Maselec MEA-2 Hardware EQ VS Acustica & Relab Plugin Emulations

In this video I directly compare the Maselec MEA-2 hardware EQ to the Relab Development and Acustica Ivory 5 plugin emulation. We are going to do a blind test to see if you can actually hear which of these two plugins in more accurate first then show you which plugins is A and which is B.

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[Janomix]

Very little differences between the three options, but by the price difference, software version is (both) a real winner! Thaks!

[DJURBANBG]

Thanks again ! All these comparisons just show that the emulations are extremely close to the HW and there is no loss of quality

[HoneyB_kyoto]

Thanks for quality content! Opening my mixing mastering studio in kyoto japan next year and now working out the investment direction and your channel helps a lot!

When you posted this video I directly downloaded the demo version and to be honest I was so exited to try it out…. I was expecting the same feeling I had first time I tried the Metrics Halo / Make believe SONTEC 432 :: that plugin is a marvel and made me think that we are so lucky nowadays because the software emulation are getting so incredibly close and really elevated my works- so couldn’t resist comparing this Relab Maselec to the Sontec by Metrics Halo…. Well the SONTEC add clarity, tightness and the transient are crystal clear - A/B to the Maselec Relab gives clouded low mids, almost hissing highs and it kills the transient clarity

Is it because I’m probably more a SONTEC fan or there is something to improve on the Relab Maselec side?

Had weird panning and clipping happening while switching through your presets, wrote a mail to Relab, rapid and polite answer from them that they are working already on a fix

Thanks for your feedback;)

[ezstproductions_]

Super close to me but for some weird reason Acustica had something a little nicer to me even over the hardware 😮. Might have to listen again lol

[Protraderforse]

Oh wow am on my tv with souround and sub and the ivory 5 is killing it for me, more controlled lows and matches the highs of the analogue to me.

[TheSaxjan]

Great video! I think the main difference is in the transients. Software seems just to get it not exactly right, always a bit irritating, while hardware (also my much cheaper hardware eq's) sounds always relaxed here. That phenomena effects the 3d-ness and depth perception. Relab (like all Algo's I know) more on the 'plastic' side, AA more on the 'blury' side. But AA seem to put a lot of effort in this topic and their 'Cherry' eq takes a good step forward here. But this very well made video shows also how close software is at present. Fascinating times!

[DnBLand]

they are close and the acustica version i prefered how it sound don't know but on my monitors sounds kind more fuller in the low mid frequencies. area...thank you to bring this comporation video ....overall the analog sounds wider giving more dimension

[JohnSk]

I have Ivory and it's a killer...the Relab though is the pleasant surprise of the week for me !! Good job

[scalawagPT]

When changing from analog to A then analog to B, i then later always found out that i preferred Ivory., just because it always sounded closer to the HW. And i was always right! Relab did a great job too!

[evillano]

The Acustica one had the preamp turned off. You can hear it has less harmonics than the other two. Great demo!

[giordanobruno]

Brother - you have to have the "Pre" in on the AA stuff and then you have to adjust the input trim.

[gimproductions]

Thanks for the video.
For me, with a quality headphone listen, wins Relab, in the third dance track there is an evident increase in the low range, which sounds very good but here we are talking about those who are more faithful to the original.

[DArkArtAudio]

Firstly, than you for doing this so well. Secondly, Acustica beats the Relab. And the hardware is definitely distinguishable to the software.

[owlmuso]

haha, neat trick at the end there! I remember the video you did a few months back with the maselec up against other hardware EQ units, and as much as I liked all of them I really thought the masalec was in a league of its own. Since then its been on my bucket list of items to I hanker after it :). In terms of plugins (assuming you didn't do that trick throughout, hehe) I thought both, whilst nowhere near the beauty of the hardware, were pretty good as plugins, even if the stereo field narrowed with them. But, all in all, I lean towards the Acustica a little more. Like Acustica's other plugins I find it a little grittier than the Relab, but also a little more lively. But the Relab isn't bad either. Thanks again for sharing, Paul

[mayzter]

The analog sounds a bit better than A (Ivory) and I found Ivory to be a bit better than the Relab. We're splitting hears at the moment, especially in the mix. Both plugins sound good enough for their price. I will try to use Ivory and Scarlet as a passthrough to the Relab, to see if the combo makes sense. But I will be buying the Relab. The M/S per band option is very useful. Thanks for the comparison, mate:)

[mpathy]

Needed this comparison video so thank you! Just one issue though: you have to turn on the "Pre" on all the AA stuff for it to sound better and also try adjusting the input trim.

[AntiPhones-styb]

Great comparison thanks! Amazingly I actually preferred the software over the hardware. Sometimes Acoustica sometimes Relab. Both of them had a little more punch and low end depth than the hardware did. That was a surprise!

[Lewis_Emblack]

Thanks for doing this, been looking forward to it since I saw you comment you were. Relab was instantly recognisable as seems to enhance the transients in a digital way. Yes, the Ivory does smear them slightly more than the hardware but generally sounds more like the HW to me due to, I suspect in both cases, it essentally being a static IR. I could go for either happy in the knowledge they are both pretty close, though personally Ivory takes it for me with maybe a bit of a blend to add back a bit of those transients. Once it is ported to the new Hyper tech I imagine it will be considerably closer, as well as address the resource issues. That last one threw me, I was really baffled as to why the differences had gone and even took a break incase it was my ears 😂 Rendered it a "no idea" in the end. At least I know I'm not just imagining what I'm hearing which is a positive.

[TigroGumi]

Relab is closer.
The real one I noticed the reverb finding its own space more.
Relab did that much more than the Acustica

[toddmiller]

in these tests for me the hardware wins every time, and the relab is closer to it. all of them are very very good, there's considerable differences in the soundstage / stereo image & possibly this is in part due to phase differences between the 3 units' filters. it might be good to hear a filters out comparison & a filters in but no gain comparison where possible.

if i had the maselec i'd reach for that over either of the emulations, and if i had relab i'd probably reach for that in the box... this is coming from an ivory user of several years - and i've been very happy with ivory no complaints. i'd say on a scale of 0-100 we're talking about 4-5% with maselec on top and the other units under it. that's a small enough difference for many to not hear at all, and others to pick either way, and could very well be indistinguishable on many consumer grade systems / speakers. however, in mastering we're going for just that 2-5% on each unit / treatment where we can - and the results ADD UP.

well done video. in fact, brilliant and thanks to you!