(The Little Processor That Roars®)

FM + HD
Five
Five-Band Processor
Plus Multipath Controller

User Reference Manual

Revision 07.20.23

Software Versions 1.2.0 and Higher

Designed
esigned and manufactured in the USA by Wheatstone Corporation
600 Industrial Drive, New Bern, North Carolina, 28562
+1 (252) 638-7000

1|Page
2|Page
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Subject Page

FCC Declaration of Conformity 12

Product Warranty Statement 13
Safety Instructions 14
History of Wheatstone/Audioarts Audio Processing 15
Introduction 16
Rack Mounting 17
General Advisories 17
Grounding 18
Surge Protection 18
UPS & Power Conditioning 18
Analog Input Connections 19
Analog Output Connections 20
Digital Audio Connections 20
Where to Install LiON 21
Digital STLs 21
Analog Left/Right STLs 22
Composite Analog STLs 23
Analog Phone Lines 23
Where Pre-emphasis Goes 23
Ratings Encoders 23
AC Power Considerations 23
Rear Panel Connections 24
LiON’s Audio Inputs 25

3|Page
Input Audio Failover 25
LiON’s Audio Outputs 25
Automatic Input Audio Failover 24
Network Connections 26
Factory Processing Presets 25
LiON Signal Flow 27
Front Panel 27
Overview 27
Passcode & Security 28
Menu Tree Diagram 29
Preset Selection 30
Input Selection 30
Pre-emphasis Selection 30
Sound Menu 31
Texture 31
Drive 31
Density 31
Loudness 31
Save Preset 31
EQ Menu 31
Low 31
Warm 31
High 32
Save Preset 32
Outputs Menu 32
TX Out 32
Pilot Inj 32

4|Page
 Dig Out 32
192 Out 32
Analog Out 32
Network Menu 33
IP address 33
Subnet Mask 33
Gateway 33
MAC Address 33
Version Menu 33
Access Menu 33
Lock 33
Unlock 33
Change PW? 34
Removing a Passcode 34
Exit Option 34
Installing the Windows-based Software GUI 35
Configuring a LiON Connection 36
Microsoft Windows Laptop Advisory 37
LiON GUI and its Navigation Buttons 39
Input Screen 39
Analog Audio Source 39
Digital Audio Source 39
Input Failsafe 39
Analog Gain 40
Digital Gain 40
Left/Right Balance 40
Left/Right Mode 40

5|Page
 Phase Rotator 40
HPF Freq 41
HPF Enable 41
Input Settings Change with Presets 41
Parametric Equalizer Screen (Para EQ) 41
EQ Enabled 42
Low Shelf Boost/Cut 42
Low Shelf Frequency 42
Para#1 and Para #2 42
High Shelf Boost/Cut 42
High Shelf Frequency 42
EQ Graphical Area 43
iAGC/Comps Screen 43
iAGC (Intelligent AGC) 44
MB Compressor 44
MB Leveler 45
AGC Drive 45
Gate Delay 45
Gate Thresh 45
Gate Mode 45
Detail Enhance 46
Multiband Gates 46
Gain Reduction Graphics 46
Operating the Graphical Area’s Adjustment Dots 47
Group Adjusters 49
UnGroup Adjusters 49
Group All Adjusters 49

6|Page
 UnGroup All Adjusters 49
Flatten 49
Proportional Drag 49
Flat Drag 49
Leveler Threshold Tab 49
Leveler Atk (Attack) Tab 50
Leveler Rls (Release) Tab 50
Density Tab 51
Comp Atk (Attack) Tab 51
Comp Rls (Release) Tab 52
Ratio Tab 53
AGCM Mix Tab 54
St Enh (Stereo Enhance) Tab 54
GUI Limiters Screen 56
Multiband Limiter Enable 56
Multiband Limiter Drive 56
Multiband Knee 56
Bass Clipper Enable 57
Bass Clipper Drive 58
Bass Clipper Threshold 58
Main Clipper Drive 58
Main Clipper Pre-emphasis 59
Limiter Threshold Tab 59
Limiter Attack Tab 60
Limiter Release Tab 61
MPX & Output Screen, Process & SCA Tab 62
Composite Clipper Drive 62

7|Page
 MPX Mode 63
Pilot Injection 63
Pilot Phase 63
SCA Level 64
ITU BS.412 MPX Power Controller 64
BS.412 Enable 64
BS.412 Drive 64
BS.412 Offset 64
MPX & Output Screen, Outputs Tab 65
Analog Level 65
Analog HD Delay 65
Analog De-emphasis 65
Digital Level 66
Digital HD Delay 66
Digital De-emphasis 66
Sample Rate 66
MPX Output 66
Output Settings Change with Preset Takes 66
MPX & Output Screen, Delay and Test Tab 66
Tone Enable 67
Tone Level 67
Tone Frequency 67
Diversity Delay 67
HD+ Screen 68
Input Control 69
iAGC 69
All 69

8|Page
 Trim 69
Lookahead Limiter 69
Threshold 69
Knee 69
L/R Coupling 70
AGC On/Off 70
AGC Attack 70
AGC Release 70
AGC Backoff 71
BS.1770 Loudness Controller 71
BS.1770 Target 72
Auto Target 72
Meter Range 72
dBLU 72
Long Term Avg (Average) 72
Equalizer 72
EQ Enabled 73
Low Shelf Boost/Cut 73
Low Shelf Frequency 73
Para #1 and Para #2 73
Hi Shelf Boost/Cut 73
Hi Shelf Frequency 73
EQ Graphical Area 73
HD+ Output Tab 74
Level 74
De-emphasis 75
Scheduler Button 75

9|Page
 Long Term Events 76
Editing Events 77
Deleting Events 77
System Screen 78
CoProcessor Version 78
GUI Version 78
Status 78
Temperature 79
Date & Time 79
CoProc IP 79
CoProc MAC 79
WNIP Host Blade 79
WNIP Sample Rate 80
Security 80
Remote Login 80
Front Panel (Security) 81
GUI Access 81
GUI Lock 81
Miscellaneous 82
Set Time 82
Front Panel Metering 83
INP (Input) 84
AGC 84
LIM 84
OUT 84
TX 84
GUI Metering – FM Processing 84

10 | P a g e
 Input 84
Corr (Correlator) 85
iAGC/Compressors 85
Multiband Limiters 85
Final Meters 86
PWR (MPX Power) 86
Outputs 87
GUI Metering – HD+ Processing 87
HD+ Leveler 87
HD+ Auto-Target 88
HD+ Limiter 88
BS.1770 88
400mS 88
3 Sec 88
10 Sec 89
30 Sec 89
OUTPUTS 89

Appendix A - Common Audio Processing Terms 90

Appendix B - Getting the Sound You Want 96
Appendix C - RDS Encoder Setup and Operation 103
Appendix D - WheatnetIP System Interfacing 116
Appendix E - Typical Specifications 120

11 | P a g e
 Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
Declaration of Conformity

The following information refers to the Audioarts LiON FM/HD Audio Processor.

This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B digital device, pursuant
to Part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful
interference in a residential installation. This equipment generates, uses, and can radiate radio frequency
energy and, if not installed and used in accordance with the instructions, may cause h harmful
armful interference
to radio communications. However, there is no guarantee that interference will not occur in a particular
installation. If this equipment does cause harmful interference to radio or television reception, which can
be determined by turningg the equipment off and on, the user is encouraged to try to correct the
interference by one or more of the following measures:

Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna.

Increase the separation between the equipment and receiver.

Connect the equipment into an outlet on a circuit different from that to which the receiver is connected.

Consult our technical support department for help.

Wheatstone and Audioarts are not responsible for any radio or television interference caused by using
other than recommended
mended cables and connectors or by unauthorized changes or modifications to this
equipment. Unauthorized changes or modifications will void the user’s authority to operate the
equipment as well as void its warranty.

This device complies with Part 15 of th

thee FCC Rules. Operation is subject to the following two conditions:
(1) this device may not cause harmful interference, and (2) this device must accept any interference
received, including interference that may cause undesired operation.

Responsible Party:
Wheatstone Corporation
600 Industrial Drive
New Bern, NC 28562
Email: [email protected]

12 | P a g e
 Warranty Statement
Limited Warranty by Wheatstone Corporation
1. All equipment sold and shipped to final destinations within the USA and its possessions
warranted for one (1) full year from the date of purchase against defects in material and
workmanship. All equipment sold and shipped to final destinations outside the U.S.A.
and its possessions warranted for one (1) full year from the date of purchase against
defects in material and workmanship.

All repairs to maintain the unit at original specification will be made at no charge to the
original purchaser, except for shipping and insurance costs to be prepaid by the owner to
the factory in the event the unit cannot be serviced by an authorized Wheatstone
Corporation dealer.

2. This Warranty is subject to the following restrictions and conditions:

a. The owner must have registered the product at Wheatstone's official web site; or
at the time of servicing the owner must provide proof of purchase from an
authorized Wheatstone Corporation sales engineer, distributor or dealer.
b. This Warranty is valid for the original purchaser on the unit. Parts used for
replacement are warranted for the remainder of the original warranty period.
Repair or replacement is in the discretion of Wheatstone Corporation and is the
exclusive remedy hereunder.
c. This Warranty DOES NOT apply to damage or defects resulting from abuse,
careless use, misuse, improper installation, electrical spikes or surges, or
alteration, repair, or service of the unit or equipment by anyone other than
Wheatstone Corporation or its authorized dealer.
d. This Warranty is void if the serial number has been removed, altered or defaced.
e. This Warranty DOES NOT cover loss or damage, direct or indirect, arising out of
the use or inability to use this unit or for shipping or transportation to any dealer.
f. Wheatstone Corporation reserves the right to modify or change any unit in whole
or in part at any time prior to return delivery in order to incorporate electronic or
mechanical improvements deemed appropriate by the Wheatstone Corporation
but without incurring any responsibility for modifications or changes of any unit
previously delivered or to supply any new equipment in accordance with any
earlier specifications.
g. THERE ARE NO OTHER WARRANTIES, EXPRESSED, IMPLIED, OR
STATUTORY, INCLUDING ANY WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY
OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. IF FOR ANY REASON ANY
IMPLIED OR STATUTORY WARRANTY CANNOT BE DISCLAIMED,
THEY ARE LIMITED TO THIRTY (30) DAYS FROM THE DATE OF
PURCHASE. WHEATSTONE COPORATION IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR
ELECTRICAL DAMAGE, LOSS OF USE, INCONVENIENCE, DAMAGE TO
OTHER PROPERTY, OR ANY OTHER INCIDENTAL OR
CONSEQUENTIAL, WHETHER DIRECT OR INDIRECT, AND WHETHER
ARISING IN CONTRACT, TORT, OR OTHERWISE. NO
REPRESENTATIVES, DEALERS, OR WHEATSTONE PERSONNEL ARE
AUTHORIZED TO MAKE ANY WARRANTIES, REPRESENTATIONS, OR
GUARANTIES OTHER THAN THOSE EXPRESSLY STATED HEREIN.

13 | P a g e
 SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS

Heat
This product must be situated away from heat sources and high heat
generating equipment.

Ventilation
This product does not have ventilation holes or slots in its enclosure.
Cooling is via natural convection from its high emissivity flat black finish.

Water and Moisture

Do not use this product near water.

Power Sources
The device must be operated from the power source listed in its
specifications and on the rear panel label. If you are not sure of the type of
power supplied to your facility, consult your local electrical supplier of a
qualified electrician.

Grounding and Polarization

This product is equipped with a polarized AC plug with integral safety
ground pin. Do not defeat the ground safety ground in any manner.

Power Cord Protection

Power supply cords should be routed in a manner to make them unlikely to
be pinched or punctured by any object.

Lightning
For added protection from lighting induced transients a well-qualified surge
protector and proper grounding is recommended. In high radio frequency
energy environments additional filtering on the I/O leads may be necessary
in order to result in proper operation in those environments.

Servicing
Refer all servicing of the product to Wheatstone Corporation or their
authorized and designated repair facility. Unauthorized service of the
product may void the product warranty.

14 | P a g e
 A Brief History of A u d i o a r t s a n d
Wheatstone Audio Processors

Wheatstone was originally founded as Audioarts Engineering and spent its early
years designing custom audio processing and mixing products for the music and
entertainment industries. An Audioarts product’s high quality, exacting attention to
detail, and unsurpassed audio performance and reliability drove an ever-increasing
demand for a wider variety of its products.

Audioarts products are designed and manufactured by its parent company,

Wheatstone Corporation, and are designed and built to the same rigorously high
standards. Research and development, manufacturing, testing, and quality control
are all accomplished in Wheatstone’s large state-of-the-art facility in the historic
city of New Bern, North Carolina.

Our design and manufacturing processes operate together to retain complete

control over all facets of product creation. From the birth of a product idea to the
shipping of the finished product to customers, everything happens in house.
Further, by not relying on any offshore manufacturing Wheatstone remains true to
its pledge of “Made in the USA”.

A dozen experts with deep experience in Digital Signal Processing, broadcast audio
and other highly technical engineering disciplines make up our audio processing
team. Led by audio processing specialist and broadcast engineering veteran Jeff
Keith, the team combines their creative skills to design and build audio processors
that achieve a higher standard for on air sound quality.

Wheatstone has invented many new and unique audio processing algorithms to
help on-air broadcasts sound better and push audio processor performance to new
and higher levels. We created the first program density aware AGC, the first audio
limiter to employ the science of human psychoacoustics to mask its operation (our
patented 31-band limiter) and our patented method for ensuring that a station’s HD
time alignment is perfect, and stays there.

Each Wheatstone Audio Processor can be remotely controlled by a Windows®

software-based Graphical User Interface. In addition, carefully crafted factory
presets ensure that our audio processors can be placed into use quickly, in any size
market, and with a minimum of effort – a PhD in audio processing is not required!

With thousands of our audio processors now in the field we cordially invite you to
take a look at our new LiON… “the little processor that roars”.

15 | P a g e
INTRODUCTION

Audioarts LiON FM/HD+ audio processor is the first product to offer highly
advanced on-air audio processing and a dual processing path in a half-rack sized
package. It not only incorporates some of our most advanced audio processing
algorithms, it also combines myriad ways to put them to use.

The FM processing system includes a five band AGC with a windowed leveler, a
five-band limiter and a distortion-cancelled clipper. The stereo generator provides a
single analog composite output on a rear panel BNC connector. It can also, and
simultaneously provide, digital composite multiplex over AES on a male XLR
connector using our Baseband192® technology.

The stereo generator is also equipped with a full-featured RDS/RBDS encoder

which may be operated in static mode, or may receive dynamic information from
any broadcast automation system via the UECP protocol.

The HD+ processing path can optionally include the five-band AGC and limiters,
just the windowed leveler output, or even the unprocessed audio input if desired.
The HD+ processing also includes a BS.1770-compliant automatic loudness
controller with a settable LUFS target and full metering of short and long term
loudness.

The Input Audio Source may be analog left/right, AES3 digital, or WheatnetIP
with automatic fallback to a secondary audio input should the primary audio source
fail. If failover to the backup source occurs and the primary source comes back up
later, LiON will automatically switch back over to the primary audio source.

Several dozen Factory Presets are included for getting users up and running
quickly. Those, or customer generated presets, may be automatically put on air via
the full featured clock-based Preset Scheduler.

The analog and digital (AES3) outputs may be selected to output either the
processed FM signal or the HD+ processing. De-emphasis options are provided for
whenever the outputs need to carry the processed FM audio and provide a ‘flat
response’ audio output.

LiON’s FM stereo multiplex and HD audio outputs may also be sent over a
network to our SystemLink® decoder with the FM and HD audio remaining in
perfect sync.

LiON’s analog and digital audio inputs and outputs are available on separate RJ-45
jacks which follow standard StudioHub pin assignments. Any compatible RJ to
XLR breakout cables may be used for external devices only equipped with XLR-
style connectors.

16 | P a g e
Rack Mounting

Lion can optionally be mounted into an industry standard 19” equipment rack and will
require one rack unit (RU) of vertical space. If using only two rack screws always use the
bottom two screws to prevent twisting of the front panel and other undue forces from
harming the processor chassis.

LiON does not need and does not have ventilation holes. Cooling is accomplished via the
high emissivity of its black extruded aluminum enclosure.

LiON may be mounted between other devices in the equipment rack; however, in
accordance with good engineering practice it should not be mounted directly above
devices that generate a significant amount of heat (such as power amplifiers or power
supplies). If such a location is unavoidable it is advisable to utilize an extra 1RU blank
rack panel between LiON and devices immediately above or below it.

GENERAL ADVISORIES

LiON's enclosure usually does not need to be opened in the field. There are no user-
serviceable parts inside.

LiON's power supply operates at voltages well above the incoming AC line potential and
pose a hazardous, if not potentially lethal, risk.

Special tools, software, and fixtures are required for service.

Please don’t shower with LiON. It is not compatible with water.

As with all computers and mission-critical broadcast equipment, LiON should always
receive its AC power from an Uninterruptable Power Supply (UPS) and be protected with
a suitably rated surge protector.

LiON must be returned to Wheatstone Corporation under a Return Authorization in the

unlikely event that repair is necessary.

If you hear LiON roar, it’s because it’s supposed to.

LiON requires a Return Authorization should it need to be returned to the factory for
repair. Contact our Technical Support department via:

Telephone: +1 252-638-7000 Monday through Friday 8:30am to 5:30pm ET.

Our online Support Web Portal: https://shorturl.at/gow29

Via email: [email protected].

17 | P a g e
LiON Installation Tips

Grounding:

Establish a low impedance common ground in the broadcast facility and try to
route all equipment grounds to that point – this is what’s known as a ‘star’
ground.

Always use ground conductors with the largest possible surface area and keep
ground leads as short as possible.

LiON's ground reference is its chassis which should have a connection to station
ground. This is especially important when LiON is operating in a high RF
environment and helps minimize differential voltages between the processor’s
chassis and other pieces of gear and the rack that it is mounted in.

Surge Protection:

Always place surge protection circuits as close as possible to the device being
protected.

AC power line surge protection should manage transients to keep instantaneous

potential differences between power line hot, neutral, AC grounding conductor
and the station ground and processor chassis as low as possible.

Measures should be taken to keep the instantaneous potential difference between

the audio cable shields and the processor chassis as low as possible, particularly
when LiON is located within an electrically hostile environment such as the
station’s transmitter site.

UPS/Power Conditioning:

Choose the best power conditioning/UPS units that your budget will allow,
focusing on its features, options, and performance. Some questions to ask while
shopping:

Will the UPS behave properly when AC power is not exactly 60Hz, such as when
the facility is on backup generator?

If the UPS has built-in surge protection, what kind of surge capability does it have
and where are those surges directed to?

Is the UPS equipped with remote monitoring capability?

Does the UPS have onboard monitoring and alarms to signal problems such as
low batteries and primary power outages?

18 | P a g e
Analog Audio Input Connections:

Balanced audio input sources are recommended and should always be connected to LiON
using standard two-conductor shielded audio cable such as Belden 8451 or 9451.

Unbalanced input audio connections are not recommended, however should they be
needed, connections between the unbalanced source output and LiON’s input should be
connected as follows: the unbalanced source’s “hot” should connect to LiON’s “Hi” input
(XLR pin2) and the unbalanced source’s shield connected to LiON’s “Lo” input (XLR
pin-3).

In certain circumstances grounding the shield conductor also at LiON’s input (XLR pin-
1) may also be needed to reduce noise and hum.

If RF interference is an issue, the floating and ungrounded far end of the audio cable
shield can be experimentally bypassed to RF ground via a 0.01uF, 250V AC rated
capacitor.

The purpose of using a capacitor rather than a direct ‘wire’ connection to ground is to
prevent a power-line frequency ground loop (hum). The capacitor’s relatively low
capacitance presents a high impedance at power line frequencies but a low impedance
path for RF currents in both the AM and FM broadcast bands.

Note that sometimes grounding the far end of the cable shield in this manner makes the
problem worse, but the only way to find out if it helps is to try it. Here are some suitably
rated capacitors:

Brand Capacitor Ratings Manufacturer’s Part Number

TDK 10,000pF, 250VAC, +/-20% CS17-F2GA103MYGS
Murata 10,000pF, 250VAC, +/-20% DE2F3KH103MA3B
Panasonic 10,000pF, 440VAC, +/-20% ECK-ATS103MF
AVX 10,000pF, 250VAC, +/-20% 65N103MBLCP

LiON’s analog and digital audio inputs and outputs are via RJ-45 connectors and are
interfaced using StudioHub compatible pigtails so some ‘creativity’ might be needed to
devise a method for connecting a cable shield to ground through a capacitor.

For RF interference mitigation snap-on torroidal cores can be installed on the StudioHub
wires rather than performing surgery on its molded XLR connectors. If so, the snap-on
cores should be made of Manganese Zinc (MnZn) and/or Nickel Zinc (NiZn).

MnZn has good attenuation properties at low broadcast frequencies such as the AM
broadcast band, and NiZn has properties better suited to the FM broadcast band. It may
not hurt to use both types, nor will it hurt to use more than one of each type on the same
cable, keeping them as close as possible to the rear panel of LiON. Looping the wire
through the core more than once will also increase a core’s effectiveness.

19 | P a g e
Analog Audio Output Connections:

Balanced audio loads are always recommended and should be connected to LiON’s
outputs using standard two-conductor shielded audio cable such as Belden 8451 or 9451.

Unbalanced audio loads should be avoided, but if they can’t they should be connected
using shielded two conductor cable such as Belden 8451 or 9451, just as if connecting a
balanced source.

