Do You Hear a Difference

Do You Hear a Difference

  • Total voters
    296
  • Poll closed .
If you guys are so worried about that minor tonal difference then you should just use a tube power amp. Turn off the power amp sim, speaker sim, and bam! sounds like a tube amp when you crank it up!

I've dumped my Matrix gt800fx for live/rehearsals (it's a wonderful neutral sounding quality unit that will work perfect for FRFR or recording). I've lately been using my axefx2 through my Tube 5150ii's fx return. Sounds NUTS! Exceptional harmonics and overtones, and its full and punchy just like my tube amp (because it IS my tube amp!) best thing though, it STILL sounds good at lower volumes! This Axefx is fucking awesome.

If anyone is curious about the "realism" of this sound needs to try using a proper tube power section.
 
Anybody who thinks there's enough of a difference in these clips to click "yes" instead of "no" is fooling themselves. The clips are so close that if you weren't specifically told there was a difference, 99% of you wouldn't recognize any changes at all.

In other words, if you recorded a raw guitar and reamped it through both of these devices, then those two reampings were cut together to constantly change between one and the other, nobody would have the slightest suspicion that the clips were being switched around like that. They would just hear one solid guitar line and nobody would think twice about it.

I don't mean to just blindly white knight for the Axe-Fx, and I don't in all instances, but in this case if you're "hearing" a difference it's because you're being told to hear a difference.
 
Last edited:
GreatGreen said:
Anybody who thinks there's enough of a difference in these clips to click "yes" instead of "no" is fooling themselves. The clips are so close that if you weren't specifically told there was a difference, 99% of you wouldn't recognize any changes at all.

In other words, if you recorded a raw guitar and reamped it through both of these devices, then those two reampings were cut together to constantly change between one and the other, nobody would have the slightest suspicion that the clips were being switched around like that. They would just hear one solid guitar line and nobody would think twice about it.

I don't mean to just blindly white knight for the Axe-Fx, and I don't in all instances, but in this case if you're hearing a difference it's because you're being told to hear a difference.
Click to expand...


I think that we have been at the crossroads for a little while now. We are there, we are at the junction where it just doesn't matter anymore. They only one scared or having major issues is all the other companies who are losing sales because of this. I can guarantee that the big Amp makers know who Fractal is and they are starting to hire their own Brainy people to start to go down this path, which is the future. The problem is Cliff will have already been where they are trying to go. They have the brand recognition now just like Kleenix or cresent as in cresent wrench. Cliff is hiring more programers, he is making the play to go big. I wish him and his folks all the luck in the entire world. I am a customer for life. I have always had it in my dreams that when I retire and own a music store, that he would give me the honor of letting me sell his 15 products by then, I dream.

If your going to bet on a horse, this is that horse. He's a young guy with a lot of fight in him, he's a pissed of smart guy, who doesn't give a crap what you say unless it makes something inside him have an epiphany.

I can't wait for firmware 22.
 
Has anybody actually analyzed these signal, like with a spectrum analyzer? I checked the first mp3 and these signals are as close to being the same as they possibly could be; there are almost, if not, identical. I thought I heard a difference at first but it was an allusion. There is no audible difference in these signals. Everyone who voted yes is fooling yourself. Sorry, it is true.
 
scottburrow said:
I think that we have been at the crossroads for a little while now. We are there, we are at the junction where it just doesn't matter anymore. They only one scared or having major issues is all the other companies who are losing sales because of this. I can guarantee that the big Amp makers know who Fractal is and they are starting to hire their own Brainy people to start to go down this path, which is the future. The problem is Cliff will have already been where they are trying to go. They have the brand recognition now just like Kleenix or cresent as in cresent wrench. Cliff is hiring more programers, he is making the play to go big. I wish him and his folks all the luck in the entire world. I am a customer for life. I have always had it in my dreams that when I retire and own a music store, that he would give me the honor of letting me sell his 15 products by then, I dream.

If your going to bet on a horse, this is that horse. He's a young guy with a lot of fight in him, he's a pissed of smart guy, who doesn't give a crap what you say unless it makes something inside him have an epiphany.

I can't wait for firmware 22.
Click to expand...

Fully agree. I count myself lucky to somehow be a part of all this evolution and as far as I am concerned, the Axe Fx II is one of my favorite tools to use on a daily basis. Still have the glass, but my ears love my new tool. It is also extremely invigorating to see Cliff in action. The man will go down in the history books as one of the important inventors to be reckoned with, same as Leo, Les Paul, Jim, Randall, Paul, John Suhr, etc...
 
