Keep in mind, no two analog unit sounds the same. They are modeled from different pieces, that could cause the slight differences.

Hey, guys, FIY: I did all my test on 96 kHz 24-bit (though there's 48 kHz info on the screen - I did all the listening tests in 96 kHz, but my OBS didn't want to record 96 kHz, I suppose that my RME card needs servicing, it causes trouble when working on multiple apps over 48 kHz). Grab final 96 kHz 24 bit files from my tests here: www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/3d0yd71462ehw6go570at/h?dl=0&rlkey=so82488a4us8a8tr781q77ewf What do you think about Acustica Audio tools? Are you using them? Planning to do so? Quit? Let me know in the comments!

I love the way you sped up the video etc :) great review!

Since I have no experience with the hardware, I just turn the knobs on Acustica plugins until they sound fantastic. Yes, they have replaced many, many, many of my other plugins!

Great review, really enjoyed your in-depth analysis of them. I've never owned UA plugins, but have some AA and really like them from the aspect of they have great sales and if you purchase from their website (something I didn't do to begin with, purchasing only on second hand license) you get a lifetime discount voucher level the more you get the higher the discount and lifetime updates, so buying them once and never having to worry about it as they continually update their plugins (something that did my head in with some other brands, each time the updated, they made me pay again and again and again)... The sound of AA I find very nice, but saying this I did a test from the likes of Access Analog and a few others and then compared their sounds with the same model Waves, AA and others and had a similar effect that you got in your tests, in that if you use each brands model plugin and set them exactly the same they will indeed sound different, what was disheartening to me with ALL the brands that once you tweak each different brand you can get them just about all sounding exactly the same including our beloved Waves plugins and I even tried this with AA Purple and a free pultec emulation from Kiive Audio called the Warmy EP1A Pultec which is free and I got exactly the same sound after tweaking it and the AA version, so I think it's not so much about what these emulations model so much it's about just tweaking them to their varied setups and how they've been programmed... But with the hardware versions of each, I couldn't quite achieve the same magic with any of them as hardware units are so variable and perhaps this is why you're getting the variance with AA and UA versions, AA models hardware and UA you mentioned was more digital and there are discrepancies, I actually really loved the sound of your UA plugins in this test very nice indeed... I love watching these tests but as for the above mentioned I stopped testing them side by side long ago as I know without spending a fortune on the hardware itself, I'll never achieve that additional 1-3% extra magic from the hardware, so AA seems to do it for me at present mixed with some other more digital sounding plugins. I like using AA after the digital work is done and taken out any unsavory sounds from my tracks and then just print the AA into each track if I'm using a lot of them like hardware, it forces me to get used to the software I have and not keep getting new stuff all the time (albeit that doesn't work at all, I still have G.A.S) LOL!

excellent video, I loved the content and the format. thanks,

Very honest and demonstrable opinion. Yes, your eyes will hurt having to look into a magenta colored plugin, every designer worth his salt, knows clarity of image and type makes life better for the user, but how often do we see type without serifs so thin on colored backgrounds that make reading it, near impossible, it happens a lot.

Hi, do you think that in the end you can't beat owning a neve? Or could the plugin suffice if on a budget.

I owned UAD for 14 years. I sold everything for this reason. Uad always have that same sonic signature. Muted and Smeary. Acustica Purple has such a better sound. Better transients, Stereo spread, saturation. UAD Manley Massive Passive it a total sham. Always grainy and dirty. Not even close to the real thing. Thanks for this Video. Try 3rd party Nebula Libs. Thats were the real gold is! Tim Petheric, Cupwise, AlexB, AITB, ect....All these are very cpu light

Agree i didnt quite connect with Magenta at first but their Gold 4 is really damn good

Acusticas highend is their bread and butter!

Hi, finally a great comparison! Just a curiosity: are you working at 96000? because to really feel AA plugin work well, they recommend working at 96000

Thanks for the comprehensive comparison. I’m not on the UAD platform but have been searching for a Manley Massive Passive emulation that is comparable to the UAD plug-in. I have been using Magenta however I recently saw advertisement for Melda MTurboEQ that includes a Massive Passive emulation as well as 10 other vintage EQ plugins in one plug-in. The gui looks much more similar to the original Manley as well as the default settings. Wondering if you had tried the Melda version and what your thoughts were. Thanks!

Great video, i'm a Acoustica audio fan , I noticed you have a computer screen on your right side in your studio on the wall i have one also nearly in the same spot and everyone has told me to cover it because it will cause reflections, do you have issues with that ?

