You have to keep in mind that a genuine hardware synth has a completely different type of sound card built into it compared to the sound card in your PC or your audio interface. The sound card inside a hardware synth is custom-tailored specifically for that instrument. An Access Virus, for example, has a very warm, analog sound—and that is due to the components of its sound card. You could get the "Ostirus" Virus emulator, for instance, but it will never sound exactly like a real Access Virus. The same applies to any other hardware synth: as a plugin, it will never sound exactly like the actual hardware.

 

That's amazing because when you run the TI2 via SPDIF directly to your computer's audio interface it sounds almost identical to when you send through the analog outputs. They are very clean, actually. The actual difference there is when you send the analog outs through an analog console, and whatever other outboard hardware effects units you may have in the signal path.

The real differences are physical controls, keys, knobs, pitch/modulation, etc, and external DSP processing should you have the need for it.

Which is of course why he picked a Snow to mention for some imaginary near future purchase in the first place. You are talking about audio quality differences which are microscopic to someone who can't figure out the difference between an imaginary pair of Genelecs and some junk from Best Buy here. Let's get real.

 

Last edited: Jun 25, 2026 at 11:53 PM

that is damn true even if people will not like this statement.. if you listen closely to hardware synth demos for example on youtube you can clearly hear its hardware. and what more? plugins lack that depth in the sound. i actually last night compared and plugins not quite there yet

 

What about providing example links? Blind test comparisons?

Don't try to sell yours as an absolute true statement, I think that is just an opinion among thousands and thousands of contrasting opinions.
BTW yt tampers with uploaded clips (normalization, data compression, etc.), so you're not listening to the original sound that btw runs through an unknown amplifier at least, maybe a chain of other unknown devices including an unknown mixer and again is digitalized with unknown boards before uploading.

Now you tell me that you can clearly split (not mentioned) hardware from (not mentioned) software, that's laughable.

 

There is no dispute, analogue sounds different to digital. Period. End Of. I say 'different' because 'better' can also be subjective.

Using one or the other is merely preference, not criticism.

What you never had, you never miss, young un's who start all in the box won't miss a more intimate hands on approach. I did.

If i want bass i use my boutiques, two will give me polyphony but the SE02 is monophonic, so i like that limitation too, wired in to 12 boss pedals, so i tweak the SE02 as I run it thru several pedals to get a massive bass sound that no plugin could replicate, the bass is huge on my stuff.

I also double up with clean versions, eg, yesterday i rec some piano chords form JU06A, and sent it thru the pedals, added a little dist and what is known as the Prince setting, on my Boss Vibrato, blend that with the dry version, same with bass, i always mix the dry version with the wet, because certain effects can affect the tone in an undesirable manner.

Most of my pedals were bought to add movement, Tremolo, Phase, Rotary etc, sometimes i feel guilty that nobody should have this much fun on a permanent basis eh.

 

Last edited: Jun 26, 2026 at 10:37 AM

You can test this pretty directly: record the Virus analog outs into a clean interface, then the same patch over S/PDIF, and compare both to an identical OsTIrus render, all using the same MIDI and patch. Align and null them. Whatever is left is the delta.
At that point you’re not guessing about hardware depth, you’re isolating converter behavior, FX, voice and modulation differences, and any possible timing quirks.

A clean line level synth into a decent interface isn’t going to produce some broad, magical tonal shift on its own. If you add external analog processing, yes, but that’s just signal chain differences doing what they do.

And yes, I know you are already aware of this, i'm adding to your comment and not disagreeing with it.

 

I picked this out specifically for @Kate Middleton, who said that music sounds better on her stereo system than on Genelec monitors:

Studio Monitor vs. Hi-Fi Speaker

I don’t want to dwell too long on comparing these two types of speakers, but I would still like to briefly outline the differences at the outset. As mentioned in the introduction, a Hi-Fi speaker is not designed for evaluating the music production process; rather, it is intended simply for listening to finished songs. The goal is for listening to (finished) music to be an enjoyable experience.

However, the path to finished music begins with the recording stage, where individual instruments—whether "real" instruments captured via microphone, synth sounds, or virtual instruments within a computer—are played and recorded. At this early stage, it is crucial to hear the sound of each instrument as neutrally as possible so that you can properly evaluate it.

