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Sjaak decided to buy the fat Orban 8700i for himself

Sjaak, normally the Orban is used in a Broadcast Environment, such as Radio and Television stations. How did you come up with the idea of using an Orban at home?

A little history precedes this… In 2005 I started renting CDs from the local library and from the CDR in Rotterdam. I could enjoy this so much and so I converted all these CDs into Flac which I housed on my computer. During this period I also began to appreciate the sound of Radio 538. I read that many radio stations in the Netherlands used an Orban, but at the time I thought the price tag of the Orban was too high.

Around 2010, I discovered the Breakaway Broadcast Processor, which I put a lot of time into until I caught sight of StereoTool. I found the sound of StereoTool to be cleaner than Breakaway, which allowed me to get back to my hobby for a few years.

In 2012, I joined Broadcast Partners and bought the Orban Optimod-PC 1101e. Honestly, I didn’t like the sound of this one, because it didn’t have deep bass. I then sold this Orban again after a year, falling back on StereoTool and Breakaway One. Here, however, I missed the sound of the voice, which you can hear very well on the FM or DAB+, and that’s exactly what I love, that tight sound and deep bass.

As the years went by, I dreamed more and more about the Orban 8500, but I also knew that it would cost a rib out of my body. So I dreamed on for a while. In 2018 I read that an audio processor in software of the Orban was also available and I thought this might be something for me. So in 2019, I purchased the OPTIMOD-PCn 1600 from Broadcast Partners. A nice sound, but it still wasn’t quite what I was looking for.

By now I was tired of dreaming, so I decided to buy myself a fat Orban 8700i in 2021. I contacted Broadcast Partners again and I haven’t regretted it for a moment. Every moment of every day I am still proud to own such a beautiful device, with superior sound. The Orban is upstairs in my hobby room where the sound goes to my PC via Dante. I can tell you that I can’t stop thinking about my PC. A hefty investment, but worth every penny!

That sounds fantastic Sjaak. Is there a reason why you chose the Orban specifically and no longer StereoTool or Omnia?

The sound of Radio 538 did push me in the direction of the Orban, so I replaced StereoTool. I don’t know what an OMNIA 11 sounds like, and frankly I don’t want to know.

You mentioned that you can’t be found behind your PC anymore, what are you currently using your Orban for?

Currently, the Orban is only used to listen to music. The Orban is connected via Dante to my PC. So there is now no use of DAB+ or broadcasting through FM. In the future, I may want to do this!

That sounds great! Then we’ll have some fun news for you… But one last question: How did you end up with us?

In 2012, I was searching the Internet for the Orban Optimod-PC 1101e and happened to come across Broadcast Partners’ site. After some contact about the Orban 1101e, I bought it from Broadcast Partners at the time. It is that I have known Broadcast Partners for years, otherwise I might not have dared to buy the Orban 8700i. With me, the issue is one of trust.

Sjaak, first of all thank you very much for a peek into your hobby. As a future radio producer, as a surprise we would like to offer you a free test license of our automation program AerOn. This way you can try out for free whether radio making suits you. In any case, we wish you lots of fun with your Orban 8700i, although it sounds like you will!

Broadcast Partners