Sonnox Oxford Inflator - Manual (Page 4)

2 OPERATION
2 Operation
2.1 Input
Clipping
The Inflator process develops internal signal levels that
are notionally greater than digital maximum. For instance, with
the
EFFECT level at maximum and the Clip
0dBr off, signal peaks
above notional digital maximum can be accommodated, and
much of their harmonic information can be included in the output
signal, even though the peak output level will not rise above digital
maximum. The presence of this extra signal range is displayed
on the upper sections of the
INPUT level meter, and represents
a range of up to +6dBr of useable overdrive before hard clipping
occurs.
The CLIP 0dBr function suppresses this extra range and restricts the Inflator process to
the normal digital maximum range. Therefore, you will note that, with CLIP 0dBr selected,
the input level meter will not rise above 0dB, however much input gain is employed.
Because the potential applications of this process are so varied, you are encouraged to
experiment with
CLIP 0dBr on and off, to obtain the best results depending on your
intentions. Here are some general guidelines:
Generally it is better to start by selecting CLIP 0dBr on (the default) for most loudness
enhancement purposes including direct mode (non-band split) since the control of peak
levels, settings and sound character is more readily achieved when a maximum reference
level is imposed on signals before the Inflator process.
In certain cases better results may be obtained by de-selecting any input limiting. In
particular, the extra useable range can then be used to accommodate short-term
overshoot sounds produced by compression functions, where they are generated to
enhance attack and presence. Since these peaks are mostly short duration, they can
often be accommodated effectively in the overdrive ranges without excessive reduction of
sound quality or loss of average modulation. Please note that in this case it is important
to ensure that the peaks from any prior compression are not clipped between plug-ins, by
making sure that the output signal from the compressor does not quite hit peak levels
before applying it to the Inflator plug-in.
When using BAND SPLIT modes for loudness enhancement, using the Inflator with CLIP
0dBr off may produce a reduction in unwanted intermodulation side effects when
www.sonnox.com 4 Go
to
contents