|
Post by kcatthedog on Oct 24, 2019 16:26:55 GMT -6
So, there is a 3 gen difference here and the other improvements to the X:psu, clock etc. Don is a great guy, very computer literate and a mod at ua forum: In case anyone here is curious as to how much different the x-series sounds to an earlier (Silver Face) Apollo, I ran a short (37 seconds) comparison test and put it at dropbox as a .wav file. The SF Apollo predates the Twin MKII by a couple years. Left-click to hear, right-click to download. Give a listen. Mic into x8 and Silverface Apollos.wav www.dropbox.com/s/01kb21pg6i...ollos.wav?dl=0
|
|
|
Post by phantom on Oct 24, 2019 16:31:12 GMT -6
The link is not working here.
|
|
|
Post by kcatthedog on Oct 24, 2019 16:38:48 GMT -6
|
|
|
Post by phantom on Oct 24, 2019 16:41:35 GMT -6
This one is working. Thanks.
|
|
|
Post by wiz on Oct 24, 2019 17:37:14 GMT -6
This one is working. Thanks. I am listening on just my iPad speakers (backs hurting so I’m having a lie down) and the difference between the two is quite apparent. Sounds somewhat like proximity Effect is at play here.
|
|
|
Post by Johnkenn on Oct 24, 2019 17:57:36 GMT -6
I hear that painful 2khz push
|
|
|
Post by kcatthedog on Oct 24, 2019 18:35:54 GMT -6
meaning in the sf not the X ?
|
|
|
Post by Johnkenn on Oct 24, 2019 22:07:47 GMT -6
I’m listening on iPhone “speakers” so take that for what it’s worth. Sometimes with really harsh freq it will actually hurt. I got that in the second pass.
|
|
|
Post by Johnkenn on Oct 24, 2019 22:09:23 GMT -6
With EarPods, sounds like it’s further up the spectrum but who knows. Not saying this is a good way to diagnose lol.
|
|
|
Post by kcatthedog on Oct 25, 2019 1:27:06 GMT -6
Johnkenn, I thought you are running at x6, so doesn’t the X Dropbox clip sound like your X6 ?
|
|
|
Post by Johnkenn on Oct 25, 2019 9:54:12 GMT -6
Im saying the SF sounds worse.
|
|
|
Post by kcatthedog on Oct 25, 2019 11:29:31 GMT -6
Gotcha, as expected .
|
|
|
Post by Blackdawg on Oct 25, 2019 12:17:04 GMT -6
lol two of the first responses in how it sounds...."I'm listing on Ipod speakers". they do sound quite different. Silver is very bright and X has smoother highs but a lot more bass?
|
|
|
Post by svart on Oct 25, 2019 12:26:18 GMT -6
lol two of the first responses in how it sounds...."I'm listing on Ipod speakers". they do sound quite different. Silver is very bright and X has smoother highs but a lot more bass? A good mix should translate to any speaker system, even if it's IPOD speakers, because that's how people listen these days.. So naturally I'd think that any offensive tones that a converter imparts on the audio, regardless of the playback device, shouldn't be there.. And if it is, then it actually tells us that the mix engineer's monitoring isn't allowing them to hear the issue.. Which is a doubly egregious problem here because the SF midrange peak is right where most 2-way monitor's crossovers are, so the peak gets masked by the crossovers. Which is why we should always audition mixes and gear across many different monitors/playback devices to make sure they translate.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 25, 2019 12:26:38 GMT -6
Does anyone want to explain where the BF model lies - closer to the silver or X ?
|
|
|
Post by Blackdawg on Oct 25, 2019 12:50:03 GMT -6
lol two of the first responses in how it sounds...."I'm listing on Ipod speakers". they do sound quite different. Silver is very bright and X has smoother highs but a lot more bass? A good mix should translate to any speaker system, even if it's IPOD speakers, because that's how people listen these days.. So naturally I'd think that any offensive tones that a converter imparts on the audio, regardless of the playback device, shouldn't be there.. And if it is, then it actually tells us that the mix engineer's monitoring isn't allowing them to hear the issue.. Which is a doubly egregious problem here because the SF midrange peak is right where most 2-way monitor's crossovers are, so the peak gets masked by the crossovers. Which is why we should always audition mixes and gear across many different monitors/playback devices to make sure they translate. Checking a mix across different speak platforms is great. critical listening on how hardware sounds....mmm not sure that's so true. Should be in a controlled environment. This isn't about how he recorded it and how his mix is translating. Its about changing one variable in a chain and evaluating the differences. Two totally different things.
|
|
|
Post by kcatthedog on Oct 25, 2019 12:52:49 GMT -6
I would say closer to the sf as really the difference sonically largely was just next gen converters.
