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Hello Whispurr,
As Michi95 pointed out, as long as you have the Breakaway Pipeline set as your input device, BAE will process all audio passing through. Whether the .mp3 is part of a playlist or not isn’t relevent, except perhaps to point out by way of contrast as you play back-to-back files recorded at different levels that your output isn’t consistent.
I can’t imagine with the speed and range maxed out – regardless of preset – that you should be having this issue if BAE is processing the audio. It’s hard to believe that you have audio files that are 20 or 30 dB different from one another.
I run a playlist or stream music or talk when I go to bed at night as well using the Magnifying Glass preset with the Range at 40, Power at 30, and Speed at 10. It’s remarkably consistent even at these rather moderate settings.
A couple of questions – forgive me if you’ve already thought of these – are you sure BAE isn’t bypassed? Do you see meter activity? If you click on the bypass button, do you hear a change in the audio levels?
Mine stopped working after a Windows update last week (Win7-64) and although the meters were moving and the configuration was correct, BAE wasn’t processing the audio. In fact, when I ran the wizard prior to the re-install and ran "test" with a tone, I got the audio streaming through AND the tone simultanerously. I un-installed BAE and re-installed it, and haven’t had an issue since.
May I suggest an un-install/re-install to you?
Jim
[quote author=”JesseG”][quote author=”Benny”]… is a so called "Transient AGC processor".[/quote]
Can you explain what that marketing term means?[/quote]Could he mean a faster compressor or a limiter riding on top of the AGC compressor bands, maybe?
[quote author=”jameskuzman”]I’ll give it a go 🙂
Bandwidth is understood to refer to a range in which the levels have risen or fallen by a maximum of 3 dB.
Jim[/quote]
Before someone with a mind greater than mine – which is probably, like, the remainder of the contributors to this amazing forum – calls me out on this declaration, I didn’t think it prudent to get into filter orders, slopes, shelving v. peaking, etc 🙂
Jim
I’ll give it a go 🙂
There are three terms to be familiar with when using a parmetric EQ – gain, frequency (or center frequency), and bandwidth (or "Q").
"Gain" refers to how much you are boosting or cutting the amplitude (level) of the audio in a particular band. Gain is expressed in dB (decibels).
"Frequency" – sometimes expressed as "Center Frequency" – is the mid-point of the given band. An equal range of frequencies above and below this center frequency will be affected by the boost or cut in gain, as determined by the next factor – bandwidth.
"Bandwidth" or "Q" refers to how narrow or wide a range of frequencies you’re adjusting, sometimes expressed, as you pointed out already, in octaves. Bandwidth is understood to refer to a range in which the levels have risen or fallen by a maximum of 3 dB.
You can think of an octave in two ways. If you’re familiar with a piano keyboard, an octave is a range of 12 notes a half-step apart in pitch from one another. The range from middle C (C4) and the next C up on the keyboard (C5) is one octave.
As it applies to a parametric EQ, however, it’s better to think of an octave as the interval between one musical pitch and another with half (lower pitch) or double (higher pitch) its frequency. To make the math easy, let’s say you have a note that plays at 440 Hz (which happens to be the A above middle C on the piano). The A above it has a frequency of 880 Hz. The A below it has a frequency of 220 Hz.
Bandwidth can be adjusted from a tiny sliver of an octave to target a very narrow and specific frequency range, to a very broad range of up to 3 octaves or so. The lower the bandwidth, the fewer frequencies will be adjusted. The higher the bandwidth, the more frequencies will be adjusted.
With me so far? 🙂
Here’s where it gets tricky. Although "Bandwidth" and "Q" are often used interchangeably, and both refer to a particular range of frequencies, they are expressed in inverse scales. That is, a higher "Q" number means a narrower range, whereas a lower "Q" represents a wider range. For example, a "Q" of approximately 29 (trying to keep the numbers round here) translates to a mere 1/20th of an octave, while a "Q" of 0.40 affects 3 whole octaves.
With all of that in mind, let me offer a couple of real-world examples.
Let’s say you want to increase the amount of bass with a parametric EQ. If you set the center frequency low, say, 50 Hz, and set the Q high (for a narrow bandwidth) you can increase the amount of "low" bass you hear – kick drum, lower bass guitar, etc., without causing any mid-bass boost which might result in a muddier sound on a higher end system.
Or, let’s say you have smaller, bass-shy speakers that can’t reproduce lower bass notes. You might choose a higher center frequency – say 120 Hz – and a lower Q (for a wider bandwidth) and "warm up" the sound, compensating somewhat for the deficiencies in the speakers.
If you want to hear the effect of the settings best, I suggest picking a middle frequency – say, 1 kHz – and boost it a good amount – say, 10dB – with the Q set to mid-scale on your EQ. You’ll now become familiar with which parts of the audio "live" in that range. Leave everything else the same and cut the amount by 10dB and take note of what disappears. Widen the range and notice how a broader portion of the spectrum is affected. Move the center frequency up or down and see what effect that has. Experiment!
The bass shape control in Breakaway actually changes two of these factors simultaneously – center frequency and bandwidth. When used with the bass boost/cut slider, you can get pretty precise control over the quantity and texture of the bass. (These controls also affect compressor thresholds and maybe band outputl levels (?) in the multi-band processor section as well, but that’s another topic altogether…)
Leif or Jesse, please chime in if I haven’t described that function of Breakaway fairly or accurately!
