Well RELAB DEVELOPMENT has changed the view of ITB verb with some great creations like X-verb & now the LX 480.
Is A or B the hardware? You decide. (Answer @ bottom of the post)
- 1.A10:34
- 2.B10:34
- 3.A20:34
- 4.B20:34
- 5.A30:34
- 6.B30:34
- 7.A40:34
- 8.B40:34
- 9.Verb-Test-Drum-Noodle0:34
———————————————————————————————-
Part Two
Additional Set/Poll created from the latest version of the LX 480 containing more authentic/improved parameter values in relation to the hardware.
- 1.A50:34
- 2.B50:34
- 3.A60:34
- 4.B60:34
- 5.A70:34
- 6.B70:34
- 7.A80:34
- 8.B80:34
————————————————————————————————————————————-
Answer (Read Right to Left) = L084 erawdraH = .B / nigulP XL084 = .A
Polls often change once people know the answer. I’ve captured a screenshot of the polls pre reveal & the project window.
How did you get LX480? The Relab website says ‘under construction’.
It’s still in beta, will be released shortly.
Yep. Anyone can get beta from Gearslutz forum. Amazing reverb. Period!
Yeah – got the beta invite from Tony… only to find out it requires an ilok (which I don’t have). I so far haven’t needed one. Oh well.
I prefer A but not because i think it’s hardware but it seems louder. That’s why.
Interesting test nonetheless..
you made an error in the title: it says ‘compression’ instead of ‘comparison’.
🙂
Typo corrected. The compression slut in me finds ways of acting out I guess. 🙂
A sounds a bit lighter with less modulation going on.
B sounds more analog.
I chose A and I think it’s the plug … (crazy but true ;-))
Both sound good but A clearly wins. It sounds less digital or agressive. A glues better than B
On the first two clips I like the A’s much better.
To me, B sounds a lot brighter than A. Not sure, maybe one could describe it as digital. A seems to have a bit more density overall. Can’t tell which is the Lexicon 480, never used one :O
Also the pre-delay in A3 seems more disconnected than B3.
Not sure which is which – but I preferred A because it sounded cleaner, less swimmy and less modulation swirly stuff. If A is the plug-in, I’m sold. B sounds grainy, perhaps more analog but with the verb dialed up a small notch or two which in some instances can be nice but in others would probably cause me to lose that setting.
Definitely A is the better.
I chose “A” in Part One and “B” in Part Two (the majority choice in both cases) as the Hardware unit, based mostly on what sounded like a smoother decay in the tail.
So…. is A or B the 480L hardware? I don’t think I got the answer.
“Answer will be revealed in a weeks time”
Ok thanks
i choose” A” for both. it feels more like a real room to my ears.
Color me surprised.
well, i’m glad after working at lexicon for 5 years back in the 90’s (making presets and QA’ing for the pcm90, mpx1, and 960) that i was able to tell the hardware from the software. glad to know the ears are still working!
A. Doesn’t sound realistic to me. B. has more real prereflections, and the tails sound like real rooms
A sound anemic static dead
B Living with a soul sound
I have no doubt that B is the hardware
I just read about this plugin today, came here to get a idea of how it sounds. I’m impressed! I wonder what the CPU burden of this baby is.
I thought B sounded better and said so, but I am so used to the better sounding thing being the plugin in these tests I voted A as the hardware. Oh well! I saved $500 at least.
To me
A sounds a little harsh with unnatural clarity of early reflections
B sounds slightly better, warmer, with some movement going on-more like real reverb,but still a little artificial somehow
Never have that Lexi hardware,so I cant tell which is.
After all I think both are usable in some situations.
the awesomeness of the dry signal is distracting me, could you do an ‘all wet’ reverb test next time? (this fits along the lines with the ‘just dither’ post you made.)
of course, the way a verb mixes is important, but with ‘identical’ settings, the ‘all wet’ thing might still be interesting… to get a better idea of the character of the reverb itself.
thanks for running such a great blog with so much great content.
You can really hear the difference in a3 vs b3. In the beginning the tails of the drums don’t overlap the difference is not outspoken. Later halfway in the track when the reverb tails start to overlap you can hear the hardware breathing. That breathing is exactely the sound a plugin cant emulate.
Success
a1 Sounds more epic smoother
b1 Sounds a little thinner not as smooth
fail
a2 2ddimensional
b2 more imagining warmer
Fail
a3 coarse not good.
b3 fluid, epic spaces, smooth highs
Success
a4 warm space, smooth, lush 3D
b4 hear the scatter, less smooth, 2D.
a= plugin, b= hardware
So 50% preferred the plugin, and 50% preferred the HW. draw.
I’m late but at least giving it an honest ear and not scrolling down to cheat I got it right. B just feels like hardware. You can hear the room. The software does a great job sounding like the hardware. For me, I relate it to my old guitar gear. I played through a JCM800 stack. When the software amps came out, to me they sounded best when you had a small amp and wanted a 4-12 cab sound. But if you already had a 4-12 cab, it really didn’t do much for ya. I guess it’s still sorta the same now. If the plugs are all you have they will still sound great, but they still arent quite the same as the real gear yet. It won’t be long though and a computer will not be able to tell them apart. Around the time the 128bit machines come out, I don’t see many people lugging around all that heavy gear. You’ll see a stage with a drum kit, some mic stands, and guys plugging guitars into laptops…
Hard to do a real comp since were all in different listening environments but on my mackies they sound almost identical but I’m favoring a for analog.
B is the hardware, didnt need an A+B key but i would reckon only someone who has worked with the 480L would know straight off.
the density of the bass reflection is deeper on the 480, and the modulations are more watery and thick. the plugin is terrific though.