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Do DAWs sound different ?

But if a composer writes the track in Cubase, records the orchestra at Air, using Pro Tools, and it's mixed by Alan Meyerson, using Pro Tools, and then mastered/dubbed on a stage with Nuendo or Pro Tools... what's making it sound great?
Ears, time, and routine.
 
1. Cant you work around that by just applying a slight high boosting eq whenever you work in Logic ?
2. It there no option do disable the build in dither by Logic and use your won plugin ?

Of course. As I said the differences are trivial.
 
Over at Gearslutz, they null tested all the DAWs and found all but one sound the same. Harrison Mixbus runs through an emulation of the Harrison Mixbus 32C board. As such it has color built in. It is not necessarily better, but it is different.
 
There are differences - Cubase IS slightly brighter than Logic

This is completely false - please stop spreading misinformation.

Do the outputs of Cubase and Logic null when the pan laws are the same? Yes they do. Therefore, Cubase IS NOT brighter than Logic.

A simple listening test will also prove that Cubase IS NOT brighter than Logic.
 
Because Steinberg pays them, or they're doing Steinberg a favor?

I think it's a bunch of hooey, and even if it's true on some level, it's so infinitely insignificant that nobody should ever be spending any thought on it.
Do you really think that Steinberg can pay us enough? That’s a pretty insulting accusation.
i love John Powell’s work. We’ve done many projects together. He works in Logic, I work in Cubase. I like the way his stuff sounds. And even if we use the same plug-ins, it sounds slightly different. Something you’ll never notice once it’s dubbed into a movie with every scene having a blanket of Athmos noise over it. JXL used to work in Logic and then moved over to Cubase.
if there wasn’t a difference, neither company wouldn’t have to ‘improve’ their code. And the difference I hear is just enough to effect my writing. And I’m pretty sure John Powell will say the same...
 
Do you really think that Steinberg can pay us enough? That’s a pretty insulting accusation.
i love John Powell’s work. We’ve done many projects together. He works in Logic, I work in Cubase. I like the way his stuff sounds. And even if we use the same plug-ins, it sounds slightly different. Something you’ll never notice once it’s dubbed into a movie with every scene having a blanket of Athmos noise over it. JXL used to work in Logic and then moved over to Cubase.
if there wasn’t a difference, neither company wouldn’t have to ‘improve’ their code. And the difference I hear is just enough to effect my writing. And I’m pretty sure John Powell will say the same...
Hans when was the last time you wrote a track in Logic and what made you switch to Cubase? As a composer who switch over to Cubase two years ago, I do agree with you. I also wanted to be with a music company who pushes things forward, not with one that rarely updates and often has to play catchup. So even if Cubase did sound exactly like Logic, I want to be with Steinberg for innovation.
 
As I wrote some time ago, I did several tests in the past. It is clear that if you do a very simple TEST without using effects, without using plug-ins, without using anything, you import 10 tracks, export this material and then repeat everything with different DAWs, and send the various TEST files in inverted phase, the result will be a total cancellation. But as soon as you start inserting any plug-ins ( also the same, for example, some 3rd part plug-in ), the situation changes. Each DAWs has small differences in the audio engine. How do they manage latencies, latency compensation for example... So it is fair to say that a DAW can behave differently in "real" work situations, with many tracks and many plug-ins. Of course, we are talking about very very little differences...
 
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I had to install a noisy portable AC next to myself because of this disgusting weather, so I'm fairly certain all DAW's will sound like crap to me...

But I really wonder if there is any series of publications on this matter in AES or similar journals. I don't feel that poorly structured, anecdotal forum posts will provide any relief or conclusive result to most people even if some are absolutely true. Although people give way too much credit to this subject than it really needs, it's just not very important overall.

Although based on my own research and some experience in coding, I'm heavily inclined towards saying that the DAW's do operate differently (there are too many notions to try to explain here but Wikipedia is your friend) and that yes they sound different, depending on how good your ears can pick up those differences.

Cheers
 
Summing algorithm is exactly the same in (nearly) all of the DAWs. However, as soon as you start modifying audio by other means (fade in/out, automation, panning, time stretching, resampling etc) there can be subtle (mathematical) differences, depending on the algorithm implemented in the specific DAW.

AdmiralBumbleBee recently did a series of tests that show some differences between DAWs https://www.admiralbumblebee.com/music/2019/12/08/Daw-V-Daw-Pan-Curves.html

However, most of the time these differences will be inaudible to humans or so small, that it is not worth your time.
 
