Software vs. Hardware

  • Thread starter Thread starter zocochico
  • Start date Start date
Z

zocochico

New member
So, I'm talking with some other home studio friends and we were all discussing the software/harware that we use to record with. I mention that I use Sonar, another friend says he uses Cubase, our other friend says Vegas because he doesn't like the sound of the "audio engines" of the other 2.

So this gets me to thinking... How big is the difference between how each recording software sounds?

I was always assuming it was mostly the sound card/signal chain/plug ins etc. that affected the sound more than any other software but I guess I could be missing a vital piece.

What are your thoughts? I DON'T want to start a which software is better thread (there are probably a couple hundered out there already). What I really want to know is does anyone think that the software affects the sound as well?
 
To my ears, this claim is BS. Thought there may be some little digital hiccups in there, I don't think there's anything that a listener will notice.

The one area that warrants discussion (that I know of) is panning laws. That is to say, when you slowly change the pan pot of a track from hard left to hard right, does the volume increase slightly when its centered, or is the overall volume completely even? Which way should it be? Does the software make this configurable?

I hear that Sonar has slight problems here (I use it and have no complaints), but that they're being addressed, or have recently been addressed.
 
zocochico said:
So, I'm talking with some other home studio friends and we were all discussing the software/harware that we use to record with. I mention that I use Sonar, another friend says he uses Cubase, our other friend says Vegas because he doesn't like the sound of the "audio engines" of the other 2.
Click to expand...

A co-worker builds and restores antique radios as a hobby and he once told me a story where a customer wanted him to only use blue wire in the radio because he swore he could hear the difference. I'd bet this isn't too much different. ;)
 
I'm not so sure. For just summing and panning, maybe, but when you get into EQ and other more intense algorthms, I think that's like saying an analog EQ is an analog EQ...they're all the same.

-RD
 
Robert D said:
I'm not so sure. For just summing and panning, maybe, but when you get into EQ and other more intense algorthms, I think that's like saying an analog EQ is an analog EQ...they're all the same.

-RD
Click to expand...
Plugins are definitely different, I don't consider those part of the audio engine, which I consider only to the be the way tracks are mixed.
 
I would have to agree with the BS statement. DAW software plays back audio, sound cards record the sound so a sound recorded on the same card will sound the same on all software packages. There really is no "audio engine" per say in a DAW for playback of orginal files, it just plays it back. Now plugins, effects, eqs and so forth do use the audio engine and will sound different from package to package.

Saying that one package will color a file a certian way on playback is horse pookie
 
"Horse Pookie": Sounds like a plug in I need to get. :)

Yeah I thought it sounded like a bunch of BS but wanted to double check. The friend that used Vegas has a few more years experience on me and actually does it for a living so I had to second guess myself.
 
altitude909 said:
I would have to agree with the BS statement. DAW software plays back audio, sound cards record the sound so a sound recorded on the same card will sound the same on all software packages. There really is no "audio engine" per say in a DAW for playback of orginal files, it just plays it back. Now plugins, effects, eqs and so forth do use the audio engine and will sound different from package to package.

Saying that one package will color a file a certian way on playback is horse pookie
Click to expand...

I'm afraid I have to disagree on the fine points here - "Audio Engine" is the term used to describe the core program that sums all the different tracks together and sends them out. Sonar even has a couple of buttons with the term in it - along the lines of "Reset Audio Engine" and "Audio Engine On/Off".
 
I dont think we disagree, I define it the same way. The point I was trying to make is that a audio file (with no plugins or anything) will sound identical regardless of the software playing it back. Obviously anything that plays back goes throught the audio engine, but the engine itself will not change the sound (unless you want it to)
 
I think you're all taking a lot of math for granted here, unless everyone is using plugins on every single track for EQ and compression, using no crossfades, and doing analog summing. Once the daw is doing more than just recording and playing back a file, there's a lot more going on in the software than just bits in and bits out.


-RD
 
So has anyone heard of any tests of completely identical mixes done through various recording software? Sounds like it could be pretty interesting albeit probably impossible.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top