Awesome comparison. They sound so similar tbh. if i told you i had a preference id be lying. I think maybe the low end sound like 2% tighter on the ssl but i not enough to justify the cost. Was this on the clean setting on the ssl? Maybe there other drive modes may have a bigger difference.
@@polRz the isa is 2999 and the pure drive Octo is 2499. Not a half price difference. Listening again i can hear a difference in the sustain on the preamps. The isa has more sustain and punchier transients and is a bit brighter.
It’s one of those things I felt I had to lean in to hear (even with earbuds), but I hate to have to acknowledge my initial reaction/ assessment; the SSL Quad perhaps seemed at least on par in terms of general tonality, but the spatial & dimensional replication qualitatively seemed slightly, yet still relatively lackluster next to the ISA.. & Full disclosure - I’m probably upset bc I’m in the market for a versatile 4 channel mic pre (*pristine vs colored plus routing options that have me likewise considering a 500 series style approach), but I’m worried if the top end doesn’t come out with that “WOW factor” in the spatial element, that my stereo guitar rig won’t translate as articulate from clean to ethereal, and not to mention the full body of my vocals.. imho quality always trumps gimmicks (the eternal nitpicking vs little differences add up over X amount of tracks dilemma). Definitely a rad video and demo, too, btw! 🎶
It’s one of those things I felt I had to lean in to hear (even with earbuds), and but I hate to have to agree from my initial reaction/ assessment, too; the SSL Quad perhaps seemed at least on par in terms of general tonality, but the spatial & dimensional replication qualitatively seemed slightly, yet still relatively lackluster next to the ISA.. & Full disclosure - I’m probably upset bc I’m in the market for a versatile 4 channel mic pre (*pristine vs colored plus routing options that have me likewise considering a 500 series style approach), but I’m worried if the top end doesn’t come out with that “WOW factor” in the spatial element, that my stereo guitar rig won’t translate as articulate from clean to ethereal, and not to mention the full body of my vocals.. imho quality always trumps gimmicks (the eternal nitpicking vs little differences add up over X amount of tracks dilemma)
@@nicholasparis5281 Personally, I have the Rupert Neve lunchbox, the R6 to be exact, and I must say that it is one of the best on the market in terms of quality. One of the most important things to consider before buying a lunchbox is the AMPS, the VOLTS it works with. The 500 series components do not sound the same when they work at 16V, 24, 32 or more. There are many lunchboxes on the market, but not all of them are of good quality and I say all this so that you do not make the mistake of putting a good quality equipment inside a box that does not do it justice.
the sounds..are similar
Awesome comparison. They sound so similar tbh. if i told you i had a preference id be lying. I think maybe the low end sound like 2% tighter on the ssl but i not enough to justify the cost. Was this on the clean setting on the ssl? Maybe there other drive modes may have a bigger difference.
well the SSL is nearly half price of the focusrite ISA 828 mkII he is comparing it with
@@polRz the isa is 2999 and the pure drive Octo is 2499. Not a half price difference. Listening again i can hear a difference in the sustain on the preamps. The isa has more sustain and punchier transients and is a bit brighter.
They sound the same.
It’s one of those things I felt I had to lean in to hear (even with earbuds), but I hate to have to acknowledge my initial reaction/ assessment; the SSL Quad perhaps seemed at least on par in terms of general tonality, but the spatial & dimensional replication qualitatively seemed slightly, yet still relatively lackluster next to the ISA..
& Full disclosure - I’m probably upset bc I’m in the market for a versatile 4 channel mic pre (*pristine vs colored plus routing options that have me likewise considering a 500 series style approach), but I’m worried if the top end doesn’t come out with that “WOW factor” in the spatial element, that my stereo guitar rig won’t translate as articulate from clean to ethereal, and not to mention the full body of my vocals.. imho quality always trumps gimmicks (the eternal nitpicking vs little differences add up over X amount of tracks dilemma).
Definitely a rad video and demo, too, btw! 🎶
IN MY OPINION I PREFER THE SOUND OF THE ISA 828 MK 2, I FEEL IT IS MORE OPEN AND MUSICAL
OKAY THEN
It’s one of those things I felt I had to lean in to hear (even with earbuds), and but I hate to have to agree from my initial reaction/ assessment, too; the SSL Quad perhaps seemed at least on par in terms of general tonality, but the spatial & dimensional replication qualitatively seemed slightly, yet still relatively lackluster next to the ISA..
& Full disclosure - I’m probably upset bc I’m in the market for a versatile 4 channel mic pre (*pristine vs colored plus routing options that have me likewise considering a 500 series style approach), but I’m worried if the top end doesn’t come out with that “WOW factor” in the spatial element, that my stereo guitar rig won’t translate as articulate from clean to ethereal, and not to mention the full body of my vocals.. imho quality always trumps gimmicks (the eternal nitpicking vs little differences add up over X amount of tracks dilemma)
@@nicholasparis5281 Personally, I have the Rupert Neve lunchbox, the R6 to be exact, and I must say that it is one of the best on the market in terms of quality. One of the most important things to consider before buying a lunchbox is the AMPS, the VOLTS it works with. The 500 series components do not sound the same when they work at 16V, 24, 32 or more. There are many lunchboxes on the market, but not all of them are of good quality and I say all this so that you do not make the mistake of putting a good quality equipment inside a box that does not do it justice.