Hope that helps some and didn’t muddy the waters further for you 🙂
Jim
[quote author=”Leif”]
The reason why many networks are using an 8500 at the studio and 2300s at the transmitter is two-fold: price + lossy STLs.
With lossy STLs, you can’t maintain peak control over the STL. You could solve this by running unprocessed audio through the STL and having an 8500 at every transmitter, but the 8500 is a very expensive processor, and it (as evident) becomes too great of an expense even for major radio networks. Running an 8500 at the studio and 2300s at the transmitters is considered the "next best thing", but it’s quite significantly worse than having an 8500 at the transmitter instead.
///Leif[/quote]
Wow….
This hurts my ears just reading about it, nevermind having to actually listen to the audio!
Lemme see if I have this right… a station coughs up $12K plus for an 8500, which they install at the studio. They cut corners by installing a lossy STL (which can’t handle the peak controlled signal of aforementioned 8500), so they spend another couple of grand on a 2300 at the transmitter….AND degrade the audio in the process (pun intended).
Did I miss anything?
And to think they could have purchased a PC, a killer sound card, and Breakaway Broadcast for a fraction of what they spent on the 8500 and 2300, bought the uncompressed STL of their choice, and still had enough left over for (insert favorite vice here)….
Wow….
Jim
When I read Frank’s description of where things at Omnia were going vision-wise on their website, I was really encouraged.
To my ear, the Omnia line has always been very capable of high-quality FM audio (within the confines of the medium of course) if used "properly." I like that he’s focusing on turning the attention back to quality.
One of the most intriguing elements is the real-time study of the "texture" of the audio going in (ie: clipped and overcompressed source material) and processing decisions made based upon that information. I can’t wait to hear one…
Jim
[quote author=”JesseG”]If there’s any one thing I can say about Vorsis… It’s that they are selling an idea.[/quote]
Which is… "If 6 bands are good, 31 must be five times as good"? 🙂
I’ll preface my remarks by saying that I have never knowingly heard a Vorsis processor and have never used one. I’ll also add that one of the most impressive sounding stations I’d heard up to that point "back in the day" was the old B-105 in Orlando when Jeff Keith was at the audio helm.
That said, 31 bands of limiting and/or clipping sounds (no pun intended) – at least in theory – like trouble just waiting to happen. That’s a whole lotta filters, and a whole lotta stuff to re-combine and control.
I think we all understand the benefits of multi-band dynamics control, but after 5, 6, or maybe 7 bands, what’s really to be gained? Is there a need for additional bands?
We’ve all heard very respectable processors, capable of sounding wonderful, turn into audio disasters in the wrong hands. You can go very, very wrong on the air with an 8500 or Omnia6 (the latter perhaps more than the former) if you don’t know what you’re doing or simply have – shall we say – questionable ears or tastes.
Again, I’m not criticizing the Vorsis in any way, but I question the need and wisdom of providing 31 bands of dynamics control.
If I’m missing something, I’m open-minded and all ears to anyone else’s input.
Jim
Hello staq –
I don’t think you’ve done anything wrong 🙂
Here’s a cut/paste from the FAQ section of the BAE site that explains how to set various audio levels on your computer that might help, and while it doesn’t specifically address the keyboard shortcut question, I think you’ll see how it applies.
To sum it up, though, you should use the BAE volume control to adjust your listening levels. The BAE toolbar makes this really easy to do, and can be activiated by right-clicking on the bottom of your screen (the area where open programs minimize), selecting "toolbars," and checking "Breakway." There’s even a "mute" button, and options to display the meters and scope if you so choose. Not a keyboard shortcut, but quite handy just the same since you don’t have to bother going into the Windows mixer.
Hope this helps!
What should I do with my media player’s volume setting?
For the best sound quality, keep your media player’s volume all the way up and adjust the sound level using the Breakaway control. Generally, Breakaway works best with the media player volume all the way up, so it has the full audio signal to work with. Use the Volume slider in the Breakaway window to adjust the output level.
What should I do with my system Output Volume setting?
Turn it all the way up. Breakaway uses a high quality dither volume control algorithm, so it’s safe to exclusively use the volume control in Breakaway.
What should I do with the volume control on my speakers?
With the Breakaway volume control at maximum (0dB), set the volume control on your speakers as loud as the speakers can handle cleanly (without distortion), then leave it there and use Breakaway’s control.
Jim
Zenith is my favorite, hands down.
I love the openness and the consistency, often mutually-exclusive qualities, and it works well on so many types of music. LOVE the Zenith 🙂
Sometimes on my smaller system I like Helix with very slow settings because of the texture of the bass in that preset, but I always end up back on Zenith.
I’m very excited to hear the new version.
Jim
[quote="Leif"]Hi Stuart!
There was indeed a well hidden easter egg in VL for windows that allowed this (although it was never ported to the mac).
VERY well hidden – I’ve done some pretty deep searches and have found nothing about said easter egg 🙂 Any suggestions on how one could "discover" it? 🙂
Jim Kuzman
