Curious Analog OTB Vs In The Box ITB Mix Comparison

[SIXTYNINER]

Apparently it looks as if it was done on purpose ,
but it could also be.....



post your about ,
(..if you like)

cheers .

 

[scott2000]

Just listening on headphones real quick there are obvious level differences when switching. A bit of a confusing comparison but maybe can give it another listen later.

 

[analag]

ITB sounds better. Since when did crappy analog gear qualify for serious audio reproduction. I find it to be as silly as the plugin emulations that include the anlog hiss, hum, noise.

 

[JohnRoberts]

audio is analog....

JR

 

[analag]

audio is analog....

JR

I guess you better go re educate the people who came up with the term...digital audio.

 

[JohnRoberts]

I guess you better go re educate the people who came up with the term...digital audio.

Not my job mon...

If we want to dig deep, the human ear has a finite number of frequency detecting cilia that likewise fire their associated nerves with discrete impulses this is arguably quantized by time and frequency. Our meat computer interpolates to detect frequencies that fall between cilia, and integrate nerve firings over time.

I wonder if evolution will grow us a digital interface, preferably wireless.

JR

 

[pucho812]

These debates have been done to death. I stopped the argument ages ago as it never got anywhere. They sound different. There are legitimate reasons as to why they do. Extra conversion stages when using analog gear, extra noise from the analog gear and so on.
I have a desk I use all the time, it is not better, just different. That’s it. Even harder to use the desk to mix in atmos or other multichannel formats. You can decide if it is worth it to you but in the end you have to convince the client. I have had one too many who try to compare the plugin vs the hardware and decide the plugin is better because less noise.

 

[JohnRoberts]

Back last century I whispered into the ear of a junior guitar amp designer, why not try using a very low noise JFET input stage for a guitar amp input? He asked me why, so I replied less noise, then he repeated why? The noise is how guitarists know the amp is turned on.

JR

 

[analag]

I unplugged my console. It's leaned against the back wall. Sentiment is why it's still here. I went external summing and I still end up keeping things in the box most of the time. With the constant influx of plugins (I bought a few today as well) and my Jacques Cousteau type exploration into the abyss of the digital wAnderland. I think I sound as analogue as ever minus the buzzes and component drift etc. What I now have is total recall and automation and far greater and much more precise processing. And yes...with great power comes great responsibility. But there are no rules in audio!!!

 

[pucho812]

Back last century I whispered into the ear of a junior guitar amp designer, why not try using a very low noise JFET input stage for a guitar amp input? He asked me why, so I replied less noise, then he repeated why? The noise is how guitarists know the amp is turned on.

JR

howard dumble did the fet input thing on his tube amps. Never heard anyone complain about anything dumble did other then the price tag for one of his amps.

 

[SIXTYNINER]

...it is not as the ITB seems to have a low pass activated ,
also a bad crosstalk performance ?

cheers

 

[fazer]

Its hard to beat total recall in mixing projects. One feature trumps another when comparing the two ways( ITB OTB). I worked in post for the second half of my career and remember encountering a engineer from Calif that was so brilliant at mixing in surround, that changed my excuses.

 

[analag]

Not to mention, plugins are evolving at a steady pace due to the highly competitive market place. We as the consumer benefit from this financially and sonically. At first I couldn't stand the sound of digital EQ's and now I have some that I swear are like magic boxes. Truly an exciting time in audio where the technolgy is no longer the limitation. In fact I put a lot of work into not being the limiting factor in my studio. 30 years with Cubase and I'm still learning the thing. How cool is that!

 

[scott2000]

30 years with Cubase and I'm still learning the thing. How cool is that!

So cool it's now called dope

 

[matriachamplification]

We look at what I am working on to decide what pipeline is neccessary to acheive sonic resolve.
In the event it were an 11th hour client mix for say a tv episode then working in the box makes the most sense. If I am working on something personal it would be tube driven. In regards to what sounds better, that depends on the end user. All I can do is make sure it sounds optimal.

 

[SIXTYNINER]

We look at what I am working on to decide what pipeline is neccessary to acheive sonic resolve.
In the event it were an 11th hour client mix for say a tv episode then working in the box makes the most sense. If I am working on something personal it would be tube driven. In regards to what sounds better, that depends on the end user. All I can do is make sure it sounds optimal.

......something like a Pultec eq plug in sound as the original vintage unit ?

 

[matriachamplification]

Oh goodness. To answer that, I honestly wouldn't know. I have never tried most plug ins and have no real interest in venturing into new audio tools.

 

[user 37518]

Apparently it looks as if it was done on purpose ,
but it could also be.....



post your about ,
(..if you like)

cheers .

I don't know if it was done on purpose or not, but the very apparent level difference between the two is definitely a factor. Seems like they just matched the peak level between the two mixes.

I've seen these type of comparisons before, in my experience, people pretend to be impartial, but they always try to tweak things as much as possible in the ITB mix to make it sound dull, and as much as possible in the OTB to make it sound good. For example, they will take the mix to the outboard gear and work on it for a long time to make it sound as good as possible, whilst leaving the ITB mix as it is. And they latter pretend that is a fair double blind test. If you are going to saturate the OTB mix, you should also saturate the ITB mix, otherwise, that just proves saturation sounds good, not that a TEAC mixer is magical.

 

[john12ax7]

I've seen these type of comparisons before, in my experience, people pretend to be impartial, but they always try to tweak things as much as possible in the ITB mix to make it sound dull, and as much as possible in the OTB to make it sound good. For example, they will take the mix to the outboard gear and work on it for a long time to make it sound as good as possible, whilst leaving the ITB mix as it is. And they latter pretend that is a fair double blind test. If you are going to saturate the OTB mix, you should also saturate the ITB mix, otherwise, that just proves saturation sounds good, not that a TEAC mixer is magical.

Plugin makers will do the reverse

 

[user 37518]

Plugin makers will do the reverse

You are absolutely right