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Post by smashlord on Jun 10, 2024 12:05:59 GMT -6
So I had a little time to kill waiting on feedback from a client, so I thought I'd do a blind little shoot out between my silver face LA-2A and the evil Warm WA-2A! I did my best to calibrate the amount of GR and return volume with a tone. When the pre-emphasis between the two units is similar, the peak reduction more or less will be in the same spot to see the same amount of GR on the meter. The make up gain, however, is very different (Warm returns a significantly hotter signal). There are 4 files here, let's see what everybody feels sounds "the best" and I will later reveal what is what! Link to files: www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/geyor8n1m2n8xvqlyjhbp/AI2G7lohOOq92Pt9bWESopE?rlkey=r6d6pgd4x8kfluci8jh4dvnx1&st=xlez5qeb&dl=0 |
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Post by craigmorris74 on Jun 10, 2024 19:18:35 GMT -6
I guess you’re going to get very few responses before you reveal the answers, and several after.
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Post by christopher on Jun 10, 2024 19:42:35 GMT -6
When I got to D I forgot to listen for differences, I got lost in the voice. So I chose D
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Post by smashlord on Jun 10, 2024 19:47:58 GMT -6
I guess you’re going to get very few responses before you reveal the answers, and several after. Don't be afraid, people! We are all friends here. If you pick the Warm over the Teletronix, we promise to keep the walk of shame short! |
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Post by drbill on Jun 10, 2024 22:26:39 GMT -6
There's no shame in the KT. They sound decent.
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Post by doubledog on Jun 11, 2024 12:16:44 GMT -6
There's no shame in the KT. They sound decent. except he didn't say KT? That said, I would like to hear my (modded) KT against a real LA-2A, but alas I do not own the real one. and at the risk of revealing my rock and roll battled ears, I don't hear a lot of difference in these samples (also listening on earbuds and not in a proper studio) - at least not where I'd say, "oh, that's unusable". But C & D maybe sound the smoothest to me where A & B have a little harshness on the S sounds. I didn't vote. |
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Post by basspro on Jun 11, 2024 14:06:54 GMT -6
Was listening on laptop speakers, so not ideal, but I liked C the best. I tend to prefer boxes that lop off high end, and that seemed to be happening on C as compared to the other files.
Also, this was a great vocal sample. Hate to complain, but a lot of times these shootouts use music that's rough on the ears - she's killin' though!
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Post by drbill on Jun 11, 2024 14:48:17 GMT -6
There's no shame in the KT. They sound decent. except he didn't say KT? That said, I would like to hear my (modded) KT against a real LA-2A, but alas I do not own the real one. and at the risk of revealing my rock and roll battled ears, I don't hear a lot of difference in these samples (also listening on earbuds and not in a proper studio) - at least not where I'd say, "oh, that's unusable". But C & D maybe sound the smoothest to me where A & B have a little harshness on the S sounds. I didn't vote. Ahhhhh - right you are!! Below average reading comprehension here.  |
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Post by christopher on Jun 11, 2024 15:37:45 GMT -6
Was listening on laptop speakers, so not ideal, but I liked C the best. I tend to prefer boxes that lop off high end, and that seemed to be happening on C as compared to the other files. Also, this was a great vocal sample. Hate to complain, but a lot of times these shootouts use music that's rough on the ears - she's killin' though! Yeah the vocal sample on A/B had me thinking she’s a take or two away from perfection. C and D I’m like, nevermind it’s already there. |
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Post by Ward on Jun 11, 2024 16:19:22 GMT -6
So I had a little time to kill waiting on feedback from a client, so I thought I'd do a blind little shoot out between my silver face LA-2A and the evil Warm WA-2A! I did my best to calibrate the amount of GR and return volume with a tone. When the pre-emphasis between the two units is similar, the peak reduction more or less will be in the same spot to see the same amount of GR on the meter. The make up gain, however, is very different (Warm returns a significantly hotter signal). There are 4 files here, let's see what everybody feels sounds "the best" and I will later reveal what is what! Link to files: www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/geyor8n1m2n8xvqlyjhbp/AI2G7lohOOq92Pt9bWESopE?rlkey=r6d6pgd4x8kfluci8jh4dvnx1&st=xlez5qeb&dl=0Some of the Warm units make excellent modding platforms. Good chassis and some decent components. |
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Post by nick8801 on Jun 11, 2024 16:35:48 GMT -6
Kind of dig B on quick listen. Has a little more air in the sound.
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Post by thehightenor on Jun 11, 2024 17:12:22 GMT -6
I guess you’re going to get very few responses before you reveal the answers, and several after. Absolutely no disrespect to the poster or anyone who runs these kind of comparison polls on audio forums .... But I never comment on any ABX tests that I haven't conducted myself in my own studio. Therefore, I won't comment before or after the answer has been given. |
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Post by chessparov on Jun 11, 2024 18:08:52 GMT -6
Just during?  C was my pick. Out of A/B/C. (D didn't show up on my phone) How about a Steely Dan Tribute song cover? As in... "KT lied".  |
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Post by earlevel on Jun 11, 2024 18:45:18 GMT -6
OK...I was having trouble deciding on BCD, but A wasn't as good.
After several listens, I opened them all in different tabs of my browser to jump between parts of different files quicker.