LiON is equipped with an active balanced output driver stage that behaves like a
transformer and the correct wiring method may be different than expected.

The unbalanced load’s “Hi” lead should be connected to LiON’s output XLR Pin 2
(“Hi”) or StudioHub pins 1 or 3.

The unbalanced load’s shield should be connected to LiON’s output XLR Pin 3 (“Lo”) or
StudioHub pins 2 or 6.

To enable LiON’s balanced output amplifier to operate correctly when driving an

unbalanced load it is recommended that LiON’s XLR output Pin 1 (ground/shield) also
be connected to Pin 3 (“Lo”) at the LiON end of the cable and not at the far end.

Do not connect the XLR Pin 1 and Pin 3 conductors together at the far end of the
cable. Doing so can introduce external noise and crosstalk on the output
amplifier’s ‘load sense’ lead which is XLR Pin 3 whenever Pin 2 is being used as
the “Hot.”

As in the input case, if RF interference is an issue the far (floating) end of the cable shield
can be experimentally bypassed to RF ground through a 10,000pF AC rated capacitor to
see if it helps. Please refer to the table in the Analog Input Connections section above for
capacitors known to be suitable for the task.

Digital Audio Connections:

For digital audio connections always use a good quality balanced digital audio cable (or
twisted pair Category 5E/6 Network cable) having a characteristic impedance of 110
ohms.

The cable should be shielded where possible and in the case of multi-pair cable, each pair
should be individually shielded. Foil shielding is recommended for permanent
installations and a cable with foil shield plus an overall braid should be used in
applications where frequent flexing of cables will occur.

20 | P a g e
Generic audio cable such as Belden 8451 and 9451 may be used for interconnecting
AES3 digital audio devices as long as the cable is short. The actual cable length that will
work satisfactorily is determined by many factors; the error correction and jitter tolerance
of the AES3 receiver in the equipment being fed, the characteristics of the digital cable
driver, and the characteristics of the specific cable being used and the cable’s length.

Generic analog audio cables typically have higher capacitance than digital cable and high
capacitance cables can impair the ability of the AES3 receiver to recover the digital
signal without errors. Increased jitter, dropouts, or no audio at all can be an indication of
an improper cable type or a digital cable that is simply too long.

Where to install LiON

The best location to install LiON is always at the transmitter site. The primary benefit of
a transmitter site installation is availability of LiON’s built-in stereo generator and MPX
processing, much tighter control of modulation peaks, and more competitive loudness.

A transmitter site location allows the use of LiON's oversampled composite processor
which can create additional loudness without the audible grunge and spectral garbage that
analog composite clippers create.

With the advent of Wheatstone’s Baseband192® technology the promise of an all digital
air chain that is as loud as and cleaner than analog composite is a reality. Users have the
option of deploying LiON using either traditional analog MPX, or MPX over AES with a
suitably equipped exciter.

We recommend that whenever there is a choice between using an exciter’s composite

MPX, AES over MPX option, or AES3 left/right input, LiON should be interfaced to the
transmitter using either the exciter’s MPX over AES, or its analog composite MPX input.

The exciter’s AES3 digital left/right input may be ‘clean’ and it may be ‘digital,’ but it
also precludes the ability to gain additional loudness through the use of LiON's
oversampled composite clipper. Also, depending on several factors including the sample
rates being used, an FM exciter’s AES digital left/right inputs typically exhibit inferior
infrasonic frequency response and peak control compared to its composite MPX input.

When LiON is located at the studio and an STL is being used to send the program
material to the transmitter site there are several issues to consider:

Digital STL:

There are two general categories of Digital STL’s on the market – those with codec-based
audio compression and those using uncompressed linear audio.

When a digital STL employs codec-based audio compression LiON should be located at
the transmitter site, placing it after the codec. This is because most codecs will sound far

21 | P a g e
better when presented with unprocessed studio audio instead of highly processed and pre-
emphasized audio from an FM on-air processor’s output.

Further, the encoding schemes used in such STL’s usually cannot accurately pass the
well-defined peak levels created by LiON and will create a modulation (loudness)
disadvantage.

Installing LiON at the studio end of a “compressed” STL brings with it at least two
caveats:

LiON’s stereo generator and composite clipper are not available. Many digital
exciters offer stereo generator and composite clipper functions but their clippers
have historically been quite crude and spectrally ‘dirty’. Exciter-hosted composite
clippers are usually not the optimum choice when the ultimate in sound quality is
the goal.

Compressed STL’s do not perform well when presented with competitively

processed audio, especially when that audio has been pre-emphasized.

Codecs do their magic by examining the incoming audio for opportunities to remove
content that shouldn’t be audible to the average human ear. When densely processed
audio is presented to a codec there are fewer opportunities to remove redundant audio
information and then mask that removal from our hearing, resulting in the commonly
known codec artifacts such as swishing and a metallic texture to the audio.

When handling heavily processed (limited dynamic range) material, codec operation can
be much more obvious – even to the point of being objectionable – than when the
processing is located after the codec where the masked artifacts are only occasionally
and, usually, minimally unmasked by processing gain.

TIP: If using the LiON at the studio be certain that any clippers or pre-emphasis in the
transmitter site’s stereo generator are calibrated properly and complement the
settings in LiON. There can be gross distortion and large and unpredictable
modulation overshoots if pre-emphasis is also enabled in the transmitter.

Analog Left/Right STL:

Older analog discrete left/right channel STL’s can suffer from the inability to control
audio peaks because of inadequate bandwidth in their IF circuits or poor low frequency
and phase performance. Also, individual left/right STL’s rarely have identical group
delay which will adversely affect stereo separation. Such STL’s can also suffer from AFC
bounce when handling highly processed low frequency material, robbing modulation and
reducing on-air loudness.

22 | P a g e
Composite Analog STL:

A high quality analog composite STL has many advantages over an analog left/right STL
and will typically have broader audio bandwidth and better audio performance than a
discrete analog STL. Most also have the capability to add subcarriers for SCA and RDS
along with the composite audio. That means that subcarrier generators may be located at
the studio which, along with the audio processor, makes for a very convenient setup.

When the system includes a modern composite STL and a properly engineered point-to-
point RF path, the on-air audio can be nearly indistinguishable from that using a digital
STL.

Analog Phone Lines:

Discrete left/right analog ‘phone line’ STL’s are not recommended because of the
inability of most Telco service providers to meet the tight frequency response and phase
matching requirements of a stereo audio pair. Furthermore, in many locales wideband
analog audio circuits are unavailable or their cost prohibitive. On the other hand, if the
‘wired’ STL is a dedicated (and equalized if necessary) pair of circuits under the station’s
complete control, it might be acceptable.

Where Should Pre-Emphasis Go?

Pre-emphasis should always be applied by the FM audio processor and never by the FM
exciter. Modern FM audio processors are equipped with highly refined and very
sophisticated technology to manage the myriad challenges posed by FM pre-emphasis
and can provide very tight modulation control with very low perceived distortion. No FM
exciters have this technology.

To summarize, the overall best location for the audio processor is at the transmitter site.

Ratings Encoders:

Lab testing and field experience has shown that all of our on-air audio processors,
including LiON, favorably pass the data watermarking technology used in the Nielsen
and Kantar rating services and regardless of the aggressiveness of the audio processing
performed.

AC Power Considerations

To enhance long-term reliability LiON does not have a power off/on switch. All power
switches notoriously become intermittent over time and without regular use.

LiON accepts AC line input voltages between 100 and 240 VAC, 50 or 60Hz, and its
power consumption is less than 20VA.

23 | P a g e
Although aggressive AC input filtering is utilized on LiON’s AC power input, it is
always advisable to use external surge protection and an uninterruptible power supply
(UPS) where possible. This is especially true where the AC power quality can be in
question, such as at a remote transmitter site.

Power conditioning, surge suppression, and even power backup devices are wise
investments when using sensitive modern electronic devices. LiON is, after all, a highly
specialized “computer.”

The use of a UPS will also protect LiON from very short duration power interruptions
which might otherwise signal it to reboot. When LiON powers up or reboots there is a
loss of audio for approximately 35 seconds.

Rear Panel Connections

The image below shows the rear panel of LiON and the location of various connectors
associated with installation:

LiON Rear Panel Connections from left to right:

Connector Type Function and Notes

RJ-45 Left/Right analog audio input – StudioHub wiring standard
RJ-45 Left/Right analog audio output – StudioHub wiring standard
BNC Female Processed stereo MPX output
BNC Female SCA/Subcarrier Input
RJ-45 Left/Right digital audio input – StudioHub wiring standard
RJ-45 Left/Right digital audio output – StudioHub wiring standard
RJ-45 100BaseT Network connection
IEC C-14 male 100-240VAC power input – internally fused

24 | P a g e
Audio Inputs:

LiON accepts three types of audio input sources:

Balanced analog line level left/right audio;

Digital AES3-compliant left/right audio with sample rates between 32kHz and
96kHz;

WheatnetIP via its 100BaseT Ethernet connection to a WheatnetIP audio

network.

Input audio can be applied to any or all inputs simultaneously. Automatic audio failover
from analog to digital or vice versa is supported.

Automatic failover from AES3 or WheatnetIP to analog is instantaneous and based on

invalid or missing bits in the AES3 stream or after 30 seconds of “silence” on both
channels (audio level below -42dBFS).

Automatic failover from analog to AES3 or WheatnetIP is based on silence sense and in
response to audio on both channels being below -42dBFS for more than 30 seconds.

Input failover capability is not available between the AES3 and WheatnetIP inputs.

Audio Outputs

Outputs for the FM and/or HD audio paths are available as:

Balanced analog left/right stereo, pre-emphasized.

Balanced analog left/right stereo, de-emphasized according to the pre-

emphasis in use.

AES3 digital left/right stereo, de-emphasized according to the pre-emphasis in

use.

AES3 digital FM composite (Baseband192®) connected to compatible FM

transmitter or exciter*

Unbalanced FM composite stereo on one BNC female connector.

Left/right audio via a WheatnetIP audio network.

*The AES digital output connector is switchable between left/right stereo and digital
composite (Baseband192®). Note also that the Baseband192® MPX signal is not available

25 | P a g e
or routable within a WheatnetIP network due to the high sample rate and special data
formatting.

Network Connections

LiON can connect to a network or PC/laptop over wired Ethernet via the 100Base-T
Ethernet port on the rear panel. The port is Auto-MDIX and therefore supports either
straight through or crossover cables. The wired Ethernet interface can support multiple
and simultaneous connections to remote LiON GUIs.

Factory Processing Presets

LiON comes equipped with several dozen factory presets and can hold 100 presets in its
onboard memory. Customer-created presets can be saved within LiON’s onboard
memory until all 100 preset storage slots are full. An unlimited number of presets may be
stored on the PC hosting the Windows-based remote control GUI software.

It may take several seconds for a new preset’s settings to fully settle in so it is important
to remember this when switching between presets and judging the resulting on-air sound.

If a Factory or User preset is recalled and not modified, the preset name will be displayed
in green text in the GUI’s Current Preset window. If changes are made the color of the
preset name will change to red. If/when those settings are then saved back to LiON the
preset name assigned when the settings were saved will appear in the Current Preset
window in green text.

Factory presets can be adjusted and saved to a new preset name in order to create a new
custom on-air sound.

Note that factory presets are write-protected and changes made to them cannot be written
back over the original preset's memory location.

Factory presets that have been modified are considered by the system to be ‘user’ presets
and therefore must be saved in a new preset storage slot.

Our advice is to explore all of the factory presets and then pick the preset that is the
closest to your desired on-air sound texture (not necessarily loudness).

If changes are necessary we recommend making no more than two or three adjustments at
a time and then listening for a while before deciding more changes are necessary.

A broadcast audio consultant friend of ours who has many decades of field experience
with all kinds of on-air processors and program formats offers this advice:

“Tweak small, Listen large”

26 | P a g e
LiON SIGNAL FLOW

The diagram below shows the overall signal flow inside the LiON processor
including the output signal switching and source select switching for the input of
the HD+ processing path.

FRONT PANEL OVERVIEW

LiON’s front panel is equipped with a rotary encoder with push switch, aan
illuminated “Back” button for use when navigating the front panel menu structure,
and a 128x128 pixel organic LED ((OLED) for displaying the menu. The name of
the current preset and the processing gain reduction and input/output metering is
always displayed on the Home screen
screen.

There is also a “Link” LED located to the right of and below the rotary encoder for
status and the state of any network connections present.

LED STATE
Off No Ethernet network connection is present
Red On briefly during power up while the operating system loads
Green On steady if an active network connection is present

Note: the Link LED does not blink during network data transmissions but remains
solid green.

27 | P a g e
 Navigating the front panel is user
ser-
friendly.

When the menu tree is not in use and

has timed out a Home screen (shown at
left) will be visible with the processing
activity, input/output levels and the
name of the current preset being
shown.

Turning the rotary encoder, activating its push switch, or pressing the Back button
will cause the Home screen to be replaced by a menu tree (shown on next page)
displaying the various options and settings which are available for adjustment.

Scrolling through the front panel menu is done via the rotary encoder. Selecting the
option to investigate or modify is accomplished by pressing the encoder’s push
switch an item is highlighted..

Navigating out of the selected option and back into the overall menu tree is done
using the “Back” button. Two pushes of the Back button will exit out to the Home
screen.

Front Panel Security: At the bottom of the menu tree is an option called Access
which allows the user to lock the front panel and prevent access to anything but the
Home screen and the password entry dialog.

We’ve used a four-digit

digit numerical passcode to create a one in ten thousand chance
of someone simply guessing the passcode. Note also that the front panel is not
‘locked out’ if more than a certain number of passcode guesses have been
attempted. Even an extremelyely lucky person would need some time to hit on the one
correct code out of the 10,000 possible ch
choices.

If the front panel passcode is not known or has been forgotten, Audioarts customer
support can instruct you on how to get it unlocked
unlocked; there is no general ‘reset’’ code.

Contact
ontact Wheatstone Customer support if passcode assistance is required:

Email [email protected] or call us at +1 252-638-7000.

28 | P a g e
LiON FRONT PANEL MENU TREE

As an example for how the menu navigation works, scroll down the menu items to find
the IP Address entry and then press the jog wheel. Now, each press of the jog wheel will
select a different octet of the four octets of the IP address. While a particular octet is
selected, turning the jog wheel will increment or decrement the values. When the correct
value is found, press the jog wheel to select it and the cursor will go to the next octet.
Once there, turn the jog wheel to select the correct val
value, and so on. The same procedure
is used to modify any numerical value within the menu menu.

29 | P a g e
Functionally, the front panel and its menu are limited to basic setup such as the network
configuration, input audio source selection, output level adjustments and basic processing
tuning, all things typically addressed during initial LiON setup.

For deeper and complete access to every control that the LiON offers we strongly
recommend using the software GUI application. The GUI interface is quite
comprehensive and also allows LiON to be remotely controlled from anywhere in the
world. The following discussion will explain each item of the front panel menu tree.

PRESETS:
Selecting this item allows scrolling through the several dozen Factory Presets. The
list can be simply scrolled to see what’s available and a preset from the list may be
placed on-air by pressing the rotary encoder wheel to activate the Take option
while the desired preset is highlighted.

Important Note: Always allow a selected preset to ‘settle in’ for a few seconds
before deciding how it sounds. Due to the intelligence built into LiON’s algorithms
it must learn about the incoming program content while applying the preset-
selected processing style. Note also that switching between presets can sometimes
cause a brief glitch in the audio due to the new preset switching in or out styles of
processing needed by the preset being recalled.

INPUT:
This selection allows the audio input source to be selected and the input gains
separately adjusted for the analog and digital inputs. Under normal circumstances
the input level controls should be left at their zero settings to ensure enough
headroom inside LiON’s internal signal chain.

PRE-EMPH:
This selection is used to apply the correct amount of FM pre-emphasis for the
region in which LiON will be used on the air.

In some markets in the US we’ve noted that FM stations will select the 50µS when
75µS is the standard. Selecting 50µS instead causes 3dB less pre-emphasis which
then does two things:

It eases the amount of work the processor’s FM clipper needs to do to in

order control high frequencies and audio peaks.

Because US-based FM receivers will still apply 75uS de-emphasis, the

processed audio will be ‘softer’ on the ears, a sometimes useful
processing trick for female-targeted program formats.

There is no right or wrong – set pre-emphasis for what is appropriate for your
format and your market’s radio listeners.

30 | P a g e
SOUND
This section of the menu allows the user to modify how a preset sounds with two
main sections available, Texture and EQ.

Texture
Allows the Drive, Density and Loudness to be modified in ways that a processing
expert would do it using the ‘back door’ controls we use when making Factory
Presets. Adjusting each of these options moves a series of background adjustments
in order to achieve a new sound. Each control will be described in turn.

Drive: adjusts how much work the AGC and Limiter sections will be doing.
Settings with positive numbers mean “more” and those with negative numbers
mean “less”. The Drive control is always adjusted to taste.

Density: adjusts how fast the AGC and Limiter sections do their work. Positive
numbers mean the processing works “faster” and negative numbers mean it works
“slower”. Like the Drive control, the Density control is adjusted to taste, noting
that negative settings will sound more relaxed.

Loudness: adjusts the drive to the final FM clipper and to a lesser degree the MPX
clipper as well. Higher positive numbers mean “more” loudness and negative
numbers mean “less”. This control is adjusted to satisfy competitive market
conditions, noting that any clipper driven too hard can create undesired distortion.

Save Preset: this option allows saving the current settings as a preset, and when
selected, a prompt will appear for a new preset name. Once the preset is saved it
becomes the currently running preset on the air.

NOTE: If the source preset was a Factory preset, modified, and then saved, it will
be saved as the original Factory preset’s name in the lowest numbered and
available preset slot.

EQ
Allows tailoring of LiON’s low, mid and high frequency spectral energy as
follows:

Low: allows tailoring of very low frequencies such as those below 100 Hz which
can be useful for adjusting bass punch. As in the Texture menus, positive numbers
mean ‘more’ and negative numbers mean ‘less’.

Warm: allows tailoring of the audio spectrum around 300-500 Hz. Increasing the
Warmth setting can add a sense of fullness to the audio, while reducing it can open
up the separation between lows and highs creating a more open sound.

31 | P a g e
An excessive Warmth setting can cause the sound to be ‘tubby’ and should be
avoided. Just like the Texture menus, positive numbers mean ‘more’ and negative
numbers mean ‘less’.

High: allows custom adjustments to the very high frequencies above 8-10 kHz,
commonly known as ‘sparkle’. Like the Texture menus, positive numbers mean
‘more’ and negative numbers mean ‘less’.

Be aware that FM pre-emphasis already challenges the final peak processing in

most FM on-air processors and LiON is no exception. A little high frequency EQ
boost goes a l-o-n-g way.

Save Preset: this option allows saving the current settings as a preset, and when
selected, a prompt will appear for a new preset name. Once the preset is saved it
becomes the currently running preset on the air.

NOTE: If the source preset was a Factory preset, was modified, and was then
saved, it will be saved with the original Factory preset’s name and in the lowest
numbered and available preset slot.

OUTPUTS
This menu section allows level adjustments of the various audio outputs, including
setting the 19 kHz stereo pilot injection of the stereo generator.

TX Out: allows adjustment of the analog composite output from the stereo
generator. Note that when the composite output level is changed, so too is the
stereo pilot level because the 19 kHz pilot signal is a component of the overall
stereo composite multiplex signal.

Pilot Inj: allows trimming of the 19 kHz stereo pilot signal. Normally this control
will be set between 8% and 10% and after the TX Out level has been set. Because
the stereo pilot adds to modulation, some iteration between TX Out and Pilot Inj
may be necessary to set both levels accurately.

Dig Out: allows the output level in dBFS of the AES3 digital left/right output to be
set, whether being fed from the FM processing or the HD+ audio chain.

192 Out: allows the output level of the digital stereo multiplex signal
(Baseband192®) to be set as required to match input calibration of the transmitter.

Analog Out: allows the output level of the analog left/right output to be set,
whether being fed from the FM processing or the HD+ audio chain.

32 | P a g e
NETWORK
The Network menu permits changing LiON’s network configuration from its
factory default IP address in order to match the customer’s network.

IP Address: here an IP address is entered in four three-digit octets corresponding

to the customer’s network address range. The factory default IP address is
192.168.87.230.

Subnet Mask: like the IP address, the subnet mask is entered as four three-digit
octets corresponding to the network mask appropriate for the customers network
configuration. The factory default is 255.255.255.0.

Gateway: the gateway address is entered as four three-digit octets corresponding

to the network gateway in use by the customer’s network. The factory default
network mask is 192.168.87.1

MAC Address: every networked device is assigned its own unique twelve digit
MAC (Media Control Access) identification. Because Ethernet switches and
Internet routers do their routing using MAC addresses there should never be other
devices with the same MAC address on the network. The first few digits of a MAC
address usually identify the manufacturer or entity that assigned the MAC address.

VERSION
The Version dialog displays the currently installed software, hardware (firmware)
and DSP code running on the unit. In addition, there are two diagnostic flags, WS1
and WS2 which are zero in normal operation and may show a diagnostic code if an
issue arises inside the software or hardware. Our technical support department may
ask for any WS1 or WS2 codes if trouble is reported with a unit.

ACCESS
LiON’s front panel may be locked to prevent unauthorized access to its settings.
When the front panel is locked the display is restricted to showing only the
metering and the option to unlock it. We use a four digit passcode to provide
10,000 possible access codes.

Lock: This option is available when the front panel is not already locked. When
this option is selected the user will be prompted for a four digit passcode. That
passcode will then be entered twice, once for its assignment, and then again for
confirmation. If the two codes match, the front panel will lock.

