FM3 Mark II Turbo - question about 4 cable method

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desertdweller

Member
I had an FM3 a few years ago and upgraded to an FM9 at release, and I noticed immediately a big bump up in the fidelity of the converters in 4CM. This was by design as I've seen it here and elsewhere that the FM9 was built to have better converters.

My question is simple - there have been 2 or 3 revisions of the FM3 since the base model 4 years ago, have the D/A converters been upgraded to the same quality as those in the FM9/AFXIII? Or have the updates been just a CPU power bump and bigger strip screens with the newer models? I haven't really seen this discussed anywhere.
 
desertdweller said:
I had an FM3 a few years ago and upgraded to an FM9 at release, and I noticed immediately a big bump up in the fidelity of the converters in 4CM. This was by design as I've seen it here and elsewhere that the FM9 was built to have better converters.

My question is simple - there have been 2 or 3 revisions of the FM3 since the base model 4 years ago, have the D/A converters been upgraded to the same quality as those in the FM9/AFXIII? Or have the updates been just a CPU power bump and bigger strip screens with the newer models? I haven't really seen this discussed anywhere.
Click to expand...

Where did you see it discussed that the converters are inferior to those of the FM9 and AxeFx III?

The converters in the FM3 are the same as the AxeFx III. Check out the wiki:

https://wiki.fractalaudio.com/wiki/index.php?title=Axe-Fx_III,_FM9_and_FM3
 
@pharmd07 from your own link there it lists 4CM for the FM9 and Axe FX III and not the FM3:

fm3.png
I can't find Cliff's original discussion about it, but here's two forum members saying the same thing I'm discussing:
https://forum.fractalaudio.com/threads/4-cable-method-fm9-turbo-questions.186554/#post-2309113

https://forum.fractalaudio.com/threads/4-cable-method-fm9-turbo-questions.186554/#post-2309737

The FM9 was designed with 4CM as an option, the FM3 while capable does not boast the same functionality. I can say from experience the FM9 does sound better in 4CM with my amps than the original FM3, but YMMV for sure.
 
desertdweller said:
@pharmd07 from your own link there it lists 4CM for the FM9 and Axe FX III and not the FM3:

View attachment 141429
I can't find Cliff's original discussion about it, but here's two forum members saying the same thing I'm discussing:
https://forum.fractalaudio.com/threads/4-cable-method-fm9-turbo-questions.186554/#post-2309113

https://forum.fractalaudio.com/threads/4-cable-method-fm9-turbo-questions.186554/#post-2309737

The FM9 was designed with 4CM as an option, the FM3 while capable does not boast the same functionality. I can say from experience the FM9 does sound better in 4CM with my amps than the original FM3, but YMMV for sure.
Click to expand...
The FM9 Input/Output 3 is designed for unity gain use (such as 4CM being one use).

Note that the FM3 says the same thing regarding Input/Output 2. It just doesn't mention the "such as 4CM" example.

Forum members say all kinds of things, not always correct.

I don't recall ever seeing anything about FM3 using lower quality converters.

The wiki link above includes a quote specially stating the FM3 encoders are identical, although the reference link seems to be broken:

https://forum.fractalaudio.com/threads/axe-fx-iii-preset-sounds-different-on-fm3.173819/post-2106476
 
Continuning to search the forum I did find this post from the official FractalAudio account that mentions the FM9 having the same analog through-put as the AXE III but the FM3 is omitted from the post:

https://forum.fractalaudio.com/thre...eler-fx-processor.176122/page-25#post-2138853

The Modern Family link (https://www.fractalaudio.com/family/) does say that all 3 products work well with 4CM, so maybe its in my head? IDK, I distinctly remember the FM9 sounding better head-to-head than the FM3 in 4CM when I had both for awhile, but maybe it's just me :D
 
desertdweller said:
@pharmd07 from your own link there it lists 4CM for the FM9 and Axe FX III and not the FM3:

View attachment 141429
I can't find Cliff's original discussion about it, but here's two forum members saying the same thing I'm discussing:
https://forum.fractalaudio.com/threads/4-cable-method-fm9-turbo-questions.186554/#post-2309113

https://forum.fractalaudio.com/threads/4-cable-method-fm9-turbo-questions.186554/#post-2309737

The FM9 was designed with 4CM as an option, the FM3 while capable does not boast the same functionality. I can say from experience the FM9 does sound better in 4CM with my amps than the original FM3, but YMMV for sure.
Click to expand...

Scroll down a bit on the link I provided, it says “The converters in the FM3 are the same high quality as those in the Axe-Fx III”.
 
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