Is software equal to hardware as far as sound quality is concerned? (poll)

VST, AU, AAX, CLAP, etc. Plugin Virtual Instruments Discussion

Is software equal to hardware as far as sound quality is concerned?

Yes
49
31%
No
16
10%
Sort Of
8
5%
Almost
14
9%
Ten years off
3
2%
Fish
21
13%
This debate drives me insane
45
29%
 
Total votes: 156

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What do you think?
Last edited by LimboLoves on Sun Jul 06, 2014 11:24 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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I voted ten years off. They are getting closer though with stuff like Diva.
:borg:

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I use Lush 101 and man does it sound so great. I think it is one that is so damn close to hardware. It's just very short compared to the sh 101. I think it's mostly the filter though.

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Analog hardware or DSP based? Quite a difference IMHO.

Anyway, had a hard deciding between "fish" and "this debate drives me insane". Because I really could not care less.

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Just like penises, sometimes it's far better in life to just be happy with what you have.
11, 418th in line to the KVR throne

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My opinion is that are not equal . Many soft synths have 80 percent of presets unusable , comparing with hardware synths who have only 20 or 10 percent . Ten years back , is my vote .

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Depends what you look for I guess, but to be perfectly honest I am sitting here surrounded by hardware that hardly ever gets turned on but my current project in Logic has Padshop Pro, Alchemy, Absynth, Arturia Spark and Scuffham Amps open….with my Virus TI as an overpriced controller.

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NO, but I don't really care. I'm too lazy to use hardware and software does a pretty decent job these days.

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I voted no simply because I'm convinced that software has left hardware behind.

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I see my 'hardware' as nothing more than software contained in its own dedicated computer 'box'. So since CPU resources are still a consideration, the software that people like to call hardware still has that going for it over software run it the same box with the OS/DAW. Sound-wise, they seem pretty much equal, since they are equally software anyway. The real question then becomes, one computer or multiple computers?

So yeah, cichlids...

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Delete
Last edited by fese on Sun Jul 06, 2014 9:41 am, edited 1 time in total.

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fese wrote:
danbroad wrote:Just like penises, sometimes it's far better in life to just be happy with what you have.
I still prefer having an analog penis - no dongles!

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Define "audio quality" you search for... Yes, HW might have a few more non-linearities HW lovers will defend to death, but it all seems to me like desperate trying to justify previous investments in expansive wooden boxes.

Nice to see having Urs watching this discussion, becouse namely his Zebra is one of the synths that surpassed anything possible by "real" HW by miles... In lot of VA's, you can get close to HW sounds, but show me any synth that is not just CPU in a box and can reproduce huge complex Zebra or Absynth or Alchemy sounds. I don't think there is such a thing.

It really depends on what you search for. If it's exact smell of Minimoog, you'll have to get the Minimoog I'm affraid. But if by sound quality you mean how the sound is actually interesting at the end, I'm affraid the real HW is long gone.
Evovled into noctucat...
http://www.noctucat.com/

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Urs wrote:I voted no simply because I'm convinced that software has left hardware behind.
:lol:
I voted 'yes' but Urs's answer is really cool although it is misleading at first with 'I voted no ..'

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I haven't heard any interesting hardware, nor any interesting payware software.
The only site for experimental amp sim freeware & MIDI FX: http://runbeerrun.blogspot.com
https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCprNcvVH6aPTehLv8J5xokA -Youtube jams

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