Presonus Studio One - Is there a "Quality" difference in sound?

Hey guys,

I picked up an alesis multimix8 and an mxl v67g mic. I've been doing some vox/guit trax in reaper with the new set-up and will say that it sounds alot better than my behringer Ucontrol 202 interface and Nady starpower mic!

Yesterday I saw a demo vid on Presonus Studio One and downloaded the free version. (no affiliation on my part) You can't beat-it for free! They're hoping for folks to buy the upgrades I presume.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVvgXXoY6Vk



I have to say on my initial pass it seemed much quicker/easier to get to a great vox mix/sound right out of the box - I was surprised!
BUT if all the signals are digital doesn't that make the sound quality of all the DAWs equal and the difference I am hearing is "in my head" (no pun intended)?

Kevin

I would hazard a guess that the new interface and mic are the biggest contributors to better fidelity. As long as you are using the same resolution for recording, most DAWs should record with similar quality. That being said, we were using Audition 3 and it began to crash constantly on one of our Win7 setups. We upgraded to the Presonus USB interface which came with Studio One Artist and we thought there were some audible differences on recorded tracks.

Thanks for the reply MTJO62!

For clarification - I'm wondering with a system as a constant (interface, mic and moniters) and the signals going in and out of a DAW being digital would the sound be the same or is the perceived different sound from studio one vs. reaper all in my head?

KC

Each DAW has its own audio engine that will have some effect with the mixing, bouncing, compression, plugins, etc. As I mentioned in my previous post, we heard an audible difference in recorded tracks which seemed to give the sound more clarity using Studio One. Whether this was a real or perceived difference, that is a subjective matter. If you are using the exact signal chain and comparable levels, resolution, plugins, etc., on two different DAWs, I think it would be difficult to discern a difference in a blind test. Sort of like the orange drop cap/cheap Radio Shack cap argument.

The A/D converters and reference oscillator and timing circuitry can and will make a difference to the quality of the digitized sound. Regarding frequency control oscillators, minimizing jitter (distortion in the time domain) is critical. Conversely, taking the digitized information and converting it back to analog is equally as tricky to get absolutely right in the time and frequency domains. IC based converters are the cheapest and usually most problematic sonically. The more expensive systems use a discrete or module approach to control signal integrity better. The better converters out there used to be from companies like Burr-Brown and Analog Devices.

Thanks for the input guys and clearing up my question!

I guess at my hobby level I shouldn't get too caught up in the "truth or fiction" between DAWs and effects in my price range - free - and keep it simple: What sounds good!

Thanks again,

KC

I have to say on my initial pass it seemed much quicker/easier to get to a great vox mix/sound right out of the box - I was surprised!

I'm not quite clear on this ... are you talking about presets and so forth, or the workflow to get you to the sound you want? All I can say is, when you find a DAW that seems friendly, it's worth checking out. If you decide to go that route, MF is offering Studio One Artist (the LE version) for $49, as opposed to $399 for the pro version. There's probably an upgrade path for when you outgrow the pee-wee version. Just a thought!

Woody that's question has made me really think about it!

Without any effects on the tracks I thought it sounded better than what I was getting in reaper. And then when I eq'd and put a bit of reverb on it - it seemed way better.

In retrospect I guess it was the presets of the effects that really made the the difference for me.

You've brought up a good point that I should have seen right away - :oops:

Woody that's question has made me really think about it!

Without any effects on the tracks I thought it sounded better than what I was getting in reaper. And then when I eq'd and put a bit of reverb on it - it seemed way better.

In retrospect I guess it was the presets of the effects that really made the the difference for me.

You've brought up a good point that I should have seen right away - :oops:

Well, you've got some time to explore. Might as well see what cooks!