Unlock: When the front panel is locked and this option is selected the user will be
prompted for the correct unlock passcode. Once the correct passcode has been
entered the user will also be asked if he wishes to change the passcode, and if so,
the same sequence for initial locking will occur, passcode assignment and passcode
confirmation.

33 | P a g e
If no other action is desired the Back button will exit this menu and the front panel
will be unlocked.

Change PW?: During the unlock process described above is an option for
assigning a new passcode. Changing the passcode is like assigning a first passcode.
The two passcodes must match or the user will be prompted to reenter a code that
does.

Removing a Passcode: At the end of the Change PW? dialog is an option to

remove the passcode. Because the front panel has already been unlocked in order to
arrive at this option, no passcode is required in order to remove security; just
acknowledge the “Are You Sure” question and the front panel will have no
security.

EXIT
Selecting this option will exit the menu structure and go back to showing the
meters. Note that the meter screen is never hidden.

34 | P a g e
Installing the Windows®-based
based LiON Graphical User Interface Software

Next wee will be discussing the features and operati

operation of the PC-based
based software GUI
application, starting first with GUI installation on the host PC and followed by
configuring the GUI to communicate with the LION hardware.

Scanning the QR code supplied inside the LiON shipping box will open a URL where the
th
most current GUI software and this manual can be downloaded
downloaded.

First locate the file called “Lion_RemoteApp_

Lion_RemoteApp_x_xx_x.exe where the x’s show the version
of GUI software to be installed. Double clicking the exe file will start the installation.
Once the installation starts, a popup dialog will ask to accept the terms of the license
agreement.

Click the “I Accept…” box

checked in the imagee at left and
then click Next to continue the
installation.

The next popup allows you to

select the components to be
installed. Both items will be
checked and installed by default.

We recommend leaving the

settings as they are and continue
the installation by clicking the
Next button.

On most PC’s the default GUI

installation will be here:

C:\Program Files (x86

86)
\Audioarts
\Lion

The
he application may be installed
in any other location if desired,
including an aptly-named
named folder
on the Windows desktop.
desktop

35 | P a g e
Once the installation has finished the GUI application may be started by navigating to the
Windows All Programs dialog, scrolling to locate the Audioarts entry, opening that, and
clicking on the entry for the Lion R
Remote App.

During opening of the

he GUI application Windows may pop up a message asking for
permission to allow the GUI access through the Windows firewall
firewall. This is normal and
you should click on Allow Access which will allow program startup to continue. If
Cancel is clicked instead GUI sstartup will be cancelled.

Next we will configure the GUI application to communicate with the LION hardware by
first opening the Devices dialog by clicking its button, circled in the image below.
below

Here we will add the

IP address and device
name of the LiON you
wish to control by
clicking the Add
button to open the
configuration dialog.

36 | P a g e
 Each LiON can have its own device
name, and there is no limit for how
many Lions can be set up to be
controlled with the same GUI (of
course, one at a time!).

Here
ere we’ve called our Lion “Lioness” and told the GUI that Lioness’s hardware IP
address is 192.168.1.130. Click Okay and the dialog will close.

Next we’ll tell the GUI

which Lion we want to
communicate with by
highlighting Lioness
(single left mouse
click)
ck) and then
clicking on the Select
button.

When that is done the Audio Processor Devices dialog will close and the GUI is ready to
communicate with the Lion hardware.

Ensure the Lion is powered up and a valid Ethernet connection is present on its rear
panel. Note also that the Lion’s IP address and the IP address of the PC that is running
the GUI software must be able to communicate with each other over the same network if
it is a local network with no special port forwarding in use.

Windows Laptop
op Advisory:

It has been noted, and going all the way back to the days of Windows XP, that laptops
running a Windows operating system that are also equipped with a built-in in wireless
interface will almost without exception attempt to communicate with wired network
devices using the wireless interface instead. This of course cannot possibly work.
Therefore to ensure communication with wired network devices it is virtually always
necessary to disable the PCs wireless device in order to force Windows to use the
th wired
network interface instead.

37 | P a g e
To put the GUI online to the Lion hardware click on the button to the left of the Status
window shown at upper right.

Once the GUI is online and communicating with Lion the Status will change to “Online”
and the name of the current running preset will be shown in the “Current Preset” window.

Also at this time all metering will become active and show the current state of audio input
and output levels as well as multiband gain reduction if the iAGC/Comp or Limiters
screens are currently visible.

bout Audio Levels

An Important Note about Levels:

The
he Input and Output metering is calibrated in dBFS
dBFS, decibels Full Scale (digital)).
(digital)
Because the output metering is after final peak limiting, processing prevents the output
levels and therefore the metering ffrom exceeding 0dBFS. The appearance of a full scale
reading on any output meter does not indicate an ‘out of bits’ condition.

Unlike the output meters which might show as high as 0dBFS with no ill effects,
effect pegging
the Input meters means you are ‘out of bits’ and not much sounds worse than clipping
c in
the digital domain!

Normal input levels should frequently peak around -12dBFS

12dBFS and perhaps no higher than
around -8dBFS. Correct
orrect levels can be set using the GUI controls on the Input page,
pa
discussed next.

38 | P a g e
GUI Navigation Buttons

Above is shown the set of buttons which allow each page of the GUI to be shown. The
currently selected page is shown as the button highlighted (iAGC/Comps above).
Clicking on each button will change the page currently being viewed to the one selected
by a left mouse click.

INPUT

Audio Source

Three types of input audio sources may be used via two categories of input audio signals;
Analog and Digital.

Analog: allows LiON to accept conventional analog balanced left/right audio signals on
its rear panel ANALOG In RJ
RJ-45 connector.

Digital: allows LiON to accept either conventional AES3 digital left/right audio, or left
right digital audio via a WheatnetIP network.

Input Failsafe: Automatic input failover is available between the analog and digital
audio inputs and input
nput audio can be applied to all inputs simultaneously
simultaneously. WheatnetIP
Wheat and
AES3 digital cannot failover over from each other.

39 | P a g e
Automatic audio failover from analog to digita
digitall or vice versa is supported. Automatic
failover from AES3 or Wheat
WheatnetIP
etIP to analog is instantaneous and based on invalid or
missing bits in the AES3 stream or after 30 seconds of “silence” on n both channels (audio
(
level below -42dBFS).

rom analog to AES3 or WheatnetIP is based on silence sense and in

Automatic failover from
response to audio on both channels being below -42dBFS
dBFS for more than 30 seconds.

Analog Gain: Allows a +12/

+12/-12dB adjustment of the analog audio level being applied
to LiON’s processing. Normally this control should be left at zero, with any necessary
audio level adjustments being made at the audio source.

Digital Gain: Allows a +12/+12/-12dB adjustment of the digital audio level being applied
applie to
LiON’s processing, whether from the AES3 or WheatnetIP inputs. Normally this control
should be left at zero, with any necessary audio level adjustments being made at the audio
source.

Left/Right Balance: Allows a +12/+12/-12dB adjustment of the left/right

ght channel balance
prior to audio being applied to LiON’s processing. Normally this control should left at
zero, with any necessary audio level balance adjustments made instead at the audio
source.

Left/Right Mode: This control allows both left and rig right
ht channels of LiON’s
processing to be fed from both channels (stereo), just the left channel, just the right
channel, or with the stereo input audio mixed down to mono.

In normal operation this control should be in the Stereo position, the other modes being
b
for testing or special circumstances where one channel of the input audio is missing for
some reason.

Phase Rotator: The task of a phase rotator is to make extremely asymmetrical audio
signals, like human voice and certain musical instruments, more symmetrical without
upsetting how it they sound. Phase rotators are especially useful in FM on
on-air
air audio
processing because unlike AM, FM is a symmetrical medium where positive and
negative modulation should be equal under all program conditions.

When illuminated,
luminated, LiON’s phase rotator is in circuit and active.

Asymmetrical Voice

Symmetrical Voice

40 | P a g e
HPF Freq: HPF stands for High Pass Filter and a high pass filter’s job is to remove
frequency components below a certain frequency. The reason we want to remove low
frequencies, in particular very low frequencies, is that they can bring undesirable effects:

typically contain no useful program information

often cannot be reproduced on listeners
listeners’ radios
often contain
in undesirable non
non-audio signals such as rumble
may cause phase locked loops in FM exciters or STLs to unlock

LiON’s high pass filters can be set to reject frequencies below 60Hz in 10Hz steps down
to 20Hz. In normal FM broadcasting a good high pass filte
filterr setting is 20Hz or 30Hz.

HPF enable: When illuminated LiON’s high pass filter is in circuit and actively
removing frequencies below the HPF Freq setting.

Input Settings Change With Presets: When LiON saves a preset all settings are saved,
not just those related to sound, but also the settings related to which input source is being
used, etc. When illuminated, the Input Settings Change With Presets function will recall
all of the settings saved
aved with the preset, except those related to output
outputs (covered later).

CAUTION: If a preset was made using the analog input and now LiON is using the
digital input, the station will lose on
on-air
air audio if Input Settings Change With Presets is
selected whenn taking that preset because it will cause the input source to switch to
analog. If no analog source is present loss of audio will occur.

This function can be quite useful, however, if a station wants to change input source
settings using presets. Just be aware of how the function behaves.

NOTE: LiON’s Factory Presets were created using the analog input mode.

Para EQ (Equalizer)
LiON is equipped with a four
four-band
band equalizer section situated in front of the multiband
processing, including the windowed leveler iAGC.

There are two shelving EQ sections (low and high) along with two fully parametric
equalizers that have adjustable frequ
frequency,
ency, boost and bandwidth (Q) controls.

Recall that filter Bandwidth and Q are related as

shown at left.

41 | P a g e
 At left are the controls associated
with LiON’s equalizer section.

Note that the controls are grouped

according the ‘band’ that they
operate within.

The two fully parametric equalizer

sections are unique, however, in
that they may be tuned to operate
on any portion of the audio
spectrum between 20 Hz and 20
kHz.

EQ Enabled: When illuminated the equalizer section is in circuit and active.

activ If any
control within the equalizer section has been adjusted to alter any portion of the audio
spectrum, when the section is enable those adjustments take effect immediately.

Lo Shelf Section
Boost/Cut: The Boost/Cut control adjusts the Lo Shelf equalization over a +/-14dB
+/
range. Note that a boost or cut of just 3dB increases or decreases the acoustical power of
the frequencies being controlled by a factor of two.

Frequency: Lion’s Lo Shelf equalizer ffrequency range is 20Hz to 500Hz. Slight boosts
(~3dB) around 50-70Hz
70Hz can increase the sense of bass punch on the air. Remember that
some portion of the station’s listening audience listens on radios that cannot even
reproduce bass energy ‘down there’. Most table radios (for instance) do don’t much
below around 100Hz. Most car radios fare better, but getting below around 50Hz isn’t
something they’re good at unless equipped with a subwoofer.

Para #1 and Para #2: These are LiON’s two fully parametric equalizer sections. Each
may be tuned over the range of 20Hz to 20kHz, have boost/cut capability of +/-14dB,
+/ and
may have their bandwidths set according to the amount of frequency spectrum desired to
be affected by their settings.

Hi Shelf Section
Boost/Cut: The Boost/Cut control adjusts the Hi Shelf equalization over a +/-14dB
+/
range. Note that a boost or cut of just 3dB increases or decreases the acoustical power of
the frequencies being controlled by a factor of two.

Frequency: Lion’s Hi Shelf equalizer frequency range is 2kHz to 20kHz. Slight boosts
(<3dB)
3dB) around 10kHz can add a sense if ‘air’ to the audio, noting that a little goes a long
way.

42 | P a g e
EQ Graphical Area: Shown below is LiON’s equalizer spectral display showing
where, and by how much, frequencies with the audio spectrum are being modified.

The graphic below corresponds to the equalizer controls shown on the previous page
where we’ve:

• added a 2dB boost at 50Hz to add a little more bass punch

• pulled down the energy in the spectrum around 240Hz by 3dB to decrease
‘muddiness’
• added a little ‘air’ to the broadcast using a 1.5dB boost at 10.1kHz

iAGC/Comps (intelligent AGC and compressors)

LiON is equipped with a sophisticated multiband gain control system that automatically
adjusts itself as the incoming program content changes to ensure a consistent on air
spectral balance. Thereere are three primary sections to this first stage of dynamics
processing:

43 | P a g e
iAGC (intelligent AGC): this stage is responsible for measuring and analyzing the
incoming program content and adjusting the ‘feed’ to the following processing to provide
them a consistent spectral balance. The iAGC behaves as an automatic equalizer to
ensure good spectral consistency on the air.

There are no user controls for the iAGC section such as Drive, Threshold, and such.
Everything it does and reacts to is controlled by its internal programming and built in
intelligence.

When the iAGC is enabled its indicator will be illuminated and the stage is in circuit and
active.

MB Compressor: The MB (multiband) compressor is a relatively quick-acting

dynamics section that serves to ‘fill in’ the audio in order to provide a consistent level of
loudness on the air. Its operation is smooth and unobtrusive and works with the MB
(multiband) Leveler to provide a consistent loudness on the air. When the MB
Compressor is enabled its indicator will be illuminated and the stage is in circuit and
active.

The MB compressor may operate in three modes starting with all sections enabled:

iAGC In, MB Compressor In, MB Leveler In – in this mode the iAGC is controlling
the long term spectral balance, the MB Leveler is controlling the medium term spectral
balance and levels, and the Compressors are providing some ‘fill’ to maintain consistent
loudness levels for the short term. While in this mode the Compressors cannot add more
gain than that of the MB Leveler. In other words, they can decrease the gain in a band,
but when the compressors release their gain cannot go higher than the current band gain
of the MB Leveler. This behavior prevents unnecessary density buildup which then aids
long-term listening by not ‘over processing’ in the multiband section.

iAGC Out, MB Compressor In, MB Leveler In – in this mode the iAGC is disabled,
removing the automatic spectral balance afforded by that section. The MB Leveler and
Compressors then take on the task of level and spectral balance control. Again, while the
MB Leveler is enabled the Compressors are not permitted to add more gain than the
current per-band state of the MB Leveler. They can decrease band audio levels below that
of the MB Leveler, but cannot increase them.

iAGC Out, MB Leveler Out, MB Compressor In – in this mode the multiband

compressor is acting alone as the sole controlling mechanism for spectral balance and
short term level control. The audio will be denser due to the compressor’s shorter time
constants, and the multiband compressor’s output levels will be less consistent without
the MB Leveler being active. Usually when operated this way the goal is to provide very
little in the way of long-term gain control, focusing more on the short term. Loudness
will not be consistent when operated in this mode.

44 | P a g e
MB Leveler: The MB (multiband) leveler is a relatively slow-acting dynamics section
that serves to keep consistent medium to long term loudness on the air. Its operation is
smooth and unobtrusive and works with the MB (multiband) Compressor and/or iAGC
and Leveler to provide a consistent loudness on the air. When the MB Leveler is enabled
its indicator will be illuminated and the stage is in circuit and active.

AGC Drive: The AGC Drive control sets how much work the multiband section does as
the incoming audio levels and spectral balance change. Higher drive levels force deeper
gain reduction in the MB Leveler and MB Compressor, while lower drive levels reduce
the overall amount of gain reduction. This setting will change with different presets and
may be modified to change the amount of work the multiband leveler and compressor are
doing.

Note that the AGC Drive control has no effect on the operation of the iAGC which is
looking at and analyzing only LiON’s input audio.

Gate Delay: The multiband section has built in gating which will freeze the gain control
action if the incoming audio levels fall below the Gate Thresh setting, explain next. The
Gate Delay is adjustable between 50mS and 500mS (milliseconds) and serves to prevent
the gating circuitry from freezing a band’s gain release until the Gate Delay timer times
out.

The purpose of delaying the gating action is to allow a partial gain reduction release
when the audio falls below the gating threshold which has the following effects:

• During a speech only programming it helps keep the multiband section’s output
level more consistent by bringing up, slightly, the gain before a band actually
enters the gated phase.

• If the Gate Threshold is set rather high and the Gate Delay set to about 300mS
(the syllabic rate) the resulting audio will sound more relaxed, even though
aggressively processed, due to the short pauses of level recovery which our ears
perceive as more natural dynamics. Set correctly, the Gate Threshold and Gate
Delay can add a sense of openness and dynamics to otherwise heavily processed
audio which can aid long term listening without sacrificing loudness.

Gate Thresh: The Gate Thresh(old) control sets the level at which falling incoming
audio levels cause a band to enter its gated state and its gain is frozen.

The Gate Thresh control has a range of -20dBFS to -70dBFS, plus an Off position which
completely disables the gating function. Normally the Gate Threshold will end up around
-40dBFS or so with normal audio input levels to LiON.

Gate Mode: The Gate Mode control modifies the behavior of the gating circuit to give
it a ‘Hold” mode where gain is frozen when audio falls below the gate threshold, and also

45 | P a g e
an “Ooze” mode which allows the multiband gains to very slowly increase over time
even though the gating circuit is activated.

The Hold and Ooze modes are used to modify how the multiband section behaves when
audio levels falls below the gating threshold. Like extending the Gate delay, the Ooze
mode can be useful for talk formats as long as there are no long pauses to allow the gains
to increase to the point of bringing up noi
noise
se or background effects from the studio room.

The Ooze mode is often preferred for very competitive formats where the desire is for the
audio levels to never, ever, fall, no matter what. Ooze mode is much more effective
(musically) then relying on very fast time constants in the Leveler to keep levels always
up. Using Ooze rather than quick time constants usually just sounds better.

Detail Enhance: The Detail Enhance control is part of a processing algorithm that
serves to relax certain portions of pr
processing
ocessing which allows subtle details often hidden by
the processing to come forward. The control is calibrated in percent, from Off to 100%
and is adjusted to taste.

Multiband Gates: These are “LED” indicators which show the state of each band’s
gating circuit. A band is gated when the indicator is on, and ungated when it is off. Under
normal programming it is normal for the indicators to be flashing and not constantly on
or off.

Gain Reduction Graphics: To the right of the iAGC and Compressor controls is a
graphical area showing, among other things, the amount of each band’s iAGC, Leveler,
and Compressor gain reduction
reduction.

Each processing type has a different colored set of lines indicating the amount of work
being done.

46 | P a g e
 The light blue lines show the action of the multiband compressors. The further
down the display, the more gain reduction being accomplished by the
compressors.

The yellow lines show the action of the multiband leveler, and like the
compressors, thee further down the display they are the more work is being done
by the leveler.

The red lines show the action of the iAGC section’s automatic equalizer which is
ahead of all other processing.

Along the bottom of the gain reduction graphical area is a se

sett of tabs which lead to
adjustment pages for the multiband processing as show below. Each will be described in
turn.

Before we get to explaining each of the tabs, we first need to help you understand how
adjustments are made on all nine of the graphic
graphical screens.

Once again, take another look

at the screen at left and notice
the five blue dots…

Each processing band owns a

dot, and they are shown from
left to right for bands one
through band five.

Each dot can act like a little

‘hand to move a band’s
parameters up and down, and
here’s how.

If you right click on the graphical area (like we did when we made this screen shot)
you’ll see a dropdown menu with some options:

Group Adjusters
Ungroup Adjusters
Group All Adjusters
Ungroup All Adjusters
Flatten
Proportional Drag
Flat Drag

47 | P a g e
What do these options do?

By default, all adjusters (the blue dots) are grouped, that is they are coupled to each other
so that if you grab one with the mouse (single left click and hold) and then slide the
mouse up and down, all the blue dots move up and down together.

If you double click a blue dot, it will turn red to indicate that it has been selected, after
which it may be moved individually to anywhere along the vertical scale by sliding it
with the mouse.

If you now double click another blue dot somewhere on the line, it too will turn red and
be able to be individually adjusted.

If you move the mouse to a point between the two dots selected in the above steps, right
click the mouse and select UnGroup Adjusters, all the points in between the first two dots
will turn red and can be individually adjusted up or down.

If you place the mouse over the graphical area, right click again, and this time select
Group Adjusters the dots between the first two that you highlighted will turn back to
blue. If you then grab the line between those dots with the mouse (left click and drag) you
can move the entire line connecting the two highlighted end dots up and down, with other
dots remaining anchored in place. Cool, eh?

Right clicking on the graphical area and selecting Group All Adjusters turns all dots back
to blue where they can be adjusted as a whole. Conversely, right clicking and selecting
UnGroup All Adjusters turns all blue dots red, meaning they can now each be
individually adjusted.

The Flatten option, although next in the list, is best explained last.

Okay, highlight a single dot again… any dot will do. Then right click the graphical area
and select Proportional Drag. Now left click the line to the left or right of the dot you just
highlighted and drag it up or down. See how the line behaves? It pivots at the point where
you highlighted the dot, and bends at the point where you grabbed it with the mouse.
Virtually any curve can be created by following these steps.

Now right click again and this time select Flat Drag. Grab the line again, anywhere (left
click and drag) and move it up and down. See how the line pivots at the highlighted point
but remains flat above or below as you raise and lower it back to where it was?

But how to make it all flat again without having to move every single point back? Easy!

Right click on the graphical area again and select Flatten. If there were any points still
highlighted red you’ll want to first click Group All Adjusters option before you select

48 | P a g e
Flatten in order to turn them back to blue
blue. When you then click Flatten the line will return
back to flat and you may move the whole thing up and down again with the mouse,
mouse this
time as a whole.

To review:

Group Adjusters: gangs

angs the blue dots between two highlighted orange points into a
commonly behaving entity.

UnGroup Adjusters: disconnects

isconnects any blue dots that were grouped by Group
roup Adjusters.

