Soundstorm
Well-known member
Has anyone heard or played both? Does the difference justify the extra $1000?
R
Raven
New member
The VB-101 is king in terms of sound quality, it has more dialable parameters than the Live (i.e. The Overload facilty etc.), more connectivity options & multi-micing/dual cab options as well. The Live does feel slightly nicer to play through though due to the reactive load box; however, my recommendation would be to hang on until the new Torpedo Studio is launched & then you will have all of the benefits of the VB-101 but with an improved load box which can accommodate multiple impedances as well as being run in reactive mode (thus giving the feel of the Live). ...hope this helps. 
Soundstorm
Well-known member
Thanks for the reply. The Studio is still several months away, though isn't it? I might as well try the Live for now and sell it for the Studio when that comes out. Any idea on what the price for a Studio will be?
Soundstorm
Well-known member
I'm also wondering about the A to D conversion on the live. I'll be using a Universal Audio Apollo interface, which has the 196K conversion. Is it possible to go analog out from the Live and use the UA converter, instead of running it through two A/D converters? Or is this something only the VB-101 and Reload can do?
S
sysexguy
New member
I hope I can help out, Reload is entirely analog so the a/d is your DAW and the speaker emulation is using the included WOSIII plug-in
The VB-101 and Studio offer multi format digital i/o at all common clock speeds (internally or as slave)
When using the digital out of the Live, a) the Live is clock master, b) the sampling rate must be 48 or 96 kHz
The speaker emulation process is digital so if you use a hardware box, you will be converting to digital. 2 exception, the Reload as mentioned above and the VB-101 which has an analog pre-sim output (unprocessed). In both cases, the WOSIII would provide speaker emulation within the DAW.
Your UA may have 192kHz (not 196) but unless you are doing classical recording using DAD's (or similar) and 1 bit direct to disk recording without edits, in most if not all cases, 96kHz will be the highest you want to go. There's no point getting into this here, on Gearslutz and various other pro audio forums, this has been hashed to death.
The Studio is projected to have a similar price point to the VB-101 but isn't finalized as exchange rates are fluctuating and it's a moot point until the unit ships.
Andy
The VB-101 and Studio offer multi format digital i/o at all common clock speeds (internally or as slave)
When using the digital out of the Live, a) the Live is clock master, b) the sampling rate must be 48 or 96 kHz
The speaker emulation process is digital so if you use a hardware box, you will be converting to digital. 2 exception, the Reload as mentioned above and the VB-101 which has an analog pre-sim output (unprocessed). In both cases, the WOSIII would provide speaker emulation within the DAW.
Your UA may have 192kHz (not 196) but unless you are doing classical recording using DAD's (or similar) and 1 bit direct to disk recording without edits, in most if not all cases, 96kHz will be the highest you want to go. There's no point getting into this here, on Gearslutz and various other pro audio forums, this has been hashed to death.
The Studio is projected to have a similar price point to the VB-101 but isn't finalized as exchange rates are fluctuating and it's a moot point until the unit ships.
Andy
R
Raven
New member
Based on what you've said about AD quality etc. then I'd recommend going with the VB-101; it offers more options in terms of sample rate & you'd have the option of either going stereo or wet/dry out via SPDIF or using the wet sound for monitoring, while also proving a pre-conversion analogue feed for processing after the fact in WOS III (like Sysexguy said .
I personally use a VB-101 that is being run into an Apogee Symphony system & I like to use the conversion in the VB-101 & send both a wet & a dry feed via SPDIF for recording. This works a treat as I have my main guitar sound captured immediately without any faffing about (this is the track that I also use for monitoring), but I then have a dry track as well that can be used with WOS III after the fact should I wish to experiment a bit.
The Reload is also another good suggestion if you don't mind doing everything inside your computer. The VB-101 would give the option of working either or both ways though &; maybe it's just me, but I think it's good to have a standalone unit that doesn't completely rely on your DAW. Both are great units though & it's ultimately down to how you want to work.
. I personally use a VB-101 that is being run into an Apogee Symphony system & I like to use the conversion in the VB-101 & send both a wet & a dry feed via SPDIF for recording. This works a treat as I have my main guitar sound captured immediately without any faffing about (this is the track that I also use for monitoring), but I then have a dry track as well that can be used with WOS III after the fact should I wish to experiment a bit.
The Reload is also another good suggestion if you don't mind doing everything inside your computer. The VB-101 would give the option of working either or both ways though &; maybe it's just me, but I think it's good to have a standalone unit that doesn't completely rely on your DAW. Both are great units though & it's ultimately down to how you want to work.