The Samplitude Sounds Great Thread

[WotEva]

Alright first off let's get this out the way. This is not a Samplitude doesn't null thread. We all know that DAWs will sound exactly the same if the same file is placed in a different DAW and pan settings and volume are compensated.

What this thread is about, is I want to hear from the Samplitude users who openly say things like:
"I use Samplitude for the sound."
"It just sounds better."
"For years I thought I had tried all the DAWs on the market and the sound was just never quite there for me, until I tried Samplitude."

Are you guys saying the stock plugs are better? Are you saying 3rd party fx sound better in it?

I have also seen claims that the program "sums more accurately." I certainly can't vouch for this, but there are some who seem certain that this is a fact. So I guess I'm after some fleshing out of the statements. If you think it does sound better, than please go into exactly why. If you think it sums more accurately by all means please take the challenge to post audio examples of another DAW summing a project inaccurately in comparison.

Although it does not appear to be one of the most used DAWs member wise, it is the program that just time and time again I see its faithful boiling their interest down to "its sound." Why? Please why us up! No ad slogans, just some facts or beliefs on the sounds and exactitude of Samplitude.

Inquiring minds...

[Steve Bolivar]

I don't use Samplitude but have always heard "it sounds better". I just googled "Samplitude sounds better" and see forum posts debating this since at least 2005. Someone did a three way test here:
https://recording.org/threads/3-daws-3- ... ude.63284/
It could just come down to the default pan law.

I'm curious about exactly how and when this started. Cryptoaudiology?

[Jim Roseberry]

I don't think you'll find too many folks making that same argument (today).
Now that many DAWs are summing in 64Bit double-precision Float, the subject is pretty well moot.

Samplitude was one of the first DAW applications to support 32Bit Float files/processing.
Years ago, the Object based editing brought realtime/non-destructive control that other DAWs just didn't have.

[Giova942]

Samplitude has some really good stock plugins. That's what make it sound better than many other DAWs.

Those claims about the audio engine or the internal summing are horseshit from people who don't understand how digital audio works.

[WotEva]

I don't think you'll find too many folks making that same argument (today).
Now that many DAWs are summing in 64Bit double-precision Float, the subject is pretty well moot.

Samplitude was one of the first DAW applications to support 32Bit Float files/processing.
Years ago, the Object based editing brought realtime/non-destructive control that other DAWs just didn't have.

See that's the thing. Although I don't come across Samplitude users very often. When I do, the conversation about what DAW you use always has them trying to almost sell me on Samplitude because of its sound. When I counter with "I have used 5 other DAWs and can't say I have noticed a sound." They often put forward a rebuttal that you can't compare these other "standard" or "built for composition" DAWs with a mastering solution like Samplitude.

When I ask what they mean by that, they often fall back to telling me to just try it and it will be obvious to me. Much like some forum posts where they dump the statement about its sound quality and then don't really back it up with audio examples, or analysis graphs that show say for example that another DAWs stock eq, eq's wrong or poorly etc.

Most recently I met a guy who had been recording for 25 years and basically he couldn't believe that I was happy with the sound of Studio One and talked up the accuracy and fullness of Samplitude, that apparently could not be matched.

That's when I told him that I actually own X3 suite and personally was not blown away. To which he said there must be something wrong with my speakers if I can't hear "the difference."

He had to leave so I didn't get any further answers or examples, but this is what I am talking about. There's still experienced recording folk getting about who believe Samplitude holds some mysterious powers.

[WotEva]

Samplitude has some really good stock plugins. That's what make it sound better than many other DAWs.

Those claims about the audio engine or the internal summing are horseshit from people who don't understand how digital audio works.

Aha there it is. I realise that sound is subjective and you could just have a preference. But I personally am happy to use plugs from either Cubase, SO1, Cakewalk, Reaper or FL Studio and don't really find myself going "Oh I'm in FL at the moment, really wish I could fire up that Cake prochannel comp in here." Of course I do have a pile of 3rd party fx like most, but I often use stock eq's etc. at track level to keep the CPU light.

I also own X3 suite and found the plugs to be a bit of a mixed bag like most DAWs. When you say Samplitude's plugs are really good, have you actually directly A/B'd the results?

Do you have any audio examples of either soloed instruments or complete tracks where you have done a direct matching/mixing comparison?

[VariKusBrainZ]

Anyone who makes this assertion is letting you know theyre clueless and susceptible to marketing BS and myth

[Hink]

I also own X3 suite and found the plugs to be a bit of a mixed bag like most DAWs. When you say Samplitude's plugs are really good, have you actually directly A/B'd the results?

