# Reference vs Magic AB vs MCompare



## dman007 (Jun 13, 2018)

Reference vs Magic AB vs MCompare

I'm interested in people's real world experience using these...

Which of these do you prefer or use - and why?

Thanks.

Links to videos:


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## Richard Wilkinson (Jun 13, 2018)

I have MCompare, and a lot more of the Melda stuff beyond. It's great for what I need it to do - I know Magic A/B is similar but not quite as flexible, so either of those would be a good shout.

MCompare allows you to use multiple references, time-synced references, do blind tests etc. Very useful especially when you need to lean on the specific sound of a reference mix or mixes.


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## Quasar (Jun 13, 2018)

I prefer MCompare because it has the auto-gain compensation to protect from loudness deception.

Here's a video about using Magic AB with Perception, which I considered a while back. But IMHO the Perception plug is absurdly overpriced for what it is, so I went with Melda's MCompare.


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## ceemusic (Jun 13, 2018)

I've set up Ozone & Tone Balance to do this but prefer Reference out of the three.


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## dman007 (Jun 13, 2018)

ceemusic said:


> I've set up Ozone & Tone Balance to do this but prefer Reference out of the three.



Why Reference?


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## dman007 (Jun 13, 2018)

How about the multiple bands in Reference?


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## ceemusic (Jun 13, 2018)

dman007 said:


> Why Reference?


It worked the best for me out the others. I will say it's not issue free & needs some updating. I've been using my ozone setup instead.


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## robgb (Jun 13, 2018)

I have magic a/b but rarely use it. I just add a few reference tracks to the timeline and compare that way.


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## jcrosby (Jun 14, 2018)

Have Magic AB and use it religiously. IMO reference mixing is just working smarter not harder, and nothing humbles a mix/master session like seeing how you stack up...


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## GtrString (Jun 14, 2018)

I have Magic AB in all of my templates. Ive set it up with presets for the main genres I do, and love how easy it is to use.

I havent tried any others. Auto gain compensation might be nice, but Im not sure I need it for what Im using it for, and it might be added in a future version. So I find no reason to evaluate other plugs. Im happy.


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## Kaufmanmoon (Jun 14, 2018)

I use Sample Magic and have tried Reference. I wasn't convinced with the auto gain in reference, so tend to use metering to gauge the difference.


I made a review here about Magic A/B


They've told me they're currently working on a large update for it.


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## Chandler (Jun 14, 2018)

I use MCompare. I like that it has lots of slots for songs filters. The filters can help you compare the highend and lowend of you mix. You can also use it to listen to differces between things before/after compression, etc. The metering is great too.


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