Questions & Answers

Inaccurate sound quality in Studio One

+6 votes
2,327 views
asked Aug 3, 2020 in Studio One 5 by mikelance (180 points)
Using Studio One version 4 in WIndows 10.  I have noticed that playback in the Studio One is very mid heavy when compared to all other programs, causing me to mix absurdly low and high end heavy mixes.  I have compared with groove music, audacity, Cakewalk, and playback in browser, which all sound exactly the same, yet SO sounds completely different.  This is not an export settings issue as I have uploaded other songs into Studio One to see if the same sound quality discrepancy occurred and sure enough it did.  I am currently trying to figure out what the different in frequency output actually is so I can EQ entire songs in another program to reflect what I thought I was mixing in the first place, but this is not an easy task.  Is this a known issue?  I see a lot of questions about mixdowns not sounding right, but none that tried the importing experiment so I worry their issues went unresolved due to the issue not being properly addressed.

Thank you in advance.  I love working in Studio One.  The workflow is tremendous and I don't want to switch DAWs, so I hope this is a simple fix.

4 Answers

0 votes
answered Jan 11, 2022 by studio8290 (140 points)
Hello, im having the same problem as you with studio one.Could we speak 832- 253-2361
0 votes
answered Mar 26, 2022 by benmccraw (890 points)
edited Mar 26, 2022 by benmccraw
Hi,
I have been having the same issue with exported mixes, but also when listening to reference tracks. The imported reference tracks sound like they have an obvious reduction in sound quality, just like my exported mixes, when compared to other DAWS. Unfortunately I haven't found an answer to this, and 99% of the time if you ask questions about Studio One's sound quality, you will get the same idiotic diatribes about "all DAWs sound the same." All DAWs are SUPPOSED to sound the same, but that doesn't mean that they do not have errors, bugs, and general design flaws. Just look at FL Studio, which is supposed to be "non-intuitive" , and see the sheer amount of options in the export menu compared to Studio One!
A couple of hypotheses I can offer, however, are that Studio One 'squashes'  some of the stereo tracks to mono during export, or the god-awful automatic routing feature actually sends a stereo signal back to a mono plugin, which 'squashes' the sound, before being sent to a main bus/mix bus/master bus, and it therefore affects the main output and the resultant export. I also have a suspicion that Studio One keeps routing in place after a bus has been dissolved,  messing up the way the entire mix is mapped out in the console with no way to remedy it. This may be why I have good sounding mixes (still less sound quality when compared to other DAWS though) if they were completed rather quickly, or with fewer alterations.
If they do their job and see this post, the d-bags at Presonus will just blame your "hardware", or simply attack your supposed "skill level." My best advice is to set up a scientific experiment using your own mixes in multiple DAWs, as well as reference tracks in multiple DAWs, and export them with the same settings through the same system. Record your results. This would make a great topic for a Youtube video.
Best of luck to you and feel free to reach out:
[email protected]
+1 vote
answered Jun 30, 2023 by scott68 (350 points)
I"m noticing the same issue - moving from cakewalk, I apply the same plugins and presets as I would in cakewalk (also testing Reaper), and I can barely hear the delta between plugins on or off, specifcally in the low and high end adjustments, making me want to significantly boost highs more than they should. Love the UI and workflow but if the audio quality represenation isn't accurate, I won't be able to use it.
0 votes
answered Sep 13, 2023 by herbievantetering (380 points)
edited Sep 14, 2023 by herbievantetering

Hey, However

I'm having exactly the same problem. Because of it I had to remix release projects again and again and began to believe I just did not have the skills.

After some more research I discovered Studio One has a different sound quality because of optimisations.

Actually Studio One has 2 modes: "playback mode" and "export mode". Similar to a 3D rendering program which lowers the quality during "modeling" and raises the quality during "rendering". The precision problem should disappear and after export use iZotope mastering for example.

There are some settings to consider:

* disable dithering during export (in S1 settings)

* set default Audio Device on HiRes (at S1 startup)

* export 32bit lossless audio

* export mixdown in realtime

* disable windows audio (in S1 services)

* if unavailable disable Presonus hardware (in S1 services)

* use high resolution ASIO (hardware, FlexASIO, ASIO4ALL)

* use "realtime processing to update mastering" (in S1 settings)

* disable windows built in effects (in Windows settings)

* do not use VST plugins (S1 version 3 and earlier)

* use S1 effects and instruments (optimised)

* disable unwanted services (in Windows settings)

* remove and disable Rewire and rewire.dll (in S1 and Notion)

Some screenshots of where the settings (not displayed) can be found:

...