Cubase 6/7/8 VS Cakewalk Sonar X3 Audio Engine problems?

jmd87

New member
Hey,

First of all this isn't a true Cakewalk VS Cubase topic and don't want to start any arguments but it is something that has troubled me for 8 years with varying versions of Cubase and is solved with Cakewalk and wanted to hopefully find out why.

A quick bit about us. Basically my Dad has been in music since the 60's in various bands and in the 70's to late 80's he worked for EMI as a producer and then got out of music for a while. I am now learning from him. We have tried various audio interfaces ranging from MOTU's to Focusrite and have settled on RME Raydats and AIO cards in a self built computer.

Basically we have spent years in Cubase and the sounds whether they are recorded audio or VST instruments always sounded distant and thin sounding. We thought that maybe it was just us so we got some old 24 Track Tape Reels out and listened to them and the sounds instantly sounded more up front and thicker sounding. We tried everything to try and solve this switching mixing desks, computer parts, cables, checked for phasing, khz, bitrates, making sure everything is synced properly etc etc and just could never get it. I spent a good few months talking to RME trying suggested things from their support but could never get it right. We assumed that it was one of the downsides of digital recording.

I purchased Cakewalk Sonar X3 really to see what it was like not expecting anything different in the audio department but it was instantly apparent that when I plugged a guitar in it was more upfront and fuller sounding. I tried it on various computers with different interfaces and this was the same on all of them. When mixing you don't end up battling to get the mix you want.

I have also tried Presonus Studio One 3 and this is exactly the same as Cubase, thin sounding.

The question is why would this be the case? Is it something setup wrong in Cubase and Presonus or is it that the Audio Engine in Cakewalk is far better?

Again I'm trying not to Bash Cubase or start fanboy wars but it can't be helped. I'm more trying to bring it to peoples attention

If you need to know anything else please ask :)

Kind Regards
Joe
 
Cubase has never failed me here, especially since version 8, have never heard such rubbish, first time I've ever heard the term 'thin' describing the sound of a DAW, to me a DAW has no sound of it's own.
 
Hi,

Thanks for the reply. But before you start saying things like "You've never heard such rubbish" just because you haven't heard it doesn't mean it isn't an issue for others. As it turns out other people have noticed differences coming from Logic to Cubase, Cubase To Protools etc etc. Its not just an issue with Cubase either. Its been noticed in Presonus.

If DAW's have no sound of their own why do reviewers/customers etc often say things like "Protools sounds slightly brittle" or "Logic has a warmer sound than other DAWs" I didn't come on here to be told I'm talking rubbish there is defiantly a difference in the sound all I'm after is suggestions that could help solve the issue as we have been using Cubase for a long time and there are plenty of features in it that are fantastic this wasn't a personal attack on Cubase at all.
 
Hi,

Thanks for the reply. But before you start saying things like "You've never heard such rubbish" just because you haven't heard it doesn't mean it isn't an issue for others. As it turns out other people have noticed differences coming from Logic to Cubase, Cubase To Protools etc etc. Its not just an issue with Cubase either. Its been noticed in Presonus.

If DAW's have no sound of their own why do reviewers/customers etc often say things like "Protools sounds slightly brittle" or "Logic has a warmer sound than other DAWs" I didn't come on here to be told I'm talking rubbish there is defiantly a difference in the sound all I'm after is suggestions that could help solve the issue as we have been using Cubase for a long time and there are plenty of features in it that are fantastic this wasn't a personal attack on Cubase at all.

fine then prove to me that there are differences in sound quality, record the same thing with exactly the same settings in 20 different DAW's not just 4 or 5, give me double blind tests and we'll see if you are right.
 
fine then prove to me that there are differences in sound quality, record the same thing with exactly the same settings in 20 different DAW's not just 4 or 5, give me double blind tests and we'll see if you are right.
I have to second this. ^^^^^^

I've only had experience with Presonus Studio One, Protools, Reaper, Nuendo and Cubase but I am pretty sure that there wasn't much difference outside of included features (plugins, etc) and GUI - nothing audible though. I stuck with Cubase for a reason...it was the easiest to use. Been recording fine sounding tunes since SX3 was out 10+ years ago. "Cubase sounds thin"? :facepalm:
 
The 'pro tools sounds thin' thing used to be because you could only use protocols interfaces with protools. The software didn't sound thin, the hardware you were forced to use did.

If sonar fixed the problem, carry on with sonar. It really doesn't matter why at this point, you've found the solution.

The software shouldn't have a sound, at least not when you exclude the stock plugins.
 
Can't see an obvious reason for this, most likely a configuration issue - I've certainly never noticed a difference in sound between DAW's I've used on a regular basis.

Make some audio samples for us and post them and maybe we can do more than guessing. Same audio recording, import it into both DAW's, bounce it down with no processing or level changes.
 
How the track(s) or audio was exported could cause differences in sound quality. IE., FLAC, mp3 settings, wav files exported to lower resolutions etc.. But you've probably already checked your export settings I assume.

"When mixing you don't end up battling to get the mix you want."

Maybe this is an 'analog vs digital' issue in disguise.
 
Back
Top