Budget isolator

[cg72]

Hi, I have wanted to get an isolator for my 1620le for ages but couldn't really justify spending £400 on an E&S let alone even more for a Dope Real etc (especially as it would just be for home use.)

I came across this model by Omnitronic (please don't laugh) that I duly purchased for just £185 and I am happy enough with it. I went for the single unit.

http://download.showtechnic.de/data/...s/00067795.pdf


I mean, I will be the first to admit I am no sound expert (and am astounded by the knowledge on this board) but it sounds fine to me at home and the pots are ALPs Blue Velvet RK27. It seems quite well built too. Would be interested to know if anyone has tried this/these and what anyone thinks. For £185 I wasn't expecting miracles but it seems good enough for me

[Estacy]

I too want to buy one of these, they seem to be very similair to the E&S isolator. same crossoverpoints, similair look.
From a few reviews I've read its really good for the money. The RK27s are also used in 1620s, thats neat. and at the price its an absolute steal.

[electricplums]

This might be of use....

http://www.djhistory.com/forum/omnit...so-23-isolator

[graeme]

I bought one a while ago to replace an old vestax unit and in my opinion it's far better than the vestax. Good cut range and a much more transparent in the Bozaks send and return and has a much more robust build quality.

For the price it can't be beaten.

[daswadan]

1. hello everybody, this ist my first post here, but i have been a reader for some time. just managed to register on the board, had problems because of the spamfilter (emailadress was refused).

2. i too use the omnitronic isolator. i use it in the fx-loop of a urei 1620le, connected to krk rokit 8 speakers. input is mostly 320k mps via traktor scratch + some vinyl.
i can´t really tell a difference between the sound with + without the isolator. maybe if you listen to it on a better system or on higher volumes (i use mine just in my appartement). one of the users on this board has written a review on the isolator on the german-language "deejayforum.de". conclusion was: he could hardly hear the isolator in the chain, even on a pa-system in a club.

[Estacy]

Besides sound quality, are you happy with it? I mean you got a very expensive and well built mixer, but a cheap isolator from a brand thats sketchy

Does it work well with house or techno?

[daswadan]

yeah, i like the isolator.

look, if you´ve told me before, i would ever buy something from omnitronic, i wouldn´t believe you. then i read the test i´ve mentioned before (on deejayforum.de) and because the guy who wrote is a professional soundguy (as far as i know) i decided to give the iso a try.

it´s really well build, doesn´t feel like the usual plastic sh*t you nomally get from omnitronic, rellop etc. it sounds nice (or better: doesn´t "sound" at all) as far as i can tell. ...and if would be crap, i could´ve just send it back to the shop.

of course you have to consider:
1. i never used it in a club
2. i don´t have it connected to a high-end soundsystem. the krk rokit speakers are really not bad, but they are not high end. maybe the iso sounds shitty on a better system, for my needs its perfect (i really have to test the urei and the iso on a club system someday).

the only thing i don´t like are the knobs. they don´t feel very well. i can´t tell what it is exactly, just don´t like them (but the pots are good, they put rk-27 inside).

just give it a try, return it, if you don´t like it.

[Estacy]

You can always put some aftermarket knobs on them.

I'm going to buy one soon as I have my mixer serviced

[Ryan0751]

Anybody considered the Pioneer RMX-1000? Not an analog solution of course, but the isolator section has some unique parameter controls that can bet set via their software.

[JohnShaft]

Which online shop can I use to buy Omnitronic Isolator? Is this online shop legit: http://www.bestsoundseller.de

Thanks

[Estacy]

Ltt versat sells them, and you can buy one here
http://www.conrad.nl/ce/nl/product/3...23-DJ-isolator

which is a 100% legit website

[daswadan]

http://eshop.steinigke.de//index.php...earchparam=iso

[Pern]

When looking at the photos at the djhistory.com forum the build quality looks ok. Std ALPS RK27 pots, metal film resistors some kind of JRC OP amps etc.
I don't see any reason why the sound quality should be bad from a noise and THD point of view.

