Users of Slate VSX: is it the real deal?

[Mind Riot]

I've been facing some frustration with getting my mixes to translate. Thinking about picking up Slate VSX, and there seems to be a lot of positive reviews out there for it. I've been working through decent monitors in a small acoustically treated room and I just feel like I've taken my current setup as far as it can go.

Are there VSX users on KVR? Have you been pleased with it once you made the investment? Do you prefer it over other options like dsoniq's offerings? Did your mixes immediately translate better when you switched or did it take a long time to get used to?

I've got the cheddar to pick up VSX (the basic $300 version) and I'm feeling like jumping on it. What say you, denizens of KVR?

[Samiver]

I have very recently bought VSX so happy to share my brief experience. For me this works much better than my previous solution of Realphones and headphones (sennheiser hd25, bayer dt880 and DT990).

I have only mixed one track since owning VSX but initial observations are that there is a lot more clarity (especially in the low end) and this one mix translates and sounds better to me than my previous work. I actually found i can identify issues quicker moving through the various rooms especially issues with too much boominess low down(i have essential but also bought the mike dean extension as i make electronic dance music and his mains rock imo).

I am very much a hobbiest so not the best producer and still learning but if you check out my souncloud (samiver) and look at my two latest tracks Armadillo (created with VSX) and Zenon Warrior (created with realphones) you can make up your own mind if this has improved my work. Personally i feel it has quite substantially.

[legendCNCD]

VSX is the real deal. Been using since they came out, I have the original headphones. I have not even tried anything else except previously using SoundID Reference on K712Pro's - which I did not like, was way too phasey back then.

Our mixes have translated better, and as Samiver said, the low end bass and muddy areas are now easy to treat because you can actually hear what is going on there. Change to club setting and tighten those basses etc.

Some of the rooms and speakers work amazingly, I opt to go to Zuma usually, then going rounds in various others.

V4 software was the next game changer, in how good the rooms and speakers sound.

[andymcbain]

I think it's bloody brilliant.

[Digivolt]

It sounds like a cult of fan people, but yes it's the real deal, best money I've spent when it comes music making

[Funkybot's Evil Twin]

I have a heavily treated room (though not perfect, it's a small room) and decent monitors with Sonarworks. So the rare mixes I completed were translating pretty well and I don't really mix on headphones. But I did recently buy the full version of VSX for my Macbook just to play around with it. My Windows PC is my main music machine - the Macbook is mostly for fooling around with synths and guitar when I'm not in my office.

So, first thing's first: I'm not using VSX as intended. At least I haven't yet. Music's a long-time hobby and I don't release music. My intent with VSX was, "I can use it for checking mixes on the rare occasion I finish one" and that's not even how I've used it yet. Most music I work on stays in the "it's practically done and inside the DAW if I ever want to hear it" state. So from a pure listening perspective, everything with VSX sounds weird. Even professional mixes from hit records I generally consider good can sound bad in some VSX rooms. The "fake room" sound throws me off when I'm just jamming on guitar. It's also difficult to hear panning. I'll hard pan something and wonder if I have the headphones on backwards. It's not an enjoyable listening experience IMO. But maybe tht's the point. I was previously using Massdrop 6XX headphones with correction applied, so that's just kind of what I'm used to on that setup. From a "making listening to music enjoyable" perspective, I much preferred standard headhones+correction. But that's not what VSX is for.

That said, there are people I trust like bmanic or Barry Johns who aren't shilling for Slate who swear this isn't snake oil and does the job it says. So yeah, if you're mixing and want them to translate, get your mix sounding as least bad as possible across many of the different rooms. I can see VSX working great at showcasing different playback systems. But I'll warn you: it's more than a little weird sounding. At least to me.

[paulquk]

I ended up returning my pair due to distortion in the low end while I was producing. Every single place you look, you have people saying how amazing they are, but I really didn’t get along with them. I didn’t like the room effect either and found it disorienting while changing rooms. 

[Mind Riot]

Thanks for all of your honesty and insight, gentlemen.

Given the 30 day money back guarantee, and the discontent I've been feeling with my current mixes, I went ahead and ordered the Essentials version. Unfortunately, the purchase got flagged as fraud by my credit union, so I had to go in and deal with that so it might not ship for a day or two (it was on a three day hold and I ordered it last night).

I might pick up one of the expansion rooms at some point, anyone got any recommendations? NRG? Zuma?

Thanks again for offering your experience on the subject, everyone.

[edhombre]

It's absolutely the real deal in my opinion. I don't really get the "in a room thing" but I've never experienced anything like it in terms of getting mixes to translate. I don't think of it as emulating great studios. I think of it as allowing me to make decisions as if I'm in a great sounding studio.