Great video! You´re right, that it can be difficult to use AA compressors or that some people say, that many of their comps aren´t on the same level like other brands (except from Magenta & Nickel) But especially with Acusticas Nebula and N4 libraries from TimP or Cupwise you get compressors, that are not comparable to anything ITB. Although they´re using the sampling approach/tech, but with some tweaks...Using them is another world and they hold up easily to their hardware counterparts

The Purple 3 you selected is the vintage edition. Purple P3 is the re-issue modern version which should align closely with UAD version

Thank you for using and showing both plugins in Plugin Doctor!!!! Really helpful, and I totally agree with Acustica Audio's interfaces! I HATE how they are set up, also hate the way they run their company, and hate their customer service, which is absolutely non existent! I bought and registered Nebula 3 on a laptop(as my studio computer broke down and I was in the process of buying/building a new one)and still to this day can not get it onto my studio computer for some reason. They never helped me fix this, and over 20 times I've opened help issues with them and as soon as they email me back some BS about me not replying to them, they immediately close my case! And this happens within 1 hour! Every morning of relying to my email, as soon as they hit send, my case is closed! So even if they are the very best plugins in the world, and sound the best, I would never recommend them to anyone! I would be very interested to see if anyone else has experienced this as well(don't see how I'm the only one considering). Sorry for the rant but I get so pissed about this even though it's been years!

love this channel and u. keep it up sir!

Would love to know more about the Mammoth in Nebula vs Magenta

When you said u bought used software licenses on knob cloud. For a moment I was lost in befuddlement. Shortly thereafter, you found a very special place in my heart. May God bless you my friend 😌🙏🏼♥️

can you try it agin with the apogee

Thank you for this video

I like AA sound, can't complain in that matter. But after years and years of constant issues in Cubase + lag + CPU usage (it's overkill in big sessions) makes me sell all of them. I managed to avoid UAD for years, but I could replace all AA with other plugins. I don't miss them. The amount of headaches caused by problems with stability issues can't compensate for sound quality. The attitude of their representative on GS only helped me in my decision of removing AA from my sessions for good ;)

hmm even on my macbook speakers i can hear how the AA ist more stiff and open in the lower register, is more 3D overall and the transient response is very analogish. I think on EQs AA is the one to beat atm. You should try Azure2 it just feels so real its just unreal

did you run this at 96k since thats what the actual analog gear is sampled at it sounds so pure at 96k fam

What do you think of the Jet mix eq by AA?

AA makes you use your ears and that's the magic of pure analog

that intro is dope! ❤‍🔥

AA smoothes the transients and UA enhances them, as you say very subtle difference.

These do sound really hardware I can see these being worth having one set to polish pre mastering before looping through analog gear

The thing I like about Acustica's plugins is that I have to mix more by ear. I can't just lean on the presets I made for myself, or the exact same things I always do. But if I put in the time, I think the results are better w/ Acustica--but we're talking a 5-10% difference (tops!) versus UAD. I think Acustica is under-rated. It is UAD's equal. The question is really this-- do you want to put in the time to learn Acustica's new interfaces, and quirks? Even though you already know UAD and you're happy with your sound?

Would love to see: UAD Helios Type 69 vs AA Viridian (Helios and Siemens/Telefunken)

I tried it but it was asking too much of my cpu then I started skiping it

Great Test 👍👍👍👍

I still use my Focusrite Liquid Channel and my Liquid Mix. Still wonderful tools

Great vid

When you have said about "analog highs" on Manley's emulations I recall that this is KZfaq video which compressed... nah.. Love Pulsar Audio emulation tho )

I kind of enjoy the confusing interfaces of AA plugins. Makes me feel less like I'm supposed to know what I'm doing.

I agree that the interface and the laggines of acustica, but once you get used to it they pay off with amazing sound. Also nebula 3rd party libs are so good. I didn't get on the train of UAD because I knew their dsp is outdated and expensive. I can run more acuáticas with my pc than a friend with 2 octo pcie cards, and acuáticas are heavy on CPU. Now with the spark subs model we'll see what if I try them, but still not ready for windows and M1 native.

I much preferred the Acustica Pultec: nicer low end and I agree with the comments about the depth and 3D sound compared to the UAD. But the Acustica Manley sounded weak and somewhat flat and veiled. The UAD version has much more life, and of course the GUI is more eye-friendly.

" 👍🏼 analytical. Yet, the AA lagging can also be corrected by tuning the (-millisecond) delay settings on the audio track in Cubase, right(?)" btw, you are a Wizard.., I subscribed 💥

great vid....Plugin Doc is an awesome plugin...cheers

10:47 😂AGREED!

I also hear UAD being quite flat and less deep than AA. It's subtle for sure but there's just something more natural about it. It's closer to Analog qualities that I'm familiar with. Openness, depth, space. You can really hear in the bass too how UAD gets a bit flat and thin comparatively. Most people won't know the diff though.

Acustica purple has better transients. You could hear they were less smeared even when you matched the curve in plugin doctor.

Was hoping Acustica sounded better but UAD sounds noticeably better to my ear and I've spent 15+ years in audio. Great video!