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i love John Powell’s work. We’ve done many projects together. He works in Logic, I work in Cubase. I like the way his stuff sounds. And even if we use the same plug-ins, it sounds slightly different.

But that's due to plugs, how they are used, other mixing techniques, and so on. Not the DAW itself - no, sorry.
 
Summing algorithm is exactly the same in (nearly) all of the DAWs. However, as soon as you start modifying audio by other means (fade in/out, automation, panning, time stretching, resampling etc) there can be subtle (mathematical) differences, depending on the algorithm implemented in the specific DAW.

AdmiralBumbleBee recently did a series of tests that show some differences between DAWs https://www.admiralbumblebee.com/music/2019/12/08/Daw-V-Daw-Pan-Curves.html

However, most of the time these differences will be inaudible to humans or so small, that it is not worth your time.

Was about to ask why no one had posted that yet and I find it on the last page :cool:
 
I think these kinds of differences are so minute that preference for the sound of one DAW over another comes down entirely to cognitive bias. E.g. if you use a product with a brand name that you perceive to be of high quality, it will probably appear to sound better to you than an alternative brand. We're all wired to do this and honestly, I think it's a perfectly valid reason to have a preference for one product over another (if it sounds better to YOU it sound better to YOU).

Dan Worrall recently did a really good video on this concept. He summed it up very nicely at the end when comparing different sample rate conversion algorithms.
I continue to use the Izotope algorithm because when I see the brand name, I perceive it as sounding better. Even though I know perfectly well that this is probably just cognitive bias.
 
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Summing algorithm is exactly the same in (nearly) all of the DAWs. However, as soon as you start modifying audio by other means (fade in/out, automation, panning, time stretching, resampling etc) there can be subtle (mathematical) differences, depending on the algorithm implemented in the specific DAW.

AdmiralBumbleBee recently did a series of tests that show some differences between DAWs https://www.admiralbumblebee.com/music/2019/12/08/Daw-V-Daw-Pan-Curves.html

However, most of the time these differences will be inaudible to humans or so small, that it is not worth your time.

exactly ...

that this not means that one Daw sounds better of another Daw ( in term of Audio Quality ), but it means that there are some little differences in term of " audio" processing.
 
Do you really think that Steinberg can pay us enough? That’s a pretty insulting accusation.

It wasn't meant as an insult or accusation, but just something that might sound plausible. I don't see anything bad about endorsing something or doing someone a favor.

In any case, I still think that even if there's some kind of a difference at some macro level, it would have to be absolutely insignificant and probably not even audible for 99% of music makers.

I'm also sure that if we're looking at this kind of quasi-esoteric stuff, the visual design of things probably affects our work more. You write better music if your track colors are elaborate, your plugins have nice skins and your DAW doesn't look like ass, even if the audio engine is inferior. In fact, I'm ready to disclose that me using ugly Cubase is probably the reason why I write so much crap!
 
This musician wouldn't know if there are any technical differences that would make them sound different, but they certainly cause me to write different music, perhaps because of the different advantages or impediments they offer. For example, maybe one has a strong step editor, and another one has very fast/intuitive velocity or MIDI CC drawing.

If you like to use presets as a starting point, some DAWs will have a very 'premastered' sound with fairly intricate effects chains, while in other cases things are pretty barebones and you're on your own.

There's an easy way to find out though, bring out the stem files! :)

- N
 
I just think it boils down to whatever DAW you use. Logic guys think that's the best, Cubase guys think that's the best.
If i write a piece in midi then print the stems to audio, it sounds exactly the same. It only changes when i start using plugins.
I am pretty sure it's the same with all DAWS and also how you use them plugins.

I will give you an e.g. I have writen loads of pieces with loads of orchestral instruments.
So has Tom Holkenborg. My pieces sound shit, his pieces sound awesome. I have quite a few of the same sample libraries he has but the difference is, he knows how to mix and manipulate the plugins, i don't. We both use Cubase.

If he used logic, his sound would still be the same. I think they all sound the same untill you start using plugins and how you use them plugins.

If i'm wrong then fair enough but i really can't see there would be a difference between the DAW software itself.
 
Isn’t this all just a matter of workflow? Most daws may not be colored or made to emulate consoles like mixbus, but their setup for audio chains may influence subtle parts of the sound. Beyond that, Any DAW can get you great sound, but either way it comes down the the workflow that works for you. If you can’t figure out the system to make it work the way you want, it can impact your final output.
 
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