I'm glad you have "bionic ears" to not only be able to hear the difference, but.......to actually care of the difference between them. I found them so close, whatever difference there may be didn't seem to matter. The memorable parts of the sounds remain the same. And while you can hear a difference and care, you can bet 99.5% of music listeners would not care which of these two instruments were used with exactly the same patch in the recording of a song of them.

Individual Track Null Test would be interesting....

You're right, analog filters sound better than digital, plus software the oscillators do actually sound grainier and more airy than oscillators running through an amplifier. It's never been a debate to me.

Makes me feel even better about my choice to buy the hardware as it's just such fun to make music without software. That it sounds better is a plus, allthough I did try it myself in a much more limitted way ehen I got it and came to the same conclusion. The fact that the vst is now included in the V collection did make me more excited as the device will even get more attention and we get easy access to so many presets. And presets are such fun to dismantle and learn from. I like your content; you run well established tests, share information and bring it on a fun to watch way. Thank you for that. Much ❤ from belgium.

I listened to each test multiple times. While I did end up getting the correct answers each time, it was by all accounts very very close. The difference DOES come down to “warmth” overall… which is good, since that can be achieved in DAW. That’s assuming one wishes to do that… frankly I think the VST held its own against the hardware version and to nearly any listener enjoying the full composition, none would say “I really wish they used the analog filter hardware synth instead of the vst.” That almost never happens, even when it’s musicians listening to a piece. We are all hyperfocused on it here, because that is the purpose of the vid. Mind you, the test itself was well done, and this channel is a gold mine of information… so my comment isn’t against the channel at all. I come here all the time 👍🏻👍🏻 I am merely saying these two instruments are extremely close… but yes, there is a microscopic difference :)

Very interesting, I too got 100% correct even with rather standard earphones. Would you consider trying to use additional VST compression emulation bus compression to try to gain that little bit of cohesion and warmth back?

Thanks for posting this, ive been musing about thus mysekf and only have the VST MiniFreak. My ears detected most of the same differences you did, but some of the tracos i actually preferred the clinical sound for some reason. I dig the track too! Question: I wonder if any of the warmth and character comes down to a) your audio interface slightly coloring whats coming in, in a nice way, and certainly b) the actuak circuitry oushing the siund out of the hardware Freak. Not to be too crazy about it, but i wonder what would change if you ran the MiniFreak vst output out of your sound card and back in. I realize that probably sounds crazy but it is what came to mind. Looks like a fun synth to have in hardware for sure, and the fully integrated vst gives you maximum options

Ok, great vid! Here are my results, three different speaker sets. I chose my favorites using the question, which did I *like* the best? Stereo system (Celestial SL8, No Processing) Senn HD 206 Sony 7506 1 2 2 2 2 No Diff 1 1 3 2 1 1 4 1 2 2 5 No Diff 2 (barely) 2 (barely) Not exactly the same as you, but close. Things to discuss further: What are the expected playback parameters? If I expect my music to be played back mostly through KZfaq on phones, etc., I really think either would be perfectly acceptable. My background consists of a lot of live performance experience (I used to play bassoon, now mostly into synths) and cost was always a consideration. The diffs between analog and digital remind me a LOT of trying different basooons and deciding whether to get the next step up in quality (a lot of cost, maybe what I have is fine, etc.). I always longed for the step in quality, but wasn't always financially feasible :) What about other digital synths that have a history of people considering them to have good "analog" sound - I'm thinking of DIVA especially. Would a hardware version of DIVA sound better? I guess we'll never know? Finally - would there be a more affordable hybrid option - use digital where it works fine and hardware where it is superior? If so, what pieces of hardware would get you there? In other words, if I used a digital synth and a hardware saturator, which saturator would I buy? Etc. Thanks again! A great video that really got me thinking!

