Brainworx Digital BX_V2 EQ - UAD vs. Native

Howdy,

I've seen this covered a few times but haven't seemed to be able to decipher any definitive thoughts on the matter. Some people say UAD vs. Native sounds the same, others say UAD is sharper, etc.

I downloaded the native demo. Away from my UAD cards this month on the road. I love the native demo and think the tool is extremely useful and has already improved some of my mixes. Incredible M/S EQ, especially love the mono-maker portion of the plug, great for drum kits and mastering sessions.

Thing is, Plugin Alliance has the BX_V2 EQ on sale for almost $200 off the usual price right now, and UAD doesn't have it on sale.

Question is this: Would I really be missing out on that much if I just bought the Native version and opted not to use the UAD version in normal use?

Other issue is that I generally am working on pretty large mixes - anywhere from 16-26 tracks at mix down. I'm generally running at 90-98% of my UAD Quad Card already so it's kind of hard for me to justify buying another UAD plugin at the moment just because I'm already at the point where I have to use MKI plugins all the time for DSP budgeting. That being said, the MKI UAD plugins are still wayyy better sounding than any other brands and I don't mind budgeting the DSP this way, I just don't know if I could even fit the BX_V2 EQ into any mixes because of DSP usage and I can't afford another Quad Card right now anyway. Seems like the best option for me is buying BX_V2 EQ Native.

Thanks for your thoughts on the BX_V2 EQ UAD vs. Native. If it realy is that much better, I might try to find a way to make it work anyway because it i such a powerful tool for stereo Aux Bus processing and mastering.

A local studio nearby has the native on their system that I have played around with and that's my only experience - I do not have the UAD and have not even demoed it. Under your circumstances, the native bargain is tempting. M/S has a great lens into a mix or a buss for me, especially when I can't figure out a more mundane approach. I record analog M/S all the time for that one central element and love how it anchors the space.

Follow your gut on this one.

Thanks! Anybody else have any thoughts?

Matt Marantz said:

Thanks! Anybody else have any thoughts?

Click to expand...

I know this is an old post, but I have been comparing many of the native plugins with their UAD port and they are all identical sounding. I must say, I have not compared Digital BX V2 yet, but I did test some other Brainworx and Softube ports and they are the same. And that is not a flaw, that is by design, it's like it's supposed to be.

Don't let the people who tell you that all native plugins that have been ported to the UAD platform, sound (way) better on the UAD platform, they are simply victim of the Placebo effect.

Matt Marantz said:

Question is this: Would I really be missing out on that much if I just bought the Native version and opted not to use the UAD version in normal use? .

Click to expand...

To my ears native and UAD version are the same
And when I null them, I just can't hear anything even if Span is showing some modulations between -140 and -90 dB
If I remember well, it is true for all Plugin-Alliance ported to UAD except SPL transcient designer
Hope that helps !

That does help, thanks!


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i don't know about the particular plug you are asking about because i have not used it......but i bought the native version of the MAAG eq when it came out after demoing the UAD version......i freaking loved the demo but i had bought so much stuff that when plug in alliance put it on sale for some ridiculous amount I had no choice but to go with it vs. the UAD.......i have not been able to tell any difference between the two.

just my 2 cents on it from my experience with the MAAG.

Well I'm in the opposite situation and I can't get the info I need anywhere, so maybe you could help here.
I have a good amount of brainwork native plugins and I now need more horsepower to drive my sessions.
So I was thinking about buying a UAD2 satellite.
There's only 2 plugins I would really enjoy having on top of what I have that don't show in plugin alliance.

So my question is really: Will I have to buy all my plugins again on UAD2 or can I just use or transfer them?
It'd be a real pain to have to buy the again. what a waste of money.

thanks for the input.

You would have to buy them again to run on UAD2, unfortunately. Same plugins, different platform. I've been in the same boat with some of the UA and Softube plugins I've purchased, and I've ended up buying the UA versions for the ones I want to track through live (such as the Summit TLA-100A) . If I don't need to track through it, I'm happy with the native version.

shimel said:

To my ears native and UAD version are the same
And when I null them, I just can't hear anything even if Span is showing some modulations between -140 and -90 dB
If I remember well, it is true for all Plugin-Alliance ported to UAD except SPL transcient designer
Hope that helps !

Click to expand...

