Hi all,
I’m a long long time Logic user, and recently I decided to buy Cubase Pro 8.5…
Just to go to the point…
I’ve load same kontakt articulation in logic, and in Cubase. Same volume, pan and so…
When I play it in Cubase, the sound its clearly better… More open, better lowend…
In logic is less open, and less warm…
When I start playing other instrument layers over it… In cubase, everything fits better as it had more headroom…
Any other users could confirm this?
Thanks a lot…
Cubase works internal with 32-Bit-Float bit-depth, which get the sound quality inside the programm at the best,what we actually got or can have. that´s the reason, why it sounds great and the headroom is nearly unlimited.(by the way, when you record your tracks also already in 32-Bit-Float, they will as a particular track not clipping over, but when you combine more or severeal tracks, which got a higher peak-volume, they all can clip over, when they get merged together in the output-bus, it`s possible that the output-channel will clip over).
Interesting…and Cubase always is working at 32bit-float or you need to set it?
Logic is not working at the same depth of calculations?
yes, ever internal, you don´t need and you don´t be able to set this. it´s all in the manual, maybe i can find the related section/area for you to see.
Thanks! In the manual I read that you can select the level of depth for audio tracks… But I didn´t know that it´s allways working at 32-bit-float internally. If that´s true , it makes sense why I feel better sound and more headroom…
Strange to think why logic is not working in 32bit float yet…
i could not find it the operation manual of the actual version, in this less time. but here it is in the Cubase 5 manual: Page 118,right above in the side. i`ll try to get a pic.
Logic also works 32 bit internal.
Cubase has a superior 32 bit audio engine. And this post confirms it. I noticed the lower sound quality of garage band. But I thought it wasn’t a fair comparison.
Thanks for posting and confirming this.
ya, but only internal, to get no clipping on recordings you make, you must set the value in the project-settings-window (shift+S), also to 32-Bit-float, to get this quality on your records.
Avoiding clipping is something you should aim to do with sensible gain staging. 24 bit already has masses of headroom anyhow.
I’ve load same kontakt articulation in logic, and in Cubase. Same volume, pan and so…
Is it the same pan law too?
Why not post some audio files showing the difference? I’m sure it would be of interest to many people, myself included. I have to say though, usually these kinds threads end up with the conclusion that the OP made some kind of setup error.
Please post the files.
If you play the alchemy synth in Garage Band at 24 bit / 48 kHz / built audio. After that open Cubase with the same settings. Play any VSTi you’ll notice the difference instantly. Even when I import audio loops created in GB, anyone can tell.
Can you describe it more exactly?
here it is in the actual manual Cubase Pro 8.5, for one time: P.S. Sorry, in the moment i´m unable to get a pic or link in, but here: Cubase Pro 8.5-Operation Manual-Page 971- under “Bit-depth”
Bit Depth (uncompressed file formats only)
Allows you to select 8, 16, 24 bit or 32 bit (float) files. If the file is an
“intermediate mixdown” that you plan to re-import and continue working on in
Cubase, we recommend that you select the 32 bit (float) option.
32 bit (float) is a very high resolution (the same resolution as used internally
for audio processing in Cubase), and the audio files will be twice the size of
16 bit files.
If you are making a mixdown for CD burning, use the 16 bit option, as CD
audio is always 16 bit.
In this case, we recommend dithering.
Activate the UV-22HR dithering plug-in (see the separate PDF document
Plug-in Reference for details). This reduces the effects of quantization noise
and artifacts from being introduced when converting the audio down to 16 bit.
8 bit resolution should only be used if required, since it results in limited audio
quality. 8 bit audio may be suitable in some multimedia applications, etc.
If you mean “when recording” then it’s not really true. The clipping happens at the conversion stage, and that stage isn’t floating point processing but fixed point. With recording set to 24-bits you have plenty of headroom. 32-bit float isn’t really needed for recording.
If you’re talking about the final mix file then there’s definitely a possibility of clipping, but it can be solved by adjusting gain during the mix process as well as lowering the final output level on the master fader.
In addition, not all types of software accepts 32-bit float files, so there’s also the issues of compatibility.
The OP described it best:
“Cubase, the sound its clearly better… More open, better lowend…
In logic is less open, and less warm… In cubase, everything fits better as it had more headroom…”
I’d just like to second the notion that Cubase does have a clearer sound than Logic.
I did an A/B between the two with the exact same MIDI and VSTs. I did one raw export, and one export with a multi band compressor and limiter on the output, each with identical settings. I can’t seem to find a way to upload the audio files, but there’s a noticeable difference.
Same multi band compressor and limiter in both DAWs?
Just post screen caps to start with.
Each DAW’s default plugin. Same settings.