To my guys on here that use windows , your best bet is to use a gaming computer for your studio , no matter what plugins i use i dont have cpu issues , just my suggestion . ( i use an i7 intel with reason 11)

To those who can compare both brands: what are the best UAD plugins that hard to replace with Acustica?

I just tried all the free stuff from aa and it sound pretty awesome. The lagging and CPU usage is big, so for mastering and maybe for sound design. But it's the first time I got drop outs on my system.... But Stil sooo goood sounding.... Wrghh 🤣

UAD sounds brighter, possibly warmer.

the Acustica clearly brings weight & dimension, 3D? that is lacking in the UAD! However either wl get the job done!

match curves sounds similar bro kkkkkkkk thanks for video bro

With analogue gear, we want the immediate response, hence being analogue. In the plugin world, we strive for that response too, so it totally defeats the purpose of having lag and a slight pause before the impulse response kicks in. I tired Acustica and found it totally broke up the flow and concept of mixing fast and not letting the plugin get in the way. Besides, UAD are still the GOAT plugins IMHO.

A moral comparison of plug-ins! lol

AA presented more low end fundamental pitch to my ear. Eq is t exactly linear. I don’t expect a 2db tweak at 3k to present the same as 2db at a less audible frequency like 18 k. Nice job.

the attenuation selector on the uad is on 10 and the aucustica is on 5 that why the uad sounds brighter

AA - my favorite

The plugins seem great. I was dying to get an RCA BA-6A emulation. The customer service and compatibility and optimization is what is bad. Also the inability to have a clear and concise statement about what works with pro tools/operating systems/CPU architecture/etc is pretty frustrating.

I think it's better to print acoustica plugins.... You can't exactly have two of them on every track, and buses and the mixbus.

but this is a great test

AA high frequency performs smoother than UA and gives a bit more excitment.

I use Acustica plugins considering them as “something analog-workflow”.. I mean, freezing tracks all the time to release CPU jajahah I dont work professionally, just to do my beats

great comparison. i just tried my first Acustica plugin, their free JET dynamic EQ. Installation was confusing, the user interface is confusing, and as you said the names of the units and the way the knobs respond is also confusing but the unit DOES sound good, has resonant lows and clean highs. PS their website and installation app are ALSO extremely confusing. It seems like their audio tech is strong but their user experience is weak.

Bro remember that they are modeled off different units, no two real pultec hardware sounds the same, and as they age of the unit gets older they change the character in sound, I own both uad and acustica plugins, and the difference is night as a day for me, Acoustica plugins adds this warmth to my mix like no other, while CPU intensive, however, I have a way around that. In my opinion UAD as nothing on Accustica, only speed. Hit me up, I would like to submit and mix and master I did for a review, with only acoustic plugs and u will understand why I say to have this opinion and I would love to see if you to get a simular mix in the box with uad. I think would make for good content.

Acustica Audio's problem is they can't even get their plugins to work in M1 or even Rosetta 2 yet on Monterey (M1 Ultra users are screwed). Use many plugs? They only use one core (of 24). And being heavy CPU intensive plugins, you can't use any more than three on a master channel in a 96khz session. AA refuse to update or respond to customer support in any coherent way. PC master race? Now they are discounting their expensive plugins like Waves. Fall from grace. Avoid if M1 Ultra or M2 user.

Judging from Tonex... If done right I think the future of best analog modeling.... Could very easily be machine learning. A.I. is good for something that is NOT scary evil, at least.... Antonis could be better if they did A more serious anti-aliasing treatment... It's really impressive though!

AA>>>>>>> no comparison, UAD = crispy digital sounding high end (listened with: Beyer 770’s with a Schiit Asgard, and HS8’s with HS8 sub)

Magenta easily stomps the UAD, Not even a comparison if webbing honest! Good video though! Enjoyed it Thanks!

With this singel cell level music...how can you judge anything?

I mean if you are runnin these plugs thru plugdoc and you are trying to compare analog units gotta look at hammerstein and the harmonics

In the end, the listener doesn't give a shit.

07:57 bass of acustice sounds way clearer to me 14:51 ja the top end and harmonic distortion of acoustica is the best you can get in the box... but why are there so few reviews out there? THe acoustica sounds so lively compared to UAD...i am so amazed.... i put it everywhere..

Plug in chasing ill call it...Emulations are everywhere, after all, they even create the GUI to look like the original units.. Thats the candy..... Why? Thats why I respect Colin McDowel who is McDSP. A voodoo coder... But many dont like the interfaces, because they dont look like vintage hardware. ,His MO, why just do emulation and limit the interface to an original hardware layout? Why not have the algorithms under the hood., but utilise what you can do with a gui. Totally underrated plug ins... Rant over.