Group All Adjusters: gangs

angs all the dots, turning them blue, regardless of their previous
highlighted state.

UnGroup All Adjusters: un un-gangs all the adjustment dots, turning them red,
red regardless
of any previous highlighting.

Flatten: removes
emoves any variance between adjacent dots not horizontal to each other.

Proportional Drag: allows

lows the dragging of adjustment dots to create slopes.

Flat Drag: allows

llows the dragging of all the dots together in a Flat orientation.

One more thing…as you slide the mouse cursor across the graphical area you’ll notice a
blue dot change to yellow, a colo
colorr change that indicates that you have ‘selected’ that dot
for adjustment.

The Thresh Tab

The
he dots controlled by the
Thresh parameter adjust the
Leveler and Compressor
thresholds together.

Pulling the dots down lowers

the threshold (more
processing), while raising
them causes less.

Each band can be adjusted

+/-12dB
12dB from nominal.

There are two primary effects which will occur as the threshold is varied:

49 | P a g e
 As a threshold is raised, output from the band being adjusted will increase
because less processing
ing is occurring in that band. This will result in more drive to
the corresponding multiband limiter band later in LiON’s processing chain.

As a threshold is lowered, output from the band being adjusted will decrease
because more processing is occurring iin that band. This will result in less drive to
the corresponding multiband limiter band later in LiON’s processing chain.

Keep in mind that the Thresh controls, or any of the other controls available on the nine
tabs below the graphical area, do not affect the behavior of the iAGC. Only the MB
Leveler and MB Compressor are affected by the ‘dot’ controls.

The Levlr Atk Tab

The dots controlled by the

LvLr Atk parameter adjust the
Leveler attack times.
time Pulling
the dots down speeds up the
attack time (more audible
processing), while raising
them slows the attack time.
time

Each band can be adjusted

between 100mS and 1,000mS
(one second).

The Leveler section is primarily responsible for managing medium ter term
m dynamics and
levels on a multiband basis. Each of the five band’s Attack Times may be adjusted,
individually or together, using the ‘dot navigation’ methods described previously. Fast
attack times cause it to react more quickly to increases in the incomi
incoming
ng audio levels while
slower attack times case the opposite effect. Slower attack times are generally perceived
as sounding more dynamic.

The Levlr Rls Tab

The dots controlled by the

LvLr Rls parameter adjust the
Leveler release times. Pulling
the dots down speeds up the
release time (more audible
processing), while raising
them slows the release time.

Each band can be adjusted

between 1,000mS (one

50 | P a g e
second) and 7,000mS (seven seconds).

The Leveler section is primarily responsible for managing medium term dynamics and
levels on a multiband basis. Each of the five band’s Release Times may be adjusted,
individually or together, using the ‘dot navigation’ methods described previously. Fast
release
elease times cause it to react more quickly to decreases in the incoming audio levels
while slower release times case the opposite effect. Slower release times are generally
perceived as sounding more dynamic.

The Density Tab

The dots for the Density

parameter
rameter adjust the ratio of
Leveler to Compressor
processing. Pulling the dots
down causes more Leveling
(less audible processing),
while raising them causes
more Compression.

Each band can be adjusted

between 0dB and +6dB with
higher dB numbers resulting
in more audible compression.

The Density controls are primarily responsible for managing the audibility of
compression and/or gain control. Each of the five band’s Density controls may be
adjusted, individually or together, using the ‘dot navigation’ met
methods
hods described
previously.

Higher Density settings increase the audibility of processing for short term level changes
and can add some ‘excitement’ to the audio if not taken to the extreme. Some of LiON’s
Factory presets, such as those for the Oldies and Classic Hits formats, utilize higher
Density settings to achieve exactly that effect for more closely emulating the sound of on-
on
air audio processors of that era.

The Comp Atk Tab

The dots for the Comp Atk

parameter adjust the attack time
of the compressors. Pulling the
dots down causes more
compression (more audible
processing), while raising them
causes less.

51 | P a g e
Each band can be adjusted between 10mS and 50mS (milliseconds
(milliseconds) higher numbers being
slower.

The Comp Atk controls are primarily responsible for managing the short term level
changes required to keep the multiband output levels under control.. Each of the five
band’s Comp Atk controls may be adjusted, individually or together, using the ‘dot
navigation’
on’ methods described previously.

Higher Comp Atk settings (slower) decrease the audibility of processing for short term
level changes but will also allow shorter duration peaks to ‘escape’, adding back a sense
of dynamics to processed audio. Care must bbee taken for very long attack though times
however as audio energy not controlled by the faster compressors will end up driving the
multiband limiter later in LiON’s processing chain harder which will undo any dynamics
enhancement afforded by long compress
compressor attack time.

The Comp Rls Tab

The dots for the Comp Rls

parameter adjust the release
time of the compressors.
Pulling the dots down causes
faster release times and more
audible processing,
processing while
raising the dots causes less.

Each band can be adjusted

between 50mS and 1,000mS
(milliseconds) higher numbers
being slower.

The Comp Rls controls are primarily responsible for managing the short term level
changes required to keep the multiband output levels under control. Each of the five
band’s Comp
mp Rls controls may be adjusted, individually or together, using the ‘dot
navigation’ methods described previously.

Higher Comp Rls settings (slower) decreases the audibility of processing for short term
level changes and will sound more dynamic on the aair.
ir. Unlike using longer compressor
attack times, longer compressor release times do not drive LiON’s multiband limiter any
harder.

Lower Comp Rls settings (faster) will increase the audibility of processing and used in
combination with the Density setting
settingss can add a sense of excitement to the broadcast.
Some of LiON’s Factory presets, such as those for the Oldies and Classic Hits formats,
utilize higher Comp Rls in combination with higher Density settings to achieve exactly
that effect for more closely emu
emulating the sound of on-air
air audio processors of that era.

52 | P a g e
The Ratio Tab

The dots for the Ratio

parameter adjust the
compression ratio of the
leveler and compressors.

Pulling the dots down lowers

the ratio (less processing),
processing)
while raising the dots causes
more.

Each band can be adjusted

between 2:1 and 6:1
compression ratio.

In audio, compression
ompression ratio is
generally defined as the
amount of output signal
increase for every dB of input
signal increase.

For instance, a compression

com
ratio of 4:1 means that for
every 4dB of input level
increase, the output only
increases by 1dB. A high
compression ratio such as
20:1 could be used as a
limiter.

In a compressor,, the output level will increase perfectly in sync with the input level until
the compression threshold is reached, after which the output level will change as a
function of the compression ratio.

The compressor threshold is sometimes also called the ‘rotation point’ because that is
where the straight line input/output level relationship deviates according to the
compression ratio. In the above graphic showing various compression ratios between 1:1
and 20:1 the rotation point has been circled in red.

There are behavioral variations in some compressors where the rotation point isn’t
abrupt, but slowly morphs from a linear behavior to the compression ratio. That behavior

53 | P a g e
is usually called ‘soft knee’ because of how it appears when graphed. LiON utilizes soft
knee compression because it sounds more musical and friendly to the ear.

The AGC Mix Tab

The dots for the AGC Mix

parameter adjust the output
levels of the individual bands.

Pulling the dots down lowers

the output level of a band
while raising them
m causes a
higher output level.

Each band can be adjusted +/-

+/
6dB from nominal.

The AGC Mix controls are primarily responsible for establishing the post AGC and
Compressor spectral balance and also the amount of drive to the final five
five-band
band limiter.

Inn most Factory presets the Mix controls will be at their center, or 0dB position. They
may be adjusted up or down to taste, noting that a 3dB change in mix level represents a
change of 2X if increased, or 0.5X if decreased, in acoustical power from a band.

The St Enh (Stereo Enhance) Tab

The dots for the St Enh
parameter adjust the L-R
L
audio level of an individual
band.

Pulling the dots down lowers

the stereo effect from the
th
chosen band while raising the
dots increases it.

Each band can be adjusted +/-

+/
6dB from nominal, including
an ‘Off’ setting (band in
mono).

The use of stereo enhancement in FM broadcast is a balancing act for several reasons,
some of them having to do with the behavior of modern DSP
DSP-based radios.

Increasing the L-R

R modulation lev
level
el mathematically reduces the L+R (mono)
signal component which is of course the station’s ‘loudness’ when decoded on a

54 | P a g e
 mono radio. Note that this effect is not dependent on any particular radio, whether
it’s an antique or DSP-based, but is a result of vector addition in the math domain.
Increasing the L-R modulation causes receiver stereo blend effects to be more
pronounced and often to the point of being annoying to listeners.

Increasing the L-R signal does not cause multipath. It simply makes it much more
audible when stereo receivers blend to mono.

Increasing the L-R modulation – to excess – can cause the ‘hole in the middle’
effect on stereo recordings.

Increasing the L-R modulation can cause the stereo difference information to
mask content such as song vocals which were recorded equally in both channels,
pushing the vocal performer to the background.

If desired, LiON’s stereo enhancement can be freely used in combination with its stereo
generator’s ‘Multipath Limiter’ to help mitigate the effects caused by such enhancement,
and without harming a listener’s stereo experience. We’ll be covering the theory and
operation of the Multipath Limiter later in the Stereo Generator portion of this manual.

It is worth noting, too, that a large amount of electrical stereo separation does not
necessarily increase our perception of acoustical separation, in fact quite the opposite is
true. As the graph below shows, ‘most’ listeners only require about 20dB of electrical
stereo separation to believe that what they are hearing is truly separate left and right
channels.

Credit: J.R Stuart, “The Psychoacoustics of Multichannel Audio”, AES Conference: March 1996, pp 7, Figure 16.

What this implies, and what has been proven in actual practice in the field, is that you can
use LiON’s multiband stereo enhancement to tailor the spectral balance of the stereo L-R
difference signal in any artistic way you choose, and then use LiON’s Multipath Limiter
to dynamically reduce the overall ‘electrical’ separation to make radio blending less
audible, and without undoing or destroying your creative special mix of L-R
enhancement.

55 | P a g e
LIMITERS

LiON is equipped with a five band limiter which follows the five band iAGC,
iAGC Leveler,
and Compressor which precedes it. The limiter shares the same five frequency bands
which were created by the five band crossover prior to the iAGC, Leveler, and
Compressor.

Multiband Limiter Enable: This control allows the Multiband Limiter to be switched
in or out. In Factory Presets the Multiband Limiter is typically enabled.

Switching the limiter out removes its influence over the audio coming from the multiband
iAGC,
C, Leveler and Compressor, and leaves all remaining energy and peak control the
LiON’s final clipper. For some formats this may be okay, but for most our
recommendation is to leave the multiband limiter enabled.

Multiband Limiter Drive: This control setss how hard the multiband limiters will be
driven and is the primary control for determining short term audio density and loudness.
In most Factory Presets the multiband limiter drive is set to perform a minimal amount of
short term limiting, the possible eexception
xception being the presets for oldies and classic hits
where the extra density serves to replicate the sound of on
on-air
air processing from the era
when that music was played on the radio.

Multiband Knee: LiON’s limiters can operate in Hard or Soft Knee mode if desired.
Recall that LiON’s compressors utilize soft knee compression because it sounds more
musical. The difference between hard and soft knee is represented by the graphic below.

56 | P a g e
In Hard Knee mode the limiters begin to limit as soon as the limiter threshold is reached.

In Soft Knee mode there is a gentle transition from linear to limiting which then ‘softens’
the audible effect of limiting as the audio levels cross the limit threshold.

When Soft Knee is in use it will be noticed that the limiters behave as though the limit
threshold has been lowered, and if you look at the graph above you’ll notice that is
exactly what is happening – limiting is starting to occur as the audio level is getting near
the threshold and not when it has reached it. Most of LiON’s Factory Presets use the
Hard Knee mode which provides a better defined threshold of limiting.

Bass Clipper Enable: LiON’s Bass Clipper prevents very low frequencies from
reaching the main clipper threshold which then greatly reduces the effects of
intermodulation distortion. How the bass clipper prevents this type of distortion can be
explained by the following graphic and explanation.

In the above graphic of a real audio waveform, the bass and high frequencies have been
allowed to reach and exceed the main clipper threshold. The high frequencies (circled)
are then ‘cut off’ at the top and bottom of the bass waveform whenever bass notes exceed
the clipper threshold.

Each time the bass notes come in and out clipping, the high frequencies cut off and then
reappear at the bass note’s frequency, resulting in the high frequencies sounding like
they’re “garbling”. The low frequency bass notes are now modulating the high
frequencies, which is the precise definition of intermodulation distortion.

A bass clipper prevents this phenomenon by making sure that the bass frequencies can
never reach the main clipper’s threshold. A side effect of the bass clipper, because
clipping a signal increases its RMS energy, is an increase of bass’s acoustical energy,
even though the peak level of the bass is now lower than it originally was.

57 | P a g e
Bass Clip Drive: The Bass Clip Drive control sets how hard the bass clipper is driven
and can be adjusted over a 6dB range. Driving the bass clipper harder has several effects:

It increases the RMS energy of bass without increasing its peak level. Bass sounds
louder without boosting its level.

It increases the duty cycle of bass clipping which, when taken to the extreme, can
create something called “bass sustain” which may have been absent in the original
program content. Bass sustain causes bass notes to last longer, and because of the
bass clipper action, adds some harmonic content that can help make up for a small
speaker’s lack of deep bass reproduction.

Bass Clipper Threshold: This is a “Danger Will Robinson” control, but is included in
the set of GUI controls in order to allow users to tailor bass exactly how they want it. The
control is ‘dangerous’ because when set too high allows the bass clipper threshold to
approach that of the main clipper. That means that under certain circumstances
intermodulation distortion, the very thing the bass clipper was designed to prevent, can
still occur. Be careful using Bass Clipper Threshold settings above about -2dB.

Main Clipper Drive: Along with the Multiband Limiter Drive, it and the Main Clipper
Drive are the “loud” controls. LiON’s main clipper is quite forgiving, however as is the
case with all peak controllers using clippers, at some point when driven too hard,
distortion will become apparent.

The best way to set the Main Clipper Drive control when adjust many other controls to
achieve a certain texture or sound is to start by turning it down to -3dB. Then turn your
monitor up to compensate while tweaking any other controls.

Once you have the density, spectral balance and texture all adjusted to where you want it,
only then should you start increasing the Main Clipper Drive. Adjust to taste to achieve
either your competitive loudness target, or the point where there is too much distortion.

Keep in mind that FM peak clippers have a tremendous job to do, and to do it gracefully
and without you noticing the work it is doing means that it has to do several very
important things extremely well:

Control audio peaks to constrain modulation to within the legal limits.

Manage FM pre-emphasis in a way that doesn’t cause dulling, swishing,

smearing, or other nasty artifacts of high frequency control.

Maintain near perfect protection of the FM stereo pilot at 19kHz.

Prevent the generation of out of band signals which might interfere with stations
on adjacent frequencies.

58 | P a g e
 Protect the integrity of the stereo baseband signals in order to achieve great stereo
performance when receivers are located in weak signal areas.

It is often assumed that at least some of the above is the responsibility of the stereo
generator and its filtering. But great performance for the stereo generator actually starts
back in the left/right audio domain where the main peak clipper actually opeoperates.
rates.

Main Clipper Pre-Emphasis:

Emphasis: There are three options for pre-emphasis;
emphasis; Off, 50µS and
75µS. Off is used for testing, 50µS is used in most of Europe, and 75µS is used in North
America and various other countries around the world.

To the right of the Limiters and Clipper controls is a graphical area similar to the one
used in the iAGC, Leveler, and Compressor processing section. Beneath the graph are
three choices accessible by clicking on its tab; Threshold, Attack and Release. Each will
be explained in turn.

Threshold:
The blue dots on the
Threshold tab control the
limiter thresholds for each of
the five limiter bands.

Moving dots up increases the

threshold (less limiting),
limiting)
moving them down lowers
the threshold (more limiting).

There is a +/-12d
12dB
adjustment range to allow a
wide range of operational
options.

Unlike the Leveler and Compressor threshold which are very ‘gentle’ by comparison the
Limiter threshold are quite sensitive. Recall that a 3dB change is equivalent to a doubling
(or halving) of acoustical energy.

Because the multiband limiter is the ‘last line of defense’ prior to the main clipper, each
of the limiter thresholds plays a large and important role in controlling clipper-induced
clipper
distortion. Making small adjustments followed by large listening is highly recommended
when adjusting limiter thresholds.

59 | P a g e
Attack:

Limiter attack times are

adjusted using the blue dots.

Higher settings are slower

attack times while lower
settings are faster. Limiter
attack times are adjustable
between
etween 0.5 and 50mS
(milliseconds).

Limiter attack times are not as sensitive as the limiter thresholds but still play a big part
in how the audio sounds prior to the main clipper. Something to keep in mind about
attack times is the time it takes for certain frequencies of musical notes to go through a
complete cycle. The following is what we mean by that…

All audio waveforms, including all sounds made in nature, are nothing more than a
collection of sine waves of various frequencies and amplitudes. W When
hen it comes to limiter
attack times it’s helpful to think about how fast a particular frequency “happens”. Take
for instance the lowest frequency bass guitar note at 41.20Hz shown as its waveform,
below.
A B

L
E
V
E
L

TIME

Between points A and B is one complete cycle of the bass guitar’s lowest note which
takes 24.27 milliseconds to make one complete cycle. If we wanted to peak limit this
signal, how fast of an attack time would the limiter need?

It takes about one fourth off the 24.27 milliseconds for the waveform to reach its first
peak, which is around 6 milliseconds and a good peak limiter with a high ratio can safely
and fully limit this bass waveform to keep it from exceeding whatever the threshold is.

60 | P a g e
Release:

Limiter release times are adjusted

using the blue dots just like in the
other graphical areas.

Higher settings are slower release

times and lower settings are faster.

Limiter release times can be critical

for distortion control, and setting
them too fast can partially undo the
control afforded by the threshold
and attack times.

Further, one must be careful to not set release times so fast that the limiter’s gain
trajectory ‘follows’ the waveform through its cycle. If this happens, severe distortion
resembling
bling clipping can occur, most particularly at very low frequencies.

Let’s use again our prior graphical example of a bass guitar’s lowest string at a frequency
of around 41Hz and its period of about 24 milliseconds.
A B

L
E
V
E
L

TIME

Just from the numbers alone we can see that a release time of 24 milliseconds would
likely do exactly what we caution against; limiter gain trying to precisely follow the
envelope of the waveform between points A and B B. So, what to do?

Our recommendation
mmendation is to use limiter release times that approximate perhaps 10 to 20
cycles of the lowest frequency within a particular band. For instance, good multiband
limiter release times on a per
per-band basis might look like this:

Band # Minimum Release Time Optimum Release Time

1 800 milliseconds (mS) 170 to 330
0 milliseconds (mS)
2 500 milliseconds (mS) 85 to 170
0 milliseconds (mS)
3 300 milliseconds (mS) 55 to 85
5 milliseconds (mS)
4 200 milliseconds (mS) 35 to 55
5 milliseconds (mS)
5 10 milliseconds (mS) 15 to 35 milliseconds (mS)

61 | P a g e
The above values are recommended starting points and deviations may be acceptable
under certain program and processing goal conditions. Your ears should always be the
judge!

Before leaving the Multiband Limiter section and moving on, it’s important to mention
that the limiter’s job is to prevent certain waveforms from undergoing excessive clipping
within the final clipper. Remember
emember that the clipper’s job is to clip peaks, but if the limiter
has removed them, what’s left for the clipper to dodo? Well, here we are back at the subject
of limiter Attack time again!

Our ears are forgiving when it comes to short duration clipping

clipping. It is perfectly acceptable,
or even desired, that the limiter
limiters purposely ‘let through’ some short duration peaks that
can be clipped without us noticing that it happened. As a very loose rule of thumb,
thumb our
ears usually don’t notice clipping of a waveform if it lasts less than about ten
milliseconds, and that’ss the magic of a distortion
distortion-controlled
controlled peak clipper like LiON’s. We
can purposely let the clipper take care of ‘purposeful’ limiter overshoots which not only
opens up the audio to make it less squashed, it also adds back in a sense of dynamics and
punch that
hat pure limiting removes. Your ears are always the best judge of processing
effects and its artifacts!

MPX & OUTPUT

The MPX & Output page of the GUI provides all of the controls for multiplex processing,
stereo generation, multipath limiting, ITU BS.412 MPX power regulation, and others.

We will start with the Process & SCA tab of that page and cover each control in turn.

Composite Clipper Drive: The composite clipper drive sets how much, if any, clipping
will occur in the stereo multiplex domain. A small amount of MPX clipping after all of
the previous processing has been done can add a little more loudness on the dial and
many FM stations use it to gain just a little more competitive advantage.

62 | P a g e
MPX clipping, just like any other form of clipping, can be taken to excess and in the
stereo MPX domain it is easy to overdo things. While a little MPX clipping adds a little
more loudness, too much MPX clipping can destroy the fragile MPX spectrum and make
it difficult for some stereo radios to decode, especially in areas where the station has
weak coverage.

MPX Mode: The MPX Mode switch selects whether the stereo generator is running in
stereo or mono.
no. When in mono the stereo generator will turn off the 19kHz stereo pilot
and shut down the generator of the double sideband suppressed carrier LL-R
R signal
centered at 38kHz.

Pilot Injection: This control sets the amount of 19kHz stereo pilot injection. Usually
the control is set between 8% and 10%, noting that the 19kHz pilot level does vary as the
MPX output level control is adjusted because the stereo pilot is a component part of the
signal whose level is being adjusted.

The control is adjustable between

tween 0% and 20% to accommodate a wide range of
situations in the field.

