Undertone Audio Unfairchild 670m II Hardware VS Plugin Emulation 

the deference is like 2D vs 3D ! the warmth , depth , width all of that is absolutely insane the world of hardwares is amazing

analog don't have same eq freq in right/left channel, they are different, that's why it's wider than plugin emulation

The plugin sounds mono, the real thing stereo. The plugin throughs a blanket over the music.

You not pushing the tools tô have a better comparison

It’s rare to be able to hear a night and day difference on my iPhone speaker. But damn.

6:50 Night and day of a difference almost laughable !

The plug-in sounds like is just missing the tubes and the transformers 😂

there is one thing in the world of audio that sound engineers need to clarify(i'm not SE but i think they should explain it). Plugins in general work as they should and when the hardwares was created, I think their primary goal was just to do what is expected of them in the most simple and effective way possible, I mean if by chance it was the computer that had started the creation of plugins( compression eq ...) before the hardwares, the purposes would have been different(maybe). What people like about analog sound is precisely the depth, the thickness, the impact it gives to the sound( and not just the compression or eq ), while the plugins reproduce in the most faithful way what the hardware manufacturers wanted at the start (without adding analog noise, deformation of sounds - subtle saturation of the harmonics...). The question that must first be asked is, do we want this analog color? how was the sound (recorded) before and after the plugin and hardware? If there was already an analog recording that satisfies the sound engineer who recorded the project and if anything needs to be added to it? For my part I think that the main interest is to have a goal for the music we create (I'm not against the analog, I like myself this thickness that he adds), the comparisons are of course useful and good to know, but very relative on the finalities. (sorry for the sentence errors if there are any, I speak French👋

Plugin emulation is pop-corn with blue cheese. Hardware is blue cheese. End of story.

Every respectable engineer knows that uad is snakoil, but would ve been nice to hear some quality recorded acoustical instruments examples through it though.

I don't hear a big difference, except that the original sounds a bit more transparent and the highs are more noticeable, and the lows are a bit warmer and wider. The plugin is very close to the original, but I think the midrange sounds a bit better with the plugin.

The difference will not ever be worth the price...

This is the same difference in depth and space in my LA2A vs the plug-in... plugins are great for utility stuff but for TONE.... they aren't there.

Listened to it all with my screen on another tab and heard: a bigger low end; separation between a thicker kick and snare; more upfront and wider sound(vocals) and clarity and depth with the HARDWARE. In looking at the screen afterwards I saw the plugin example was 1st while the HW was 2nd so my ears were correct.

time stamp 205 song can tell huge diff so id say plugin not ready useless at the moment you loose all the life of the song with the plugin on vs the real thing w dont need that sistuation

Sound of plugin like plastic

as everyone says, the unfairchild absolutely killed the plugin. some weird distortion on the vocal sample though, thru the unfairchild. didnt notice that on the other sounds. also you still should set the threshold controls the same, even when in stereo link mode.

Difference is.. an actual picture &, a painting of the picture!!

The audio is not hitting the plugin and hardware with the same intensity. Impossible to know the extent of the difference in this way.

The hardware sounded fuller, punchier w/character and the plug in just an ok tone.

The hardware sounds great, but it is a beast, don't know how many times you got to re-tube that animal in a decade but maintenance seems a costly business with how many, 22 tubes?

Why are the needle readings so different? 🤔

What about the Kush Plugin

Even in my Mac Pro speaker I'm able to tell the difference. It feels more loose and airy

When you accidently buy a wrong hardware instead of a nice car you say "Night and day difference "🤣of course. Yes there is a small diffrence, but that difference does not worth 35k specially when the final song is heard on the radios and clubs and most practical listening environment. I challenge anyone who says night and day difference in a live blind AB test.

Lol of course it makes the difference because you have to justify the price.. I'd be fighting tooth and nail also 😂

Nice presentation! Would it be possible to get your examples (and a few of the older comparisons) as a download? Plugin versions and hardware versions. I want to do some tests in the box with plugin combinations.

Transients are much more controlled and smoother on the hardware. Thank you for showing the comparison.

much more pump and life

It would be amazing to hear it up against the Herritage Audio Herchild , tell me you don't want to do it hehe nice one thanks

Plugin is like Mini Me

Huge difference. Plugin is not in the same ballpark...which is why I own an UnFairchild.

Ful HD vs 8k.

