that's the thing. You can get the same level of loudness, but the amount of openness and clarity, like I said, the highs and the lows, even the stereo image improved dramatically, I would say as well. All those things that a conventional clipper tends to affect, this clipper you don't get that same effect.

Paul: What were your initial thoughts? What'd you think of the sound when you first heard?

Scott Fisher: Well, it was amazing. Not to say that the previous versions of the 11 were bad, but it was a distinctive difference. I felt like it was cleaner and there wasn't as much push necessary. The Omnia 11 has always been known as what, the most powerful processor on the planet? And, that's great. But, as we were looking around for different ways to use it, we wanted to pull back just a little bit on that power and we were having a little bit of difficulty to do that. Probably just limited knowledge on how to do it. But that was the first thing that clicked instantly when I listened to 4.0. It was just cleaner and it just felt like there was more musicality, kind of, to the product.

Justin: So, when you upgraded to the latest version of the Omnia 11, what was the biggest difference that you've noticed with the 4.0?

Michael Mutschlechner: Yes, the sound is clearer than before and we also achieved more modulation power with this clear sound, which was not possible before. And, of course, we had to adjust the preset a little bit, to listen to the new sound and to get more out of the Omnia 11.

CJ Jackson: From the get go, it sounded like an entirely new processor and it made my audio chain sound like I had this nice, warm, puts its arms around you, analog, processing chain once again. And, a lot of people that might be watching this video will understand that CCM is by far the most insane music to try to process because it's all over the place. I mean, you will have one tune that sounds wonderful and the next one has about a half a db of range to it. And, 4.0 got really good at doing that. I was amazed at that.

But if you really want to be at the top of the pack sonically, you've got to go with the 11. There's absolutely no question in my mind. I mean, if a general a manager asked me, just a snap question, "Which processor do I put in this station, CJ? We're going to flip formats." "The 11." Hands down.

Scott: The new presets, right out of the box. Just so much, I guess, easier and quicker to the air. And, I really like to tinker with these boxes and try to find my own best sound, but I think Paul, you gave me just a few to sample and there really aren't that many tweaks necessary, just squeak tweak and maybe a little less limited drive and clipper drive and they're just right there.

Paul: So for some of those presets, there was a definite goal to make them louder than what had been before. Particularly, I think with Event Horizon. That is a preset where, it was already the loudest preset in the box. But to me, Event Horizon took an extra jump in the degree of intensity and loudness and just major market sound we get out of the lobby just by putting in a preset. And you can dial it back too. It doesn't have to be that loud, but to me, the benefit of the 4.0 update was it just seems to be cleaner out to a much further loudness level, I guess you could say.

Scott: Yeah. And, with the way that music is produced these days, and you touched on it with all the clipping and as I watch the box do its things, those limiters are just barely tickling and, that's what I like, knowing that the music is going all the way through and just letting it do its thing. But being so big and loud, and, again, as you touched on, you can dial them back and make them a little bit less aggressive, just however you feel. But, that was one of the other main differences that I noticed in 4.0, just how good the presets are. Right out of the box.

CJ: When I put 4.0 on, it was like I bought an entirely new processor. I mean, Paul, you were dead on the money. You would, "This is going to open your eyes." And, the way I usually do things when I have the time is, I will, when I turn up something majors I will listen to it for a while before I put it on the air. This one, I went, "let's try this, this, this, this preset on my headphones." And I, immediately got the one I went, "let's put this on the air." So, I did.

It's like having another gear in your car or it's like all of a sudden you've got this nice new toolbox that you can play around with and you can get more out of an Omnia with 4.0, in my opinion, it's no doubt.

The Omnia.11 v4.0 Difference | Telos Alliance

The Omnia.11 v4.0 Difference

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