Pilot Phase: Normally, and with most transmitters and transmission systems the pilot
phase control is set to zero. However, if the transmitter that LiON is connected to is
feeding an antenna system with poor RF bandwidth or a multimulti-station
station combiner whose
group delay is substandard, adjustment of the pilot phase might be necessary in order to
achieve good stereo separation.

The reason for the existence of the pilot phase control is that transmission systems like
those described above can upset the phase relationship between the stereo pilot at 19kHz
and the 38kHz subcarrier around which the L L-R
R stereo information is modulated. If the
19kHz stereo pilot and 38kHz subcarrier don’t crocross
ss zero at the same instant, transmitter
stereo separation is poorer than it could be and stereo radios out in the field cannot fix it.

Poor Pilot Phase Proper Pilot Phase

The oscilloscope photographs above are examples of poor (left) and proper (right) 19kHz
pilot phase. Inside the circled areas are what to look for if adjusting the pilot phase is
required. The ‘points’ in the center of each waveform should be directly across
acro from each

63 | P a g e
other, just as they are in the right hand image. The ‘points’ being directly across from
each other tells us that the 19kHz stereo pilot and the 38kHz stereo subcarrier are in
perfect phase.

To generate this waveform on an oscilloscope, set it up to monitor the MPX output, select
the Factory BYPASS preset on LiON, and with the LiON stereo generator in Stereo
mode, feed the left and right inputs with a low frequency sine wave with one channel out
of phase. That will create a pure L-R signal and make the 19kHz pilot/38lHz subcarrier
phase relationships quite visible on the oscilloscope.

NOTE: Be certain to utilize DC coupling on the oscilloscope input!

If the ‘points’ on the waveform are out of line as they are in the left hand picture, adjust
LiON’s Pilot Phase control until they are in as good alignment as can be achieved within
the range of the Pilot Phase control.

SCA Input, SCA Level: LiON is equipped with a rear panel BNC female connector
which may be used for insertion of a subcarrier into the overall MPX baseband signal.
This input can be used for any subcarrier frequency between 57kHz and 80kHz.

The level control has a 90dB adjustment range, -80dB to +10dB. External subcarrier
generators will usually require an SCA Level setting between -10dB and +10dB. The -
80dB setting is provided in the event it is desired to completely shut down the SCA Input.

ITU BS.412 Power Controller

LiON is equipped with an MPX Power Controller which is fully compliant with the
European Union’s ITU BS.412 stereo modulation standards. LiON is provided with three
controls which govern the controller’s behavior.

NOTE: Engaging the MPX Power Controller when it is not needed can cause up to a 5dB
loss of on-air loudness. Do not engage the controller unless your country requires its
use!

BS.412 Enable: This control enables and disables the MPX Power Controller.

BS.412 Drive: This control allows the user to adjust the amount of drive to the
controller to make up for program formats that may be using very little processing.
Adding some extra drive helps the controller maintain a more consistent MPX power
level.

BS.412 Offset: This control permits the use to make adjustment to the MPX Power
target and has a range of -1dB to +3dB allowing adjustment to meet whatever regulatory
requirements the customer’s country requires..

A one hour example of LiON’s MPX Power management capability is demonstrated in

the graphic below.

64 | P a g e
 long test performed to cr
In the hour-long create the graph above MPX Power was held to within
1dB of the 0dB target level and never exceeded it.

Outputs
LiON is equipped with multiple audio outputs arranged in a flexible method for choosing
which audio signals exit which rear panel connectors. Each output type has its own high
resolution level control.

Analog Level: The Analog Output control has an adjustment range of -48dB
48dB to 0dB and
in 0.1dB steps. The analog output is normally from the pre
pre-emphasized
emphasized FM final peak
clipper and is available on LiON’s rear panel RJ
RJ-45 Analog Out connector.

Analog HD Delay: When required the analog output may be taken from LiON’s built in
HD diversity delay to put it in sync with the processed MPX output. The default mode for
Analog HD Delay is “Out”.

Analog De-Emphasis:: If the analog output is not feeding an FM transmitter or other

medium requiring FM pre-emphasis,
emphasis, the analog output audio may be de
de-emphasized
emphasized by
setting the Analog De-Emphasis
Emphasis mode to its “Yes” setting.

65 | P a g e
Digital Level: This control adjusts the audio output level of the AES output signal
whether it’s left/right processed audio, or the Baseband192® (BB-192) digital FM
multiplex signal. Like the analog output level, the digital level control has an adjustment
range of -48dB to 0dB.

Digital HD Delay: When required the AES3 digital output may be taken from LiON’s
built in HD diversity delay to put it in sync with the processed MPX output. The default
mode for Digital HD Delay is “Out”.

Digital Type: LiON’s digital output may be selected to be processed left/right AES-3,
or Baseband192® digital multiplex when the control is set to the BB-192 position.

Digital De-Emphasis: If the digital output is not feeding an FM transmitter or other

medium requiring FM pre-emphasis, the digital output audio may be de-emphasized by
setting the Digital De-Emphasis mode to its “Yes” setting. Note that the Digital De-
Emphasis mode has no effect when the digital output type is set to BB-192.

Sample Rate: The digital output, and only when it is in AES mode, may be set to
44.1kHz or 48kHz. When the Digital Type is set to BB-192 the output sample rate is
always 192kHz.

MPX Output: This control adjusts the output level of the stereo multiplex signal
appearing on LiON’s rear panel MPX Out female BNC connector. The output level is
adjustable over a -24.00dB to +3.00dB range with steps of 0.05dB allowing very fine
adjustment of the stations modulation level.

Output Settings Change With Preset Takes: One of LiON’s most flexible features is
the ability to cause its input or output settings to follow whatever is stored in a preset.
When the feature is enabled (dot is filled with color) taking a preset will recall all output-
related settings along with the settings pertaining to the processing functions.

The Output Follow Presets feature is useful for scenarios like when a station transmits
mono programming (such as a talk show) and turns off the stereo pilot because it can help
with reception in weak signal areas.

Saving a preset with the stereo pilot disabled also makes it available when the station
wishes to transmit in mono without having to manually switch off the pilot. In this case
LiON’s Preset Scheduler (covered later) can make the “pilot off” process automatic and
based on day and time of day, if desired.

Delay and Test

LiON includes a sine wave test oscillator, adjustable in frequency and in level, and
because it can generate tones up to 80kHz makes it suitable for checking the frequency
response of entire the FM transmission system.

66 | P a g e
Tone Enable: Turns the test tone on or off. When in the On state normal programming
is replaced by the test tone which is only output on the rear panel MPX Out BNC
connector.

Tone Level: This control adjusts the output level of the test tone generator in 1% steps
allowing for very fine adjustment of the resulting MPX modulation.

Tone Frequency: The tone generator is capable of generating low distortion sine wave
tones between 50Hz and 80kHz.

Also included is a Bessel frequency of 31.250kHz which when used with a suitable RF
spectrum analyzer can be used to verify the accuracy of the stations modulation monitor.

Using the Bessel frequency and the “Tone Level” control (adjustable in 1% steps), MPX
modulation is adjusted until the spectrum analyzer shows the first complete sideband null
which then represents precisely 75kHz deviation (100% modulation).

Diversity Delay:: LiON is equipped with HD diversity delay with a maximum delay of
ten seconds and adjustable in two digital sample (41.6µS) steps.

There are two displays showing the amount of delay currently in use, Seconds and
Samples, as welll as three controls for setting the desired amount of diversity delay;
Seconds, Milliseconds, and Microseconds.

Each slider can be slid back and forth using a mouse left
left-click
click and drag motion or the
mouse scroll wheel, if equipped. Fine delay adjustments may be made using the mouse
scroll wheel and keyboard keys.

Coarse adjustments may be made while holding down the keyboard SHIFT key while
scrolling settings with a mouse wheel.

Alternately, fine adjustments may be made in the same way but by holding down the
keyboard’s ALT key instead.

67 | P a g e
It is important to mention that diversity delay in on
on-air
air processors, and for certain our
own on-air processors, doesn’t ‘wande
‘wander around’.

If it could wander around and it did

did,, the delay wouldn’t slowly be getting out of sync...
sync It
would be randomly jumping around inside the full ten seconds of delay and causing very
noticeable jumps in the station’s on
on-air audio.

The diversity delay remains where it has been manually set

set. Iff FM analog and HD audio
are getting out of sync, something else
else, somewhere else, in the audio chain is causing it.

HD+
LiON is equipped with a fully featured HD+ audio processing section which may be used
not
ot only for feeding a station’s HD signal, but is also extremely competent for processing
audio for streaming.

LiON’s HD+ audio processing may be fed from three possible audio sources using the
Source control,, explained next
next.

68 | P a g e
Input: In this mode the HD+ audio processing is being fed from the audio occurring
after the high-pass
pass filter and phase rotator and before any other form of processing.
Because that audio is prior to LiON’s four band equalizer in the main FM signal path,
LiON has its own identical equalizer, covered later. This mode is useful for purest
applications where no other processing, other than that afforded by the HD+ section, is
desired.

iAGC: In this mode the audio source for the HD+ audio processing is after the iAGC in
the main FM signal path. The iAGC
AGC is then feeding the HD+ section a more consistent
spectral balance so its behavior will be a bit different, mostly in how the HD+ section’s
AGC behaves. Overall, audio levels exiting the HD+ section will be more consistent
co in
level and spectral balance than in the “Input” mode case.

All: In this mode LiON’s HD+ section is receiving audio from all of the FM processing
chain up to and prior to the FM left/right peak clippers. Audio out of the HD+ section in
this mode
de will be very consistent, both in level and spectral balance and is useful for
when stations desire to more closely match the sound of their HD channel or Internet
stream to that of their FM on
on-air audio.

Trim: Allows a +/-6dB

6dB left/right channel balan
balance adjustment which is usually most
useful whenever the HD+ section is accepting input audio in the Input source mode.

Look Ahead Limiter

LiON’s HD+ limiter features a true lookahead function which allows it to anticipate, and
then react to audio peaks in a way that prevents them from exceeding the currently set
limiter threshold.

Threshold: The HD+ limiter threshold may be adjusted over a 3dB range from -3dBFS
to 0dBFS. In most applications a limiter threshold of about 1dB below 0dBFS, or -1dB, is
recommended.

Knee: This control changes the limiter between hard and soft knee limiting.

A soft knee characteristic causes limiting to occur over a broader portion of the gain
control curve, called the knee width
width, as the limit threshold is approached. Conversely, a

69 | P a g e
hard knee characteristic causes limiting to occur immediately when the limit threshold is
reached.

A soft knee is preferable over hard in some programming situations and your ears should
be your guide. In LiON’s HD+ limiter the knee width is fixed at 3dB when in the Soft
mode.

L/R Coupling: The L/R Coupling control is responsible for setting how much the left
and right limiters track each other under dynamic conditions and coupling can be varied
from zero to 12dB.

At a setting of zero both limiter channels will track in their gain reductions and will
follow the channel with the highest peak levels.

At the other extreme is a setting of 12dB where neither channel will track the other unless
the gain reduction difference is 12dB or greater – the left and right limiters are essentially
operating independently.

There is a potential downside to operating with the limiters fully uncoupled, stereo image
shift. This can happen because on transients and when the limiter reduces the gain of the
channel with the higher peak level, it causes the stereo image to instantaneously shift
towards the channel with the lower peak level.

An artifact like that can sound quite unnatural to someone with classical music training or
interest, and a good tradeoff is to set the L/R Coupling at about 3dB.

AGC On/Off: The HD+ section’s AGC is a two-band design which aids spectral
balance management, especially when the input source is set to Input. When engaged it
helps the BS.1770 loudness controller maintain a consistent loudness level even though
the controller is capable of doing so on its own.

If the AGC is switched to Off the Leveler AGC gain reduction meter will slowly return
(up to) to zero and if the loudness controller is On, it would do more work to control
loudness.

Attack: This control sets the speed at which the HD+ AGC section chases increasing
audio levels in order to bring them back in check. The control has an adjustment range of
50mS to 250mS with settings between 70mS and 150mS being useful with generating
processing artifacts.

Release: This control sets the speed at which the AGC section chases the incoming
audio levels as they decrease. The control has an adjustment range of 100mS to 1,000mS
(one second) with settings between 300mS and 1,000mS being useful for most formats.

70 | P a g e
The graphic below shows how the gain will change during the AGC’s attack and release
conditions.

AGC Backoff: In order to control shortshort-term dynamics the leveler is also equipped with
a side chain compressor. The AGC Backoff control allows the AGC to briefly ‘step
aside’ during faster audio transients and let the compressor do more work without the
AGC (which takes longer to recover) having to do all of the necess
necessary
ary gain reduction.

The AGC Backoff control allows one to set, or divide up, the amount of work done by
the AGC and side chain compressor. With the control set at zero the AGC is always in
charge, but as the control is set to increasingly positive number
numberss the AGC will ‘step
aside’ on short term dynamics and allow the compressor to do more work. The acoustical
effect is a slightly denser sound whenever the backoff control is above its zero setting.

BS.1770 Loudness Controller

LiON’s HD+ section includes a comprehensive loudness controller which is compliant
with the International Telecommunication Union regulation ITU
ITU-R
R BS.1770. The HD+
sections current output loudness is displayed on four GUI
GUI-based
based bargraphs representing
400mS, 3 second, 10 Second and 30 Second integrations as well as a loudness target
meter.

71 | P a g e
BS1770 Target: The Target control sets the long
long-term
term loudness target goal and the
algorithm will monitor the resulting loudness in real time to ensure that the loudness goal
is maintained.

Auto Target: Enables or disables the automatic loudness feature. When On the
algorithm is actively managing the HD+ section’s output loudness over time to ensure the
target is reached and maintained. When Off the loudness controller is disabled.

Meter Range: Changes the scaling for the four GUI GUI-based
based bargraphs. In the 0-20
0
position the bargraphs have a display range of 0 LUFS to -2020 LUFS and when the meter
rang is set to the 0-40
40 range the bargraph meters display 0 LUFS to -40
40 LUFS.

dBLU: When
en elected the large digital loudness meter displays the current loudness.

Long Term Avg: When selected

selected, the large digital meter will display the long term
average loudness over time on a rolling minute by minute basis with the elapsed
measurement time shown by “Over Last X Minutes” below the large digital display.

On each
ach minute the displayed value will update to show how the loudness has varied over
the displayed elapsed time. In other words, tthe Long Term Average being displayed is a
rolling average over the period of time that the long term average measurements
measurement have
been taking place.

The Long Term Average meter may be Run, Reset, or Paused by using the buttons below
the large digital display of loudness. An illuminated button indicates the current state of
the loudness measurement process.

EQUALIZER
The HD+ section is equipped with a second instance of the four band equalizer that is
present in the FM processing chain and operates in exactl
exactlyy the same manner.

There are two shelving EQ sections (low and high) along with two fully parametric
equalizers that have adjustable frequency, boost and bandwidth (Q) controls.

Recall that filter Bandwidth and Q are

related as shown at left.

A more detailed discussion of Q and

bandwidth can be found here:

https://shorturl.at/kuQX9

72 | P a g e
 At left are the controls associated with
LiON’s equalizer section.

Note that the controls are grouped

according the ‘band’ that they operate
within.

The two fully parametric equalizer

sections are unique, however, in that they
may be tuned to operate on any portion of
the audio spectrum between 20 Hz and 20
kHz.

EQ Enabled: When illuminated the equalizer section is in circuit and active and if any
control within the equalizer section is adjusted those adjustments take effect immediately.

Lo Shelf Section
Boost/Cut: The Boost/Cut control adjusts the Lo Shelf equalization over a +/-14dB
+/
range. Note that a boost or cut of just 3dB increases or decr
decreases
eases the acoustical power of
the frequencies being controlled by a factor of two.

Frequency: The HD+ section’s Lo Shelf equalizer frequency range is 20Hz to 500Hz.
Slight boosts (~3dB) around 50
50-70Hz
70Hz can increase the sense of bass punch on the
station’s HD channel or web stream.

ome portion of the station’s listening audience listens on devices that may not be able to
Some
reproduce bass energy ‘down there
there’ and most don’t reproduce much below around 80-80
100Hz unless equipped with a subwoofer.

Para #1 and Para #2: These are the HD+ section’s two fully parametric equalizer
sections. Each may be tuned over the range of 20Hz to 20kHz, have boost/cut capability
of +/-14dB,
14dB, and may have their bandwidths set according to the amount of frequency
spectrum desired to be affected by their settings.

Hi Shelf Section
Boost/Cut: The Boost/Cut control adjusts the Hi Shelf equalization over a +/-14dB
+/
range. Note that a boost or cut of just 3dB increases or decreases the acoustical power of
the frequencies beingg controlled by a factor of two.

Frequency: The Hi Shelf equalizer frequency range is 2kHz to 20kHz. Slight boosts
(<3dB) around 10kHz can add a sense if ‘air’ to the audio, noting that a little goes a long
way.

73 | P a g e
EQ Graphical Area: Shown below is LiOLiON’s
N’s equalizer spectral display showing
where, and by how much, frequencies with the audio spectrum are being modified.

The graphic below corresponds to the equalizer controls shown on the previous page
where we’ve:

• added a 2dB boost at 50Hz to add a little more bass punch

• pulled down the energy in the spectrum around 240Hz by 3dB to decrease
‘muddiness’
• added a little ‘air’ to the broadcast using a 1.5dB boost at 10.1kHz

HD channels and web streams are a bit more forgiving when it comes to equalization but
are still must be taken, especially at high frequencies when codecs with low bitrates are in
use.

OUTPUT
On the Output page of the HD+ section are choices for which of LiON’s audio outputs
carries which processed audio signal, FM or HD+.

Normally upon the first startup of LiON this GUI page will look mostly blank because by
default LiON’s analog and digital outputs are carrying processed FM audio along with a
messages in orange text at the top of the GUI stating: “Analog Outputs Assigned to FM”
and “Digital Outputs Assigned to FM”.

To send the HD+ processed audio out of LiON’s analog

outputs select the “HD+ to Analog Outputs” button at the
lower left corner of the upper GUI panel.

Upon
pon doing so the controls for that output will appear and we
also now have HD+ left/right audio coming out of LiON’s
analog output.

74 | P a g e
Level: Sets the HD+ audio output level of the rear panel analog output RJ
RJ-45.
45.

De-Emphasis: Selects whether or not FM de de-emphasis

emphasis is applied to the analog output.
De-emphasis
emphasis will only be necessary if the HD+ processing section is receiving its audio
from the “All” input mode because that audio is post FM left/right clipper and has been
pre-emphasized.

Likewise we can send the HD+ processed audio to the digital output by selecting the
“HD+ to Digital Outputs” button at the lower left order of the upper GUI panel and upon
doing so the controls for that output will appear. Now we have HD+ audio ccoming
oming out of
LiON’s digital output, too.

Once again we have Level controls and De

De-emphasis
emphasis
selections, but now we also have a Sample Rate selection too
which can be set to 44.1kHz or 48kHz as needed for the
application.

These controls operate exactly like those for the analog output
and if audio to the HD+ section is coming from the “All” input
mode
mode, the De-emphasis mode set to Yes will likely be required
for situations where pre
pre-emphasized
emphasized audio is not desired.

SCHEDULER
LiON has a built in, clock
clock-based
based scheduler which can be used
to automatically put presets on the air as some desired date
and time, but is also integrated with LiON’s RDS encoder for
switching RDS Datasets according to a time and date
schedule.

Click th
thee Scheduler button in the lower left corner of the GUI
to open the schedule page.

75 | P a g e
 Scheduled events are
added to the schedule
by clicking the Add
button.

The Weekly Event

Scheduler window
will open as shown
below (see Long Term
later).

Here events may be

scheduled to change
presets only, RDS Data
Sets only, or presets and
RDS Datasets at the
same time.

Events may be scheduled

by any day of the week
or several days, or all
days if desired.

In the above image

we’ve scheduled some
ges to use for our example.
preset changes

Long Term Scheduler Events

Along with the Weekly scheduler LiON also has a Long Term scheduling function as
well which can be used to change presets well in the future.

76 | P a g e
Unlike the Weekly scheduler the Long Term scheduler also includes a Month parameter.

One of the common uses for the Long Term scheduler is pre-scheduling a preset change
to be used for music over the holidays and it can be set up well in advance. In fact, you
could set it up in June, walk away, and when it was time for that preset to be on the air,
bingo, it’s on, and nobody had to do or touch anything.

Of course there’s always a nefarious use for technology like this and one that comes to
mind is someone who planned to leave a station in the next month or so and under not
such a good set of circumstances…

In an “I’ll show you” moment, a preset was secretly scheduled and a few days later and
after that person was long gone from the company – and in the middle of the station’s
morning show no less – LiON’s Bypass/No Processing preset went on the air! Yes. It
happened! ☺

Editing Events: In both the Weekly and Long Term Schedulers, events can be edited or
deleted at will using the Edit button after a scheduled event has been highlighted within
the main Scheduler window. There is no separate event save option. Once the event has
been edited and the Edit window closed, the event has been saved.

Deleting Events: A scheduled event can easily be deleted by selecting it in the main
Scheduler window and then clicking the Delete button.

Important: there is no Yes/No or Confirm pop-up question when deleting an event.

When the Delete button is clicked, the event is permanently removed.

77 | P a g e
SYSTEM SCREEN
The final page of LiON’s GUI interface is the System screen. We’ll cover each item
shown from left to right.

CoProcessor Version
LiON relies on several different types of software in order to do all of its magic. There is
code for the FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), the DSP (Digital Signal
Processor), and Software which is what ties all of it together into a working LiON.

