Around the same time, I owned the Iridium, the ACS1, and the Ruby. I still own the Iridium, as I found it easiest to fit well in a mix. Take that for what its worth.
At first glance, I preferred the ACS1. With traditional MIDI input/output, a boost feature, and being able to mix match the cabs in the L/R stereo output, it seems a cut above the Iridium. But then I looked a bit closer. Iridium has an expression pedal input which I would find more useful than MIDI (which it has, too, through the same jack), an instant favorites button (which I find more useful than a simple boost in volume/gain that I probably wouldn't use recording), and a higher resolution output at 24-bit/96kHz vs. the 24-bit/48kHz on the ACS1. And while the Iridium doesn't mix and match cabs, it certainly does do a stereo output of the same cab--which, to my ears, sounds better than the ACS1. And not just on this demo. On all of them so far. I'm still researching and comparing these two, but I have to say I still give the iridium the edge as an all-in-one amp solution for recording.
At first, I really tought I'd prefer the ACS1, cause the fender-y sound at first was much better than the Irudium for gainy things. I have the Iridium and only use the round setting for pure clean, jazz and stuff. The others though, both chime and punch, I found the Iridium really came into its own.
I've had both and to my ears the acs1 sounds and feels way more real to me but of course that's subjective I've just noticed i loved playing the walrus audio acs1 way more than the iridium . for some reason the Strymon pedals all have this hollow feel kind of like talking but not feeling your voice when you talk both great though just different flavors don't discount the Neunaber neuron as well it feels and sounds great too !technology has just blown my mind as of late , we truly are in the golden age of modern guitar ! great demo thank you !
Sample rate only matters if you're inputting frequencies at higher than half the sample rate, i.e. 24khz on acs1 and 48khz on the iridium. Considering a guitar sort of maxes out at around 15khz on really high gain, I doubt that many users will experience aliasing on the acs1. Maybe if you really, really crank the gain on it and push it with a lot of distortion.
@@lastboxofsparklers Thanks for sharing! How about if you are running a high quality solid state or tube preamp before the Iridium. Let's say like a RevivalDrive or Kingsley Tube preamp?
Great comparison vid! You made a good point about how much the IRs loaded on these boxes matter - on that topic I would love to see more speaker/cab comparisons on your channel. I think a lot of guitarists don't realize how much speaker/cab choice determines their sound because of all of the guitar/amp/pedal toys we drool over.
Thank you Henning for this really great and informative analysis and demonstration. You are the best in the business at providing intelligent and super informative content. Be well. I feel like you are my trusted friend.
The best compliment I can pay to both of these companies is I can’t decide and will have to try them myself. As you said, flavours! (Spelled for my European crew) Thanks for the great video.
Great review! I have the Iridium and use the Chime setting most of the time. I love the VOX characteristics of that model. But I've never loved the Fender model...or the Marshall, so I just use it for the Vox sound. When I need a good clean Fender-ish sound, I use my SansAmp California. I set it up like a clean Boogie and it sounds great. The ACS1 sounded okay to me, but I prefer what I get from the SansAmp California.
@@EytschPi42 Yeah, clearly the Iridium IR’s sounded better, tho. Would you be willing to do a video where you play both of them through the same IR’s so that we can really COMPARE both products? That would be REALLY helpful.
Definitely makes a difference!! I used a HX stomp and then an iridium. The iridium is what I preferred but I kind of think the main reason is the built in IR’s!
That's a really great point. Especially if you have these in your top row on your pedal board, they will essentially have a very, very similar footprint in terms of the real estate they'll occupy on your board. This is really a draw rather than advantage to the Walrus pedal.
They both sound pretty damn good, but I think that the Strymon just barely gets the nod for sound here. It is so close though, and it could be due to the volume differences (the Strymon was a tad louder, and to human brains louder = sounding better. This is a trick that has been used to con audiophiles for decades). Also, Walrus used Micro USB instead of USB C, so there is a serious point of failure right there that absolutely should not be there.
Great video. A lot of people talked that is impossible compare this pedal with differents IR. I think this video isn't to make the pedals sounds identical, but to compare the quality of this two pedals. I feel the stereo image more clearest on ACS1, even when you use L+R Switch on the middle position. I feel Iridium have more headroom and more volume. I don't feel a lot of differences to justify A/D converter unparity, i think in the mix don't do a lot of differences. I don't have certain which is more noisyless. I think both are good choose for your pedalboard and probably I will waiting for more videos to dicide which one I will buy.
i would love to see this comparison with ACS1 with the most recent v2 firmware update ... it seems that made the ASC1 more gainy sounds and completely new cabs ... i belive that w that new firmware update the ACS1 it rocks even more !!!!
Sold my iridium within 30 minutes to preorder the ACS. I really love the Iridium though! And kind of preferred the Iridium in the video. So I'll try to remember to come back and give my thoughts. Tracked a song last night with the Iridium and I'll go back and do the same with the ACS to see the differences. I'm excited to try it though! I'm excited about the stereo amp feature on the ACS though.
Alright so I got it yesterday. Then remembering that I used just stock IR’s on the Iridium, so sorry about that. BUT. I do have some opinions. In the video I preferred the Iridium, sounded more natural and fatter. But in person, coming through my studio monitors, I preferred the ACS. Like Henning was saying, it sounds more like an amp in a room. IMO it takes drives a lot better, and just sounds a little better, to my ear. One thing I wish it had was more gain. I can barely get the ACS to breakup, it was nice having a lot of gain on tap on the Iridium. But, if you get all of your drive from pedals and just want a solid direct option, especially if you run stereo, I’d say the ACS is the winner. I haven’t tracked anything with it yet, but I feel like it will sit really well in a track just based on what I can hear, not that the Iridium doesn’t sound good in a track, just rambling now. Plus the stereo options make it a lot better than the Iridium from that point of view. Being able to use different amps and cabs on both sides is awesome! It sounds great. I was honestly really surprised by it when I first plugged it in. Lemme know if you have any other questions
@@claytonmurrayguitar Could you perceive any loss in quality with the ACS1? I know the Iridium outputs 24-bit/96kHz while the Walrus Audio only does 24-bit/48kHz. Also, how does running different cabs in stereo on the ACS compare to just running a single cab type with a stereo output on the Iridium? I know a lot of people are making a big deal about being able to mix and match cabs, but both have a stereo out and should sound great going to separate channels in an interface (I can always EQ/pan them differently in post if I want to do that). And do you miss having an expression pedal input? I prefer the traditional MIDI connections on the ACS1, but I like the idea of an expression input.
@@richnewman I didn't notice any loss in quality. If anything it sounded more real to my ears than the Iridium. And running different cabs on each side is great! Really allows you to tailor the sound to what you want.
@@richnewman I also never used the expression on the Iridium. I mainly only used it for tracking and live like.. twice maybe. I just set it and forgot it. And yeah you can alter it how you want in post. But there's more than enough control and options on the pedal itself to get a great sound. No complaints about it! I enjoy it more than the Iridium. But still mainly use my amp haha
Both companies have done a great job with both of these pedals. I’m always going to complain a little when I can’t play a “real” amp but they’re making it much better these days. NEVER got along with Kempers and had to play them for a few years in certain live situations.
Nice, I'm in the market so interesting to see this comparison. I'm loving the midrange of the Iridium's fender style model, I hear that "digi-dealy-fizzily" high end in the Walrus if anything. Might just be an EQ thing. The Vox models sound very comparable, but the Iridum is sharper. I like the Marshall model on the Iridium for sure, smooth and clear. The Walrus model is a bit boxy by comparison. Tho as you said, probably a lot to do with the IRs. What's interesting is, in other videos the Iridium seems to blow everything else out of the water as far as taking pedals. Here they seem to both take that overdrive well. Does the Walrus also have an analog preamp, I wonder? I'd be curious to hear a couple more gain pedals in front of these A/B with a similar clean setting. Any case, great video!
dude, that was a great video. Haven’t played either but am in the market for a straight-to-DAW solution for times when I can’t play my mic’d amps. “Go for colour” - great punchline. Thanks!
Thanks for the review. Strymon had more headroom, less hiss, more tonal capabilities in my opinion. Now I know which one I can buy. Hence why Strymon is 96khz and the ACS1 is half of that lol
@@juandoming6688idk, to me the strymon is too pristine and perfect, it sounds perfect, too perfect. I admit, I’m an amp snob but those subtle differences of non pristine sounds coming from an amp are why I prefer the ACS1, it’s more natural sounding
i like the ACS’ form factor & dedicated L/R amps, but iridium sounds much more open to me, particularly on the chime setting. would be interesting to hear people upload their own IRs on the ACS to see if it changes things
I think maybe cuz he's more used to iridium. I think in time people are gonna be able to figure it out and how to dial in some nice tones. the thing JUST came out. that pedal show low key made iridium sound bad when it first came out. but even to this day I'm seeing new videos about ways to pull out more tones from iridium. you are right tho, iridium did sound better in this video.
Great video. I have been on the fence for a while now regarding modelling solution. Being a tube amp guy, I have an original Torpedo Captor load box, which I use with my tube amps and I have been considering getting a CAB M. Also have been considering Iridium and HX Stomp. I have a new powerfull computer and can easliy monitor using WOS III or a guitar ampsim in real time without any latency that gets in my way. So now another product that appears super useful. My main use for any of this would be in recording studio....almost too much great stuff to choose from!
Great video, Henning.. I‘ll stick with the Strymon because I do use the startup modes of the Iridium so I can use it as a preamp-like pedal without speakersim into a orange pedalbaby.
I think in the “fender” style the ACS1 sounds better with clean tones, more clarity and defined , but the Iridium sounds getter with higher gain tones In the “Vox” style the Iridium takes the cake for clean and dirty. No contest there And the “Marshall” style Iridium sounds much better too me for both clean and dirty. The Iridium sounds less compressed, and warmer. The ACS1 is more bright and boxy in my opinion. Both sound fantastic for emulated amps in a pedal tho, but if I was going to buy one I would definitely choose the Iridium.
Would be really nice with same IRs loaded into both products (when comparing them like this). Also, it would be nice if the manufacturers would let us know if they went for A) true to original sound - when comparing to real amp or B) great sound out of the box and more "final mix" sound..
I ordered the Behringer V-Tone Guitar GDI21 AMP amplifier from the Musicstore. Hopefully that's enough to write music with a small compact Steinberg UR22mkII sound card from the comfort of your couch lol. I have an exciting idea! - Write cool music without getting up from the couch, if possible lying down. I have no idea what these preamps are for. But there are some options. I hope to live until the time when I understand what the CHALLENGES and the idea of the engineers put into these pedals. Yes, my post is a direct advertisement for the Musicstore online store. Buying in it, you can save well on delivery to Russia. Thomann will be more expensive, although the choice is still richer, a little.
Great, informative comparison. On the 'F' settings are you running a Voyager OD into them both? I can't get my Iridium to break up like that on the Round setting - unless I really max the Drive and Middle knobs. Both are excellent pedals from excellent pedal makers. I have the Iridium but as soon as I saw the Walrus pedal I new it would be great and I'll end up buying it : ) I don't think one is necessarily better than the other - the ability to change IR's can make them sound really different to their stock settings anyway - they are both just fantastic amps in boxes. Thanks for demo'ing them side by side.
is it normal that iridium has more volume and power? I dont know how it plays in a room, but through youtube, i think the iridium is significantly better sounding ..?
The strymon in stock sounds better but the walrus audio stereo dual amping is the only point the ACS1 sounded better.... I’m not sure if it’s good enough for me though.
Yep I noticed this with the D1 and kicked it out because of it and other reasons. Stereo side jacks suck. Every company should be doing top mounted jacks these days. Side jacks are an outdated design.
I think you used the Marshall IR on the Vox comparison on the ACS1. At least give it a fair go using the stock "Blue" IR on the ACS1 and Iridium. The ACS1 won the Fender front to my ears.
Both list at $399 (US). I just bought the Strymon after watching a bunch of other YT reviews and demos. Can't wait to plug in! The Strymon just seems to be a bit "warmer" and "open" sounding to my ears in this video.
Even though the ACS1 sounds more "real" as in it sounds like the amp is in the room, I can appreciate that for playing live. I'm curious which of these two sounds "better/more real" when used exclusively for recording directly into an Interface?
Sounds like the ACS1 is sitting in a way larger room. The room reverb on the Iridium seems like it's set way less so the amp feels like it's way closer to your ear. Also, the IRs are just so different, it's really hard to tell which is "better".
I guess Im asking the wrong place but does anybody know of a tool to log back into an Instagram account? I somehow lost my account password. I appreciate any assistance you can offer me!
@Brycen Nicolas Thanks so much for your reply. I found the site on google and Im waiting for the hacking stuff atm. Looks like it's gonna take a while so I will get back to you later with my results.
You can't really compare these with different IRs. Both sound good. I kind of dig the Strymon a little more. I don't think it would hurt to have either one. You just keep trying IRs to find the sound you want.
Sold my Iridium. Nice piece of gear, but definitely a compromise in tone and feel. Still, was impressive. If you can, a real tube amp with a load box is way better IME.
After trying almost every modeler/pedal out there I'm getting to the same conclusion. In all modelers, the sound is there, but not the feel and there's no way you can show that in a video. Anyway, thanks Eytsch for the video. Very informative.
Sold my Iridium too. No fx loop, no input aux, no lovely reverb to my taste. No good sound with my ath50 headphones. I'm searching fender and vox sound in a box, and easy of use
Iridium sounds better as others have said. I own one. Then I bought the Cory wong archetype plugin and I like it more... low end is more warm. Serious clean tones there.
To me the Iridium wins hands down. But it might also be the room / ambience that clouds my judgement. I am very picky regarding reverb, and like it next to nothing. Both units are good, sure. They better be at this price.
Imo the ACS has better cleans and the Iridium has better gain, so if you get your gain from an existing pedalboard i'd choose the ACS, if you want more versatility in the pedal itself or are in general more at home in the higher gain territory i'd take the iridium
That’s the biggest flaw in both. They desperately need a high gain amp or two. (SLO, 5150, Rectifier etc) They lose half the prospective market omitting modern gain tones.
@@chuuweec.8080 I play with the cab modeler of the big sky only. Fantastic for recording. Iridium is myles better. Cant imagine how great this must be.
The bottom end sounds a bit unnatural to me on the iridium and the notes seem to swell/bloom more on the acs1 like a real amp. I’d be happy with either as a pedal platform tbh
The ACS1 is okay but has a boxy sound and can sound muddy as at its higher gain settings. The Iridium has a much more open sound to my ears and allows me to hear the playing dynamics better.
I'm mostly recording hard rock to metal alternating between high gain and clean sounds, so Iridium is the clear choice for me (next purchase!). Also, I always prefer a more forward sound and avoid "boxy." That's the big problem with the ACS1 to my ears. Don't want to have to sift through IR's to fix it. I have the Dream 65, and with an Archer in front, I get a great crunch/high gain tone. I bet that will work with Iridium as well!
Iridium sounds like a properly mic’d cab. Walrus sounds like a cab you hear in a room (without a mic). I guess strymon adds a touch more “compression” due to the mic’d sound. I prefer the iridium
Great video and very informative. However your playing is too good; it distracts me 🙂 But seriously, I have a question; does the Walrus ACS1 leave a gap in the sound when switching presets? Tanguy Delooz has commented that the Iridium does. This is important to me as I want to control it and a looper (via MIDI) for solo performance. Cheers, Bob.
No one even mention amplifirebox by atomic. I own both iridium and amplifirebox. With amplifirebox, u can save up to 9 preset with a toogle switch. IMO if you know how to tweak, amplifirebox can sound same as the iridium and maybe even "better" . It is done by adjusting EQ, compression through windows edit though, it even have noise gate, delay n reverb.
It takes a lot not to shout. The reason they used that USB port is by circuit design. USB 3.0 will overload the voltage so they are using the standard 5.5v USB. Please just plug it in and dont worry about why they did what they did. They get paid to do things right.
The ACS sounded more mid rangy. It brought out different frequencies. Maybe more Fenderish. The Iridium has a better gain stage IMO, more Marshall like. Question? You couldn’t dial in the EQ and or cab to get a sound closer to the ACS when you’re playing clean?
I like the VOX sound better on the Iridium. On the ACS1 I like the Fender sound better + that the Marshall sound is a bluesbreaker. High gain is not really my thing, and that would have been a bonus for me on the Iridium, but not important. For me, the ACS1 definitely sounds more like a real AMP, but the Iridium lets it rip properly. No one will ever ask me which amp I use. I was about to buy the Iridium. Now I'll wait until the ACS1 is available and torture myself. probably be happy with the one I get, no matter which. On the whole, I like both of them. CHEERS
Around the same time, I owned the Iridium, the ACS1, and the Ruby. I still own the Iridium, as I found it easiest to fit well in a mix. Take that for what its worth.
At first glance, I preferred the ACS1. With traditional MIDI input/output, a boost feature, and being able to mix match the cabs in the L/R stereo output, it seems a cut above the Iridium. But then I looked a bit closer. Iridium has an expression pedal input which I would find more useful than MIDI (which it has, too, through the same jack), an instant favorites button (which I find more useful than a simple boost in volume/gain that I probably wouldn't use recording), and a higher resolution output at 24-bit/96kHz vs. the 24-bit/48kHz on the ACS1. And while the Iridium doesn't mix and match cabs, it certainly does do a stereo output of the same cab--which, to my ears, sounds better than the ACS1. And not just on this demo. On all of them so far. I'm still researching and comparing these two, but I have to say I still give the iridium the edge as an all-in-one amp solution for recording.
You can actually send different IR’s to left and right if you use the Strymon Impulse Manager software.
The high-gain on the Strymon sounds considerably better. Both sound convincing for cleans & edge-of-breakup.
At first, I really tought I'd prefer the ACS1, cause the fender-y sound at first was much better than the Irudium for gainy things. I have the Iridium and only use the round setting for pure clean, jazz and stuff. The others though, both chime and punch, I found the Iridium really came into its own.
I've had both and to my ears the acs1 sounds and feels way more real to me but of course that's subjective I've just noticed i loved playing the walrus audio acs1 way more than the iridium . for some reason the Strymon pedals all have this hollow feel kind of like talking but not feeling your voice when you talk both great though just different flavors don't discount the Neunaber neuron as well it feels and sounds great too !technology has just blown my mind as of late , we truly are in the golden age of modern guitar ! great demo thank you !
Also to add, A/D to D/A converter: ACS1 is 24-bit 48kHz; Iridium is 24-bit 96kHz. Also, the Iridium has an analog JFET preamp on the front end.
Does the Iridium have midi? Stereo? I the AC1 has both.
@@georgebarry8640 Yes to both questions. All details on their website.
Sample rate only matters if you're inputting frequencies at higher than half the sample rate, i.e. 24khz on acs1 and 48khz on the iridium. Considering a guitar sort of maxes out at around 15khz on really high gain, I doubt that many users will experience aliasing on the acs1. Maybe if you really, really crank the gain on it and push it with a lot of distortion.
@@lastboxofsparklers Thanks for sharing! How about if you are running a high quality solid state or tube preamp before the Iridium. Let's say like a RevivalDrive or Kingsley Tube preamp?
@@eanroad check out the frequency response of the average guitar amp speaker - it's rather depressing :)
Great comparison vid! You made a good point about how much the IRs loaded on these boxes matter - on that topic I would love to see more speaker/cab comparisons on your channel. I think a lot of guitarists don't realize how much speaker/cab choice determines their sound because of all of the guitar/amp/pedal toys we drool over.
Both sounding great - how about a comparison to something non digital (doing the same job)? DSM & Humboldt Simplifier...please :)
Damn. I wanted to prefer the walrus, but the strymon is just better
Same here, the mix l/r amps of the walrus is way cool, but the overall sounds of iridium are just better (as far I can tell in this video)
Yeah thats not surprising at all. Strymon stuff is on another level
Thank you Henning for this really great and informative analysis and demonstration. You are the best in the business at providing intelligent and super informative content. Be well. I feel like you are my trusted friend.
The best compliment I can pay to both of these companies is I can’t decide and will have to try them myself. As you said, flavours! (Spelled for my European crew) Thanks for the great video.
Great comparison. Still contemplating. Leaning towards the Strymon.
Great review! I have the Iridium and use the Chime setting most of the time. I love the VOX characteristics of that model. But I've never loved the Fender model...or the Marshall, so I just use it for the Vox sound. When I need a good clean Fender-ish sound, I use my SansAmp California. I set it up like a clean Boogie and it sounds great. The ACS1 sounded okay to me, but I prefer what I get from the SansAmp California.
Strymon / Walrus vs Joyo Character series.... I still love my Joyo AC Tone 💜
I'm happy with my Iridium - it's the perfect match for the Flint
@Arturo Cabrera The Iridium is the last - various pedals, Flint, Iridium
@@RaxFx interesting... I’ve got a Flint. Do you use the iridium as your amp?
@@TimNewman1 yep - I also have a couple of amps but I mostly play the Iridium into my studio monitors
I was wait for someone to compare these thank you!!
I decided on the ACS1 when it was first released partially based on this review. Two years later... I could not be happier!
What a great video! The battle it’s on!
Now I wanna hear them through the same IR.
I only check gear through the stock IR because that is how they come out of the box
@@EytschPi42 good point.
@@EytschPi42 Yeah, clearly the Iridium IR’s sounded better, tho. Would you be willing to do a video where you play both of them through the same IR’s so that we can really COMPARE both products? That would be REALLY helpful.
Definitely makes a difference!! I used a HX stomp and then an iridium. The iridium is what I preferred but I kind of think the main reason is the built in IR’s!
Hennings’ sweater game is on point in this one.
So much work, thanks Henning. I don't have a horse in this race, but the Strymon felt wider and more airy in the "Brit" sounds.
The bigger pedal has top mounted jacks, so I think that makes up for the size difference.
That's a really great point. Especially if you have these in your top row on your pedal board, they will essentially have a very, very similar footprint in terms of the real estate they'll occupy on your board. This is really a draw rather than advantage to the Walrus pedal.
They both sound pretty damn good, but I think that the Strymon just barely gets the nod for sound here. It is so close though, and it could be due to the volume differences (the Strymon was a tad louder, and to human brains louder = sounding better. This is a trick that has been used to con audiophiles for decades). Also, Walrus used Micro USB instead of USB C, so there is a serious point of failure right there that absolutely should not be there.
Great video. A lot of people talked that is impossible compare this pedal with differents IR. I think this video isn't to make the pedals sounds identical, but to compare the quality of this two pedals.
I feel the stereo image more clearest on ACS1, even when you use L+R Switch on the middle position. I feel Iridium have more headroom and more volume. I don't feel a lot of differences to justify A/D converter unparity, i think in the mix don't do a lot of differences. I don't have certain which is more noisyless. I think both are good choose for your pedalboard and probably I will waiting for more videos to dicide which one I will buy.
Thanks...as soon as I saw the ACS1 being released, this is the video we needed!
i would love to see this comparison with ACS1 with the most recent v2 firmware update ... it seems that made the ASC1 more gainy sounds and completely new cabs ... i belive that w that new firmware update the ACS1 it rocks even more !!!!
OK, that's a great hoodie. Oh, the video is great too. Thanks!
21:00 - that dual amp setup on the ACS-1 sounds super!
Great run through! For my needs the ACS1 wins for sure! The two different amp settings for stereo alone is enough for that!
Sold my iridium within 30 minutes to preorder the ACS. I really love the Iridium though! And kind of preferred the Iridium in the video. So I'll try to remember to come back and give my thoughts. Tracked a song last night with the Iridium and I'll go back and do the same with the ACS to see the differences. I'm excited to try it though! I'm excited about the stereo amp feature on the ACS though.
Alright so I got it yesterday. Then remembering that I used just stock IR’s on the Iridium, so sorry about that. BUT. I do have some opinions. In the video I preferred the Iridium, sounded more natural and fatter. But in person, coming through my studio monitors, I preferred the ACS. Like Henning was saying, it sounds more like an amp in a room. IMO it takes drives a lot better, and just sounds a little better, to my ear.
One thing I wish it had was more gain. I can barely get the ACS to breakup, it was nice having a lot of gain on tap on the Iridium. But, if you get all of your drive from pedals and just want a solid direct option, especially if you run stereo, I’d say the ACS is the winner.
I haven’t tracked anything with it yet, but I feel like it will sit really well in a track just based on what I can hear, not that the Iridium doesn’t sound good in a track, just rambling now.
Plus the stereo options make it a lot better than the Iridium from that point of view. Being able to use different amps and cabs on both sides is awesome! It sounds great. I was honestly really surprised by it when I first plugged it in.
Lemme know if you have any other questions
@@claytonmurrayguitar Could you perceive any loss in quality with the ACS1? I know the Iridium outputs 24-bit/96kHz while the Walrus Audio only does 24-bit/48kHz. Also, how does running different cabs in stereo on the ACS compare to just running a single cab type with a stereo output on the Iridium? I know a lot of people are making a big deal about being able to mix and match cabs, but both have a stereo out and should sound great going to separate channels in an interface (I can always EQ/pan them differently in post if I want to do that). And do you miss having an expression pedal input? I prefer the traditional MIDI connections on the ACS1, but I like the idea of an expression input.
@@richnewman I didn't notice any loss in quality. If anything it sounded more real to my ears than the Iridium. And running different cabs on each side is great! Really allows you to tailor the sound to what you want.
@@richnewman I also never used the expression on the Iridium. I mainly only used it for tracking and live like.. twice maybe. I just set it and forgot it. And yeah you can alter it how you want in post. But there's more than enough control and options on the pedal itself to get a great sound. No complaints about it! I enjoy it more than the Iridium. But still mainly use my amp haha
but the Iridium sounds better = hang on to the receipt
Both companies have done a great job with both of these pedals. I’m always going to complain a little when I can’t play a “real” amp but they’re making it much better these days. NEVER got along with Kempers and had to play them for a few years in certain live situations.
Nice, I'm in the market so interesting to see this comparison. I'm loving the midrange of the Iridium's fender style model, I hear that "digi-dealy-fizzily" high end in the Walrus if anything. Might just be an EQ thing. The Vox models sound very comparable, but the Iridum is sharper. I like the Marshall model on the Iridium for sure, smooth and clear. The Walrus model is a bit boxy by comparison. Tho as you said, probably a lot to do with the IRs. What's interesting is, in other videos the Iridium seems to blow everything else out of the water as far as taking pedals. Here they seem to both take that overdrive well. Does the Walrus also have an analog preamp, I wonder? I'd be curious to hear a couple more gain pedals in front of these A/B with a similar clean setting. Any case, great video!
Iridium was a bit louder on the video than the ACS1, that might skew the perceived tonal difference.
(Team Iridium) I am kinda relieved that the ACS1 doesn't sound as good to me. I hate regretting a purchase.
haha same
Haha I swear! I just got my iridium
On another note, i regret my Catalinbread purchase of DLS because the Iridium already does the Marshall Sound really nicely
dude, that was a great video. Haven’t played either but am in the market for a straight-to-DAW solution for times when I can’t play my mic’d amps. “Go for colour” - great punchline. Thanks!
Thank you for your time.
The expression you were looking for in Englisch is “wins by a nose”. Great review!
Thanks for the review. Strymon had more headroom, less hiss, more tonal capabilities in my opinion. Now I know which one I can buy. Hence why Strymon is 96khz and the ACS1 is half of that lol
Why do people gaslight like this?
@@juandoming6688idk, to me the strymon is too pristine and perfect, it sounds perfect, too perfect. I admit, I’m an amp snob but those subtle differences of non pristine sounds coming from an amp are why I prefer the ACS1, it’s more natural sounding
i like the ACS’ form factor & dedicated L/R amps, but iridium sounds much more open to me, particularly on the chime setting. would be interesting to hear people upload their own IRs on the ACS to see if it changes things
I cant wait for that. I use a Cabm+ and we users are doing all that and all kinds of stuff..sure, it can be confusing..but REALLY rewarding,too.
Strymon sounded more natural to me. The IRs indeed seem to be better. You also fussed less with it to get a usable sound on all 3 amps.
Yeah I don't know what I'm hearing different than others on here, but I thought the Iridium won hands down on tone, but more features with the ACS1...
I think maybe cuz he's more used to iridium. I think in time people are gonna be able to figure it out and how to dial in some nice tones. the thing JUST came out.
that pedal show low key made iridium sound bad when it first came out. but even to this day I'm seeing new videos about ways to pull out more tones from iridium.
you are right tho, iridium did sound better in this video.
@@sammymac88 I heard it the same way too. The feature set on the ACS1 gave me pause - the stereo feature is pretty badass.
you are so cool!
I have ordered both to check out what I prefer
Great video. I have been on the fence for a while now regarding modelling solution. Being a tube amp guy, I have an original Torpedo Captor load box, which I use with my tube amps and I have been considering getting a CAB M. Also have been considering Iridium and HX Stomp. I have a new powerfull computer and can easliy monitor using WOS III or a guitar ampsim in real time without any latency that gets in my way. So now another product that appears super useful. My main use for any of this would be in recording studio....almost too much great stuff to choose from!
Iridium sounds better with pedal infront..
Thank You Henning,
Great work as usual.
I was wondering if plugging headphones you would still hear the different impulse responses…
Cheers,
Fabio
Holding one’s whammy bar while one plays lol Thanks for a great in depth review
Great video, Henning.. I‘ll stick with the Strymon because I do use the startup modes of the Iridium so I can use it as a preamp-like pedal without speakersim into a orange pedalbaby.
Tc G-System with a Bogner Blue to Iridium. Never looked back to my axe-fx :-)
I think in the “fender” style the ACS1 sounds better with clean tones, more clarity and defined , but the Iridium sounds getter with higher gain tones
In the “Vox” style the Iridium takes the cake for clean and dirty. No contest there
And the “Marshall” style Iridium sounds much better too me for both clean and dirty. The Iridium sounds less compressed, and warmer. The ACS1 is more bright and boxy in my opinion. Both sound fantastic for emulated amps in a pedal tho, but if I was going to buy one I would definitely choose the Iridium.
@@matthewharrison7868 damn!! That would be really cool to try out. I love Wet/Dry/Wet set ups.
Top quality review! Thanks.
I feel like Strymon Iridium has more like a DI kind of thing in how it sound in fender mode
Everything on the ACS1 sounds like it way recorded with a room mike, whereas the Strymon is more like close-mic'd cabs.
Thanks for making this video.
I still have no idea which one I am going to get... 😂
I’m in the same boat. If anything, I learned you can’t really go wrong with either one.
Would be really nice with same IRs loaded into both products (when comparing them like this).
Also, it would be nice if the manufacturers would let us know if they went for A) true to original sound - when comparing to real amp or B) great sound out of the box and more "final mix" sound..
Ok Henning, this was a great vid......... but now we need a head to head with the ACS1 and Two notes CAB M+.
Very informative... I just want to k ow why there’s a glowing colon on the back wall 😄
I ordered the Behringer V-Tone Guitar GDI21 AMP amplifier from the Musicstore. Hopefully that's enough to write music with a small compact Steinberg UR22mkII sound card from the comfort of your couch lol.
I have an exciting idea! - Write cool music without getting up from the couch, if possible lying down.
I have no idea what these preamps are for. But there are some options. I hope to live until the time when I understand what the CHALLENGES and the idea of the engineers put into these pedals.
Yes, my post is a direct advertisement for the Musicstore online store. Buying in it, you can save well on delivery to Russia. Thomann will be more expensive, although the choice is still richer, a little.
I think Iridium is better....no doubt. ...it's what i feel. great video man...thanks.
Great, informative comparison. On the 'F' settings are you running a Voyager OD into them both? I can't get my Iridium to break up like that on the Round setting - unless I really max the Drive and Middle knobs.
Both are excellent pedals from excellent pedal makers. I have the Iridium but as soon as I saw the Walrus pedal I new it would be great and I'll end up buying it : ) I don't think one is necessarily better than the other - the ability to change IR's can make them sound really different to their stock settings anyway - they are both just fantastic amps in boxes.
Thanks for demo'ing them side by side.
is it normal that iridium has more volume and power? I dont know how it plays in a room, but through youtube, i think the iridium is significantly better sounding ..?
The strymon in stock sounds better but the walrus audio stereo dual amping is the only point the ACS1 sounded better.... I’m not sure if it’s good enough for me though.
Walrus is smaller but when you plug your cables into the side mounted jacks its the same size as iridium with top mounted jacks
and that’s why I said that
@@EytschPi42 Must have somehow missed it, in any case great demo
Yep I noticed this with the D1 and kicked it out because of it and other reasons. Stereo side jacks suck. Every company should be doing top mounted jacks these days. Side jacks are an outdated design.
With everyone using loopers I think bypass buttons are outdated design.
Iridium past 2 o'clock on gain have treble booster circuit engage hence why.
The Iridium sounds more natural to ears, the ACS1 sounds harsh and lacks body & warmth
Is this what strymon bois do, gaslight everyone?
I think you used the Marshall IR on the Vox comparison on the ACS1. At least give it a fair go using the stock "Blue" IR on the ACS1 and Iridium.
The ACS1 won the Fender front to my ears.
Both list at $399 (US). I just bought the Strymon after watching a bunch of other YT reviews and demos. Can't wait to plug in! The Strymon just seems to be a bit "warmer" and "open" sounding to my ears in this video.
I sold my Iridium. The Atomic Firebox plus stereo reverb is way better.
Henning, where would you put the Iridium on your pedal board? Obviously after your Dirt pedals, but would you put it before delay and reverb or after?
@Dave Lanciani As per strymon, you can put the iridium either before or after time based and reverb in your signal chain.
I would like to see the same parameters on both pedals, all flat. That would gives us a better perspective of the comparison.
Wow that was quick!
You look like a young Dr. Evil from the 90's, when he was hip and with it. I think your review was great. Geil.
I like my Iridium. I did notice that you need to match the guitar to the settings with the Iridium, and my PRS McCarty loves the VOX settings.
Awesome demos
Even though the ACS1 sounds more "real" as in it sounds like the amp is in the room, I can appreciate that for playing live. I'm curious which of these two sounds "better/more real" when used exclusively for recording directly into an Interface?
Both sound awesome to me ...
Sounds like the ACS1 is sitting in a way larger room. The room reverb on the Iridium seems like it's set way less so the amp feels like it's way closer to your ear. Also, the IRs are just so different, it's really hard to tell which is "better".
I guess Im asking the wrong place but does anybody know of a tool to log back into an Instagram account?
I somehow lost my account password. I appreciate any assistance you can offer me!
@Beau Neil Instablaster =)
@Brycen Nicolas Thanks so much for your reply. I found the site on google and Im waiting for the hacking stuff atm.
Looks like it's gonna take a while so I will get back to you later with my results.
@Brycen Nicolas it worked and I finally got access to my account again. I am so happy!
Thank you so much you saved my ass!
@Beau Neil no problem xD
You can't really compare these with different IRs. Both sound good. I kind of dig the Strymon a little more. I don't think it would hurt to have either one. You just keep trying IRs to find the sound you want.
Sold my Iridium. Nice piece of gear, but definitely a compromise in tone and feel. Still, was impressive. If you can, a real tube amp with a load box is way better IME.
After trying almost every modeler/pedal out there I'm getting to the same conclusion.
In all modelers, the sound is there, but not the feel and there's no way you can show that in a video.
Anyway, thanks Eytsch for the video. Very informative.