There is obviously a big difference. To me it is not 10grand different so I'll settle for the UAD which is a very nice sounding plug in and I can have many instances of it. If I was running a super pro studio that was making the cheese, I'd spend it on hardware and write it off the tax.

Do Ya Think It is Possible To Make A UTA Unfair Plugin as good As The Unfair Hardware? I Would Buy That FO SHO!

Hardwares will always stay hardwares, no plug-ins will blow my mind. I use them, but I believe in hardwares.

whats that change of tone on the amen ? rides/cymbls sounded very different, almost eqed :o

Symbols much more peasant on unfairchild hardware

Lol. Everytime i hear a hardware compressor vs plugin i have to laugh. The plugin is lacking all the added harmonics and it doesn't bring up the ambience. Not to mention the lack of girth. Then when you attempt to drive it, your transients get smeared, and overall it sounds like crap. I wonder how the plugin would sound if you put True Iron before the comp, or maybe some other saturation, maybe even a touch of eq to emulate the girth.

UTA pumps a bit more i guess it's w the biasing of the specific hardware that the plugin tried to emulate?? either way if you have the unfairchild then u have to use it!

hardware has brighter tube saturation and more solid lows, but it leans to the right. sounds like the hardware is working harder in the drum example. beautiful piece though.

It's like a dull butter knive vs a sharpened samurai sword

It doesn't sound gain matched and it seems the hardware is getting hit harder than the plug in.

The real thing sounds real, the plugin sounds much less so.

Sorry i asked you something on the other video that got deleted

I feel the real one more Wide.. like more of a "Alive Sound"

Analog killed it

is the UAD plugin just the native porting of the same around 20 years old dsp code ? maybe at UA they should enhance the code as they did for example for the LA3A, where the updated native version has different behaviour (and consequent character) against the very old dsp plugin.

I take it this is MKII? I was just reading on Real Gear Online about how a lot of people vastly prefer the original run of the UnFairchild. Something about a change in the MKII making it less like the original. If the one in this video is the MKII, then I think anyone who hates it is insane. The sound out of this one is tremendous! To me it sounds significantly better than even the Iron.

Wow, the a cappella sounds like a human through the hardware. The plugin sounds like a decal stuck on a window.

Absolutely night and day.

Wow! That is really something!

The hardware or course wins, but I'm wondering if it's a ten thousand dollar difference as I look at my bank account.

Ok. Huuuuge difference. It would be really great to hear a comparison between the Unfairchild and Acustica Audio‘s Ultramarine.

If you have an option to get only one between the Unfairchild or the Alpha for all purposes which one would it be?

How much you pay for that imitation in Fairchild? I can bet my bank account that I can get the same mix you can with that real hardware with the plug-in. People acting like you need hardware to make and mix. Good music. What we have available today people would only wish for back then. Gotta know how to use your tools. Utilize the high pass and low pass filters. Mix into compression. Break the rules. Don’t believe the hype

🌋🌋💣💣🔥🔥

Amazing! But does it require a lot of maintenance? I mean, do you find that it needs regular work and fixing to stay in top shape?

are there files of these available to download? curious to load them into a DAW and compare there Nice test, thanks for doing it. The UTA sounds weightier and more coloured. Would probably need a stage or 2 more processing with the UAD to match, but I'm curious to know exactly whats going on as I do feel both sounds should be achievable ITB.

Hey Paul. I'm interested in knowing which compressor you prefer for modern pop and hip hop? Unfairchild or Alpha, and why? I'm going to purchase one of them this week.

Tempted. Could it be overkill for a home studio? I wonder how the new Stam Audio or Heritage clones stacks up and 1/2 the price?

What other Tube gear do you have in your set up man? If you do have any, do you use tube gear only for vibe / tone? Thanks!

The UAD Fairchild plugin is pretty old.

Not true when it originally came through a hardware into a DIGITAL SET UP.. how come a “computer” can “Pick Up” the Hardware signal, exactly the same way it can “emulate” the sound.. just takes a little more engineering..

I challenge anyone who says its a "night and day difference" in a live blind AB test. Its absolutely not a night and day difference.

The plug-in is more than useful. The hardware is more open, but the compressor actually in the plug-in. Good enough for me.

I know a RU-vidr who tells his followers the Stam Audio SA-670 MK2 is better then the Unfairchild. But to my ears it doesn't even come close to the Unfairchild.

Will you be comparing the new Unfairchild plugin to the hardware?