BluerecordingStudios
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PC2A vs. UAD LA2A MK II
To my surprise, new UAD emulations of LA2A are not that great as I think. Demoed it against PC2A and found that difference is very subtle and both versions works nearly same. Gain staging on UAD version is little bit higher so first impression was louder-better  Three versions from UAD sounds almost same and in extreme settings it sounds just like PC2A, even emphasis screw act almost same. So I am staying with Cakewalks emulation  Any other observations?
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Middleman
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Re:PC2A vs. UAD LA2A MK II
2013/02/15 11:52:32
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I did a similar test with the previous UAD LA2A. They are slightly different but not dramatically so. I also tested them both against the hardware LA2A, needless to say neither was that close. There is one advantage of the UAD plugs when used with their Apollo product and that is the ability to use them for live tracking.
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bigboi
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Re:PC2A vs. UAD LA2A MK II
2013/02/15 12:09:12
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Agree with miidleman. If I had Apollo, there would be no choice...uad all the way. My hardware 2-1176' Charteroaks scl-1 and even my Avalon 747 sounds better....and thank god....because I had to sell my first born to buy them.
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Razorwit
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Re:PC2A vs. UAD LA2A MK II
2013/02/15 12:21:31
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Hm...that's odd...I found them to be MUCH different than the CA-2A....the CA-2A release time is significantly faster than the UAD stuff and really noticeable when you strap them on drums. I don't know about better or worse, but certainly different (at least to my ears).
I haven't compared to my TLA-100A yet, but I've re-tubed it so it may not be a good comparison anyway.
Dean
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wst3
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Re:PC2A vs. UAD LA2A MK II
2013/02/15 12:27:59
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I really can't say one sounds better, but I agree that they sound different. (I have not tried the CA-2A.)
Mostly I use the LA2A, I find it easier to dial in the sound I am looking for. But I don't feel bad if I'm running out of DSP resources, the PC2A is a worthy substitute.
-- Bill Audio Enterprise KB3KJF
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Funkybot
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Re:PC2A vs. UAD LA2A MK II
2013/02/15 13:01:28
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I gave the new UA versions a quick chance, and really liked what I heard. The grey version seemed to be the most colorful on vocals, the LA-2 version worked great on an acoustic lead (probably due to the faster attack time) and also had a ton of color, the silver face was also much improved.
The newest IK versions sound a bit harsh to me (I disappointingly prefer the original IK LA-2A/1176 without the tube/transformer modelling to the new ones), and I wasn't getting that here with the new UA versions.
So far, I only tried them out on an acoustic mix with two guitars and a vocal. Next up will be an electric bass test (which is my favorite use for the hardware). If it holds up much better than my existing options there, I'll probably buy it.
The Cakewalk version is a non-starter for me until there's a demo to try. Sorry Cakewalk.
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Razorwit
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Re:PC2A vs. UAD LA2A MK II
2013/02/15 13:35:08
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If anyone is interested, one of the things I frequently do when I get a new peice of kit is make a bunch of comparisons to other pieces like it. This let's me loop up a region and just play them back one by one to really try and spot differences. I've done that with the new UA LA2A stuff along with LA2A clones from IK, NI, Cakewalk and some hardware that says they do similar things (in this case, a Distressor set to their LA-2A type settings, and Chameleon labs 7802 and a Summit TLA-100A). If anyone is interested you can find it here. BTW, I got pretty close with the levels but you may need to adjust a bit to avoid F-M type problems. http://www.fade.net/la2a_comparisons.zip Dean EDIT - one more thing, each compressor was set so that it was compressing to about 5.5 db of GR. ONE MORE EDIT - realized I had fouled up some hardware settings on the hardware versions. I've changed out the wav files for the hardware comps, so if you already got them it you probably want to D/L them again.
post edited by Razorwit - 2013/02/15 15:05:51
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Danny Danzi
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Re:PC2A vs. UAD LA2A MK II
2013/02/15 14:15:38
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Middleman
I did a similar test with the previous UAD LA2A. They are slightly different but not dramatically so. I also tested them both against the hardware LA2A, needless to say neither was that close. There is one advantage of the UAD plugs when used with their Apollo product and that is the ability to use them for live tracking.
Yeah but your test was a bit unfair. You got that mutant REAL LA2A that sounds like God made it himself. LOL! The one's I've tried weren't as impressive. Don't ever get rid of that thing Middleman. :) Blue, the only thing you gain in my opinion, is less cpu usage if you use the UAD versions. I think the Sonar version is right up there with UAD and Waves to be honest. The differences are subtle for sure....yet every bit as good. They don't appear to use much cpu, but if you had to use a bunch, I'd max out the UAD stuff to leave the strain off the cpu and fly in the Cake versions after if I needed more. -Danny
My Site Fractal Audio Endorsed Artist & Beta Tester
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Freddie H
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Re:PC2A vs. UAD LA2A MK II
2013/02/15 15:14:58
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Razorwit
If anyone is interested, one of the things I frequently do when I get a new peice of kit is make a bunch of comparisons to other pieces like it. This let's me loop up a region and just play them back one by one to really try and spot differences. I've done that with the new UA LA2A stuff along with LA2A clones from IK, NI, Cakewalk and some hardware that says they do similar things (in this case, a Distressor set to their LA-2A type settings, and Chameleon labs 7802 and a Summit TLA-100A). If anyone is interested you can find it here.
BTW, I got pretty close with the levels but you may need to adjust a bit to avoid F-M type problems.
http://www.fade.net/la2a_comparisons.zip
Dean
EDIT - one more thing, each compressor was set so that it was compressing to about 5.5 db of GR.
ONE MORE EDIT - realized I had fouled up some hardware settings on the hardware versions. I've changed out the wav files for the hardware comps, so if you already got them it you probably want to D/L them again.
Thanks! I like the Cakewalk CA2A. Hardware always sound great and give you unique tonality. I was surprised to hear the 7802 had so alot of tonality. It reminds me of Chandler germanium. 
-Highly developed spirits often encounter resistance from mediocre minds. -It really matters!
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Danny Danzi
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Re:PC2A vs. UAD LA2A MK II
2013/02/15 15:56:32
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P.S. This new 6.5 fixed all my UAD issues you guys may have seen me report on with the 6.4 version. I noticed UAD mentioned something in their notes about a DSP overload in Sonar or something. Whatever they did, I have no problems at all with Sonar 8.5, X1 or X2 using 32 bit and 64 plugs and programs. Whew....thankfully! :)
-Danny
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cecelius2
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Re:PC2A vs. UAD LA2A MK II
2013/02/15 18:19:47
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Danny Danzi
P.S. This new 6.5 fixed all my UAD issues you guys may have seen me report on with the 6.4 version. I noticed UAD mentioned something in their notes about a DSP overload in Sonar or something. Whatever they did, I have no problems at all with Sonar 8.5, X1 or X2 using 32 bit and 64 plugs and programs. Whew....thankfully! :)
-Danny
Excellent news for you! You have been through an ordeal with this. I am so glad the problem has been fixed. I am still using 6.4 only because I did not seen a need to upgrade to 6.5. Maybe I will just to be up to date. Thanks for your progress update.
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Danny Danzi
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Re:PC2A vs. UAD LA2A MK II
2013/02/15 18:37:12
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cecelius2
Danny Danzi
P.S. This new 6.5 fixed all my UAD issues you guys may have seen me report on with the 6.4 version. I noticed UAD mentioned something in their notes about a DSP overload in Sonar or something. Whatever they did, I have no problems at all with Sonar 8.5, X1 or X2 using 32 bit and 64 plugs and programs. Whew....thankfully! :)
-Danny
Excellent news for you! You have been through an ordeal with this. I am so glad the problem has been fixed. I am still using 6.4 only because I did not seen a need to upgrade to 6.5. Maybe I will just to be up to date. Thanks for your progress update.