Do you have any audio examples of either soloed instruments or complete tracks where you have done a direct matching/mixing comparison?

why? The point isn't whether they sound better, the comment was they are really good

[WotEva]

I also own X3 suite and found the plugs to be a bit of a mixed bag like most DAWs. When you say Samplitude's plugs are really good, have you actually directly A/B'd the results?

Do you have any audio examples of either soloed instruments or complete tracks where you have done a direct matching/mixing comparison?

why? The point isn't whether they sound better, the comment was they are really good

But he also followed with: "That's what makes it sound better..."

Samplitude has some really good stock plugins. That's what make it sound better than many other DAWs.

Those claims about the audio engine or the internal summing are horseshit from people who don't understand how digital audio works.

[WotEva]

Anyone who makes this assertion is letting you know theyre clueless and susceptible to marketing BS and myth

Oh I am aware of this. I just want to see if some are brave enough to actually post well set up examples of the claims, you know, so we can all hear that magic.

[WotEva]

Here's a vid of a guy comparing Samplitude to Sonar and Reaper:

https://youtu.be/mEC_ptppwZM

There's also a thread discussion at Cake where some posters are saying Samplitude has that something:

http://forum.cakewalk.com/m/tm.aspx?m=3802921&fp=1

[Coxy]

Anyone who makes this assertion is letting you know theyre clueless and susceptible to marketing BS and myth

Oh I am aware of this. I just want to see if some are brave enough to actually post well set up examples of the claims, you know, so we can all hear that magic.

Samplitude DOES sound better. To me. I have personally owned and extensively used (that is used for more than 2 years solidly for my main DAW)

-Live
-Cubase from SL3 to v8
-Studio one
-Samplitude Pro X2 to ProX3
-Now Logic Pro (coming up to my second year now)

Samplitude to me still to this day will always be remembered about how it just 'sings' on playback. My use was always with VST's and audio combined never just audio on it's own.

I've posted the quote below from the Samp founders and still developers maybe 5 times here already but people seem to skirt around it...

Source: Sound on Sound interview.

From the very beginning, two hallmarks have defined the philosophy behind Samplitude: [snip] and an obsessive commitment to purity of sound quality.

Herberger is sceptical about the notion that there are no sonic differences between audio programs. [snip]

I think the big thing about the sound quality is to make no mistakes. You must not do mistakes in the DSP. It's a big goal, and a lot of errors and not-clever routines are done by a lot of parties on the market, and people who are trained to hear audio will discover these immediately. Six or seven years ago, we had a patch for a new Samplitude version, and one day an American guy called us and said 'Hey, you did something wrong in your program. It sounds bad now.' We measured, and did tests, and after a long time we found out that in the 24th bit of the audio in going from floating-point arithmetic that we do internally down to the sample level through a 24-bit converter, we forgot the dithering. I personally could not hear this, to be honest — but you can measure it, and in a program as huge as Samplitude, you have a thousand points where you can make a mistake of this sort.”

It's not the GUI playing tricks with my optical audible feedback loop cause it looks dated and frankly I like the look of Logic Pro and Cubase more.

It's not me being biased because I use it and want to defend a purchase. I don't use it anymore, I got rid ages ago, it might sound sublime (it really does) but it crashed like f**k on heavy VST projects and it became an absolute showstopper for me ultimately being the catalyst of a 12 month production hiatus and eventual move to Apple. I have every reason to hate on Samplitude... but I do miss it's sweet sound.

Sometimes I wish I still used it for mixing and mastering only for that transparent, pristine accuracy in sound.

And finally, I didn't find info saying "Samplitude sounds better" so decided to purchase it. I tried out the trial, sound quality struck me amongst other things.

I ended up purchasing and after months of usage I would get days where I'd still just be astounded by how good it sounded, so convinced was I that I thought there must be something in this so spent considerable time researching for information on whether I was mental or this was entirely possible.

For those non believers who'd rather wank over null tests, you crack on. Doesn't bother me.

[lfm]

Dream on - if any daw sounds better - it's Sonar - with it's built in 2xup/oversampling of VST instruments if you use that.

Case closed....sorry, guys

[Johnny Blade]

I'm getting old... I know all DAWS available out there. All of them. I chose Samplitude after a long period doing various and critical laboratory tests.

This discussion is very old, but the truth remains very present.

Samplitude still sounds better than any other DAW created by mankind, and it's still fun to witness the contrary opinions.

[budweiser]

Samplitude DOES sound better.

I agree. I don't know why (i don't care why) but i've frequently been hitten by the fact that the sound coming from this soft was so impressive. Never did any null test, mesurement, blablabla, but when it comes to audio, sam is just second to none.