Last edited:
guitarmike said:
Has anybody actually analyzed these signal, like with a spectrum analyzer? I checked the first mp3 and these signals are as close to being the same as they possibly could be; there are almost, if not, identical. I thought I heard a difference at first but it was an allusion. There is no audible difference in these signals. Everyone who voted yes is fooling yourself. Sorry, it is true.
Click to expand...

actually, I did (and looking at right now). There are enough differences to be audible as far I can see. But like has been said, the difference are not any greater to me than two different units would be. I disagree that they are as close as they possibly could be.
You should check again, if that is the result you got. I did not get that result.
 
javajunkie said:
actually, I did (and looking at right now). There are enough differences to be audible as far I can see. But like has been said, the difference are not any greater to me than two different units would be. I disagree that they are as close as they possibly could be.
You should check again, if that is the result you got. I did not get that result.
Click to expand...

I agree 100%, and I feel most of us who did notice a difference agree it's not enough to matter in any context other than one where you're asked if you hear any difference.
 
This has become a thread for disagreeing with other people, so here goes:
GreatGreen said:
Anybody who thinks there's enough of a difference in these clips to click "yes" instead of "no" is fooling themselves.
Click to expand...
That's a bit harsh. What this thread has shown is that some people, with the right playback equipment, think they can hear a difference. The graphics support that assertion. What is important is how relevant that difference is to each of us.

laughyouraxeoff said:
I feel most of us who did notice a difference agree it's not enough to matter in any context other than one where you're asked if you hear any difference.
Click to expand...
Actually, the difference does matter to me, and I want to know why they are different, and how to dial it in or out
 
Roland said:
What this thread has shown is that some people, with the right playback equipment, think they can hear a difference. The graphics support that assertion. What is important is how relevant that difference is to each of us.
Click to expand...

As long as I can play with it, the difference got irrelevant. Unfortunately - hearing and understanding is two different pairs of shoes, taste is a subjective and not an objective thing.....

There is even stuff you can't hear until you got the knowledge "how" to play it, so everyone could hear it....but this takes some experience on both sides.....
 
laughyouraxeoff said:
I agree 100%, and I feel most of us who did notice a difference agree it's not enough to matter in any context other than one where you're asked if you hear any difference.
Click to expand...

This exactly.

I interpreted Cliff's test to be a request to strain to hear any differences (not necessarily limited to the core Triax tone).

He posted two clips each containing two segments and reversed the order of the segments in the second clip (if I understand Cliff's posts correctly).

I assume he did that to address the psychology of human hearing (just an assumption mind you).

The core tone sounded the same to me - no difference - and I would certainly be happy playing out with or without the fizz/hiss.

But, that is not how I responded because that was not my interpretation of the request.

So I provided my observation that I heard a fizz/hiss in one segment, but not the other.

I also felt the segment with the fizz/hiss sounded further in the distance. But I did not post that perception because I was unsure of the role of my subjective perceptions in the presence (or absence) of fizz/hiss (i.e., my perceptions of closeness to the speaker (with no fizz/hiss) and greater distance from the speaker (when I could hear fizz/hiss) in the segments).

But, my perceptions were of tiny differences differences in the order of being several feet or yards further from the speaker in the segment with fizz/hiss ... hard to guess. Was that an auditory illusion?

Now if I understand Cliff's post ... the segment without the fizz/hiss was the AXE into the amp. That is significant only to the nerd in me.

As a play-ya ;) the fizz/hiss did not bother me one bit and the core tones were indistinguishable by my ear. Maybe the fizz/hiss would even help the core triax tone cut through in a band mix too.

But, the nerd - man - I was fascinated (and I'm still fascinated) at the lack of fizz/hiss and the relative closeness I perceived in the AXE into amp segment (again, I am assuming I did not screw up in interpreting Cliff's posts on which was which :lol ).

Then I started wondering, is the XL being used in this test, the new quieter circuit, maybe a bit of Secret Sauce III!!! (Gasp!) :D :D :D

:lol then again ... I could be hallucinating the whole thing and I should really just get back to work ... see ya! ;)
 
Last edited:
javajunkie said:
actually, I did (and looking at right now). There are enough differences to be audible as far I can see. But like has been said, the difference are not any greater to me than two different units would be. I disagree that they are as close as they possibly could be.
You should check again, if that is the result you got. I did not get that result.
Click to expand...

I hear the difference also, the first half of the first clip sounds better to me.
 
sorry just to clarify if 2 hi res cabs are placed in parallel does that mean where hearing a 4080 sample rate?
 
Clinically yes, I can hear they are not exactly the same. However, I couldn't really tell by ear what it was and which I would honestly prefer. Did some DAW analysis with EQ etc... and found something ... but nothing really remarkable. It's so damn close that it doesn't bother me.
 
Rain said:
I hear the difference also, the first half of the first clip sounds better to me.
Click to expand...

One difference is one is 1db louder than the other (probably more of what you were hearing), the other is, one has a little more bass. Frequency-wise that is about it.
It is pretty remarkable how close they are. I doubt any one would get as close with a mic'd amp recorded on different days.


triaxis.jpg
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom