kooshan wrote: ↑29 Apr 2022
Hi selig
I’ve been using Reason exclusively since 2001 and this is the only time I’m experiencing such issue.I’ve always had Reason 4 and whatever the latest version has been installed on my desktop simultaneaosly .Comparing those when playing the same song(made on Reason 4) it appeared that Reason 4 always sounded a bit darker
.
Another thing is I tend to overuse Maximizer on master sometimes which leads to heavy compression and soft clipping , surprisingly on Reason 4 the song feels more solid and consistent (exactly the way I expected the sound to be when making the song)
Also I did the null test several times which they didn’t cancel out completely (exporing a song on R4 , exporting the same song on the latest version, importing both files and phase inverting one of them)
I did these comparings and tests many times during all these years and while there could be something wrong with them or my reasoning , I believe what I’m hearing is not just pure illusion .
Part of the reason for doing a null test is to examine the remainder when there is no null. If one version has less high end, the null will reveal only high frequencies (because that is the only area where there is a difference). When you hear full bandwidth nulls, meaning the original spectrum is more or less retained but the level is very low, it means there was either a level or a timing mis-match. And nether of those account for a change in the sound/spectrum/tone in any way. Make sense?
All to say, failing a null just means one of two three things was not the same: level (overall level or at specific frequencies), time, or content changes (anything from new content in one file such as additional harmonics due to distortion as one example, to a random/modulation effect which is different on each audio file/export).
BUT, sometimes the null tests are simply not level matched or are off by one sample in time both of which FAIL the null test but do not indicate ANY spectral changes as you described.
So a failed null test alone does not indicate there will be any change to the sound in any way. Maybe it changed, maybe it didn't.
The best test, the one I rely on, involves using a swept sine approach used with audio analysis software such as Room EQ Wizard or FuzzMeasure (what I use). These tests tell you about the frequency response, the phase response, distortion components, impulse response (good for measuring latency), and frequency over time (waterfall). The entire audio path in every version of Reason I've ever tested is a boring 'flat' (perfect) response across the audible spectrum, just like every other DAW out there.
Now if you want to talk about frequency response of the INSTRUMENTS, that's another subject (spoiler: all oscillator waveforms are not the same).