HD6 vs HDX2 "ITB" Listening Challenge

[kenandrews]

Hey Guys,

I just want to thank Tom and Avid for doing this with me. As someone who has made the switch to ITB mixing, this is the kind of test I was very interested to do.

And thanks to everyone on this thread for taking the time to listen to the mix and do the test.

As far as the difference being subtle, as I say in the video, to me this was very welcome for several reasons. One obvious one is recalling sessions that were mixed on the TDM system. I have many projects that span several years of work, by having the sonic improvement this subtle, it means that little if any adjustments need to be made when opening a session in HDX that was last saved in HD (plug-in compatibility withstanding). Also, I think that if the difference was huge, on an aesthetic level, it could potentially cause more problems in making the transition to HDX for people, myself included, in terms of just getting used to the sound.

Putting the sonic difference aside for a minute, to me, the number one reason to upgrade is the power. 5x more power is significant, and in some cases will allow the difference of being able to run an entire project at 96k, without having to convert down for lack of power reasons. That alone is massive for me, and when you add in the sonic improvement, its pretty hard to resist.

I do grant you that the plug-in compatibility issues are real and frustrating me as well. However, I see this all shaking in the next few months. In the circles I work in PT is ubiquitous. Pro PT users spend money to have great tools. If some companies decide, for whatever reason, to not play ball with AAX, I trust there will be equally capable companies willing and desirous to fill that void. Softube, for instance, is doing a fantastic job right now.

As far as what plugs I used on the mix, here is a list. Wherever possible I used plug-ins that had both a TDM and HDX DSP version. This made it so that the sessions were somewhere around 75% DSP.

Avid: EQ3, Dyn3, Time Adjuster, Revibe, Reverb One, Reel Tape Saturation and Delay, Slap Delay, BF76, Maxim

AIR: Distortion, Filter Gate, Vintage Filter, Freq Shifter, Phaser

McDSP: 4030, AC202, CB101, 6030,

Metric Halo: Channel Strip 3, Multiband Dynamics, Character

Softube: Tube-Tech PE 1C, FET Compressor, Trident A-Range, Summit EQF-100

[MixerGuy]

I just tried to access the files via the web-page, and it is telling me "not a valid answer" to the question "do you want an Avid rep to contact you?"

i keyed in 'no.'

i tried both FireFox and Safari on Mac.





could not access files.

[Raoul23]

I agree with you on the subtle difference being perfect for swapping a session from HD and HDX did you remix this for the test so you could use plugs that were both TDM and AAX or is it the same mix that's on the album. By the way love the mix and the production and i am a big Lost Prophets fan

[Raoul23]

Originally Posted by MixerGuy

I just tried to access the files via the web-page, and it is telling me "not a valid answer" to the question "do you want an Avid rep to contact you?"

i keyed in 'no.'

i tried both FireFox and Safari on Mac.





could not access files.

It said that to me so I just chose yes

[kenandrews]

Raoul23,

I remixed it for this test. The album version had too many plugs that did not have an AAX DSP version. I like all three versions, but I have to say, my favorite is the HDX mix. I'm sure part of this is due to the fact that I was basically mixing the song for a second time, which kind of gave this new mix a bit of advantage.

[Raoul23]

Originally Posted by kenandrews

Raoul23,

I remixed it for this test. The album version had too many plugs that did not have an AAX DSP version. I like all three versions, but I have to say, my favorite is the HDX mix. I'm sure part of this is due to the fact that I was basically mixing the song for a second time, which kind of gave this new mix a bit of advantage.

Great to know, so you have managed to find replacement AAX DSP plugs for your favourite TDM only ones . Are you running an HDX system from now on, and traded your HD6 one in. I'm just scared of losing some of my fav plugs if I upgrade.

Thank you very much for sharing all the info from the session, I Lovd all this knowledge

[reichman]

This was totally fun to listen to. Thanks guys. BUT, I would love to hear this done with more dynamic, more sonically challenging material. A classical piece of music or modern soundtrack cue mix might be more revealing.

On the other hand, there's a zero-percent chance that I'm going to stop using my HD|Native system and move to HD|Accel, so these comparisons are moot for me...

[Raoul23]

Originally Posted by reichman

This was totally fun to listen to. Thanks guys. BUT, I would love to hear this done with more dynamic, more sonically challenging material. A classical piece of music or modern soundtrack cue mix might be more revealing.

On the other hand, there's a zero-percent chance that I'm going to stop using my HD|Native system and move to HD|Accel, so these comparisons are moot for me...

That would be interesting comparing all 3 HD native / HD Accel / HDX, wouldn't it guys

[francois]

I picked the HDX mixed 5 time after A/B soloing different parts of the song.
The difference is not huge but i could hear a slight more clarity .
As for using 88.2k or 96k I'm still ironing the bugs in HDX to go all out with it.
PS: the questions on the site to download the files don't make sense if you already own an HDX system

[Tom Graham]

Originally Posted by MixerGuy

I just tried to access the files via the web-page, and it is telling me "not a valid answer" to the question "do you want an Avid rep to contact you?"

i keyed in 'no.'

i tried both FireFox and Safari on Mac.





could not access files.

Hi Mixer Guy,

Sorry about that… they are working on it as we speak.
The work around is just say 'yes' to be contacted by an Avid rep…
I'll try to make sure no-one who signs up in the first few days gets a call…

Best and Thanks,
Tom