One "problem" i see is the small number of OP-Amps and how this affects the filters. With this number of OPs you can have good 12dB filters or bad
18dB ones. 18dB filters in this configuration doesn't have to sound bad, but it's difficult to get a 100% flat summing. With the photos on djhistory.com
it's difficult to see what filters/components they use in detail. If anyone have access to better photos of the PCBs, please post them.
Could also be interesting to see if it's worth doing a small component "upgrade" to improve the sound quality.

[Laurin]

Got every singel model at home.
Will post high res pictures.

Cant say anything bad about the unit.

[Disko Ole]

Nice! I bought my Vestax DCR-1200 used for cheap in mint condition last year, but I can't stand 4 knobs so maybe I will check this out. I would call all those models really affordable too...

Seems they have all the same models as E&S, a single unit, a double and one with fx... Even look very similar, can this be legal? Maybe Jeromé is in on it, lol.

Love how it seems to be fitted for easy replacement of the RK-27 pots if needed too.

[cg72]

Well the single unit is not too similar in looks to the E&S. In fact that is the thing I dislike about it the most. What I mean is that the pots are not central on the unit - if you look at a photo you will see they are more to the right of it, whereas on the E&S are spaced out centrally on it.

Still, it's only a minor thing and doesn't affect the way it works. I just don't really like it from an aesthetic point of view.

I'm glad that I'm not the only one that seems to think this is quite a nice little thing for the price especially. Good to see some positive things said about its insides/components too. Cheers Pern

[darrylfunk]

i think they are an ok bit of kit.... o.k. clean sound, low cost, half decent parts but i think it is a clone of something.

[Pern]

I don't think these are clones of any high quality ISO, i think this design is more close to a full kill 3-band EQ than a PRO ISO.

[Estacy]

just curious, what would be the difference?

But this thing probably does the trick, and it costs 190 euros. Good luck finding even a 2nd hand isolator for that price

[Laurin]

No clone the layout is different than that of the E&S.
And to be honest it is not that hard to design an isolator.

[Pern]

Yes, designing something that works as an ISO is not hard. Designing something that sounds/works great is a little more work

[JohnShaft]

I guess competition is good for us buyers, I cant believe that there is more than 8 Isolator brands:

Dope Real (Japan)
GSA (USA)
E&S (France)
ARS (Japan)
BozaK (UK/USA?)
Thrive (USA)
SBS (USA)
DUO Audio (USA)
Vestax (JAPAN)
Omnitronic (GERMANY)

---------------------
Work in Progress:
Bozure (SWEDEN)
Soul Sonic (?)

[daswadan]

Originally Posted by JohnShaft

I guess competition is good for us buyers, I cant believe that there is more than 8 Isolator brands:

Dope Real (Japan)
GSA (USA)
E&S (France)
ARS (Japan)
BozaK (UK/USA?)
Thrive (USA)
SBS (USA)
DUO Audio (USA)
Vestax (JAPAN)
Omnitronic (GERMANY)

---------------------
Work in Progress:
Bozure (SWEDEN)
Soul Sonic (?)

well, i´m not sure if you´re right, when we are talking about the omnitronic iso. the other brands are aiming at high-fidelty, professional (club-) installations. i don´t think, that anybody would spend tens of thousands of $ or € and then patch a € 200,- isolator into that system. its just aiming at a different market. i think that most people don´t have a system at home where a € 1000,- isolator makes the difference. it´s like driving to the mall with a porsche - nice, but not necessary.

[Estacy]

But then again, an isolator can only do so much. What can more brands make of a difference? If you have a low budget, the Omnitronic is there for your. the E&s if you want something good but doesn't break the bank and then theres 6 more high-end isolators for club use and such

[JohnShaft]

If I am not mistaken, aren't this brand using more or less the same components, e.g RK-27 pots, etc..

daswadan, price and quality are two different things....it can cost you 100$ to put together a quality product and price it at 500$ or more.

A typical example Bozure & Soul Sonic are working on producing quality products at a reasonable price.

Don't judge a product solely on price, also consider components used, design, workmanship, aesthetics into account....