HD Omni Revision HELP

[TrackerLe]

Dear Forum


I bought a HD Omni...
In the Back of the unit, it says Revision E1, but when i use Setup Mode and go to Board, it says Rev A...
I am confused now, cause i don´t know exactly, which revision the unit is..
Its about the serial failure of the Mic Pres, which is gone with Rev E1 and F...
Why does it say Rev E1 on the back with the serial, and Rev A, when i use Setup in the Omni itself?


Thanks for help...

[TrackerLe]

Another question is for me...
My Rev D Omni works..., but i know Hot swapping 48V powered Mics destroy the Mic Pres...


Is it save to plug in a Neumann Mic into the Omni, when it is off...
And engage 48V Power, when i turn the Omni on? Or does this destroy the Mic Pre?


The last question, i have (promised)...
Is it save to engage 48v when the mic is connected and turn off 48v when i power off the Omni...


Thanks...



I dont understand the failure... Does it mean i always must engage 48v after powering the Unit and disengage 48v, when i turn the Omni off...


The Omnis were expensive, when i bought them and i dont understand, why there is no official note, how to use the Mic Pres in Rev A-D...
I think Rev E1 is the first Omni, where this serial failure is solved...


Pls help



I really dont know, how to use my Omnis, without destroying them...(Mic Pres)

[albee1952]

Assuming when you say "save" you actually mean SAFE? It should be safe to do anything you described. I have never had any preamp, interface or mic get damaged by patching, whether on or off, or whether phantom power was on or off(vintage ribbon mics being the possible exception). Many people will turn phantom power off while making connections(good practice but not required) but I rarely even think about it(been at this for almost 20 years).

Not sure what "failure" you are referring to. As to the Rev discrepancy, I understand(and share) your confusion, but honestly, I would not worry about it. It could be that the unit was repaired or updated, or the 2 Rev numbers might be referring to 2 different things(the actual hardware and the loaded firmware?). As long as the firmware is compatible with your version of Pro Tools, you should not notice any difference in operation. Just remember that only a single OMNI can be used in a system. To add more IO, add another interface(such as an HD IO, a 192 or a 3rd party box that uses the Digilink connection).

READ THE NEXT REPLY AND TAKE MY COMMENTS WITH A GRAIN OF SALT

[XJENSEN]

Yes, the OMNIs prior rev E are notorious for blowing up their mic pres on phantom voltage spikes, like when (dis)connecting phantom powered mics with phantom on. Avoid at all times, though this should have been fixed on the board in later revisions, in which the failure should not be present anymore. A blown up OMNI repair with AVID will set you back around 1200 USD. The mic pre can not be repaired in itself, you'll need a new main board. On top of that, they'll usually send you another OMNI they have laying around, instead of repairing the one you sent in. You may get lucky, or you may get one back that has other problems.

All first hand experience.

Then, to your question, if you mean the revision sticker on the back of the unit, this can not be trusted, of course. You should really look at the PCB revision.