Hi,
 
I ran across something strange and wanted to get some opinions.  Using S5 and S6 (I know, old, but that's not at issue) I swear I hear a sound difference.  S6 sounds more smooth, can be heard mostly in the guitar distortion and other upper-register areas like cymbals and drum attack, etc.  It is very very subtle but the overall impact makes S6 sound more smooth and analog to my ears.  So I decided to do a test by bouncing out the same project using both versions and when I loaded the mix files and phase inverted one there was dead silence.  

Is there some explanation for this, or is the only viable explanation that it is all in my mind?
 
Sonic

I hate to say it... but if you did a null test, and were left with silence, then yes, it's "all in your mind" - meaning, what you're "hearing" is your own confirmation bias - what you wanted to hear. That's not surprising - a great deal of what people think they hear and see can be explained by confirmation bias, and in fact that very wording is dangerous - when I say that people "think they hear" (or see) something, I mean they really are hearing or seeing that thing, but that doesn't mean it is "really" there, or not exactly as they are experiencing it. We do not experience the world directly, we filter it - sometimes extensively - through our mental models of what we think is going on. Of course I'm under no illusion that I am immune from this - knowing it doesn't protect us from it, it's just how our brains work. So the real answer is complicated - yes, it's all in your mind, and a null test proves that (science is good that way), but that doesn't mean you're not experiencing it. It just means that if you were as determined to hear it the other way around, you would hear it that way instead. Welcome to the wacky world of brains!

Thanks.  So there is nothing that could be making a subtle difference during project playback within the different versions yet wouldn't show up in the mixed files?  Even the slightest volume change or other elements can end up being audible, is there anything at all that might explain why I was hearing a difference beyond it simply being in my mind?
 
Sonic

Basically a null test, which you've done, indicates identical files, which is a tough reality to get around. Other threads on this subject have raised the issue of Pan laws, which are a somewhat arcane subject and others can probably explain better than I, but my understanding is these should only affect rendered output and not playback within Sonar, which is where you're hearing differences, whereas the rendered files null and are therefore identical. Then there is the 64-bit double-precision engine - is it set to on in one version and off in the other? I'd have trouble believing anyone can actually hear the difference, and anecdotal evidence is generally trumped by double-blind A/B testing...
 
Beyond that... the short answer is no, AFAIK there isn't an explanation other than what I offered above. Others may have other ideas... 

I can say with absolute confidence there is no difference between versions with the sound quality. They use the same audio engine. However add one plugin and all bets are off.
 

subtlearts
I hate to say it... but if you did a null test, and were left with silence, then yes, it's "all in your mind" - meaning, what you're "hearing" is your own confirmation bias - what you wanted to hear. That's not surprising - a great deal of what people think they hear and see can be explained by confirmation bias, and in fact that very wording is dangerous - when I say that people "think they hear" (or see) something, I mean they really are hearing or seeing that thing, but that doesn't mean it is "really" there, or not exactly as they are experiencing it. We do not experience the world directly, we filter it - sometimes extensively - through our mental models of what we think is going on. Of course I'm under no illusion that I am immune from this - knowing it doesn't protect us from it, it's just how our brains work. So the real answer is complicated - yes, it's all in your mind, and a null test proves that (science is good that way), but that doesn't mean you're not experiencing it. It just means that if you were as determined to hear it the other way around, you would hear it that way instead. Welcome to the wacky world of brains!

I think this is one of the very best explanations ever posted. 
   

One thing I can say for all versions:
If you import a wav-file into SONAR and then export the file back, there is no difference between import and export.
Because we use SONAR to digitize old tapes and vinyl we make again and again tests. We must be sure that SONAR makes no changes to recorded files. You can compare import and export with the cmd-command "comp".
 
 
 

You have to listen to Samplitude Pro X to start experiencing sound differences between DAWs next!

Yes, 64-bit precision was enabled in both versions.
 
I swear I can hear a difference.  I'm super picky when it comes to guitar distortion texture.  S6 sounds smoother, and on the drum attacks too.  I went back and forth a bunch of times, and kept hearing the same thing. Very subtle, yes, but something different seems to be going on.  I'm really baffled by the whole thing frankly.

Well, unless anybody has some logical explanation then my mind is fooling me.

Sonic

Hello,
do you use the same pan law settings in both versions ?
 
Pan Laws have been the reason for sound differences of
different cakewalk versions in the past.
 
regards

John
I can say with absolute confidence there is no difference between versions with the sound quality. They use the same audio engine. However add one plugin and all bets are off.
 

subtlearts
I hate to say it... but if you did a null test, and were left with silence, then yes, it's "all in your mind" - meaning, what you're "hearing" is your own confirmation bias - what you wanted to hear. That's not surprising - a great deal of what people think they hear and see can be explained by confirmation bias, and in fact that very wording is dangerous - when I say that people "think they hear" (or see) something, I mean they really are hearing or seeing that thing, but that doesn't mean it is "really" there, or not exactly as they are experiencing it. We do not experience the world directly, we filter it - sometimes extensively - through our mental models of what we think is going on. Of course I'm under no illusion that I am immune from this - knowing it doesn't protect us from it, it's just how our brains work. So the real answer is complicated - yes, it's all in your mind, and a null test proves that (science is good that way), but that doesn't mean you're not experiencing it. It just means that if you were as determined to hear it the other way around, you would hear it that way instead. Welcome to the wacky world of brains!

I think this is one of the very best explanations ever posted. 
 

I totally agree. Very well written