Hi PAul and a Big thanks to you!!!! I got Minifreak since it just came out!!! The thing I always wonder what you come with because what I always do in my template to use Minifreak is in Logic: Midi track with external instrument with Minifreak cabled to my IN3-4 of UCXII. I also use the MNfrk VST linkes to the hardware without any output on the track for recalling presets and wrtiting Automations in the £DAW. I also have a third track below, which is Audio to record in real time the MnfrK coming in input 3-4 of my RME. Thanks to share this video it confirm to me that I prefer working like this.... more glued and also alive to me ;-)

There are no comparisons because many people say there is no difference.... On one of the forums, when I wrote that I could hear the difference between the filters, they laughed at me. Recently I created another library on MINIFREAK called "DYSTOPIA 2". I recorded sound from two sources simultaneously. Software version of Minifreak and Hardware. It turns out that the sounds played in chords on Hardware are even more dominant. At first I thought that the Filter between Soft and Hardware was not synchronized. Ultimately, this analog filter sounds really cool and I like it. I even wanted to make a comparison between Software and Hardware and present the differences in sound, but I ran out of time for this comparison. Good material as always! Regards

Exactly what I was thinking, why no one is talking about that? It's an obvious question for a popular synth which is unbeatable at that price btw. There's obviously a difference as it is expected, even going through electricity, cables and converters will make a difference.

Ok, i really want this synth as hardware, but heres the thing, im on a tight budget since im building my first home-studio and just got unemployed. And this VST is INCLUDED in the Arturia V Collection X, wich u can "rent-to-own" for very cheap on Splice... So... I just got myself a Arturia Midicontroller instead, that way i have tons of more VSTs for a fraction of the price. Its totally insane that u can actually do this. I will get the real deal, eventually, meanwhile i will jam with not only this but... Insane...

Interesting, and I'm mostly hardware. I'm not hearing it though. We tested without watching the screen, as watching them switch does fool the brain, this has been demonstrated in other videos. I'd rather the hardware either way. Can you upload the files?

Amazing test! Software is punchier, Hardware is more organic. Well done, Arturia!!!

Helllooo! What do you think about my test? Planning to go hardware? Fine with software? Lemme know down below!

for a long timer Arturia seemed to be the best at modelling analog in software but lately, imo, not so. I'd say, imho, that the best analog sounding soft synths at the moment come from u-he (diva, repro, ace, bazzille), and G-Force (minimonsta, axxes, oddity, imposcar).

I don't think the difference was that big. For the ones I could hear a difference between, I actually thought that the vst-version sounded just a tad better for all the individual sounds (Guessed it wrong all the time since I thought the "better sounding one" was the vst. Or perhaps that was still a right guess since I "separated them" the "right way" all the time. But not by much since I thought they were very close. But for the final mix I somehow preferred the analog one. I didn't have the best headphones for it though (My normal PC:s headphones are different from the ones I use when using my DAW).

Hey Paul - Czech-American here. Really enjoying your content! Would love to see (if possible) a similar test with G-Force plugins vs their analog parents as imho they’re analog modeling is superior to Arturia’s. ✌🏼

Another great vid. I am curious if the analog emulation would have done better at higher sample rates

keep it up my friend

Cześć teraz rozumiem czemu mówiłeś bym zrobił upgrade do X collection oj ten Freak jest mega freak ale myślę że wezmę i kupię hardware i w przyszłości będę miał i wtyczkę gdy Upgrade będzie dla mnie bardziej uzasadniony choć jak słucham dłużej filmiku mam coraz to większe wątpliwości nad tym czy tego nie zrobić i to w tej chwili

Just add the culture vulture vst and u get it same if not better but however the hw remains the better instrument because well is instrument it triggers you to be creative

What is the importance of difference ? I am indifferent.

Just add a VST pre-amp or a real pre-amp to get that analog boost.

Interesting why had so few people thought of doing this

There is a difference, sure. Does it matter though, that's the real question.

The only thing this “proves” is, that the vst and hardware sound a tiny bit different. But to be honest, that doesn’t say much. A good track is a good track, regardless “analog” or “digital”. No one will ask that question in the end, exceptions apply 😅 This analog vs digital gets boring…sorry for that.

This is bullshit. I own a Minifreak and I couldn't tell the difference.