thinking about getting the finalizer express for the studio for mastering. i usually master inside the DAW with plugins but now it feels like what if hardware will make it sound slightly better/

anyone who owns or tried tc finalizer unit... what is your opinion overall?

TC Electronic | Product | FINALIZER EXPRESS

 

you are adding an additional DAC conversion to get the audio into the box, or you are connecting to it via digital IO.
You’re not gaining analog warmth, extra headroom. The sound is replicable entirely ITB, with more flexibility, better metering, and recall. The “slightly better sound” reasoning doesn’t hold up. The Finalizer is essentially a historical convenience tool, not an upgrade. Even if you get a great price, they made and sold so many of them the resale price is never going to go up.

 

Weirdly, i was looking at these few years ago for 200€, now is double or triple that. Weather there is some "behind the track" video that has this on the master or not, idn, but yeah, i agree, only if you can get it cheap to mess around a little.

 

The Finalizer was as common in late 90s/early 2000s project studios as any fx rack unit. But the resale value has not gone up any more dramatically than everything else in the same time frame. It's like how almost any used car is now "worth $4,000" in just the span of a few years. The release of their software Master X HD replicates the processor, and was released by R2R in 2023. See anyone swearing by it? Me neither.

 

I had the original Finalizer (much more advanced than the Express version), which I bought in 1997 and sold circa 2004.

After I went full ITB around 2005, I spent roughly 10 years trying to replicate the exact FX chain of the Finalizer using VSTs of that era. I wasn't able to get that punchy sound.

But in the last 10 years a new generation of plugins emerged, which give MUCH better sonic results than Finalizer. And they are easier to control.

 

Clone’s Razor Quick Scan

1. Resume/tenure alert – “I’ve been doing this X years.” ✅ Red flag.
   
   
2. Evidence check – No screenshots, numbers, or demos? ✅ Likely bullshit.
   
   
3. Vague hype words – “Magic,” “vibe,” “can’t replicate.” ✅ Ignore.
   
   
4. Defensive tone – “Nothing else compares,” “You’ll never understand.” ✅ Ownership bias.

This is what you need for this kind of gear thread.

 

Last edited: Feb 25, 2026 at 3:47 AM

You need 6 more and an altar.

Kidding, but you know you waste brainpower like that don´t you, just throwing it around for fun and it does not prove anything other than positioning yourself in this pond a bit higher. Meaning is the name of the game and most of the time it is externalized...

On the other hand i don't think disarming someone from their decision to buy 1604 or TC Finalizer is a good idea, many and more then they know actually need something tactile, it might not be a finalizer but it might be a reverb or fx box just to move them from the screen and a mouse, the mind starts flowing rather than getting frozen in the "endless possibilities".. like we needed that in the first place.

Maybe pushing his mix thru the TC would solve his 5k+ mixing problems and he´d be more fluent after that, there is no single mind that has answers to everything there is, even if it is just mixing itself.

I mean...you know in the famous 90´s, "some" guys mastered tracks by playing/recording them of a CD player, one very particular one and no, you wont find answers on the internet.

 

In my opinion, hardware is completely unnecessary.
Every virtual effects unit integrates seamlessly into the workflow, saving a lot of resources and money.
It's also called making things worse.

 

In this case yes, that TC can make things worse, but again it is like talking to the trees here.

You guys know what´s creativity? How it manifests?
When i start drawing for example, i dont experience time at all, i just wake up 5hrs later.. after which i cant make any pencil moves that make me feel anything else/more.

I´m saying that just because you are stuck to your opinion it is not the end all opinion, it is not the survival mental state you experience when trying to corner yourself into a "box", have your tools ready for the battle so you can survive the next day. It is open, flow state and so far nobody have said computers are great for that yet you somehow know everything until you dont.

This is not the battle of opinion and it has nothing to do with the resources and money. You can record the pencil ticking and make a track(Timbaland anyone).

I´m starting to think this is that mentality that calls everyone under one roof so everyone is safe from being wrong.

If every answer is "dont do it" i´m very close to call many of you straight up crazy.

I´d be specially careful Pulse, since you are in on every topic here, imposing limitations is a dangerous thing. Ring a bell?

 

If you read the very first post, the objective is written in plain english. "for slightly better sound". If the OP didn't care about possibly wasting some money for no upgrade in quality, he wouldn't be asking. The Finalizers convertors were fine for its day, but a good modern audio interface will outperform it in dynamic range, distortion, and noise, and not in tiny increments. There is no actual benefit to using it as a DAC. At that point in time, the decision to use it to convert was between it and the Apogee AD8000, and there was no difficult decision to be made. If you decide to only use the Finalizer via its digital I/O, TC Electronics current software is not "100% identical", but you could test yourself. In any case, calling the TC Electronic Finalizer “tactile” is a bit strange. If you have used one ever, you will remember how much menu diving it really is.

Here, quick comparison with some common modern interface specs :

Spoiler

Head-to-Head Converter Quality:

• ADC Dynamic Range:
  TC Finalizer (Vintage) ~106 dB A
  PreSonus Quantum-series ~111–117 dB A
  Audient iD44 (Modern) ~120 dB A
  
  
• DAC Dynamic Range:
  TC Finalizer ~104 dB A
  PreSonus Quantum-series ~111–117 dB A
  Audient iD44 ~124–126 dB A
  
  
• AD THD+N:
  TC Finalizer ~0.0018%
  PreSonus Quantum-series ~0.001–0.002%
  Audient iD44 <0.0003%
  
  
• DA THD+N:
  TC Finalizer ~0.005–0.008%
  PreSonus Quantum-series ~0.001%
  Audient iD44 <0.0006%
  
  
• Overall Transparency:
  TC Finalizer: moderate (vintage)
  PreSonus Quantum-series: good
  Audient iD44: very high

 

Save your money for a rainy day, clothes, or quality food. Enjoy the sister site and the R2R Team.

 

Last edited: Feb 25, 2026 at 6:07 PM

Well clone, if you caught me for that i can spin it right back about what "slightly better" might be considering Fletcher-Munson. I actually dont like the sound of the FInalizer DAC, but that´s just me.

You´re still missing the point, it bothers me that you are so fast on every post and how quickly you steer the ships around, give a second opinion, dig deeper and let the person make a decision if you already helping, why forcing an opinion.

@PulseWave - cmon, dont give me this ego nonsense.. i battle nobody but myself. There is a fine line between helping and imposing your own on somebody and young folks are first on the line here, steering everyone in the direction where all the others you steered already are.. in the creative domain.. is plain wrong.

Guy who recorded Beatles still records bands on tape but you somehow know...of corse you´ll get on the rear legs when somebody calls you out, i´m saying just rethink it a little bit, let it sit, some of the things guys want to buy might actually benefit them..not you.

 

Last edited: Feb 25, 2026 at 6:15 PM

To me, you're just spouting incoherent nonsense; I can't make heads or tails of it. We're in a forum, and even you are allowed to express your opinion freely. I exercise my freedom of opinion, too. Keep in mind that I don't understand you at all; we live in two different worlds. I haven't liked any of your posts yet, neither the content nor what you believe.

 

If you want a touch of analog, get something like Audioscape SSL comp, or the behringer 33609. An affordable 3-400$ mix buss compressor. Even just tapping 1-2 db of GR can give you a nice touch of Analog. You can also use them in mixing, print your drum buss through it etc.

I own the audioscape, I also use an actual SSL buss compressor at a studio I work out of. I actually like the sound of my Audioscape comp better.