Done

[shamann]

You should have NOT said up front which one had the Spectralive and which one didn't. I wonder how many people would have been able to pick the right ones.

TBH, I hadn't really read all of the first post, and assumed it was a quiz. I was fully expecting bobby yarrow to say #2 was the one with Spectralive. Even after reading the first post, I still expected it to be a trick. On second listen, I stand by my initial reaction.

How do you like the URS EQs, bobby? I can't justify the cost for my meager hobbiest needs, but I'm curious how users are getting on with them.

[bobby yarrow]

Well, I love the URS N, which is the only one I've got. Reckon that if I posted an a/b, tho, most folks would prefer the clip without it . . .

[politcat]

In another thread, I got backed into a corner...

i think the test in this current thread is not good enough.

in that other thread you mention above i suggested you and jeff get the same clip (a short drum loop would do) to see what you each can do with it.

each of you make the best of the plugin/method you live by and we'll see.

[kritikon]

O.3 dB doesn't sound like much, but it is a noticeable difference that would skew anyone's subjective listening experience. I'd suggest you render both to audio a little on the low side and then normalise to a fixed level for both - that way you know it's not volume that's swaying people. Did you use any compression etc? I ask that because, as you know, Spectralive should be used with a compressor, as it creates large-ish peaks sometimes. And even if you have identical compressor settings on both mixes, the comp is going to behave in a different way. The level going into the comp from the Spectralive one is going to be higher and the difference between the mix body and the peaks will be higher, so the comp is actually working more (on the peaks or potentially less on the main body of the mix) than the non-Spectralive one.
So to be absolutely subjective, you need to render uncompressed->then add Spectralive and render->then normalise to the same level->use the compressor on both mixes.
(I apologise if you already did this)

You have to bear in mind that most enhancers work in many many ways at once, so the actual dynamics of the mix may well be completely different afterwards. Which makes straight A/B comparisons a little more difficult.


Irrespective of all of that though, I still love Spectralive. There are very few mixes I've done that haven't sounded an awful lot better with it. I've managed to bugger a few up as well, but that's just my own user error

[bobby yarrow]

Yes, all of that is what led me to just leave the -.3db. There's a compressor after the spectralive, and it all got too tricky. It's not -.3db uniformly, of course . . . as you say, it makes the whole business behave differently.