The Built date shows the date and time when the bundle of software currently running on
LiON was packaged up into an ‘rbn’ file. An rbn file is an encrypted combination of all
of the above versions which makes upgrading LiON in the field simple for a user – there
is only one upgrade file to contend with and it will update everything. If for instance the
FPGA code hasn’t changed, uploading the rbn file to the hardware will overlay a new and
fresh copy of the same version of FPGA code, just in case.

GUI Version
The GUI Version field shows the version of the GUI that is currently connected to LiON.
In most cases the GUI Version and the Co-Processor software versions will and should
match.

NIC Address
The NIC (Network Interface Card) Address is the IP address of the PC that is currently
running the GUI. Sometimes it is necessary to explicitly tell the GUI where the PC is, and
for that we’ve provided the “SET” function which when pressed, automagically does just
that.

Status
Under the Status column LiON displays to the GUI and end user various data that it
knows about itself. This column provides a lot of helpful information that can be useful
for troubleshooting.

78 | P a g e
Temperature
LiON has a built in temperature sensor on its internal main CPU board which keeps track
of the operating temperature in degrees Centigrade. Normally LiON’s internal
temperature will be somewhere between room temperature (~22C) and in the 40’s,
depending on the physical environment that LiON is operating within.

If the internal temperature reaches 50C or higher the temperature readout will turn red to
indicate that “hey, things are getting hot in here!” No immediate harm will come to LiON
if operated at elevated temperatures, however long-term reliability may suffer.

Date and Time

LiON also has a built-in real time clock (RTC) that keeps the Scheduler functions
operating correctly. Keep in mind however that LiON will maintain its timekeeping for
short duration power outages (a few seconds) but because it has no internal backup
battery correct time will be lost for power interruptions that last longer.

Why is there no battery backup for the RTC? So you won’t have to worry about changing
it when it stops working and/or losing your schedules without knowing you lost them
because the battery died and no one noticed!

CoProc IP
LiON has its own user assigned network IP address which is used by the GUI to know
where on the network LiON lives.

IP addresses are like house numbers on your street. You might live on Main Street (the
station’s network) but unless you give someone your house address (LiON’s IP address)
they (the GUI) won’t know which house (LiON) is yours!

CoProc MAC
Every networked device is assigned a unique 12-digit number at ‘birth’ that identifies it
to other devices on the network such as Ethernet switches and routers. In fact, Ethernet
switches and routers communicate with devices on the network not by their IP addresses,
but by their MAC addresses.

In the System Page image LiON’s MAC address is shown as: 80:E4:DA:00:89:A7. If you
look up that MAC address on the Internet you’ll find that it has been assigned to
Wheatstone Corporation (us) and belongs to a range of about one million MAC addresses
assigned to us between 80:E4:DA:00:00:00 and 80:E4:DA:0F:FF:FF.

WNIP Host Blade

When LiON is part of a WheatnetIP network and has been assigned a Host Blade the host
Blade IP address will be shown. Here, and because Host Blade IDs usually start at 100,
our Host Blade ID is the number 51.

79 | P a g e
WNIP Sample Rate
When LiON is attached to a WheatnetIP network the sample rate of the system it’s
connected to will be shown here.

SECURITY

LiON is equipped with a multi-layer security system which, when enabled, can be used to
prevent unauthorized access to the LiON hardware or remote access via the GUI
software.

Remote Login
If a Remote Login password is enabled whenever a remote GUI attempts to connect to
the LiON hardware a password prompt will appear and unless the correct password is
entered, LiON’s hardware will refuse the connection.

Clicking on the Remote Login button will open the following dialog.

The Current Password field is only

used if you wish to change or remove
an existing password.

To change an existing password, enter

it in the Current field, followed by
entering the new password in the New
and Verify fields.

If the Show Password option is enabled (highlighted), the passwords will be visible as
they are entered.

If the Remember Password option is enabled (highlighted) the GUI will write the
password to a hidden file on the PC running the GUI, and the password will be
automatically entered the next time the GUI attempts a remote connection to LiON’s
hardware.

To remove a password, simply enter the current password followed by blank fields for
those for New and Verify.

When all edits are completed in this dialog clicking the Ok button will cause LiON to
store the information.

If the password is lost, Audioarts technical support can help gain access again noting that
there is no master password nor is there a factory default command.

80 | P a g e
Front Panel
LiON’s front panel has built in security which, unlike the Remote Login which can use
alphanumeric characters, the front panel is limited to four numerical digits (0-9) which
allows 10,000 possible lock/unlock codes.

The front panel access code can be set using either LiON’s front panel or through the
GUI’s Front Panel security button.

It is also possible to make LiON’s front panel

completely restricted by choosing the Disable
Front Panel option. When this option is chosen,
LiON will only display metering. There will be no
option to gain entry using a front panel passcode.

To undo the disable front panel option or to delete

an existing passcode, select the No Password
Required option. When this option is in effect the
front panel is wide open with no security.

If the Password option is chosen the shaded bar below Password will turn black and
allow up to four numbers to be assigned as the front panel passcode. When Okay is
clicked the dialog will close and all front panel passcode changes will immediately go
into effect.

GUI Access
This option allows you to set a security code that can lock the GUI controls completely
out, or simply restrict making control settings changes or saving a preset (preset recall is
not affected).

The access code dialog accepts four

numerical digits, just like LiON’s front
panel.

If an access code is not assigned to

Settings Changes and/or Preset Saves,
those functions will not be restricted,
however GUI Lock, covered next, will
now function.

GUI Lock
The GUI Lock feature enables the user to completely lock the GUI, and by locked we
mean preventing access to everything except being able to view the GUI metering and the
various GUI pages related to processing and other functions. Functions other than
viewing will remain restricted until the correct passcode is entered in the GUI Access
dialog.

81 | P a g e
Set Time
LiON”s Real Time Clock may be set three different ways, Manually, Using the GUI’s
host PC’s clock, or via SNTP (Simple Network Time Protocol).

Manually

Using the Manual adjustment dialog

all parameters pertaining to date, time,
hour format and UTC offset may be
applied.

The graphic at left shows the controls

available within the Manual
adjustment style.

PC Clock

Using the PC Clock dialog allows the

selection of the 12 or 24 hour format.

When Okay is clicked the GUI and the

LiON hardware will be sent the current
time according to the local time on the
PC.

The graphic at left shows the controls

available within the PC Clock
adjustment style.

SNTP

Using the SNTP option allows the

setting of the time server’s IP address
as well as 12/24 hour format and UTC
Time Zone offset.

In the image at left we’re using the

time server at Ntp-wwv.nist.gov to
grab the current time and keep LiON’s
RTC in sync.

82 | P a g e
Input Settings Change With Presets

When this option is selected (highlighted) taking a preset will

cause all input related settings to change according to what has
been stored in that preset. Th
Those include the input audio source,
analog and digital input gains, the left/right mode, the phase
rotator and the high pass filter settings.

One example usage for this feature is making taking a preset to

change the input audio source, or the left/right mode, according to
a desired daypart or programming need.

Output Settings Change With Presets

When this option is selected (highlighted) taking a preset will

cause all output related settings to change according to what has
been stored in that preset. Those include the output levels,
stereo/mono mode and even modulation level.

Example usages for this feature are taking a preset to change the
transmitted signal from stereo to mono, turning off the stereo pilot
during mono programming, or even raising the station’s
modulation late on a Friday night to drive the competition’s
program director crazy over the weekend. It’s happened ☺

FRONT PANEL METERING

LiON’s front panel and GUI interface include metering to
show things such as input and output levels and the amount
of work being done within various stages of its audio
processing. We’ll discuss the front panel metering first.

INP: The bars display the current left and right audio input levels being applied to
LiON and are showing the audio levels after the Input Gain controls. Normally the meters
should just ‘tickle’ the bottom
bottom-most bright yellow square with only an occasional
occasiona peak

83 | P a g e
into the first blue square. The bars have no numerical scales – we’ll be going bar color
here!

AGC: The AGC bars show the amount of gain reduction occurring within the iAGC and
the multiband AGC band with the highest current amount of gain reduction. Like the
Input meters the AGC bars do not utilize numerical scales for the amount of gain
reduction. Here, anything in the yellow is good and shows an appropriate amount of gain
control occurring.

LIM: The LIM (limiter) bars will show the amount of gain reduction occurring in the
multiband and final limiter, respectively. Normally the LIM bars will be showing less
activity than the AGC bars, and sometimes, depending on the program content at the
moment, might not show any gain reduction at all. This is normal.

OUT: There are three meter bars for the OUT metering. The topmost pair shows the
left/right audio levels from the FM or HD+ processing section, whichever one happens to
be feeding the AES3 digital output. The levels showing on the left/right (L/R) bars will
correspond to the output level set by the digital output control in the FM section, or the
digital output control in the HD+ section, again whichever one is feeding that particular
output.

TX: The bottom OUT bar shows the presence of output level on the TX Out BNC on
LiON’s rear panel.

GUI METERING – FM PROCESSING

Unlike the front panel which doesn’t have a whole lot of room to display a lot of meters,
the GUI can display as many as we wish. And it does.

The above is how the metering looks when the HD+ GUI page is not active.

INPUT: These bars represent the current audio input levels to LiON regardless of
which input audio source is in use. The scale represents levels in dBFS (decibels Full
Scale digital) and normal input levels will be hovering between -20dBFS and -16dBFS
with an occasional peak no higher than about -6dBFS and where the meters begin to
show in blue.

CORR: LiON is equipped with a “correlation meter” which displays the amount of
correlation (sameness) in the left and right audio channels.

84 | P a g e
Normal stereo signals will cause the CORR meter to be hovering above the 0.0 mark and
program content with very wide stereo separation will cause the CORR meter to read
even higher.

Mono program material containing minimal left/right phase and level errors will make
the CORR meter read -1.0 or well below 0.0.

The CORR meter is measuring the input audio to LiON prior to the gain controls, the
Left/Right Mode switch, and all processing and will therefore be immune to any
adjustments made in those portions of the signal chain.

iAGC / COMPRESSORS: The next six meters are for displaying the amount of gain
reduction (work) happening within the iAGC and five band leveler/compressor. The
iAGC and each of the five bands has their own meter and can show gain reduction down
to -30dB.

During normal operation and with most programming the iAGC meter will be hovering
around -12dB or so, while gain reduction meters for compressor bands 1 through 5 will
be showing between about -6dB and -18dB.

MULTIBAND LIMITERS: The next five meters are for displaying the amount of gain
reduction (work) happening within the multiband limiters. These meters are scaled with a
maximum gain reduction of 15dB. In normal operations and with most program content
the limiters will be performing much less gain control so the limiter gain reduction scales
are reduced accordingly.

During normal operation and with most programming the limiter meters will be showing
occasional readings between -3dB and -6dB with an occasional higher excursion.

The amount of limiter drive and gain reduction has a strong correlation to on-air loudness
though as with all good things, too much limiting can rapidly turn the resulting on-air
audio into a wall of sound, something that’s not recommend when long-term listenership
is the goal of the station’s format and management.

85 | P a g e
“FINAL” METERS: The next three meters show the amount of gain control occurring
in the Bass Clipper, Main Clipper and MPX Clipper, respectively.

Each meter has a scale from 0 to -15dB and the only meter that should show a generous
amount of gain reduction in normal operation is the “BC” meter whenever the program
content being broadcast has a strong and prominent low end.

The L/R meter will show gain reduction values less than -6dB with most program content
and will normally peak to around -3dB.

The MPX meter will normally show only a very small amount of gain reduction. The
MPX meter displays the amount of work being done by the MPX clipper. Because the
MPX clipper is after the L/R clipper and peak control has already been accomplished, a
little bit of additional clipping, but now in the MPX domain, goes a very long way
towards increasing on-air loudness.

Excessive clipping in the MPX domain (MPX meter peaking -2dB or more) can
contaminate the MPX spectrum with clipping artifacts which can then make it difficult
for stereo receivers to achieve stereo lock in weak signal areas and degrade RDS
decoding as well.

PWR: The PWR meter displays the amount of multiplex power being generated by all
of the preceding processing. LiON’s algorithms are capable of generating a generous
amount of MPX power (loudness). Under certain programming and processing
circumstances LiON can easily match the MPX power generation capability of top of the
line FM on-air processors costing several times more than LiON.

The PWR meter is also active when the BS.412 MPX Power Controller is active and
accurately shows the current level of MPX power being genereted.

Note that BS.412 power control and its measurement occurs over a rolling one-minute
average and that will make the PWR meter appear very sluggish (because it is!). It also
means that adjustments to the processing or to the BS.412 MPX power in an effort to
achieve a certain MPX power goal will require some time before a new value of MPX
power shows up on the MPX meter.

86 | P a g e
OUTPUTS: Next are four meters dedicated to displaying LiON’s “FM” output levels,
Analog L/R, Digital L/R and TX (MPX).

All four meters are calibrated in dBFS (decibels Full Scale) and are designed to indicate
audio levels down to -40dBFS. Because the audio feeding the meters is processed and
already have well defined peak levels there is no concern if a meter appears to be hitting
the zero mark. We’ve left a bit of headroom in the digital domain (about 0.1dB) so it is
impossible for an audio level hitting the zero on the meter from ‘running out of bits’.

GUI METERING – HD PROCESSING

Like the metering for LiON’s FM final processing, the HD+ section has its own metering
which pops into view when the HD+ button at the top of the GUI is pressed.

All of the processing metering up through the Multiband Limiters was covered in the FM
Metering section since the multiband processing can be part of the HD+ processing when
desired. The HD+ GUI mode reveals additional metering that is specific to that form of
audio processing.

HD+ Leveler: The Leveler (AGC) meter displays the amount of gain reduction
occurring at the ‘front end’ of the HD+ processing. The Leveler is always operating, even
when the AGC On/Off control is set to the Off position; in the Off state audio is taken
from the Leveler/AGC input rather than its output.

The Leveler meter has a range of 0 to -30dB and in normal operation and with program
material will be showing values in the range of -12dB to -18dB. It will also vary to some
degree based on where the audio for the HD+ section is coming from based on the setting
of the “Source” control.

87 | P a g e
HD+ Auto Trgt: The Auto Trgt(Target) meter shows the amount of work being done to
either increase or reduce the current loudness to the desired level. The meter has a display
range of 0 to -15dB and in normal operation and with program material will be showing
values in the range of -6dB to -12dB.

If the loudness value of the incoming and already processed audio suddenly increases or
decreases, the AutoTrgt algorithm and its meter will reflect that it making quicker jumps
to a new value of gain reduction in order to more quickly bring the loudness back within
range.

HD+ L/R Limiter: The HD+ processing operates as two independent stereo channels
with a variable degree of channel to channel coupling of gain reduction. As explained
earlier in the section on HD+ processing, such coupling is not only desired, but
recommended to prevent annoying stereo image shifts during gain reduction.

The Limiter meters share the same 0dB to -15dB scale of the Auto Trgt algorithm and in
normal operation the indicated instantaneous gain reduction will be in the range of
nothing, to perhaps less than -3dB.

BS1770: There are four meters associated with the BS1770 section and each will be
described in turn:

400mS: The 400mS meter displays two pieces of information;

instantaneous loudness and the integrated loudness over a 400 millisecond
rolling average.

The instantaneous loudness is displayed as a single floating bar above the

rest of the meter, and the 400mS value is shown as a solid bar. With
normal processing and program content the instantaneous bar will hover
near the top of the scale.

3 Sec: The 3 Sec meter displays the integrated loudness over a rolling
three second time period.

10 Sec: The 10 Sec meter displays the integrated loudness over a rolling
ten second time period.

30 Sec: The 30 Sec meter displays the integrated loudness over a rolling
ten second time period. The 30 second meter will typically be indicating a

88 | P a g e
 loudness level similar to that of the BS177 target, if it has been set while
the ‘faster’ meters will be showing quicker excursions of integrated
loudness according to their own measurement time constants.

OUTPUTS: Like the meters for FM, the Analog and Digital meters for HD+ show the
output levels in dBFS for the HD+ analog left/right or digital AES3 outputs should one or
both of the rear panel outputs be assigned to the HD+ section.

The output meters are calibrated in dBFS and like the Input meters, have a display range
of 0dBFS to -40dBFS.

89 | P a g e
 APPENDIX A

Common Audio Processing Terms and What They Mean

Background

When tasked with adjusting audio processing one is often faced with myriad meanings
for the same sound descriptors. For instance, when the program director comments that it
needs more “thump,” what does he really mean?

If he says that the audio is too “crunchy,” what is he hearing?

If he says that the competition is nice and “bright” and they have some nice
“rumble,” what exactly is that?

Or what if he wants more bass and you add some bottom end but now he says “we
sound too muddy”?

How do we untangle this mess and get to the bottom of what he really means?

There are many “audio” terms that have been invented over the years to describe the
sound of audio processing while it’s doing its work. In fact, ever since radio stations
started employing circuits instead of humans to control the modulation of transmitters
we’ve tried to come up with words to describe the audible effects of audio processing as
far as what we hear.

Many of those terms were born out of simply trying to put into words the positive or
negative artifacts of early compressors and limiters (thump, muddy, honk, tubby).

Still others were born later when EQ and different forms of ‘enhancers’ were added to
station audio chains and its audio processors in order to modify certain parts of the
frequency spectrum (rumble, punch for bass; bright, airy, open to describe presence and
the high end).

The language of audio processing more often than not needs the benefit of an interpreter.
Some oft-used terms can easily have multiple meanings and be confused with others.
Making the problem worse, some of the terms we use might not be universally used, and
nor do they describe very well what is actually happening to the audio.

For instance, one listener might feel the audio is “muddy” while another still might
describe the sound as “warm.” Which one is right? For starters, “muddy” is not usually
used in a positive sense, while warm, on the other hand, often means the sound has a
pleasing low end. See the confusion here?

90 | P a g e
The terms themselves, the ones that we use to describe sound, can be confusing enough.
The real question becomes then, what do these terms really mean, and which knob on the
processor do we turn if we want to change the sound?

In fact, here are some very common challenges:

If the audio is too “muddy,” do you turn up the high end, or do you reduce the low
end?

Which control is the right one if you wanted to bring up some low end “rumble”
or “sub bass”?

If the audio is “tinny,” is the problem that there’s too much energy up around
8,000Hz or is the problem actually further down in the spectrum?

We’ve created a graphic to try to bring some understanding to the more common terms
we broadcasters use to describe sound, and where those sounds actually reside within the
audio frequency spectrum. While creating an exhaustive list isn’t impossible, it is well
beyond the scope of what we’re trying to accomplish here, so what we’ve done instead is
compile the terms we most commonly hear customers use, and then lay them out in our
graphic to help our users visualize what sounds actually live in what part of the audio
spectrum that we hear.

Included in the chart below are the frequency ranges of the most common instruments
heard in compilations played on the radio. The idea here is to marry musical instruments
and the sounds they make with the terms we commonly use to describe how they sound.

91 | P a g e
One good example might be the term “Honk,” which coincidentally happens to be right
in the middle of the frequency range created by saxophones. The goal here is to offer a
better understanding of how to adjust an audio processor so that the “thump” you want
will be the “thump” you get, and not “tubby.”

Common audio processing terms and the parts of the spectrum they govern are at the
bottom of the chart. The top part of the chart shows the frequency range of common
musical instruments heard on the radio (male and female voice included).

Audio Terms and LiON

THUMP / RUMBLE / BOTTOM

These terms describe bass generally found at and below about 80Hz. Good stereo
systems, closed or noise reduction headphones and car audio systems with subwoofers
can usually reproduce audio way down here. Many times such systems even have their
own complex bass enhancement features such as LiON’s very specialized bass clipper
system. This system is an intelligent clipper that samples the bass frequency relationship
between compressor bands 1 and 2 and is able to make changes to the audio based on
user settings.

The bass clipper has a Drive control as well as a Threshold control which allows you to
tailor how the bass clipper sounds. Moving the Threshold control clockwise raises the

92 | P a g e
bass clipper threshold and allows more bass through to the main clipper while turning the
Threshold control in the other direction lowers it.

PUNCH / BOOM / TUBBY / WARM

The sound of bass “punch” and “boom” usually fall in the range of 70Hz to 150Hz.
“Tubby” on the other hand usually falls between 150Hz and 300Hz. Band #2 of the
parametric Equalizer may be used to gently and broadly boost audio in the range of
75Hz to 120Hz to safely reinforce the “punch” and “boom” of lower bass without
creating undesirable effects such as “tubbiness.”

The enhancement of “punch” and “boom” can be especially tricky because many
listeners’ sound systems can’t reproduce very low and sub bass frequencies. Therefore
it’s especially important to use several known reference radios when adjusting low
frequency enhancement because it is very easy to create distortion or “muddiness.” Quiz
Time: How many stations have awesome sounding bass on the PD’s car stereo but end up
sounding terrible on clock radios and boom boxes? Always listen on multiple radios in
multiple listening environments to get the best feel for the effects created by purposeful
bass enhancement.

MUD

When someone says that audio is “muddy” they usually mean too much energy is in the
250Hz to 400Hz frequency range. Sometimes it’s caused by a misadjusted Equalizer or a
processor maladjustment that is allowing a leveler or compressor to add too much gain at
lower frequencies so in most cases it’s a good idea to keep from boosting energy in this
region.

Expert Tip! Additional clarity and detail can be created by a broad equalization cut in
the range between 180Hz and 400Hz. To do this, set one of the parametric equalizers to
300Hz, its boost to minus 6db and its Bandwidth to 1.20 octaves. This surprising little
(pro) secret can be more effective at “adding” detail to both low bass and midrange than
any other ‘boost equalization can do. It’s true! Try it!