They're comfortable for long wears and resolve cleanly down to 30hz.

Hints. Spend some time getting your profile right. This is a decent guide... https://gearspace.com/board/showpost.ph ... tcount=503 Read the manual too...

Listen to some commonly agreed great mixes! I found sledgehammer super useful for choosing my profile. When you get the profile right the bass will sound better/clearer/faster etc. When you switch to the rooms don't jump around... just go to Stevens mids and stay there until you're really comfortable. I find it useful to start with the volume super low and then gradually turn it up to give my brain chance to start interpreting the binaural cues.

The loads of info and help on the gearspace thread btw.

Most people seem to end up with depth at 1-2pm. I found it useful to listen to how the vocal sits when setting it.

I stick on Archon mids 90% of the time so would recommend that for sure. If you vibe with the system then I heartily recommend buying the upgrade to platinum! You'll get all the rooms and all future updates.

Slate support have been outstanding for me btw. I was a super early adopter and suffered from all the early (and now resolved) manufacturing problems. Got replacements shipped from California to the UK in my hands within three days in every instance.

Best of luck! Let us know how you do! To use the cliche... They have been a game changer for me.

[legendCNCD]

Yeah it was weird sounding in the beginning for me too, but V3 and V4 have lost the weirdness, then again I got used to it fast and could make good decisions.

I'd recommend Zuma and Mike's - I love Zuma, it is almost like our northern studio with Yamaha HS80s
Also boombox and Stevens auratone rule in checks.

[andymcbain]

I'll just add that you 100% need the correct ear profile first and foremost before getting to know the system. For me it's profile 2 - otherwise the whole thing sounds like a shouty mess and I lose any sense of "3D" space. After a bit of tweaking I keep the depth knob around 1 o'clock as that seemed the sweet spot for the binaural effect.

As the customisation options are fairly limited, I could understand why the system wouldn't work for everyone - and I have to admit I only occasionally get the illusion that I'm in front of a real pair of monitors (which is quite spooky when it happens!) - but that's not a deal breaker for me.

I can recommend the expansion that gets you Mike Dean's room and Car - especially if you're working on bass heavy music. True game changer for mixing low end, personally!

[Mind Riot]

Thanks for the recommendations! Zuma, Archon, NRG, and Mike Dean's stuff all seem to be popular expansions; I'll have to pick one or perhaps just wait and work in Steven's room for a while until I can set aside $100 and upgrade to the next tier, if they still have it. If they've only got Essentials and Platinum I may only buy one or two expansions, I don't think I need everything they've got but I might change my mind once I'm in the thick of things.

The phrase "best money I ever spent on music gear" comes up a lot in my research and another $200 to upgrade to Platinum is doable if I've got a little time to set some money aside and save up if it's something I really want to have.

Although I have to say, if these end up finally being the thing that gets my mixes to translate the way I want them to it's going to be very embarrassing to sit and mix with headphones in front of my monitors sitting on custom made stands with mineral wool pads for vibration isolation set in a perfect equilateral triangle with my head in my room filled with carefully placed acoustic treatment. I've been chasing this dragon for a long time and my mixes have gotten steadily better, but I seem to have hit a wall where there's been very little progress recently. The room is treated but it's small and I think there's only so much you can expect out of a spare bedroom, even if it is loaded up with acoustic treatment.

Thanks again for sharing your insights, gentlemen. My headphones should arrive early next week, according to the tracking info. Which sucks, considering I ordered it from Slate directly and paid for faster shipping, and they're in LA somewhere and I'm only in Northern California. I've ordered plenty of stuff from LA based companies and had it get to me in two days flat.

EDIT: Yes, I'll go very carefully through the set up procedures for my ear canals and all that. It should be pretty simple for me, I'm a large 6'4" man with a large head and I probably have large ear canals.

[elxsound]

One more thing to help manage expectations… make sure to only listen with the VSX software. I don’t find the headphones by themselves to be “premium” and the different frequencies are painfully exaggerated (literally/not figuratively).

The VSX software will adjust the frequency so it’s not painful.

Yes you will need to spend time using them to get adjusted to it. I use mine on the laptop especially now that they have global pass through on Mac.

[Mind Riot]

Right, you can set things up to where all audio coming through your PC is processed by the plugin, is that correct? Is that what global pass through is? Is it difficult to set up?

[SpecialSpecimen]

The question is, is it any better than Realphones (which is about $50 on sale) and if so, why?

I use Realphones with DT880's and It has certainly helped in some circumstances, though I struggle with losing reference points once I start tweaking things to fix issues over different rooms. I'm not sure why VSX would be any better for that and how it could be so much better in general to be worth the price.