Then I noticed...BCD all appear to be the same file, according to the waveform display. Up to the resolution of my eyeballs, the lines don't change a bit when flipping tabs. A is much different.
Are you sure they are different? Or is dropbox malfunctioning? Don't have download permissions, so I can't verify the data easily.
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Post by smashlord on Jun 12, 2024 6:38:24 GMT -6
......and the results are in! VERY INTERESTING indeed! A: Teletronix LA-2A B: Warm WA-2A C: Warm WA-2A D: Warm WA-2A As someone astutely noticed, the last 3 are all the same file. I figured if the Teletronix was truly "better", it would would be reliably picked out amongst all the files. I think the methodology proved useful, because everyone consistently picked the Teletronix as the one they didn't like! Not once was it chosen. My personal observations are that they are hard to distinguish in solo. In a mix, the Teletronix sits slightly better....it seems to be a hair thick and less grabby, but when I say a hair... I mean a HAIR. IMO, Warm did an excellent job. I've used a fair amount of their products at this point, as well as the originals that they emulate, and while they don't all hit the mark, some really do and I don't think they deserve the degree of blanket hatred they often get. A lot of the time it just sounds like a bunch of gatekeeping old men trying to protect the value of their vintage gear |
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Post by doubledog on Jun 12, 2024 7:37:42 GMT -6
I saw that Dropbox was displaying a different "looking" waveform (for A) with what appeared to be a little noise at the tail. I honestly figured that would be the Warm but also I really despise Dropbox so I don't trust it a bit.
I also think there are certain sources/samples where you just aren't going to hear a lot of differences (so do these even matter?), and then others where it is very obvious.
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Post by basspro on Jun 12, 2024 11:38:26 GMT -6
Wow. How embarrassing, lol. Was totally convinced that C sounded darker 🤦♂️
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Post by drumsound on Jun 12, 2024 12:47:44 GMT -6
Out of context, I don't really like any of these. It reminds me of the compressor in the VoxBox, which changes the tone in an obvious way when compressing. It's a big part of why I eventually sold it off.
I'm not sure I'd notice it in a dense mix, but I did in mixes (and tracking) I was doing.
I feel a similar characteristic between these samples, but A had less GR, and is MAYBE the one I'd choose, but if I was in the chair, I'd use something different.
Of course, that's just me.
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Post by smashlord on Jun 12, 2024 14:40:48 GMT -6
I saw that Dropbox was displaying a different "looking" waveform (for A) with what appeared to be a little noise at the tail. I honestly figured that would be the Warm but also I really despise Dropbox so I don't trust it a bit. I also think there are certain sources/samples where you just aren't going to hear a lot of differences (so do these even matter?), and then others where it is very obvious. I don't find there to be a ton of difference either way. There are differences, but they are so slight that it's not worth fretting over, IMO. |
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Post by chessparov on Jun 13, 2024 9:00:39 GMT -6
Have they caught up to the UA Plugin yet? LOL! |
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Post by nick8801 on Jun 13, 2024 10:11:37 GMT -6
Originally listened really quick though my iPhone. Through my monitors its more obvious that B C and D are all the same. I actually like A through real speakers. Sounds more together.
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Post by christopher on Jun 13, 2024 10:33:30 GMT -6
Wow. How embarrassing, lol. Was totally convinced that C sounded darker 🤦♂️ It’s nothing to be embarrassed about! We can either do the “where’s Waldo” puzzle of searching for the tell.. or do the “use the force” thing. ‘Where’s Waldo’ we have to go through 20,000 areas of possible differences. With enough time and full monitoring setup, I think we’d all eventually figure it out |
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Post by niklas1073 on Jun 13, 2024 11:02:44 GMT -6
Yeah I wouldn’t expect there to be tons of difference in an a/b test as long as they have managed to get within approximate ball park. And since the outcome is also a bit source dependent I am not that surprised that vote comes out different than expected. I think it really would take someone super dedicated to pick a specific unit.
This is why i think single source comparisons are difficult to call on. When you have them on several tracks you start hearing the overall character that builds up on various sources and the difference gets enhanced.
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Post by jacobamerritt on Jun 13, 2024 11:14:11 GMT -6
Yeah I wouldn’t expect there to be tons of difference in an a/b test as long as they have managed to get within approximate ball park. And since the outcome is also a bit source dependent I am not that surprised that vote comes out different than expected. I think it really would take someone super dedicated to pick a specific unit. This is why i think single source comparisons are difficult to call on. When you have them on several tracks you start hearing the overall character that builds up on various sources and the difference gets enhanced. Maybe smashlord can test your theory and print several tracks |
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Post by niklas1073 on Jun 13, 2024 12:20:18 GMT -6
Yeah I wouldn’t expect there to be tons of difference in an a/b test as long as they have managed to get within approximate ball park. And since the outcome is also a bit source dependent I am not that surprised that vote comes out different than expected. I think it really would take someone super dedicated to pick a specific unit. This is why i think single source comparisons are difficult to call on. When you have them on several tracks you start hearing the overall character that builds up on various sources and the difference gets enhanced. Maybe smashlord can test your theory and print several tracks That could actually be very interesting. Despite we have lost the blind test angle by now but to see how the same people react on it on mix/production level compared to track level. At least this is how I have eventually come to terms with my gear and decided upon what to use. |
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