HONK

Think Saxophone. Honk is above “mud” but below “fuzzy” and “tinny.” The honk effect
occurs between about 400Hz and 1,200Hz, and begins to overlap “fuzzy” and “tinny” at
around
1000Hz.

Usually audio in this frequency range stands out on its own in the mix and any
enhancement should be slight because our ears are already very sensitive to these
frequencies.

93 | P a g e
This frequency range is also quite delicate to work with because much of the perceived
stereo sound field we perceive also occurs in this range. When the audio has a “honk,”
“fuzzy,” or “tinny” texture (and it’s usually a texture that we don’t like), often slightly
faster attack times in the Compressor for the corresponding frequency band can help
smooth things out.

WHACK

This is the sound where percussion sounds just “explode”. But first, note that this is much
less of an equalization issue, and much more about creating a temporarily dense sound by
momentary fast compression. To achieve more “whack” it can help to speed up the
Leveler or Compressor release times in Band 3. Another trick is to slow down the attack
time of the Band 3 and/or Band 4 levelers which will allow them to be less active on
rapidly occurring impulses and enhancing “whack.”

FUZZY/TINNY

Yes, “fuzzy” and “tinny” really are this far down in the audio spectrum! A “tinny” sound
might be described by some as a harsh midrange, or too much presence, instead of
something happening higher up in the audio spectrum. Both “fuzzy” and “tinny” live
between about 1,200Hz and 2,000Hz and one of the best ways to manage either (or both)
is to broadly and slightly reduce equalization in this range, or perhaps even increase the
attack time in Band 3 of the AGC and Compressor.

Often there is a tradeoff between getting more “whack” and keeping “fuzzy/ tinny” at
bay. Speeding up the compressor in the 1,000Hz to 1,500Hz range to get more
compression “whack” can sometimes add undesirable side effects, one of which is the
creation of what sounds like “fuzzy,” “dense,” or even “tinny.” In audio processing,
especially broadcast audio processing, everything is a tradeoff. While Audioarts and
Wheatstone audio processors provide the most wiggle room for getting the sound you can
hear in your head actually on the air, more often than not compromises will need to be
made.

SIBILANCE

Sibilance is a vocal artifact and because it sounds so unnatural it tends to stick out like a
sore thumb. Excessive sibilance can be the result of too much high-end boost or too
much final clipper drive. Sibilance tends to be most prevalent in the 4,000Hz to 8,000Hz
portion of the frequency spectrum. Microphone processors (like the Wheatstone Voice1
and M4) are great tools for keeping vocal sibilance under control. Their specialized de-
esser sections are specially tailored for removing or minimizing excessive “esses.” When
excessive sibilance is an issue and there is no microphone processor to control it,
lowering LiON’s Band 4 to Band 5 band mixes and/or using a slightly faster attack time
on the Band 5 Leveler/Compressor can help.

94 | P a g e
Sibilance can sometimes also be found in an unlikely place; the L-R. “But voice is
mono…” you say, “…so there is no L-R…” Well, yes and no. When the left and right
channels don’t have perfect balance or there is phase shift between the channels, energy
ends up in the L-R, but why?

By definition the L-R signal is the difference between the left and right channels,
regardless of whether it’s level, or phase, or both. When phase is the culprit the error is
generally larger at high frequencies, making the L-R energy also greater at higher
frequencies. As if by magic, sibilance appears in the L-R and the only way to fix it is to
tend to what’s causing it or reduce the level of L-R at frequencies where sibilance might
reside. The Leveler’s multiband mixer can help with this. Slightly reducing the setting of
the Band 4 and Band 5 L-R mixers can help tame sibilance without having too negative
an effect on stereo separation.

TREBLE / BRIGHT / OPEN

Treble (like its friends, Bass and Midrange) is a generalized term for the high end in most
broadcast and recording systems. Bright and Open are oft-used descriptive terms of treble
styles.

Unfortunately, bright can be a positive or negative term. For instance, laser-bright is

usually a negative term and is used to describe too much enhancement in the upper end.
The term probably borrows its origins from the early days of CDs when brighter
supposedly meant cleaner.

Open is a term usually reserved for describing audio texture in the upper midrange, where
it doesn’t sound overly processed, packed in, or lacking in detail. To achieve a more open
sound in any processor there is usually some sacrifice in loudness. Fortunately LiON is
much more forgiving in this regard, and most users have an easier time being loud with
LiON while still being quite clean and open.

Operating the Leveler and Compressor with slower attack and release times and making
some minor tradeoffs in loudness will push perceived on-air sound quality off the charts
while going a long way towards achieving an open and easy to listen to sound. When this
is the target sound, starting with one of our Classical or Jazz presets and then “turning
things up” is a good way to approach achieving this sound. These presets are surprisingly
competitive without sounding “processed.”

FINALLY

As always, our Technical Support team is available to answer any questions, help with
setup, or even assist in tweaking your station to the sound you hear in your head but
might not know how to achieve. Shoot us an email at [email protected] or
give is a call at 252-638-7000. We know our processors inside and out and can make
them sit up and dance in any market or format.

95 | P a g e
 APPENDIX B

That Great Sound You Hear In Your Head?

Here’s how to get it On the Air!

It is in our nature that our human ears adapt quickly, but they tire quickly, too! When
adjusting audio processing, recognizing that one simple fact will go a long way towards
reaching your on-air processing goals and without spending what seems like ‘years at the
knobs’.

Our decades-long experience with all things audio processing not only gives us some
unique perspectives on audio processing, it also allows us to offer some very important
advice. So, to begin with the obvious:

Tweak Small and Listen Large

(a well-respected colleague and audio processing field consultant once shared his secret,
above, to quickly getting a client’s on-air processing right where they wanted it)

What he meant by Tweak Small and Listen Large is to approach any audio processing
tweaking session with care, some research beforehand to learn what the station’s goals
are, and then diligently, not haphazardly, work toward arriving at the sound that’s craved.

But that doesn’t mean many hours in front of blaring speakers or with headphones
clamped to your head, in fact, quite the contrary. Make a few adjustments towards where
you’re trying to get to, make some notes, SAVE those settings as a preset, and then
WALK AWAY. Come back again only after you’ve taken an ear break and then listened
for a while and reviewed any written or mental note you’ve made for what to touch next.

Without at least taking an ear break it’ll be like driving into a roundabout and always
making left turns. You will never arrive anywhere else, and more importantly, you will
never escape!

LiON’s fifty or so factory presets give the end user a wide variety of sounds, textures,
and on the dial loudness, and more often than not one of LiON’s Factory Presets will be
perfect for the station’s format and market. But, and as luck would have it, sometimes a
Factory Preset just isn’t “it” and you’d like to make your own new preset, perhaps even
by starting from scratch.

Well, that isn’t actually possible due to myriad under the hood interactions and
adjustments we’ve made in order to create a factory preset, but you can get close…

There are a few LiON presets that we recommend as starting points when trying to build
from scratch: Quick Start Natural, Max Dynamics, Smoothie, Modern Jazz and Classical

96 | P a g e
Natural. Each of those presets have attributes that are great starting points for creating
something completely new, and we recommend listening to each of them to find the one
that’s closest in spectral balance and general dynamics behavior to what the end goal is.
Having made many hundreds of presets over the last few decades while designing and
tuning on-air audio processors, our own Jeff Keith shares how he goes about creating a
new preset from scratch after choosing one of our recommended presets as a starting
point. The following is from Jeff Keith, Senior Audio Processing Development Engineer
for Wheatstone:

I generally start by making a good sounding ‘lame’ preset that has nice spectral balance
and dynamics behavior and then run it through the mill with as many musical and vocal
tracks as I can in order to ascertain (actually, train my ears) as to how it behaves with
myriad programming types. The five presets previously recommended are just those
presets – I created them to serve best for how I then named them and all of the other 45 or
so LiON presets were created using one of them as a starting point.

It is usually recommend that the following ‘tuning’ not be done while the unit is on the
air. At worst your station would sound pretty weak on the dial for a while and at most,
well; let’s just say your competition would be getting a really good laugh over your new
sound. ☺

Instead, bench the unit, provide it a source of really good linear audio (analog or digital)
and connect its MPX output to a good quality stereo decoder such as a Belar FMSA-1.
Alternately the MPX output can be connected to a spare FM exciter with the resulting
FM signal demodulated by a good quality modulation monitor or FM tuner.

It is critically important that the audio going into LiON be as pristine as possible, lest the
subtle changes made to the processing be masked by (for instance) codec artifacts.

My rule for this part is: LOUNDESS is NOT the primary goal here, spectral balance,
texture, and the behavior of the dynamics section with changing program material, IS.

The first order of business is to back off the main clipper by setting it to -3dB.

Next, disable the Multiband Limiter by setting its mode to “No”.

Next, shut off the Bass Clipper by setting its mode to “No”.

Next, go the GUI’s Para EQ page and shut off the EQ (EQ Enabled should not be
illuminated).

Finally, navigate to the iAGC/Comps page of the GUI and turn the Detail
Enhance control “Off”.

97 | P a g e
 Next, make sure that the iAGC, MB Compressor and MB Leveler dots at the top
of the page are filled in with orange (they are all ‘On’).

At this point only the multiband Leveler/AGC/Compressor stages are active.

Next, navigate to the graphical area of the iAGC/Comps GUI page, locate the
Thresh tab at the bottom, right click on one of the blue dots, and select “Group All
Adjusters”. Then, right click again and select “Flatten”.

Do the same tasks in the same order for the remaining tabs; Levlr Atk, Levlr Rls,
Density, Comp Atk, Comp Rls, Ratio, AGC Mix, and St Enh.

Next, navigate back to the Density tab and pull all the dots down by left clicking
(no double click!) on one of the dots and pulling it down to the bottom of the
graph. All of the other dots should follow whichever one was grabbed by the
mouse.

Next, open the AGC Mix tab and set all dots to the middle 0dB position.

Finally, open the ST Enh tab and set all the dots to their middle 0dB position.

At this point we have the multiband section operating ‘flat’ with mostly the incoming
audio’s dynamics being changed. Listen to this result with a couple of very familiar
musical or speech cuts to become familiar with the spectral balance and dynamics.
Evaluate whether the spectral balance and dynamics meet your criteria, and if not the
spectral balance should be worked on next.

NOTE: We covered the behavior of the dots in the graphical sections of the GUI some
time back, so if you’re not sure how to manipulate them, please go back and re-read that
section before moving on.

We’ll move on from here using examples since each station, its market, its competition
and a slew of other factors are as individual to each station as our own fingerprints.

Example #1: The sound of the multiband as it is currently tuned sounds pretty good, but
you’d like a little more deep low end. What to do?

Navigate to the Thresh tab of the graphical area, double click on the first dot on the left,
and after it turns orange, move it up a few dB from its current position. Better low end
now?

Example #2: The sound has a bit more bottom end now, but lacks the feel of
‘processing’ i.e, you’d like it to be a little more ‘energetic’. What to do?

There are at least two possible cures:

98 | P a g e
 1. Increase the setting of the AGC Drive control;

2. On the Density tab of the graphical area, double click the dot that was turned
orange in a previous step (to make it yellow or blue again) and using the mouse,
slide the Density adjusters up, maybe to around +3dB (use scale on left). The
higher the dots the more short term density is added to the audio. Better now?

Example #3: Things are sounding pretty good now but you noticed that the program
content isn’t sounding quite as ‘stereo’ as you’d like. We can fix that!

1. Navigate to the St Enh tab of the graphical area – this is where we can make
adjustments to the perceived stereo sound field width overall, or on a processing
band per band basis. There are some important things to consider before jamming
all the dots to the top of the scale!

A. There is very little stereo separation at low frequencies in most

musical material, so boosting say, the Band 1 dot above the 0dB mark
won’t do much good other than to potentially exacerbate multipath.

B. Most of our perceived stereo effect comes from what happens in the
midrange, or Bands 2 through 4.

C. Be careful adding L-R in Band 5, lest it make your audio sound

‘splashy’ on stereo receivers when they’re in weak signal areas.

Stereo enhancement, when done frequency band by frequency band as we do in LiON,

can be quite effective at tailoring not only how the station’s overall stereo sound field
sounds, but by being careful with adjustments in Band 1 and Band 5 you can actually
improve how some receivers behave when tuned to your station.

If not happy yet with the spectral balance and dynamics behaviors, a little more tweaking
using this section as a guide will be necessary. If things are now good with the spectral
balance and dynamics behavior it’s time to move on to the Limiters. But first, some
housekeeping...

Navigate to the Limiters portion of the GUI and turn the Multiband Limiter Drive down
to -6dB and the Multiband Limiter Enable switch to “Yes”. Note that the apparent gain
may change up or down depending on what’s happening in the iAGC/Comps page of the
GUI. Do not worry about that now…

Next, click on the Threshold tab of the graphical area and ensure the Threshold
dots are all on the 0dB line (scale at left).

Next click on the Attack tab of the graphical area and ensure that all dots are on
the 5mS line (about halfway between top and bottom).

99 | P a g e
 Next, click on the Release tab of the graphical area and set all dots to the 50mS
position (scale on left).

Enable the Bass Clipper by setting its mode switch to Yes.

Set the Bass Clip Drive to +1.5dB.

Set the Bass Clip Threshold to -5dB.

Now we have ‘normalized’ the Limiters section.

Of all the stages of on-air processing, limiters only control very short term dynamics, the
pre-clipper peak control, and to some degree, short term spectral balance. For these
reasons it is always best to attack (pun intended) the Limiters section after the AGC
creates the desired spectral balance and dynamics. Get the AGC stuff right, and first, and
only then move on to the back end!

Once again we’ll move on from here using examples since each station, its market, its
competition and a slew of other factors are as individual to each station as our own
fingerprints.

Example #1: Sounding pretty good now but not very loud on the dial.
Okay…remember we backed way out of the main clipper so we could tweak a bunch of
stuff prior to it? It’s still backed off and we’ll get to that!

Example #2: I’d like to get some additional short term density. Can I do it with the
limiters?
Sure can, and there are two ways we can approach that!

1. Increase the Multiband Limiter Drive until some limiter gain reduction is being
displayed in the graphical area of the Limiters GUI page.

2. If Drive settings reach about +3dB and not much if any gain reduction activity is
being seen, go to the Threshold tab of the graphical area and pull the dots down a
dB or two. Rinse and repeat until the desired amount of limiter activity is
observed (and heard).

Example #3: The Density is there now, but can I get more bottom end punch?
The Bass Clipper Threshold is still at the -5dB setting we set it to earlier, so now let’s
raise it to say, -3dB. Then we’ll slowly increase the Bass Clip Drive until we start to get
the bottom end sound and feel we’re looking for. Some back and forth iteration is always
necessary with any bass clipper.

100 | P a g e
 The Bass Clipper
Threshold control
sets how close
clipped and filtered
bass waveforms can
get to the threshold
of the main clipper.
The control is
calibrated in
negative dB which
represent how far
below the main
clipper threshold
bass is allowed to
go. Bass waveforms
should never reach the main clipper threshold or IM distortion will result!

Now we get the fun part, on the dial loudness! With everything running as it’s been
tuned up to now, we can start working on loudness. But first, some housekeeping.

Navigate to the Process & SCA tab of the MPX & Output page of the GUI.

Locate the Composite Clipper Drive control and turn it down to the -3dB setting.

Navigate back to the Limiters page and locate the Main Clip control.

Right now is a good time to have a way to compare LiON to your competition, and if
you’re happy with everything but loudness, you can put LiON on the air for the rest of
the tuning process. In fact, I recommend it!

Even if LiON isn’t on the air we can do a lot of subjective tuning with the Main and
Composite Clippers which in most competitive markets are turned up until one of two
things happen:

The on-air loudness is achieved and things can be left right where they are, or;

The point is reached where your station is at least as loud as the competition
across town, but you’re more distorted than they are.

Let’s start with the Main Clipper…. Start increasing the Main Clipper Drive (Main Clip)
until you begin to hear a little distortion. Leave the control at the current setting and play
a few other cuts of program content so see how those compare. If for instance a particular
cut seems to create more distortion than others, turn the Main Clip control down a little
until the unwanted artifacts are either minimized to your satisfaction, or gone. Then, and
with the Main Clip control left where it is:

101 | P a g e
 Navigate to the MPX & Output page of the GUI.

Locate the Composite Clipper Drive control.

Begin increasing the drive until some clipping artifacts are heard – remember to
be using the same source material that caused you to reduce the Main Clip drive!

Now is the time to compare competitive loudness between LiON and the competition. If
the loudness goal is now met, crack open a cold drink and relax.

If loudness isn’t quite

ite there yet there are a few things still left to do:

We can slightly increase the Multiband Limiter Drive by perhaps a half dB (-(
0.5dB) and then listen again for any objectionable clipper induced distortion.

If there is distortion, but it seems to be m

mostly
ostly low frequency related, slightly
lower the Bass Clip Threshold accompanied by a slight, maybe half dB (+0.5dB)
increase in Bass Clipper Drive (the latter partially offsets the effect of lowering
the Bass Clipper Threshold).

We can build a little more pre-clipper

clipper density by lowering the Multiband Limiter
Thresholds, perhaps by a half dB ((-0.5db).

Once those parameters have been altered, we can go back to the Main and Composite
Clipper Drives once again to see whether a slight drive increase in either or both results
in one of two things: the loudness comes up to target, or the unwanted distortion is back
again.

One thing to remember about LiON is that although it packs some very competent audio
processing under its little hood, it is after all a low ccost on-air
air processor costing a fraction
of what the ‘big’ boxes do. Even so, we have been extremely pleased with the feedback
we’ve been getting from the field. It really is the Little Processor That Roars!

Happy Tweaking, and please let us know if we can help!

102 | P a g e
 APPENDIX C

RDS Functions
Radio Data System is an international standard protocol which allows the broadcaster to
embed text and other metadata into the FM signal. FM radios receiving this signal can
decode that metadata and display it as text or act upon it in other ways. The RDS
standard is documented in IEC-62106 (2009). The North American variant, RBDS, is
documented in NRSC-4-B (2011). LiON is compliant with both standards.

Basic Settings

RDS must be
configured first
before it is
enabled and it is
quick and easy to
do.

Select the RDS screen and go to the Basic Settings panel. Do not enable RDS yet.
Leave the level setting at 4%.

Dial in your Country Code (CC). If your country is not listed, choose the Manual
Entry setting and enter the value in the CC field.

Enter your Extended Country Code (ECC). A complete list of Country Codes and
Extended Country Codes is provided at the end of this chapter.

Enter your station’s broadcast frequency.

Enable Clock Time (CT) messages if you have an internet connection to an NTP
server.

A Word about Data Sets

The Basic Settings we have just configured apply to all RDS messaging. The remaining
information that RDS can carry is arranged in Data Sets, of which there are a maximum
of 128, and of which only one is active at any given time. You do not have to use all 128

103 | P a g e
Data Sets, but you will use at least one. Data Sets are one way of changing the public
“face” – the metadata messaging – of your station from hour to hour, day to day, or week
to week.

When setting parameters in the Static Settings and ID Settings panels, pay attention to the
fact that the change you are making applies only to one Data Set, the one selected by the
“Viewing Data Set” knob in each of these two panels.

Data Sets may be switched dynamically during a broadcast, in order to switch the IDs and
messaging encoded in the RDS stream. Several ways to do this are discussed later in this
chapter.

Static Settings

As the name suggests, the Static Settings do not, as a general rule, change very often, so
you might think of them as “default settings” which describe the majority of your
station’s programming.

Program Type (PTY) is a subject category like “talk”, “news,” or “sports”.

IMPORTANT NOTE: The knob values are divided into two sets. The RBDS
categories in the second half of the knob settings are appropriate for stations in
North America, while the RDS categories in the first half should be used in the
rest of the world.

Dynamic Program Type Indicator (PTYI) is a flag that tells the receiver whether
your Program Type will change periodically, or remain fixed.

Traffic Advisory (TA) is a flag which indicates that your station is currently
broadcasting motor vehicle traffic information, e.g. accidents, congestion, road
closures, recommended detours, etc.

104 | P a g e
 Traffic Program (TP) is a flag which indicates that your station does normally
carry traffic reports (although not necessarily at the moment).

Music/Speech (MS) is a flag which indicates the predominant type of

programming your station broadcasts.
There are two settings which are largely deprecated in current RDS practice (and also
ignored by most receivers), but they are provided in LiON for backwards compatibility:

The Mono/Stereo is a flag which indicates whether your program is broadcast in

mono or stereo.

Compression is a flag which indicates whether your signal is compressed.

ID Settings

Program ID (PI) is a crucial part of your station’s RDS messaging and you should
take care to set it correctly.

The Generate PI Code dialog, which is opened by pressing the “Generate PID”
button, can help in this regard.

In North America, the PI code is generated from the station’s call sign (3 or 4
letters).

In the rest of the world, PI codes are assigned by regional broadcast authorities,
but they may also be formulated from a combination of the Country Code, a
Regional Coverage code, and a Reference Number.

LPFM stations use a PI code generated from the Country Code and a flag
indicating whether or not your program is broadcast on alternate frequencies. In
any case, your PI code should be unique, and should not overlap with any other
transmitters in your geographical location.

105 | P a g e
 Program Service (PS) is an 8-character text string (including spaces) which
identifies your station. Examples might be “103.5 FM,” “The Jet,” or “Radio
Total Muzica”. Most receivers display this text prominently.

Radio Text (RT) is a 64-character text string (including spaces) which can carry
any message you desire. It is up to the receiver how, or even if, to display this
message and when it is shown, it is often displayed in a smaller font than the PS
message.