The new X has current converters so two advanced from the sf, improved psu, new clock and other tweaks.
Also, the X has 2 more sharc chips .
|
|
|
Post by svart on Oct 25, 2019 13:19:43 GMT -6
A good mix should translate to any speaker system, even if it's IPOD speakers, because that's how people listen these days.. So naturally I'd think that any offensive tones that a converter imparts on the audio, regardless of the playback device, shouldn't be there.. And if it is, then it actually tells us that the mix engineer's monitoring isn't allowing them to hear the issue.. Which is a doubly egregious problem here because the SF midrange peak is right where most 2-way monitor's crossovers are, so the peak gets masked by the crossovers. Which is why we should always audition mixes and gear across many different monitors/playback devices to make sure they translate. Checking a mix across different speak platforms is great. critical listening on how hardware sounds....mmm not sure that's so true. Should be in a controlled environment. This isn't about how he recorded it and how his mix is translating. Its about changing one variable in a chain and evaluating the differences. Two totally different things. my point is that it was obvious there was an issue, and if you hear it on any listening device, then you still have an issue that needs fixing, regardless of what that listening device is.. So I'm not sure what the need for criticizing the listening device satisfies..
|
|
|
Post by veggieryan on Oct 25, 2019 13:28:39 GMT -6
Man the silverface apollos were some of the worst sounding units especially for that time period. The lack of quality in the conversion and analog sections really started to add up with only a few tracks recorded through the AD. Don't even get me started on the preamps which really have not improved much if at all even on the X series. They really cheaped out there but kudos to them for at least improving, especially the clock and being able to bypass that preamp on the inputs.... and the new DSP stacking finally makes Apollo a legit platform to me. Just wish they had a version with only AES i/o...
|
|
|
Post by kcatthedog on Oct 25, 2019 13:42:03 GMT -6
Not certain, I agree with your comment re: their preamps, as they were designed to support their unison technology? I used mine a lot plane Jane and good good results, but they are, I think, just IC chips ?
|
|
|
Post by svart on Oct 25, 2019 13:52:27 GMT -6
Man the silverface apollos were some of the worst sounding units especially for that time period. The lack of quality in the conversion and analog sections really started to add up with only a few tracks recorded through the AD. Don't even get me started on the preamps which really have not improved much if at all even on the X series. They really cheaped out there but kudos to them for at least improving, especially the clock and being able to bypass that preamp on the inputs.... and the new DSP stacking finally makes Apollo a legit platform to me. Just wish they had a version with only AES i/o... Reminds me of the first time I heard one. I thought it was broken. The guy sent it back and got another one.. Same upper midrange honk.
|
|
|
Post by Johnkenn on Oct 25, 2019 14:54:20 GMT -6
lol two of the first responses in how it sounds...."I'm listing on Ipod speakers". they do sound quite different. Silver is very bright and X has smoother highs but a lot more bass? If you can tell a difference on a damn phone, there’s a big difference. I would think you’ve been here long enough to know me and others aren’t making critical decisions based on iPhone speakers.
|
|
|
Post by phantom on Oct 25, 2019 15:13:27 GMT -6
Man the silverface apollos were some of the worst sounding units especially for that time period. The lack of quality in the conversion and analog sections really started to add up with only a few tracks recorded through the AD. Don't even get me started on the preamps which really have not improved much if at all even on the X series. They really cheaped out there but kudos to them for at least improving, especially the clock and being able to bypass that preamp on the inputs.... and the new DSP stacking finally makes Apollo a legit platform to me. Just wish they had a version with only AES i/o... Totally agree. I remember that all records I made going straight to the Apollo SF inputs were never great. I had always to use my external preamps and conversion to get a sound that I really loved. And using with a Unison plugin didn't help much, as I always could listen to the sound of the Apollo on top of the sound of the plugin. With my new interface I can use their mic inputs if the preamps are already in use elsewhere.
|
|
|
Post by BenjaminAshlin on Oct 25, 2019 15:51:37 GMT -6
Have they improved the latency with the drivers? It was very stable, but RTL was still quite high for a thunderbolt device during the BF years.
|
|
|
Post by Guitar on Oct 27, 2019 10:14:33 GMT -6
Yep, the new one sounds better. I'm glad.
|
|