FM3 quality as interface

[kaiqueunderline]

I have an SSL2 MKII. I like to use fractal connected directly to my Yamaha HS5, so ever that ai will play guitar I change the cables in Yamaha from SSL2 to Fractal. But when I use Fractal to listen music while I play, I think that don't have the same quality that SSL2, that get more low sounds and lost a little bit of definition. Have any configuration to improve the sound of FM3 when used as interface?

 

[JesusKogai]

I have a focusrite scarlet 18i20 3rd gen, a Headrush gigboard, my FM3 and my own pc audio output and i hear everything the same, i do notice very big changes when recording into them, the preamps and AD converters do make a difference, but to listen to music? i hear the exact same from all those devices

 

[vangrieg]

Since it’s an SSL I wouldn’t be surprised if it had some vintage saturation nonsense going on, maybe it can be turned off, I don’t know, wouldn’t touch one of these with a 3 foot pole.

 

[kaiqueunderline]

I have a focusrite scarlet 18i20 3rd gen, a Headrush gigboard, my FM3 and my own pc audio output and i hear everything the same, i do notice very big changes when recording into them, the preamps and AD converters do make a difference, but to listen to music? i hear the exact same from all those devices

What monitors do you use? At least in my Yamaha the difference is clear.

 

[vangrieg]

What monitors do you use? At least in my Yamaha the difference is clear.

It doesn’t really matter for line outputs.

 

[KSAVER]

Since it’s an SSL I wouldn’t be surprised if it had some vintage saturation nonsense going on, maybe it can be turned off, I don’t know, wouldn’t touch one of these with a 3 foot pole.

"vintage saturation nonsense"
Good one

 

[vangrieg]

Well there ya go, from the makers of this thing:

The SSL 4000 series consoles (often referred to as ‘4K’) are renowned for imparting a unique ‘mojo’ to sounds and instruments that pass through them. This mojo comes from multiple stages of harmonic distortion from compressor VCAs, VCA faders, and other crucial components such as the transistor mix amps. Using modern components, SSL has developed a circuit that distils the two essential characteristics of the 4K sound into a single design. Legacy 4K Analogue Enhancement injects a controlled amount of finely-tuned, sweet-sounding harmonic distortion and a ‘forward’ yet musical high-frequency EQ boost into the signal path, giving your sound the 4K mojo and presence that artists and engineers have loved for decades.

 

[Alban]

Well there ya go, from the makers of this thing:

That's only on the analog inputs (and it's switchable), it is not present on the digital signal that comes from your computer via USB.

 

[sol]

The DAC in FM3 for mixing or listening to music is very average. It's better if you use a dedicated audio interface if you are serious about mixing or production. I use my FM3 with Apogee Duet 3. When I use FM3 as a standalone interface, there is a huge downgrade in audio quality.

 

[kaiqueunderline]

The DAC in FM3 for mixing or listening to music is very average. It's better if you use a dedicated audio interface if you are serious about mixing or production. I use my FM3 with Apogee Duet 3. When I use FM3 as a standalone interface, there is a huge downgrade in audio quality.

My problem is having to plug the FM3 into another interface and not getting the true sound quality from the FM3; the interface's converters always end up coloring the sound. That's why I wanted to get the best possible sound from the FM3 as an interface too; on its own, it doesn't have that extra coloration.

 

[sol]

My problem is having to plug the FM3 into another interface and not getting the true sound quality from the FM3; the interface's converters always end up coloring the sound. That's why I wanted to get the best possible sound from the FM3 as an interface too; on its own, it doesn't have that extra coloration.

If you are on a mac. Use FM3 as Input and Your Audio Interface as Output Device in a DAW. So that you record FM3’s sound through USB without any coloration.

 

[kaiqueunderline]

If you are on a mac. Use FM3 as Input and Your Audio Interface as Output Device in a DAW. So that you record FM3’s sound through USB without any coloration.

I saw this solution this weekend and tried to apply it. It still brings some coloration to the interface output, and adds a latency that is starting to become noticeable.

 

[vangrieg]

there is a huge downgrade in audio quality.

No, that's just not true.

I also have a Duet, it's not an upgrade over Fractal line outputs in any noticeable way.

 

[JesusKogai]

The DAC in FM3 for mixing or listening to music is very average. It's better if you use a dedicated audio interface if you are serious about mixing or production. I use my FM3 with Apogee Duet 3. When I use FM3 as a standalone interface, there is a huge downgrade in audio quality.

This doesnt happen to me, at least mine is superb for listening to music

 

[kaiqueunderline]

What i feel in fractal`s not that i have a less quality, but i feel more low frequencies. Yet in ssl2 interface i feel more flat sound.

 

[vangrieg]

I most certainly wouldn’t use those ssl cards as reference equipment

But there’s no lack of low end with fractal outputs for sure.

 

[mr_fender]

The DAC in FM3 for mixing or listening to music is very average. It's better if you use a dedicated audio interface if you are serious about mixing or production. I use my FM3 with Apogee Duet 3. When I use FM3 as a standalone interface, there is a huge downgrade in audio quality.

It's the exact same DAC that's used to output an analog signal to your Apogee and is equal in quality to the A/D converter on the input of the FM3. Is it a "huge downgrade" in that case too?

 

[francis]

I've had the SSL2 MK1 since I started using it with the FM3.

I was personally curious, so I did a comparison test. (28th , oct , 2023)

The test was as follows:

I recorded a short sample to the FM3 looper:

1. FM3 stereo out1 -> SSL2 line in LR (SSL operating as a USB audio interface). SSL2 channel 1&2 gain 0 -> Recorded on Cakewalk.
*I used 2 XLR cables (belden8412 , 2m long)

2. FM3 (operating as a USB audio interface) -> Recorded on Cakewalk.

*To match the volume of test 2 to test 1, I increased the volume by +4dB(on DAW).

Here are the photos and original wav samples captured during the test.
How is it? Can you feel the difference in "sound quality?" (not Volume)

 

[kaiqueunderline]

I've had the SSL2 MK1 since I started using it with the FM3.

I was personally curious, so I did a comparison test. (28th , oct , 2023)

The test was as follows:

I recorded a short sample to the FM3 looper:

1. FM3 stereo out1 -> SSL2 line in LR (SSL operating as a USB audio interface). SSL2 channel 1&2 gain 0 -> Recorded on Cakewalk.
*I used 2 XLR cables (belden8412 , 2m long)

2. FM3 (operating as a USB audio interface) -> Recorded on Cakewalk.

*To match the volume of test 2 to test 1, I increased the volume by +4dB(on DAW).

Here are the photos and original wav samples captured during the test.
How is it? Can you feel the difference in "sound quality?" (not Volume)

I'd say I can hear a slight difference in coloration. Now, which is which? I'd guess the first is SSL and the second is directly fractal.

But again, volume affects how we hear it, so it adds a layer of subjectivity to the test.

Another point is that, at least on monitors, here at home in my specific case, I can clearly notice that the sound becomes flatter when it passes through an interface than when it comes directly from the fractal.

 

[Anton Karelin]

The DAC in FM3 for mixing or listening to music is very average. It's better if you use a dedicated audio interface if you are serious about mixing or production. I use my FM3 with Apogee Duet 3. When I use FM3 as a standalone interface, there is a huge downgrade in audio quality.

Do you hear the difference in the DAW recordings when using the FM3 as a USB audio interface versus when recording sounds from the FM3 into an Apogee Duet 3?