Note that Radio Text is also often scrolled by the receiver inside a “window” of
less width than the entire message can fit. If your message is seen as truncated on
certain radios, it is being done by the radio’s RDS decoder software and not by
LiON’s RDS generator.

Alternate Frequencies (AF) is a space-separated list of frequencies which carry

the same program as your main tuning frequency. The AF list is used by more
sophisticated receivers to automatically switch to an alternate frequency when you
are listening to the radio in a vehicle and it is moving out of the coverage area of
the station currently being listening to.

When setting all of these parameters, carefully note which Data Set you are altering.

At this point the RDS encoder has the minimal amount of information it needs, and you
could go back to the Basic Settings page and enable it.

Data Sets, Again

106 | P a g e
The Data Sets panel displays a summary of all the settings in each of your data sets. You
may copy values from one Data Set to another, save all Data Sets to a file, restore all
Data Sets from a file, and activate a Data Set. There are 128 Data Sets available and you
must use at least one.

The Data Sets window displays data from left to right and in columns as follows:

Program ID (normally this should be the same for ALL Data Sets)
Program Type
Dynamic Program Type Indicator
Traffic Announcement
Traffic Program
Music/Speech
Stereo/Mono
Compression
Alternate Frequencies
Program Service Name
Radio Text

Automation
Ah, now we come to the fun stuff!

You could set all of the values discussed above, for one Data Set, and just let that run,
never changing your message, never displaying artist and title info for your listeners, and
never texting clues for a call-in contest to your audience.

Alternatively, you could try to do all of that in real-time by opening the LiON GUI, going
to the RDS screen, and typing away.

That would work, but you’d be very, very busy! Or you can automate!

There are three ways to do this: with UECP messages (transmitted via UDP), with plain
text messages (transmitted via UDP), and with the Scheduler. These methods may be
used independently, simultaneously, in any combination.

The Automation Settings panel displays controls for two “Units” which receive messages
on the selected UDP port. There are four different message formats which may be
received; two are UECP, and two are plain text.

107 | P a g e
The Universal Encoder Communication Protocol
UECP (often pronounced “you-sep”) is described by the RDS Forum Technical
Specification SPB 490 (2010). In the strict interpretation of the protocol each message is
bounded by special start and stop bits, there is a CRC (Cyclic Redundancy Check) word,
and also a requirement that certain byte patterns in the message be escaped. It’s very
technical, and that’s why we call it

UECP Strict.

A Unit which receives a Strict UESP message has to “unpack” it – it has to strip off the
start and stop bits, check and remove the CRC, and then translate the escape characters.
The message in this form we call UECP Unpacked, and this is the format that many
automation systems transmit.

Incoming UECP messages have a four-tiered addressing scheme:

The top level is the UECP Site Address, which is a number in the range 1-1023
where a Site corresponds to a transmitter location or a broadcast facility.

The next level is the UECP Encoder Address, which is a number in the range 1-
63, and which differentiates multiple Encoders at one Site.

Next is the Data Set Number (DSN), a number in the range 1-253 (corresponding
to the 253 Data Sets available for storing metadata).

Finally there is the Program Service Number (PSN), which is a number in the
range 1-255.

In an incoming UECP message, each of these addresses may be set to the special value 0.
In the Site Address, it means “all sites.” In the Encoder Address, it means “all encoders.”

108 | P a g e
In the DSN field, it means “current data set.” The PSN field is an exception: it must be
set to 0 or LiON will ignore the message.

In the Automation Settings panel, set your UECP Site Address if you have one, or set it
to 0 if not. Likewise with the UECP Encoder Address.

LiON implements the following UECP commands:

01 PI Set Program ID code

02 PS Set Program Service Name
03 TA/TP Set Traffic Advisory/Program flags
04 DI/PTYI Set values for Dynamic PTY, Stereo/Mono/Compressed flags
05 MS Set Music/Speech flag
06 PIN Set Program Item Number, the start time of the current program
07 PTY Set Program Type code
13 AF Set Alternate Frequencies
1C DataSetSelect Set current Data Set
3E PTYN Program Type Name, an 8-character string which extends PTY
24 FreeFormat Transmit arbitrary RDS message using raw data blocks passed in
25 IH Transmit In-House RDS message
2B EWS Transmit Emergency Warning System message
30 TMC Transmit Traffic Message Channel ODA message
40 ODA Configure Transmit ODA configuration message, transmit short ODA
42 ODA FreeFormat Transmit free format ODA message
46 ODA Data Transmit ODA message
Plain Text
Plain text messages received by LiON’s RDS generator may be routed to either PS
(Program Service) or RT (Radio Text), depending on the Unit’s Format setting. These
messages affect only the current data set, and neither value is saved (for example, if you
switch to a different Data Set after receiving these message, then their values are lost).

A PS text string longer than eight characters will be displayed in chunk-wise scrolling
fashion. An RT string longer than 64 characters is truncated. Both PS and RT text
strings are displayed verbatim.

The Scheduler
The Scheduler can be used to activate different RDS Data Sets at pre-determined times,
either weekly/daily/hourly or as a one-shot event on a particular date. Scheduled events
may include processing changes as well as RDS Data Set changes.

RDS Level
The RDS Level control is found on the RDS Basic page of the GUI and should normally
be set at around 4% of total modulation. Make sure you have a modulation monitor
capable of reading the RDS subcarrier injection level in order to set this accurately.

RDS Country Codes and Extended Country Codes

European Broadcasting Area

109 | P a g e
Country / Area ISO Code Country Extended CC
Code
Albania ALB 9 E0
Algeria ALG 2 E0
Andorra AND 3 E0
Armenia AM A E4
Austria AUT A E0
Azerbaijan AZ B E3
Azores [Portugal] AZR 8 E0
Belgium BEL 6 E0
Belarus BLR F E3
Bosnia-Herzegovina BIH F E4
Bulgaria BUL 8 E1
Canaries [Spain] CNR E E0
Croatia HRV C E3
Cyprus CYP 2 E1
Czech Republic CZE 2 E2
Denmark DNK 9 E1
Egypt EG F E0
Estonia EE 2 E4
Faroe Islands [Denmark] DK 9 E1
Finland FI 6 E1
France FR F E1
Germany DE D or 1 E0
Georgia GE C E4
Gibraltar [United Kingdom] GI A E1
Greece GR 1 E1
Hungary HU B E0
Iceland IS A E2
Iraq IQ B E1
Ireland IE 2 E3
Israel IL 4 E0
Italy IT 5 E0
Jordan JO 5 E1
Kazakhstan KZ D E3
Kyrgyzstan KG 3 E4
Latvia LV 9 E3
Lebanon LB A E3
Libya LY D E1
Liechtenstein LI 9 E2
Lithuania LT C E2
Luxembourg LU 7 E1
Macedonia MK 4 E3
Madeira [Portugal] PT 8 E2
Malta MT C E0

110 | P a g e
Morocco MA 1 E2
Moldova MD 1 E4
Monaco MC B E2
Netherlands NL 8 E3
Norway NO F E2
Palestine PS 8 E0
Poland PL 3 E2
Portugal PT 8 E4
Romania RO E E1
Russian Federation RU 7 E0
San Marino SM 3 E1
Slovakia SK 5 E2
Slovenia SI 9 E4
Spain ES E E2
Sweden SE E E3
Switzerland CH 4 E1
Syrian Arab Republic SY 6 E2
Tajikistan TJ 5 E3
Turkmenistan TM E E4
Tunisia TN 7 E2
Turkey TR 3 E3
Ukraine UA 6 E4
United Kingdom GB C E1
Uzbekistan UZ B E4
Vatican VA 4 E2
(Yugoslavia) YU 6 E3

African Broadcasting Area

Country / Area ISO Code Country Extended CC
Code
Ascension Island ?? A D1
Cabinda ?? 4 D3
Angola AO 6 D0
Algeria DZ 2 E0
Burundi BI 9 D1
Benin BJ E D0
Burkina Faso BF B D0
Botswana BW B D1
Cameroon CM 1 D0
Canary Islands [Spain] ES E E0
Central African Republic CF 2 D0
Chad TD 9 D2
Congo CG C D0
Comoros KM C D1
Cape Verde CV 6 D1

111 | P a g e
Cote d'Ivoire CI C D2
Djibouti DJ 3 D0
Egypt EG F E0
Ethiopia ET E D1
Gabon GA 8 D0
Ghana GH 3 D1
Gambia GM 8 D1
Guinea-Bissau GW A D2
Equatorial Guinea GQ 7 D0
Republic of Guinea GN 9 D0
Kenya KE 6 D2
Liberia LR 2 D1
Libya LY D E1
Lesotho LS 6 D3
Mauritius MU A D3
Madagascar MG 4 D0
Mali ML 5 D0
Mozambique MZ 3 D2
Morocco MA 1 E2
Mauritania MR 4 D1
Malawi MW F D0
Niger NE 8 D2
Nigeria NG F D1
Namibia NA 1 D1
Rwanda RW 5 D3
Sao Tome & Principe ST 5 D1
Seychelles SC 8 D3
Senegal SN 7 D1
Sierra Leone SL 1 D2
Somalia SO 7 D2
South Africa ZA A D0
Sudan SD C D3
Swaziland SZ 5 D2
Togo TG D D0
Tunisia TN 7 E2
Tanzania TZ D D1
Uganda UG 4 D2
Western Sahara EH 3 D3
Zaire ZR B D2
Zambia ZM E D2
Zanzibar ?? D D2
Zimbabwe ZW 2 D2

ITU Region 2
Country / Area ISO Code Country Extended CC

112 | P a g e
 Code
Anguilla AI 1 A2
Antigua and Barbuda AG 2 A2
Argentina AR A A2
Aruba AW 3 A4
Bahamas BS F A2
Barbados BB 5 A2
Belize BZ 6 A2
Bermuda BM C A2
Bolivia BO 1 A3
Brazil BR B A2
Canada CA C A1
Cayman Islands KY 7 A2
Chile CL C A3
Colombia CO 2 A3
Costa Rica CR 8 A2
Cuba CU 9 A2
Dominica DM A A3
Dominican Republic DO B A3
Ecuador EC 3 A2
El Salvador SV C A4
Falkland Islands FK 4 A2
Greenland GL F A1
Grenada GD D A3
Guadeloupe GP E A2
Guatemala GT 1 A4
Guiana GF 5 A3
Guyana GY F A3
Haiti HT D A4
Honduras HN 2 A4
Jamaica JM 3 A3
Martinique MQ 4 A3
Mexico MX F A4
Montserrat MS 5 A4
Netherlands Antilles AN D A2
Nicaragua NI 7 A3
Panama PA 9 A3
Paraguay PY 6 A3
Peru PE 7 A4
Puerto Rico PR 8 A3
Saint Kitts KN A A4
Saint Lucia LC B A4
St Pierre and Miquelon PM F A6
Saint Vincent VC C A5
Suriname SR 8 A4

113 | P a g e
Trinidad and Tobago TT 6 A4
Turks and Caicos Islands TC E A3
United States of America US 1..9,A,B,D,E A0
Uruguay UY 9 A4
Venezuela VE E A4
Virgin Islands [British] VG F A5
Virgin Islands [USA] VI F A5

ITU Region 3
Country / Area ISO Code Country Extended CC
Code
Afghanistan AF A F0
Saudi Arabia SA 9 F0
Australia AU
Australia - Capital Territory 1 F0
Australia - New South Wales 2 F0
Australia - Victoria 3 F0
Australia - Queensland 4 F0
Australia - South Australia 5 F0
Australia - Western Australia 6 F0
Australia - Tasmania 7 F0
Australia - Northern Territory 8 F0
Bangladesh BD 3 F1
Bahrain BH E F0
Myanmar [Burma] MM B F0
Brunei Darussalam BN B F1
Bhutan BT 2 F1
Cambodia KH 3 F2
China CN C F0
Sri Lanka LK C F1
Fiji FJ 5 F1
Hong Kong HK F F1
India IN 5 F2
Indonesia ID C F2
Iran IR 8 F0
Iraq IQ B E1
Japan JP 9 F2
Kiribati KI 1 F1
Korea [South] KR E F1
Korea [North] KP D F0
Kuwait KW 1 F2
Laos LA 1 F3
Macau MO 6 F2
Malaysia MY F F0
Maldives MV B F2

114 | P a g e
Micronesia FM E F3
Mongolia MN F F3
Nepal NP E F2
Nauru NR 7 F1
New Zealand NZ 9 F1
Oman OM 6 F1
Pakistan PK 4 F1
Philippines PH 8 F2
Papua New Guinea PG 9 F3
Qatar QA 2 F2
Solomon Islands SB A F1
Western Samoa WS 4 F2
Singapore SG A F2
Taiwan TW D F1
Thailand TH 2 F3
Tonga TO 3 F3
UAE AE D F2
Vietnam VN 7 F2
Vanuatu VU F F2
Yemen YE B F3

115 | P a g e
 APPENDIX D

Adding LiON to your WheatnetIP Network

Once LiON is up and running and you wish to add it to your WheatnetIP network, just a
few steps will get you there.

Open the WheatnetIP Navigator program and locate the Devices tab at upper left and then
click on the Peripheral Devices tab at top. When the dialog opens it will look similar to
our example below and no LiON will be present.

To get LiON into the WheatnetIP system we need to add it and to do so, locate
the Add / Edit / Remove buttons at Navigators right side.

To add LiON to the system, click on the Add button and the following dialog
will open.

To this dialog we’ve added LiON’s system

name, (LION), its IP address
(192.168.1.170), and the Blade that we want
LiON to be hosted by (ANALOG).

Once we click okay, Navigator will go out

to the system, locate LiON if it is online,
and then add it, and any associated signals
that are associated with it, into the
WheatnetIP system.

116 | P a g e
Now if we look at the Peripheral Devices dialog again we will see that LiON has indeed
been added to the WheatnetIP system and is online and ready for signals to be connected.

Note that here the Add Peripheral Device screenshot was taken before we told the Add
Peripheral Device dialog that we wanted LiON to be hosted by the A/D Blade and not the
ANALOG one.

Notice that in the image above the Status column is showing a green indicator which
means LiON has been found, added to the system, and its signals are available to be
routed.

If we look at LiON’s host Blade we’ll see that the Blade now has LiON’s Source and
Destination signals available for routing.

If we now look at Navigator’s I/O signal grid we’ll see that LiON now has its Output
available to be routed to another signal. Likewise, its Input is available in the
Destinations dialog.

117 | P a g e
Now that we know the signals have been generated, we can route LiON’s input to give it
some audio from an existing source.

Above we’ve crosspointed LiON’s WheatnetIP (WNIP) input to a source that is already
providing audio, shown by the crosspoint connection dots being green. The pair of
closely-spaced green dots signifies that LiON is a stereo device and that both channels
are receiving audio from the source, whatever it may be.

118 | P a g e
Likewise LiON’s output is available in the crosspoint matrix and can be routed to any
desired destination.

As shown in the preceding examples and text, LiON has been successfully added to and
working with the WheatnetIP system and its host Blade. Its Input and Output signals may
stay statically routed, or they may be dynamically routed using programmable buttons on
our GP Panels, Sideboard, TS-22 Talent Station, or by GPIO/LIO functions within the
WheatnetIP system.

119 | P a g e
 APPENDIX E

GENERAL SPECIFICATIONS

Analog Line Input

Type: Electronic Differential
Input Impedance: 10Kohm bridging
Optimum Source Impedance: < 1Kohm
A/D Converter: TI PCM4202, 192kHz, 24-bit
Maximum Input Level: +20dBu

Digital Line Input

Digital Audio Standard: AES3 (AES/EBU)

Data Amplitude: Per AES3-2003 assuming minimum
allowable output signal amplitude of
2V P-P and minimum allowable
input signal of 200mV P-P.
AES Receiver: CS8416, 192kHz, 24-bit
Compatibility: Digital sample rates between 32kHz
and 96kHz are accepted and
automatically synchronized.

Ethernet Data Type: WheatnetIP

Ethernet Interface: 10/100BaseT Ethernet per IEEE
802.3u

Digital Audio Input Reference: 0dBFS externally results in 0.0dBFS

internally.

Input Gain Accommodation

Gain Range: +/- 12dB in 0.5dB steps

Gain Calibration: A gain control setting of 0.0dB
aligns an external 0dBFS signal with
LiON’s 0dBFS internal reference.

120 | P a g e
Input Failsafe

Type: Automatic
Analog Fail Cause: Audio level on both channels below -
24dBu (fixed)
Response Time: 30 seconds (fixed)
Digital Fail Cause 1: Audio level below -48dBFS (fixed)
Response Time: 30 seconds (fixed)
Digital Fail Cause 2: Corrupted or invalid AES data
Response Time: Immediate (fixed)
Failsafe Direction: Digital to Analog / Analog to Digital
(no Digital to Digital)
Audio Level Balance

Type: Common to both Analog and Digital

Inputs
Adjustment Range: +/- 12dB
Adjustment Resolution: 0.5dB

Phase Rotator

Filter Topology: 4th Order Allpass

Operating Modes: In or Out (bypass)

High Pass Filter

Filter Class: 24dB/Octave Butterworth response

Frequency Choices: 20, 30, 40, 50 60Hz

Equalizer

Number of sections: Four

Low Shelf Frequency Range: 20Hz to 500Hz
Low Shelf Boost/Cut: +/- 14dB
High Shelf Frequency Range: 2kHz to 20kHz
High Shelf Boost/Cut: +/- 14dB
Parametric #1 Frequency Range: 20Hz to 20kHz
Parametric #1 Boost/Cut: +/- 14dB
Parametric #1 Bandwidth: 0.2 to 3.0 octaves
Parametric #2 Frequency Range: 20Hz to 20kHz

121 | P a g e
 Parametric #2 Boost/Cut: +/- 14dB
Parametric #2 Bandwidth: 0.2 to 3.0 octaves

Five Band Leveler/Compressor with iAGC

Crossover Topology: 4th Order Linkwitz-Riley (phase

linear)
iAGC parameters: Automatic and Program Dependent
Leveler/Compressor Compression Ratio: 2:1 to 6:1
Interband Coupling: 0dB to 6dB
L+R Mixer: Boost/Cut +/- 6dB
L-R Mixer: Boost/Cut +/-6dB
Crossover Frequencies: Factory Preset Dependent

FM Peak Controller

Type: Proprietary
Stereo Pilot Protection: >50dB
Pre-Emphasis Accuracy: +/-0.25dB
FM Diversity Delay: Off to 10 seconds in one sample
steps when simultaneously using the
keyboard Ctrl key and the mouse
scroll wheel.

Stereo and RDS Encoder

Composite Processor: Clipper operating at 192kHz.

D/A Conversion: TI PCM1798, 192kHz, 24-bits
Automatic Multipath Limiter: Program Dependent Timing
Characteristics with adjustment
range of Off to 100% in 5% steps.
Subcarrier Input Impedance: 10kOhms
Subcarrier Input Level Range: -20dBu to +4dBu
Stereo Pilot Injection: Off to 20% of Composite Output
level
19kHz Stereo Pilot Frequency: +/-0.2Hz
57kHz RDS Subcarrier Frequency: +/-0.2Hz
Stereo Pilot Protection: Better than 50dB
38kHz Suppression: Better than 70dB

122 | P a g e
Analog Audio Outputs

Analog Left/Right Output Level: -48dBu to +20dBu

Analog Left/Right Output Options: Pre-emphasized, De-emphasized,
and Pre-delay
D/A Conversion: TI PCM1798, 192kHz, 24-bits
Signal to Noise: >80dB in a 20kHz bandwidth
Total Harmonic Distortion: <0.05% 20Hz – 20kHz

Digital Audio Outputs

AES3 Protocol Output Level: >5V P-P into 110 ohm load
AES3 Audio Output Level: -48dBFS to 0DBFS
Digital Left/Right Output Options: Pre-emphasized, De-emphasized,
and Pre-delay
Signal to Noise: >80dB in a 20kHz bandwidth
Total Harmonic Distortion: <0.05% 20Hz – 20kHz

Overall System

Headroom: >20dB
Nominal Operating Level: -20dBFS
Processing Latency Analog In to MPX Out: 57mS maximum
Processing Latency Analog In to HD Out: 34mS maximum
Total Harmonic Distortion: <0.025%, 20Hz – 20kHz
Intermodulation Distortion: <0.025% SMPTE
Signal to Noise Ratio: >85dB
Stereo Separation: >50dB into a low capacitance load
Crosstalk: >75dB, 20Hz – 20kHz
Power Requirements: 100-250VAC, auto-sensing
50/60Hz, 9W/14VA
Power Connector: IEC 60320 C14 (male)
Operating Temperature: 0 to 50 degrees C (32 to 122 degrees
F)
Overtemp alarm reporting via the
GUI

123 | P a g e
NOTE #1:

Left/right audio specifications correspond to operation using the Factory Bypass preset,
unity I/O gains, 75µS pre and de-emphasis and the AES3 I/O. Composite stereo
separation measurements were performed under the same conditions using a Belar
“Wizard” FMSA-1 Modulation Monitor/Analyzer connected to LiON with a 12” RG-
58A/U cable with BNC male connectors at each end.

NOTE #2:

Static frequency response, harmonic distortion and intermodulation distortion

measurements have no bearing whatsoever on the dynamic nature of FM audio
processing and what those parameters may be doing under dynamic audio processing
conditions. Further, harmonic distortion above 7.5kHz is meaningless (and absent) due
to the 15kHz bandwidth restriction necessary to protect the spectrum surrounding the
19kHz stereo pilot.

124 | P a g e