And that brings us to the first key point: Hi-Fi speakers do not sound neutral. On the contrary, they deliberately color the overall sound to create a "pleasant" listening experience. Hi-Fi speakers often feature boosted highs, lower mids, and bass frequencies; consequently, the mid-range (both upper and middle mids) often lacks the presence it should have. Yet, the mid-range is vital for music production, as this frequency range contains the core sonic information for most instruments (as well as the human voice).

Try listening to a CD by a major rock band featuring multiple guitars, for instance. Can you really hear—with distinct clarity—what each individual guitar is playing on your Hi-Fi speakers? And what about the bass, the keyboards, or the backing vocals? Probably not very well. While everything may sound punchy and "big," the individual elements are difficult to distinguish clearly. A studio monitor, by contrast, acts more like a magnifying glass, allowing you to focus on the finer details and nuances within a complex mix.

Another factor is dynamic range (the span between the quietest and loudest signals or parts of a song). Hi-Fi speakers (usually paired with a matching Hi-Fi amplifier) have a strong tendency to compress—or "densify"—the overall sound. While this makes everything sound more compact and punchy, you will struggle to achieve clarity and airiness in your mix, as the sound through these speakers never truly feels "open." In effect, you are dealing with a compression effect right from the start. It doesn't take much imagination to see how difficult it becomes to use and properly adjust a "real" compressor under these conditions. The bottom line is this: Hi-Fi speakers simply deprive you of the objectivity needed to accurately evaluate your sounds and mixes.

Source: www.bonedo.de/artikel/basics-studiomonitore/

 

Analog grifters will always say that analog sounds better...I wonder why are they using DAW or listening to music on their iPad or CD???

The reality is this - IF YOU ARE NOT A MILLIONAIRE - it makes ZERO sense to buy synths in 2026 unless you want to perform live. Analog can be emulated perfectly to the point that 99.99% of people will not know the difference, if they are honest. Do not believe anything the grifters are telling you because they are lying or they have unconscious bias.

On the sound: get big enough studio monitors (8-10" or above) so that you can hear the sound properly. Sound of software matches the sound of hardware 99.99% in 2026, but you need a good sound system.

Touch and feel: most people are twisting two knobs max. at the same time, you don't need 200 buttons and 99 knobs to make music. Most of these knob-twisters don't even know how to play the piano. Get quality master keyboards, one for piano, one for organ / synth, with enough faders and knobs.

Screen: people don't like looking at small screens (after work). OK, I get it. Get a 55" QHD TV so that you can see those plugins properly, I don't have an issue looking at the screen, in fact I prefer screen over console. If the screen is big enough and does not limit your view and workspace, I find no eye-strain and does not distract me from playing music.

Mouse: I don't use mouse all the time, just to bring up a plugin or change preset. After that what do you need the mouse for? Set up your template and favourites so that you can quickly bring up the instruments you want to play.

99% of the professionals are doing everything in the box now. The ones that are using hardware are grifters or hobbyists who never finish any music.

 

for me it does not make sense. if i were rich tho, that would be entire different story. i would swim in them, deadmau5 style.

anyways im happy where it is, limit for me is not analog holy grail sound, but basic skills using software plugins is very enjoyable for me, because of big lcd screen and good midi keyboard.

 

Yes. That is because of the noise. But you can add that yourself. You just need a sound generator that does white noise plus some filters to shape it to the particular noise floor of the time period.

For real, I even have a hard time hearing the difference between the real thing and Adam Szabos Vyper.
And that is not even emulation.
I would even go so far and say: The og outputs may be crap.
My K2000 has the most crappy, unpleasantly noisy analog output of all.
and there is no beauty and warmth in there.
Kurzweil said "its an instrument, it's decent enough, now go away".
But here are other examples. My Akai S2800 sounded absolutely identical on analog outs vs spdif out.
But same there: nothing warm and beautyful, just an ok AD converter of that time.
Something your walmart cd player would have had.
I'd say, if there is some shaping going on, something generating a pleasent warm output, it most likely is done by dsp and would be emulated. Those manufacturers most certainly would not have been like religious high end hifi fanatics and design some fancy output stage.

 

absolutely not

 

Don't you get the concept of tactile excitement?
Would you be like "It makes no sense to put your girlfriend into a black latex catsuit, you can have sex with her without that"?