Sold my Iridium too. No fx loop, no input aux, no lovely reverb to my taste. No good sound with my ath50 headphones. I'm searching fender and vox sound in a box, and easy of use
Iridium sounds better as others have said. I own one. Then I bought the Cory wong archetype plugin and I like it more... low end is more warm. Serious clean tones there.
Henning, or anyone, have you tried the Milkman the amp 100 yet? I had the DSM Humboldt, didn't like it, so I'm on the hunt again.
haven't tried the milkman... the DSM was very disappointing to me... so much that I think mine was defective.
I’m going with the Strymon here
To me the Iridium wins hands down. But it might also be the room / ambience that clouds my judgement. I am very picky regarding reverb, and like it next to nothing. Both units are good, sure. They better be at this price.
Love the comment near the end, "...and the Iridium is 5-10% behind that.....Realistically, in a mix, nobody gives a shit." Hahaha
Imo the ACS has better cleans and the Iridium has better gain, so if you get your gain from an existing pedalboard i'd choose the ACS, if you want more versatility in the pedal itself or are in general more at home in the higher gain territory i'd take the iridium
now I want to get both and run them in stereo
I like em’ both.
that hoodie is so sick!!
God I wish they'd make these things with one high-gain model. Fender + Marshall(or Vox) + Mesa (or SLO)
Bluguitar Amp1 is for you guy.
That’s the biggest flaw in both. They desperately need a high gain amp or two. (SLO, 5150, Rectifier etc) They lose half the prospective market omitting modern gain tones.
@@GH-bn8wz Why desperately? - Pedals get you there...
@@RaxFx Yeah, modern high gain players normally use Fenders with pedals...
That digital fizziness is what makes me think twice about going all digital with these tools..
Same here. I really want to be ok with it, but I just can't. I went with the SImplifier and love it so far.
Make a blind test. Priming effect - all in your head. Iridium is on spot.
The only way to truly know is by trying it out in person with the touch of the guitar.
@@chuuweec.8080 I play with the cab modeler of the big sky only. Fantastic for recording. Iridium is myles better. Cant imagine how great this must be.
I agree I use an HX stomp BUT.. I got through an AMD preamp then a klon clone... Then into the hx and it's perfect IMO
The bottom end sounds a bit unnatural to me on the iridium and the notes seem to swell/bloom more on the acs1 like a real amp. I’d be happy with either as a pedal platform tbh
The ACS1 is okay but has a boxy sound and can sound muddy as at its higher gain settings. The Iridium has a much more open sound to my ears and allows me to hear the playing dynamics better.
This is just gaslighting.
I'm mostly recording hard rock to metal alternating between high gain and clean sounds, so Iridium is the clear choice for me (next purchase!). Also, I always prefer a more forward sound and avoid "boxy." That's the big problem with the ACS1 to my ears. Don't want to have to sift through IR's to fix it. I have the Dream 65, and with an Archer in front, I get a great crunch/high gain tone. I bet that will work with Iridium as well!
I bought an acs1 love it
AMAZING VIDEO MAN! Does this make a better work on sim cabs and amps than Pod Go? Thanks!
Iridium sounds like a properly mic’d cab. Walrus sounds like a cab you hear in a room (without a mic). I guess strymon adds a touch more “compression” due to the mic’d sound. I prefer the iridium
Great video and very informative. However your playing is too good; it distracts me 🙂
But seriously, I have a question; does the Walrus ACS1 leave a gap in the sound when switching presets?
Tanguy Delooz has commented that the Iridium does. This is important to me as I want to control it and a looper (via MIDI) for solo performance. Cheers, Bob.
This was helpful actually. Now I want them both.
No one even mention amplifirebox by atomic. I own both iridium and amplifirebox. With amplifirebox, u can save up to 9 preset with a toogle switch. IMO if you know how to tweak, amplifirebox can sound same as the iridium and maybe even "better" . It is done by adjusting EQ, compression through windows edit though, it even have noise gate, delay n reverb.
It takes a lot not to shout. The reason they used that USB port is by circuit design. USB 3.0 will overload the voltage so they are using the standard 5.5v USB. Please just plug it in and dont worry about why they did what they did. They get paid to do things right.
I am a reviewer... I get paid to look at stuff like that and comment!
I get some cool Jeff Beck type sounds with the Vox setting on my Iridium.
The ACS sounded more mid rangy. It brought out different frequencies. Maybe more Fenderish. The Iridium has a better gain stage IMO, more Marshall like. Question? You couldn’t dial in the EQ and or cab to get a sound closer to the ACS when you’re playing clean?
I like the VOX sound better on the Iridium. On the ACS1 I like the Fender sound better + that the Marshall sound is a bluesbreaker. High gain is not really my thing, and that would have been a bonus for me on the Iridium, but not important.
For me, the ACS1 definitely sounds more like a real AMP, but the Iridium lets it rip properly. No one will ever ask me which amp I use.
I was about to buy the Iridium. Now I'll wait until the ACS1 is available and torture myself. probably be happy with the one I get, no matter which. On the whole, I like both of them.
CHEERS
And the winner is ... the Simplifier !
The 'nose in front' analogy doesnt work if you're watching with subtitles...😬