KVR Audio

Teksonik · Post by **Teksonik** » Tue Dec 20, 2016 10:39 pm

Is it time for the daily Hardware versus Software thread already ? God it's getting tiresome......

Uncle E · Post by **Uncle E** » Tue Dec 20, 2016 11:12 pm

We were running a Minilogue through a bunch of Apollo realtime plugins over the weekend. The sounds we were getting were as good as anything I've ever heard. I bet it would have been just as good with DIVA, the point is how the processing can play such a huge role in making up the difference. The Novation Supernova was lauded mainly for its effects section back when it was released. Juno 60's and 106's were all over the place for $300 or less back then, people chose to use the much more expensive Supernova OVER them.

Teksonik · Post by **Teksonik** » Wed Dec 21, 2016 4:43 am

I sold my Juno 60 for $300 and thought I was lucky to get that. I've regretted it ever since. I could have held on to it and sold it for three times that much now...........

recursive one · Post by **recursive one** » Wed Dec 21, 2016 6:42 am

Every now and then I think that I don't need my Virus anymore and can do everything with plugins. It usually takes me no more than 3 days to return to Virus, it just sounds incredible and is joy to program.

Having thus said, if it once stops working I think I could survive on Spire with some help from Rapid, Diversion and Discovery Pro.

My dream plugin synth would be something combining the analogue-like warmth of Diva with the fetaureset of Spire + Serum or Icarus.

jacqueslacouth · Post by **jacqueslacouth** » Wed Dec 21, 2016 6:58 am

Teksonik wrote:Is it time for the daily Hardware versus Software thread already ? God it's getting tiresome......

Isn't this KVR all over? HW vs SW, Mac vs PC, "what's the best....(followed by a list of everything everyone uses), Moaning about/Demanding scalable GUI, Fan Girling over U-He, Hating Developers who offer sales, GAS freak outs over sales....and so on and so forth.

v1o · Post by **v1o** » Wed Dec 21, 2016 10:43 am

stillshaded wrote:i have Virus TI, and Dune 2. TI sounds considerably better to me. It's pretty amazing. Also, the factory presets are not very good. Overkill with the effects and saturation. Kills the Virus's best trait: its subtlety.

It's a placebo. Dune 2 has ZDF filters. The virus has severe band limiting but still aliases.

recursive one · Post by **recursive one** » Wed Dec 21, 2016 11:07 am

v1o wrote:
stillshaded wrote:i have Virus TI, and Dune 2. TI sounds considerably better to me. It's pretty amazing. Also, the factory presets are not very good. Overkill with the effects and saturation. Kills the Virus's best trait: its subtlety.
It's a placebo. Dune 2 has ZDF filters. The virus has severe band limiting but still aliases.

Somebody doesn't like the Virus

Dune may have newer filter algorithms but this translates only to the differencies in sound character and not in that one of them objectively sounds better than the other.

Of these two prefer the sound of Virus by far. Some people may feel otherwise

.jon · Post by **.jon** » Wed Dec 21, 2016 11:57 am

v1o wrote:It's a placebo. Dune 2 has ZDF filters. The virus has severe band limiting but still aliases.

ZDF implementation isn't some fairy magic that makes a filter sound good, and neither does it solve aliasing. It's just a solution to the instability caused by unit delay in the feedback loop emulation part of a filter design, the actual sound character of the filter is defined by the rest of the design.

bronxsound · Post by **bronxsound** » Wed Dec 21, 2016 12:52 pm

"use of hardware makes music sound better"
A.Einstein

exmatproton · Post by **exmatproton** » Wed Dec 21, 2016 12:54 pm

bronxsound wrote:"use of hardware makes music sound better"
A.Einstein

A PC is hardware? Isn't it ??

chk071 · Post by **chk071** » Wed Dec 21, 2016 1:28 pm

.jon wrote:
v1o wrote:It's a placebo. Dune 2 has ZDF filters. The virus has severe band limiting but still aliases.
ZDF implementation isn't some fairy magic that makes a filter sound good, and neither does it solve aliasing. It's just a solution to the instability caused by unit delay in the feedback loop emulation part of a filter design, the actual sound character of the filter is defined by the rest of the design.

Exactly. ZDF has nothing to do with filter or sound characteristic. Neither does aliasing automagically mean that the sound is unpleasant because of it. As far as i'm concerned, for the JP-8k for example, a part of the magic is even due to the aliasing. And Tone2 even gave 2 options with Electra2, normal supersaw modelled on the JP-8k, with aliasing, and without.

aMUSEd · Post by **aMUSEd** » Wed Dec 21, 2016 1:30 pm

I much prefer the Virus filters to Dune 2's. Spire has better filters too (than Dune that is).

bronxsound · Post by **bronxsound** » Wed Dec 21, 2016 1:35 pm

exmatproton wrote:
bronxsound wrote:"use of hardware makes music sound better"
A.Einstein
A PC is hardware? Isn't it ??

i have read that he owned a virus. so i am damn sure he was referring to the real thing not a itb rubbish

Synthman2000 · Post by **Synthman2000** » Wed Dec 21, 2016 1:47 pm

I asked this myself not so long ago having been out of music making for quite a long period and in the end drew my own conclusions after listening a lot.

Software synths are extremely powerful. Each one having strengths and weaknesses, synthesis types (and how good each one is, some are Jack of all trades - master of none.), filters, envelopes, lfo's, effects section, modulation options and there are so many and I believe sound quality is as good as hardware if not better.

However it could be that 1 synth (DSP in hardware or DSP in pure software) has a wave table (not strictly VA) that another does not or a method of synthesis that another does not that could be unique.

It comes down to if you are getting what you want and need from any specific synth ? If not the search continues. The synth you might prefer or require for specific sounds might be software or hardware and ultimately it is this decision and not so much hard and soft being the main factor.

I am expecting delivery of a hardware synth (DSP in a box) after listening to 90pct or so of every soft synth on the market. It will mix in with a bunch of soft synths.

If you are listening to the details in the sounds generated it will guide you.

danbroad · Post by **danbroad** » Wed Dec 21, 2016 2:13 pm

Turn off the power and they sound exactly the same

Hardware VA's vs latest and greatest software VA's