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iOS Mastering Options Comparison
I've taken a little time to try and make a comparison between the various options we have on iOS for mastering, and I've put a track through 6 of them, with all options off except the limiting - this is to compare how much distortion each app creates when creating a loud-ish master.
The raw track will be made available if anyone wants to run their own test, and in my opinion a sensible master of this track would add around 5db of gain, however to really compare the different apps I've set the gain in the test to between 8db and 12db to push the limiters to their, er, limits and really see which apps are more transparent, especially when pushed hard.
When options to increase quality have been available, I've used them. So for example I used 16x oversampling in Pro L2 (my Air 2 couldn't manage 32x)
Ideally I would have liked to just increase the gain in each app by the same amount, say 10db, but when I tried doing that the results were wildly different, so instead I've had to try and adjust them by comparing the waveforms and trying to match them, but it's not possible to get an exact match between each app, because they all seem to do the processing differently to each other.
The track is meant to have some dynamic range, and ideally the limiting should only really kick in hard at the end, but one limiter in particular just squashed the hell out of everything no matter how I adjusted the gain, maybe I didn't figure that one out.
The apps and plugins used were, in alphabetical order: Audio Mastering, FabFilter Pro L2, FAC Maxima, Final Touch, Klevgr Grand Finale, Lurssen Mastering Console.
To begin with I will post this as a blind test, with the results posted separately. You can either listen to the full track or just a segment of the final chorus:
Comments
The raw wave file is here:
link to unprocessed file
And the answers are in the spoiler, if you really want to judge in an unbiased way I recommend not checking until you've had a chance to listen and judge for yourself first.
1: Audio Mastering
2: Pro L 2
3: Final Touch
4: FAC Maxima
5: Lurssen
6: Grand Finale
Notes taken for each one as i listened. Listened to 00.58 on all tracks. Presonus R65 monitors, RME Babyface audio interface, moderate volume........
1) Sounds OK
2) Better than 1, a bit Boomy though......
3)A bit tame.
4)Better than 1,2,&3, vocals not right somehow......
5)More refined than all the others.
Sorry I messed up the original post, there's actually 6 - it's fixed now. Also makes more sense to listen to the end of the song rather than the start, that's when the limiter is being pushed.
6)!!!!!! Good kick drum, bit muddy..........
Sorry but 00.58 is all i can manage! Not at all scientific i know......but first impressions are important.........
This is interesting BTW, because that's the one limiter I just couldn't control, it always seems to squash everything (probably because the threshold is set way lower than the others) so what you're hearing is that it sounds louder than the others, and there is audible pumping.
I'll also post short sections of the ending for each example, should make it easier to compare.
I've looked at the spoiler now.....hmmmm, interesting. Number 4 was doing great until the vocals came in........5 came out on top..........................
Will be very interesting to see other peoples results.........
You missed one maybe
@BiancaNeve I've probably missed several
OK I've added small segments to the original post to save having to listen to the full track each time.
Have just listened to the segments, and my first observations are still good i think. (gets trickier the more times you hear a piece though ) i will refrain from discussing the results, in case it influences further testers........
2) very good, sounds very clean and 3) really bad, it somehow weakened the transients. All the others are ok.
when will publish what app you used for each?
The third post in the thread has the answers, just tap on the spoiler.
2 and 5 sound the best to my ears. Next would be 1,3 and 6, which were all pretty consistent but not as clean to my ears, although 3 had more bass presence. Absolutely hated 4. Ugh.
2 and 5 - 2 really clean, 5 with a pleasant character. 4 not so good, 1,3 and 6 good but not as good as 2 and 5.
"Maximizing" is just limiting, @tja... as you lower the threshold, you get a louder sound.
and yes, I pretty clear 4 is the most squashed; that's why it sounds so bad. Which app is each number, @richardyot?
OK so following a conversation with the developer, I've redone sample number 4 with some more appropriate settings, it should sound much closer to the others now.
What is this app called @BiancaNeve
OK.....I have reassessed with the new files.........same outcome for me......it's all highly subjective though,........ i'm not really sure if this test is of any use or not.......Maybe if we gave an iPad & all the apps to a top mastering engineer, and he/she used their normal monitoring environment to master your song maybe it might lead to an answer.............although if they were the best in the business, they could probably get a great result with a rusty old spanner.......... Mastering remains a bit of a dark art to me......i am never quite sure if i'm making it better or not.................If i was being paid to produce someone's album, i think i would farm the final process out to a pro................for my own home efforts.......well that's another story...........
It was called Howie Weinberg Mastering App
But it seems to have vanished even from my purchased apps
I personally found the test useful, the only thing I really listened for was distortion (especially in the loud passages). I thought that some of the apps were much better than others in that regard, but I didn't want to influence anyone else by posting my opinions. YMMV of course.
I thought they all sound pretty much the same. Except 1, which has a pronounced resonance which would start to fatigue after a while, 4 which sounds like it is behind a blanket, and 6 which sounds more pleasing than the rest.
Don't get me wrong.........it's a really interesting thread, and a fascinating subject. At the end of the day though without years of experience, and a great set of ears, for us mere mortals, it's mainly guesswork. I try to do just enough processing on the Master bus for the finished track to sound full, not clipping, but also being loud enough without being slammed.to hell..........in other words, i try not to ruin it with the little knowledge i have!