Diva vs OB-6 Blind Test

[EdSfer]

I'm a Diva fanboy and I dream of an OB6.

To my ears, A sounds better in each example, more grit, more "analog", whatever that means.

A: OB6
B: Diva

But then there's a Diva soundset to sell, and there seems to be a consensus about A sounding better. Which could lead to think the test is somewhat biased by showcasing presets sounding better in Diva.

Diva is A (covering myself, losing this game is not an option )

[rafa1981]

If this is selling a soundset, there is a big chance that the patches included on the product are going to sound better.

[todd_r]

A Diva, B OB6. 100%

Would have been a better comparison without the delay/reverb though

[SWAN808]

Hi all thanks for the responses - the answer is Diva is A and OB-6 is B

The purpose of these tests is to give Diva the best chance to stand toe to toe with analogue hardware which means yes I pick the sounds for the test which are closest to the hardware, and tweak Diva to get as close as possible. But I also make it as easy to pass as possible by making it either A or B all the way through. Its much harder if you switch it per sound, and very few will get that right.

I understand that people might view it cynically as a sales tactic but I have a long history on Gearspace as an analogue synth enthusiast, as well as on this forum before I stopped posting here because the atmosphere is rather hostile to people who appreciate hardware as well as software (IMO). I have always been interested in the differences between emulation and hardware, and was testing them before I got involved with presets...Having realised that emulations, specifically the U-he ones, are closer than I realised I went on a journey to try to present them in what I think is the best light. Thats my back story! Thanks to those who participated.

[zvenx]

Thanks for doing this..
Wow... I didn't know which was which, but preferred A.

very interesting.
rsp

[Funkybot's Evil Twin]

Is there an ETA as to when the results will be announced?

[FapFilter]

yes: yesterday (at least here) @11:38pm
(or 2 posts above yours)

[Funkybot's Evil Twin]

yes: yesterday (at least here) @11:38pm
(or 2 posts above yours)

Haha. The detailed post from the original poster just above my question? Yeah, not sure how I missed it.

[Amram]

I can't believe diva is A .
Did you use external effects with diva ?

[SWAN808]

I can't believe diva is A .
Did you use external effects with diva ?

no its just Diva and some of the sounds have Diva effects, and OB6 and some of them have the OB6 effects - recorded into a MOTU 16A

[hakey]

Listening carefully with headphones, I think it's possible to hear bits of noise coming through for Synth B, but only faintly.

The two were very close indeed. Well done.

[SWAN808]

Listening carefully with headphones, I think it's possible to hear bits of noise coming through for Synth B, but only faintly.

The two were very close indeed. Well done.

thanks dude!

[Tj Shredder]

It would have been much more funny, if each A would have been done with a different synth… The sounds themself are pretty typical subtractive VA bread & butter sounds… But it would mean much more work to match them…

With a hardware OB-6 one could do a double blind test. Connect all controls via Midi to an emulation and then let someone who knows the hardware tweak the knobs and play…
To overcome different latencys, one could control a second hardware ob-6 as well via Midi…

[SWAN808]

It would have been much more funny, if each A would have been done with a different synth… The sounds themself are pretty typical subtractive VA bread & butter sounds… But it would mean much more work to match them…

With a hardware OB-6 one could do a double blind test. Connect all controls via Midi to an emulation and then let someone who knows the hardware tweak the knobs and play…
To overcome different latencys, one could control a second hardware ob-6 as well via Midi…

I think the live blind test via midi would be the ultimate, but its not easy to set up...I think a selected amount of controls would be enough all via midi...

[Tj Shredder]

It would have been much more funny, if each A would have been done with a different synth… The sounds themself are pretty typical subtractive VA bread & butter sounds… But it would mean much more work to match them…

With a hardware OB-6 one could do a double blind test. Connect all controls via Midi to an emulation and then let someone who knows the hardware tweak the knobs and play…
To overcome different latencys, one could control a second hardware ob-6 as well via Midi…

I think the live blind test via midi would be the ultimate, but its not easy to set up...I think a selected amount of controls would be enough all via midi...

Well, my theory is that the hands on tactile experience is a huge part of the analog feel. If any knob would be missing it would be missing… The idea is to use the real analog synth as the controller. Of course it would only work with analog synths that have a complete Midi implementation and each knob is sending its state via Midi. The sound would come from a second version of that synth compared to a plugin version to get the same Midi induced latency and resolution… The blindness could be achieved by a computer program which randomly chooses and documents the results… You could even incorporate multiple emulations and hardware clones…