I tried few days ago SPL vitalizer, well . . completely different! (I didn't say better, just different lol). IMO brainworx stuff is 1:1 porting. i wouldn't be so sure for SPL

Latest SOS, Softube's programmer claimed directly that there are no differences.

So that one at least can be put to bed.

man I'm torn on this one.......sweetwater has the native for 1/2 price this weekend only....$164 vs. whatever the sale price is gonna be for UAD soon.........what to do, what to do????????

Hi Masque,

I pm'd you.

Cheers!

I picked up the Native version and can hear no difference. If you buy plugs from Audiodeluxe, they often have their own compounding monthly coupons. I think I paid $138 for it after the compound discount. I bought a couple of other "bx" plugs at the same time given the sale.

I just went through some extensive A/B testing of some of the Brainworx plugins I have (I bought the "all-all" set before getting into UAD stuff), against the UAD versions of the same plugins. Yes, same exact plugs, same presets, and then tweaking each one to the same settings.

My findings were that they sounded slightly different in nearly every instance I tried, and some were more noticeable than others. The elysia mPressor's difference, for example, was immediately noticeable to me for some reason; it sounded more 3 dimensional and less harsh than the native version. This was especially noticeable in the lower midrange and midrange. Same with the elysia Alpha compressor.

They may be the same in nearly every respect in terms of design, but for whatever reason, I often preferred the sound of the UAD plugin running in Logic on my system.

Maybe it's my system, maybe it's the way Logic handles the UAD plugins, maybe it's the UAD hardware, heck, I am not a software engineer. I actually put my money where my mouth is and bought the mPressor from UA even though I have the native version from Brainworx. I'll buy the UA version of the Alpha as well at some point, but it's not something I use as often as the mPressor so I'm holding off a little.

I have some of the Softube native stuff, too, and it was very difficult to do with EQs. Inconclusive though I'd like to try more material.

And of course, I will concede that there's a good chance I'm crazy, but I've been at this for 25 years and I don't think that's necessarily the case.

I do mostly composing for TV commercials. Monitors are Event Opals, the room is good sounding in the first place, and then properly treated with a full set of RealTrap bass traps and side wall absorbers, and mixes translate well to all the post production houses I work with, so I think monitoring is pretty accurate. But nothing's perfect and I encourage anyone with a similar interest to listen for themselves.

LSchefman said:

I just went through some extensive A/B testing of some of the Brainworx plugins I have (I bought the "all-all" set before getting into UAD stuff), against the UAD versions of the same plugins. Yes, same exact plugs, same presets, and then tweaking each one to the same settings.

My findings were that they sounded slightly different in nearly every instance I tried, and some were more noticeable than others. The elysia mPressor's difference, for example, was immediately noticeable to me for some reason; it sounded more 3 dimensional and less harsh than the native version. This was especially noticeable in the lower midrange and midrange. Same with the elysia Alpha compressor.

Click to expand...

Half of the BX plugins on UAD are taking advantage of upsampling. Therefore, they sound different and in my opinion way better (@44.1 or 48 projects).

syah said:

Half of the BX plugins on UAD are taking advantage of upsampling. Therefore, they sound different and in my opinion way better (@44.1 or 48 projects).

Click to expand...

I work at 48K which is still the video standard for audio postproduction, so I'll guess that's why. In any case, I really appreciate both the info and knowing that I'm not completely crazy.

I have realized some 100% nulls when doing null tests between native and UAD versions of the same plugin. 100% null means they sound identical. Having said that, I'm not sure anymore which plugins I tested exactly, I'm pretty positive it was the Softube plugins and that it was in 24bit/44.1khz

Just for fun and giggles, I will test the PA plugins soon, I'm interested to hear if there is indeed a noticeable difference. I'm pretty sure that Dirk from PA/Brainworx explained to me that the code is identical, but if there is a difference between oversampling, I can imagine there is an audible difference.

I know I'm late to this party, but I previously (last year) demo'd the Plugin Alliance and UA Maag EQ, and definitely felt the UA version was better, smoother. I was also ready to pull the trigger on the PA version, due to the crazy price, but couldn't bring myself to because I knew I constantly be thinking about the UA version. So I skipped the PA and bought the UA later with some vouchers in one of the recent sales.

I also have native versions of Pultech's, LA2A, and 1176 and again prefer the UA versions. I work at 44.1 in Logic, so maybe that has something to do with it.

ah, K ?!