Just how smart are the Optimods these days ? I assume they're DSP based now
(oh you said so) and probably for some time.
They're pretty smart :-). All of the manuals are available for free download
from ftp.orban.com, and these provide detailed descriptions of their
features. Our current top of the line processors are the 8500 for FM, the
9400 for AM, the 6300 for digital media, and the 8585 for surround. (The
8585 manual is coming soon; the otehr manuals are currently available.)
I always though your objective was to reduce to the minimum any unwanted
audible artifacts through multiple band processing and the like..
Yes. One can use a special form of multiband processing (with coupled bands
that only uncouple when necessary to prevent audible spectral gain
intermodulation) for protection limiting.
To process for loudness, one really needs to start with multiband processing
and complement it with various peak limiting tricks like distortion-
cancelled clipping, where the clipping distortion is removed in some
frequency bands. The nice side effect of doing such complex loudness
processing is that when backed off to give a more "purist" sound, the
processor causes far fewer audible artifacts than a simpler processor would.
Amplifier power
Threaded Mode
