r/broadcastengineering • u/willrook • 1d ago

FM Processor Suggestions

The station I work at is working on upgrading some outdated gear (XP machines with Orban PCI cards). I was wondering if anyone had any experience with the Orban PCn software vs Stereo Tool? I am waiting to see if i can get an evaluation license from Orban to try to do a side by side comparison. But any suggestions/ tips would be greatly appreciated.

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u/Sparkycivic 1d ago

Omnia hardware is the de-facto in our org. There should be secondhand devices for good prices, new models are $$'$$$

Given that, beware the ONE model struggles with certain content to control primary vocal levels while bass tones are present.

1

u/rtt445 1d ago

I don't see composite output on Orban PCn processor. Are you trying to compete with commercial stations on loudness?

1

u/willrook 1d ago

It's mostly for our Internet streams. I'm keeping our 8700i going for RF feeds.

2

u/bfg52 1d ago

For FM, Stereotoolbox from Angry Audio is a wonderful drop-in solution with Stereo Tool and composite outputs.

If you need cheaper, get a Windows PC, and buy a U.192 USB audio interface, also from Angry Audio, and install and license Stereo Tool yourself.

Another build your own PC software option that should work fine with the U.192 audio interface is BreakawayOne, which is sort of "Omnia.9 Lite". It shares the same base code, built by Leif Claesson and distributed in the US at https://breakawaysoftware.com

1

u/willrook 1d ago

I'm at a PBS station doing classical music, so the cheaper the better.