Good stuff, but I m curious to compare with real units

AA really sound good compared to the Hardware and other Plugins. But the UI of AA Plugs is a mess and also the names of the Plugins. You never know what is what. At least the plugs are now more stable the years ago

AA makes UAD sound like a waves plugin

the acoustica sounded more alive and 3-d like audio suspended in outterspace. im listening on Genelecs 1030 A's 1995 models

AA all the way. Uad i sold after 1 month , its glossy and not that good or much of its plugs . Some are very nice . AA slowly is leaving the rest behind , your missing a trick if you do not try it or use it but its expensive unless you wait for the sales .

8 times in one sentence ? You need a plugin for "GONA" correction. :-)

If we want to see sketches or comedy stuff, we watch that...I camed here for information...I don't have time for bad acting intros.

you should try the Gold 4 owning a few neve pieces got to say Acustica Gold 4 is just amazing,it has the same depth as or nearly as much as the real thing

Too close to worry about it IMO. Buy one and master it so you can tweak it to your will and never think about if it sounds like "the real thing" again.

Notice Unless You've got a high end i7 Ryzen 5, 6 or 7 or Fast Mac these will not work properly AA plugins are different Because thier using algorithm respones to intimate audio samples Thar makes these the best But.... the are DSP HEAVY!!

you don't need uad card to run acoustica, so a clear win for AA

Cubase and windows is not great for Acoustica plug-ins.I moved to Mac M1 and Cubase to use them

i bought loads of acustica - thought it was the best thing going - then i realised it used so much cpu and was not so good - now i dont use it - at first i thought it was the best ... now ... no

Acustica is going for QUANTITY over quality. ALL of their plugins I mean ALL are bugged / causing delay, stop playing anytime, when change the preset. They do perfectly well - youtube videos, excellent looking GUI, etc. except the optimizing plugins for using them. I mean who could use more instances of their plugins on mixing? I have massive CPU but it already have enough, maybe on mastering, but all those glitches that it causes, I mean no thanks.. they look BEAUTIFUL, though if nobody have glitches, then I wonder why I got them since I use Windows 10 and have fast and optimized PC.

the thing is that acustica has very bad and overcomplicated interface designs (and is cpu heavy of course). but the behaviour of the plugins is just like analog stuff: weird and unpredictable, you always feel like something is broken in a good way, because it just sounds deep, full and rich.

try analog obsession, they are for free

Strange test... audience can simply watch with disabled sound and enabled text. Same result..

Plugin alliance Native SSL And Analog Obsession Probably best vsts overall

I think Magenta over the UAD Manley, but the UAD Pultech sounded better.

AA plugins are specially about soundstage and musicality. Every AA has a better soundstage, preamp image and musicality than ANY other brand. This happens at the expense of CPU and latency. I don't care if an eq or compressor takes 0,5 sec to load if it matches 98% of a machine I'll likely never be able to buy.

But...you go get a Ryzen 7. Or 9 or M1 may be worth it especially if you don't have hardware with these you'll get a hardware sound with a good computer But....for $1800 you can get a The ART transx pre DBX XS 4 Space Rack DBX EQ Some good Headphones Makie Mixer Cables Now you got a hardware set up Opposed to spending $2050 with AA Dream Bundle But.....If you wanna be 100% daw AA is it I just don't see the point in spending 2000 with them instead of $1800 and now you got a rack analog set up to run tracks through and master

Each plugin has slightly different curves. I prefer the Acustica version as it has a light roll off on the low end on the pultec The gain difference is different as well. The boost on UAD is almost 2 db less. The curves are not the same either The thing to look for is level matched in flat. The UAD is more low end forward and slightly darker(like an old Pulse Pultec) The acustica has a sort of vocal forward to it that I like. I also feel like the low end it more woody on the UAD but more round and smooth on the acoustica. Both are great

Acustica Audio sounds incredible. One thing a lot of people don't realise is just how important the signal level going into AA's plugins has on the sound behaviour. That first Pultec example it really jumps out how much more 3D sounding the AA version is compared to the UAD which sounds flat by comparison in terms of depth.

Acustica sounds more Analog to me

Frankly not a fan of either company. Both have frustrating UI and aren’t really worth the cost or CPU load. There are tons of lightweight plugins out there that do the same thing. Plug-in doctor shows u that the magic behind Acustica and UAD is just saturation and EQ, which u can get in a myriad of flavors from 100s of developers.

That thing you are calling "unpredictable" is band interaction, if that disturbs you that much you should stick to digital. AA has some flaws, but the openness is undeniable even in very bad speakers.

First of all, you didn't test Plugin Doctor on hardware, so you can't claim which is better. I have both UAD and Acoustic plugin i plus hardware and they are very close, but Acoustic is much, much closer to the original hardware, much closer than UAD. Otherwise, I have been a user of UAD for years