Overview
At last, an affordable FM/HD audio processor with the algorithm prowess for transforming highly compressed source music into a more robust, dynamic listener experience on any device, anywhere.
Wheatstone’s mighty LiON, a new FM/HD audio processor with the algorithm prowess to deliver the best on-air quality, even from highly compressed source material.
To deliver airy highs, a smooth midrange, and deep lows you can feel, this low-cost, half rack sized FM/HD audio processor uses Wheatstone’s advanced next-gen multiband AGC and clipping algorithms developed specifically for today’s source content and listening devices.
The Audioarts LiONincludes stereo enhance, RDS, and it is available with Wheatstone SystemLink™ option, an FM MPX over IP transporter with RIST connectivity for robust, secure and reliable transport over any IP link. Available in double or single rackmount options.
Unique to Wheatstone processors, the LiON includes our intelligent five-band AGC technology — or iAGC — coupled to a five-band limiter and stereo generator. The combination provides automatic and superior real-time program density control for a consistent, spectrally-balanced sound regardless of density variations in incoming source material.
LiON is part of the WheatNet-IP audio network, with a full-blown interface, so you can set up and trigger presets remotely now and add on to your WheatNet-IP ecosystem later. It also includes 192kHz digital MPX connectivity to the transmitter for end-to-end native IP audio quality. It is equipped with two analog composite outputs, two SCA inputs, balanced analog Left/Right outputs and an AES digital output which may be switched to deliver either discrete Left/Right or baseband192 digital multiplex signal. Input audio may be delivered via analog, AES or WheatNet-IP.
For local and/or remote control, there's a full graphic user interface that allows you to tailor every function of the LiON, so tweaking and making changes is both intuitive and accessible.
Intelligent iAGC
Our adaptive iAGC – or intelligent AGC – allows unobtrusive transitions between hyper-compressed recordings and those with more dynamic range. Effectively manages the behavior of the multiband AGC as program content density changes, something a typical broadband AGC simply cannot do. By coupling the iAGC and mulitband AGC, we are able to produce a consistent, spectrally-balanced sound regardless of density variations in incoming source material.
Smart Stereo Enhancement
The LiON’s Smart Stereo Enhancement provides a wide but extremely stable ‘on-air’ stereo image. “Wide”, “alive”, “exciting to listen to”, and “very natural sounding” are terms customers have used to describe how our stereo enhancement method sounds. Users have reported hearing artistically important nuances in music that were simply inaudible when processed by competing products.
Bass Tools
The LiON Bass Management System circumvents bass-related distortion plaguing other broadcast audio processors. The result is increased depth, feel, and clarity of bass impact without affecting mid and high-frequency program – in fact, the clarity of higher-frequency audio is actually enhanced by the new algorithm.
Multipath Mitigation
Manipulating the stereo field intelligently can dynamically (on a song-by-song basis) mitigate problems created by multipath for FM stereo stations and help them achieve maximum audience reach.
MPX SystemLink Wheatstone Baseband 192
Wheatstone® baseband192 digitizes the entire multiplex spectrum including RDS and SCAs up to 80kHz, providing a higher performance interface than using the classic analog composite method between processing and transmitter. A single AES/EBU cable between the processor and a current solid-state FM transmitter carries the digital baseband signal, bypassing the need for multiplexing in the exciter and eliminating the resulting signal overshoot with its associated loudness tradeoff.
Features
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Intelligent iAGC - allows unobtrusive transitions between hyper-compressed recordings and those with more dynamic range. Effectively manages the behavior of the multiband AGC as program content density changes, something a typical broadband AGC simply cannot do. By coupling the iAGC and mulitband AGC, we are able to produce a consistent, spectrally-balanced sound regardless of density variations in incoming source material.
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Clipper - distortion-masked FM peak clipper
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Bass tools - The LiON Bass Management System circumvents bass-related distortion plaguing other broadcast audio processors. The result is increased depth, feel, and clarity of bass impact without affecting mid and high frequency program – in fact bass detail and the clarity of higher frequency audio are actually enhanced by the new algorithm.
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Wheatstone Unified Processing - means each stage in the processing chain intelligently interacts with the other processing stages to create a dynamic and dominant on the dial presence.
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Multipath Mitigation - Manipulating the stereo field intelligently can dynamically (on a song-by-song basis) mitigate problems created by multipath for FM stereo stations and help them achieve maximum audience reach
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Smart Stereo Enhancement - The LiON’s Smart Stereo Enhancement provides a wide but extremely stable ‘on-air’ stereo image. “Wide”, “alive”, “exciting to listen to”, and “very natural sounding” are terms customers have used to describe how our stereo enhancement method sounds. Users have reported hearing artistically important nuances in music that were simply inaudible when the same material was processed by competing products. Four band parametric EQ lets you tune in your signature sound.
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RDS generator - Full FM RDS capability so that the encoder you were going to have to buy to generate song, title, and station data won’t be needed. LiON has a built-in RDS encoder.
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MPX SystemLink Wheatstone Baseband 192 - Wheatstone® baseband192 built in for 192kHz digital MPX link to transmitter
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WheatNet-IP - LiON is part of the WheatNet-IP audio network, with a full-blown interface so you can set up and trigger presets remotely now and add on to your WheatNet-IP ecosystem later.
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Remote app - Enables you to concentrate on what you hear, not what you see. It’s as if we send a processing expert with each box! The LiON Remote App makes the tough, behind-the-scenes decisions based on the simple-to-use controls supplied for texture (Drive, Density, Loudness) and EQ (Low, Warmth, High).
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BS.1770 Loudness Controller - 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.
In Depth
LiON Remote App
While you can access and adjust virtually all audio parameters through LiON’s multi-tab GUI, you don’t have to. Rather than wade through multiple screens (example: AGC/COMP menu shown above) our LiON Remote App lets you concentrate on what you hear, not what you see. The app makes the tough, behind-the-scenes decisions based on our simple-to-use controls supplied for TEXTURE (Drive, Density, Loudness) and EQ (Low, Warmth, High). It’s as if we send a processing expert with each box!
LiON Signal Flow Diagram
LiON is Part of the WheatNet-IP Audio Network
With WheatNet-IP BLADE-4s, you get a virtual rack room in a 1-rack space box. They handle all the I/O (AES/EBU, SPDIF, AOIP, MADI, SDI and AES67) and provide full routing capabilities. Each BLADE-4 gives you two 8x2 utility mixers, 12 universal GPI/O ports, 128 software logic ports, silence detection, built-in audio clip player, stereo multi-band audio processing, and much more, assignable anywhere on the network. With it you can create workflows that would require a ton of third-party gear.
Specifications
