DAYTON, OHIO — After weeks of collecting entries from dozens of college radio stations from across the nation, Cleveland-headquartered Telos Alliance, in conjunction with the non-profit College Radio Foundation, revealed that the 20-watt Class D FM operated since 1977 by Wright State University students is the recipient of a new Omnia.11 FM+HD audio processor.
Telos Alliance and the CRF asked college radio students, engineers and faculty to tell them why they would benefit from new audio processing. The CRF selected WWSU-FM in Dayton, Ohio, as the winning station.
College Radio Foundation’s Lori Quicke says the decision was not an easy one. WWSU student engineer and General Manager Larkin Smith, explained the station’s need in detail. “In 2009, WWSU’s transmitter and tower equipment sustained major damage from Hurricane Ike,” he wrote. One of the casualties was the station’s Omnia.3 audio processor, leaving the station with only 1990s-era limiting gear to manage their signal. “WWSU needs the Omnia 11 because we do not have a true modern audio processor, and our listeners can hear the difference every time they tune in,” Smith said. “Studios now release recordings that have been brick-wall limited and compressed … when that material gets played through outdated single-band processors, it sounds rough, distorted, fatiguing…the hardware simply was not designed for modern program material.”
Jim Armstrong, Telos Alliance Audio Production Senior Director of Sales for the US & Canada, was won over by Smith’s entry. “We believe that college radio is vital to training the air talent, engineers, and programmers who will take radio into the future,” he said. “We support its mission, and we hope other manufacturers will do the same!”
When informed of his winning entry, Smith commented, “Winning an Omnia.11 is a huge step forward for WWSU. Clean, professional sound has been one of our top priorities, and this processor gets us there in a way we couldn’t have reached on our own. Our listeners across Dayton will hear the difference the moment they tune in. We’re grateful to the Telos Alliance and College Radio Foundation team for believing in what WWSU is building for its next 50 years. College radio is not just still viable, it is important. WWSU is proof of that. What we need is a signal that proves it to every listener who finds us on the dial.”
