CHAPTER 25
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FACTORY PRESETS
Plutonium HD – by Leif Claesson
With the exception of “Northridge”, all other factory presets have their “HD only” parameters (such as the final limiter and
output mix controls) tuned in such a way that choosing the same preset for FM and HD allows for a very close on-air sonic
match when receivers switch between the analog and digital signal. Because of the way in which “Plutonium FM” utilizes a
higher-than-normal degree of composite processing, the result was an on-air sound that was too heavy on the highs for HD.
Therefore, we recommend stations using “Plutonium FM” on the analog side use “Plutonium HD” for the HD path.
Point Blank – by LeeXS
Slightly more dense and loud than “Jill FM,” “Point Blank” is a 7-band preset that leans more on the multi-band limiters than
the final clipper to build loudness. Bright but always clean and well-balanced, this preset delivers good source-to-source
consistency without sounding overly compressed or processed. An excellent choice for a light AC station that wants long-term
listening but doesn’t want to disappear from the dial or a CHR station that doesn’t mind trading a bit of loudness for dynamics.
Quintessence – by Sam Sergi
This 5-band preset features full, consistent bass and a sparkling high end. Mids are pushed further back in the mix and loudness
is made a priority over openness and punch. Fast multi-band AGC settings ensure spectral consistency regardless of the balance
of the source material, making it a good choice for formats where the music spans multiple decades.
Radium – by Leif Claesson
Derived from “Uranium-238”, this member of the “atomic” family of presets dials back the clipper drive and loosens up the
multiband ratios a bit. The result is a slight loss of loudness but a considerably more open and dynamic sound. That said, this is
still not a quiet preset. If you find yourself in a “loud” market and feel like you need to keep up, “Radium” is a great place to start
and will likely be as loud on the dial as the competition but with a significantly more dynamic sound.
Reference Settings – by Leif Claesson
“Reference Settings” is the most neutral-sounding factory preset, but that does not diminish its suitability for a wide variety of
formats. It has been used with only slight modifications on active rock stations in very “loud” markets with great success. If you
have your eyes set on creating your very own custom preset for your station, this is the preset with which we recommend you
begin your masterpiece as it is straightforward and doesn’t include any little tuning “tricks” to create a particular effect.
Rustonium – by Leif Claesson and Jesse Graam
A hybrid of two past presets – Jesse’s “Rusticity” and Leif’s “Plutonium” – “Rustonium” is Omnia.9’s default preset. The bass
is always present but punchy, while the high end is bright and prominent but never shrill or edgy. The multi-band attack and
release times are relatively slow, but this 7-band preset makes extensive use of Omnia.9’s progressive release control to allow
plenty of gain control in each band without the fear of any band getting “stuck” with too little gain. This preset also places the
Wideband AGC2 after the multi-band section to build some extra loudness just before the final clipper. A great “as-is” out-of-
the-box preset for nearly every contemporary format.
Stacked Boxes – by Jim Kuzman
Remember back when the dial-dominating air chain was made up of a rack full of analog gear? Say, one box for compression
and leveling, another pair of boxes with lots of LED’s providing 4-band compression, and a program/peak limiter (maybe from
the same folks as the compressor/leveler) – all driving a final limiter/clipper with edge meters and a key-locked front panel?
We do too. “Stacked Boxes” pays homage to the not-so-distant past of analog processing.
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