Is Altiverb still relevant as the king of the IR reverbs in 2021?
If not, what are the alternatives?

 

There was a new one that appeared, maybe earlier this year.
And there was something it did that Altiverb doesn't.
So there is possibly another good alternative now.
I just can't think yet what it was.
Liquidsonics springs to mind atm though...
edit: Yep! Seventh Heaven Professional.
https://www.liquidsonics.com/software/seventh-heaven/
(Edit: <Doh!> Hybrid, innit! Convo/Algo.)

Obvs Altiverb is well old, and at one point was the only option.
Yet they still have the best selection of IRs even now, I reckon.

 

Last edited: Oct 3, 2021

https://www.timpetherick.co.uk/downloads/the-grand-room/
https://www.analoginthebox.com/product.php?id=9380 E.A.R.
https://www.acustica-audio.com/store/products/silvervolumea SILVER

first 3 ones that came to mind and there's so many, did you even try? King? nope

 

The three for Nebula? Nahh... Altiverb of course.

 

Alternatives

1.) Seventh Heaven Professional - $299
www.liquidsonics.com/software/seventh-heaven/
2.) AudioThing Fog convolver - €64.46
www.pluginboutique.com/product/2-Effects/17-Reverb/1583-Fog-Convolver?a_aid=5faa79ec85224
3.) SIR3 Convolution Reverb - €99
www.siraudiotools.com/SIR3.php
4.) Eastwest sounds Spaces - &299
www.soundsonline.com/spaces-II
5.) Waves IR1 Convulution Reverb - €28
www.waves.com/plugins/ir1-convolution-reverb

 

Last edited: Oct 2, 2021

Thanks guys for your precious input!

 

I'll would add to that list Slate verbsuite.

but the thing is, IR's sound bad to me when tweaking the parameters.

they need to sound good directly after I insert them, And I only fiddle with the pre-delay and mix.
Even turning the decay knob a little, I find it to sounds terrible.

 

I think it depends on how you use it.

Altiverb comes with a bunch of good rooms (living rooms, studios, concert halls, a lot of other rooms like staircases and stuff) and FX, mostly with different IRs like stereo in -> stereo out, mono in -> stereo out, or different distances (4m, 6m, ...) and times (for gear) and of course the unrivalled Positioner (hofa tried something similar but doesn't come close).

But if you're just looking for a reverb, SIR and IR-1 are way cheaper, have wav compatibility and a sufficient amount of parameters to adjust any (of the gazillion free) IR to taste.

 

That Seventh Heaven evidently has a new angle on some aspect or other. I'd have to read up again to remember what it was though...

Back in the early 00s, we found Altiverb a bit restrictive when it came to certain tones, so my producer and I would put several instances of the same IR tweaked for different NOTES sometimes! lol

Because IRs are kind of a static thing?
That's how I feel.
Need to do lots of tweaking to make them work properly, imo.

 

Last edited: Oct 3, 2021

Slate Digital's VerbSuite is a good alternative imo

 

After all is said, to me the only one that comes close to Altiverb is HOFA IQ Reverb 2.

 

Yep, back then it seems it used to be all about EastWest Spaces..

But nowadays I think the top imo is..
Altiverb for their IRs
Reverberate 3 for loading third party/true stereo IR's
Seventh Heaven for its Bricasti Fusion IRs (kinda convo/algo hybrid)
Lexicon, VSS3, and Aether for regular Algo Reverb,
and special mention to VSS4HD with its modern improved algos..

That's in terms of raw quality,
for Creative/Color type reverbs there's a lot of awesome stuff out there,
hard to enumerate them all!

Oracle, Eventide, or UVI type stuff come to mind..

 

Last edited: Oct 3, 2021

Very interesting to see so many people using Altiverb just as a reverb. For me it's a little different, I use it mostly as creative sound processing tool because it is a collection of real recordings of real spaces, some of which are really iconic. All rooms, studios and halls have a very unique character so I would use Altiverb to place my instruments in that space or blend it with what I already have to give it some characteristics to the sound or change the tone, using it somewhat like an EQ. I don't really treat it as a dedicated reverb (even though it can be and it sounds great), but more like a 1 knob plugin that changes the sound in some way.

Because of the way I use it, Altiverb is never going to become irrelevant for me, unless someone recaptures IRs of all those places in much greater detail maybe similar to what Seventh Heaven is doing. In my opinion you should not buy Altiverb just cause you need a reverb, get it only if you want the rooms that come with it because they're the real product, not the plugin/IR loader.

 

Last edited: Oct 2, 2021

From Altiverb, and for Orchestral music I like:
20th Cent. Fox Stage for its Warm textured tone..
Todd AO for a Lush Hall..
and the Mozart Hall for solo instruments..

That's the ones that stood out as the most balanced/universal to me,
but ofc it's loaded of Awesome IRs all through, very varied and very realist to say the least..

 

Last edited: Oct 3, 2021

Samplicity’s Bricasti M7 Impulse Response Library

Samplicity has created a new Impulse Response Library, using the immensely popular and highly acclaimed Bricasti M7 reverb unit. And again, Samplicity has created a very complete, accurate and excellently sounding set of impulse responses, all in True Stereo and in Mono-to-Stereo. This library surpasses all previously released Bricasti IRs in terms of signal-to-noise ratios and detailed and rich reverb tails.

This library is completely FREE, to comply with the request from Bricasti that it is allowed to create impulse responses with the M7, as long as these IRs are not included in any commercial product. Bricasti is a registered trademark ofBricasti Design Ltd., Medford MA, USA.

This library includes True Stereo and Mono-to-Stereo IRs of 134 M7 presets. The library is organized in the same way as the Samplicity L96 and T600 libraries (each also a 2 Gb downloadable product).

Important: Although these files are free, I explicitly request that you do not post these files on other websites. Please respect my work by linking to this page if you want to refer to this library. Thank you.

Code:

https://web.archive.org/web/20190201211631/http://www.samplicity.com/bricasti-m7-impulse-responses/