Thanks cecelius! You're so right...it was quite a nightmare. Thankfully 6.3 was quick and painless enough to reinstall, but of course no 64 bit plugs using that. I was pretty excited to see it actually work this time. No plugin errors with CLSID numbers, (or whatever that thing was lol) no crashes with the 32 bit plugs...it's awesome. This also gets me closer to really using Sonar 64 with nothing but 64 bit plugs. I have a few 32's I still rely on that I can't do without, but we're talking maybe 3 total. So if I have to bit bridge or j-bridge, it's not that big a deal. :) Yeah give 6.5 a try and see how it works for you. If it fails, just go back to 6.4. :) Take care! -Danny
My Site Fractal Audio Endorsed Artist & Beta Tester
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Phonic
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Re:PC2A vs. UAD LA2A MK II
2013/02/16 13:20:02
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Can anyone verify if the "UAD has detected additional latency" error message has been fixed?
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Razorwit
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Re:PC2A vs. UAD LA2A MK II
2013/02/16 13:36:54
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Hi Phonic,
If you're talking about the message that results from two UAD plugins separated by a non-UAD plugin on the same track, I have yet to see it after installing 6.5. That doesn't necessarily mean it's gone, but I think I've opened projects where it used to show up and I'm now not seeing it.
Dean
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Phonic
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Re:PC2A vs. UAD LA2A MK II
2013/02/16 14:00:43
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Razorwit, yeah, that is the message I am talking about, if that is fixed I will be very happy! I'll have to try 6.5 myself.
i7 4770k @ 3.5 Ghz 24 GB DDR 3 Windows 7 64 bit Sonar Platinum Foxboro 64 bit MOTU 828 MK3 UAD-2 Quad
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Danny Danzi
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Re:PC2A vs. UAD LA2A MK II
2013/02/16 14:22:08
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So far I haven't seen that one Phonic. The one I get is "the expected sample rate is not matching" or something. I just click ok and nothing changes. UAD said that one is nothing to worry about, but I've never seen the one you're talking about. Cloning tracks with UAD plugs makes my error message come up every time. I just tested it now and sure enough, still there. Something about expcted sample rate not being corect when it is correct.
-Danny
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Razorwit
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Re:PC2A vs. UAD LA2A MK II
2013/02/16 15:48:04
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Hi Danny, I think he's talking about this: http://forum.cakewalk.com...?m=2696743&mpage=1 In that thread Noel refers to it not happening in 64bit because bitbridge can't handle the custom code. I'm guessing that it began to show up in 64bit Sonar once 64bit UAD plugins were released and bitbridge was no longer used by folks who went to version 6.4 of the UAD code. In any case, I haven't seen it since moving to 6.5. Dean
Intel Core i7; 32GB RAM; Win10 Pro x64;RME HDSPe MADI FX; Orion 32 and Lynx Aurora 16; Mics and other stuff...
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Danny Danzi
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Re:PC2A vs. UAD LA2A MK II
2013/02/16 16:32:30
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Razorwit
Hi Danny,
I think he's talking about this:
http://forum.cakewalk.com/tm.aspx?m=2696743&mpage=1
In that thread Noel refers to it not happening in 64bit because bitbridge can't handle the custom code. I'm guessing that it began to show up in 64bit Sonar once 64bit UAD plugins were released and bitbridge was no longer used by folks who went to version 6.4 of the UAD code.
In any case, I haven't seen it since moving to 6.5.
Dean
Ah, thanks Dean! I haven't seen that one probably because I don't use x64 much at all. I started though since the new 6.5 update and so far, nothing out of the ordinary with the UAD stuff other than the clone track thing I mentioned. Thanks for the heads up. :) -Danny
My Site Fractal Audio Endorsed Artist & Beta Tester
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