Wes Audio Tube EQ VS Bettermaker Mastering EQ - Which Do You Prefer?

[@MohammadRezaMohammadi84]

Telepathy at its finest! Just two hours ago, I was speaking with a client (I’m a sales engineer in Iran, providing digital audio equipment for music studios) and recommended the WesAudio ngTubeEQ as the third EQ in his chain. He mentioned he already has the Bettermaker Mastering EQ and Manley Massive Passive and asked if I was sure about WesAudio. I sent him your video comparing WesAudio and FabFilter Pro-Q to help him decide. And then, an hour later, you upload this post! Perfect timing-thanks for this valuable content! I’m Mohammadreza, and I run the KZbin channel @Audio-Mag, where we focus on audio fundamentals, analog and digital equipment in Persian

[@AudioAnimalsStudio]

@MohammadRezaMohammadi84 great to be of help. If he already has the bettermaker EQ, he will certainly have something very different with the tube EQ. The original question i was asked was "I already have the Bettermaker EQ would i be doubling up with the same sound if I got the tube EQ" it could have been your client who asked this question. But the video clearly shows they have very different sounds to them.

[@owlmuso]

Wow that wes Audio is really good! It's so full and phat whilst keeping the clarity. Serious quality

[@awsgaming7578]

Bettermaker has more separation and faster , wes audio too slow too muddy . Thanx alot 👍

[@MarkVO]

Track 1 - Bettermaker (I preferred the clean sound) Track 2 - NgTube (lush bass, magnificent) Thank you for the comparison, Paul!

[@AudioAnimalsStudio]

@MarkVO this is precisely why I have both and I say they are both good

[@Genital.Wartzenegger]

Thanks for this video.

[@nicoroy123]

Wow , sick how good the ngTube is.

[@seansmeedcomposer1734]

I know they’re completely different but I wonder what comparing the low end from the vspe to the ngtube (with tubes active) would be like if you were able to match the pultec curve w the ng.

[@AudioAnimalsStudio]

@seansmeedcomposer1734 if you combined the vspe and the bm EQ together you'd certainly achieve a similar sound. The VSPE has a similar sound in the low end.

[@pluginhoarder]

Just ordered the NGTube 🙏

[@TheOfficialSiNN]

Wes is definitely thick but I think with the Bettermaker and spl vitalizer you can get what you’re looking for out of the master and still save some money.

[@AudioAnimalsStudio]

@TheOfficialSiNN I'd disagree. I've owned them all and I wouldn't put the vitalizer in the same realm as the tube EQ. The better combination would be the BM VSPE and BM EQ combined together. That would be quite similar in terms of its low end brilliance.

[@wewantmoreparty]

im in a very well ballance room trinov and great speakers. For me I think the bettermaker handles the transients better and sound more defined in those exsampels - thought I like the curtain the tubes give but much prefer Gyraf's Eq sound

[@AudioAnimalsStudio]

@wewantmoreparty some will prefer the Bettermaker EQ for its clean sound. Which is why I feel they both have a place together in the chain. Bear in mind that in these examples, the tubes aren't active. So the curtain the tubes give isn't true as they aren't in the signal path. When active you could compare it with the Gyratec or similar tube EQ.

[@michael.maurus]

Hi Paul! I love the ngTubeEQ. It really doesn’t matter what you run through here; everything sounds absolutely phenomenal. I have a grand piano, a cello, various strings and percussions on the mix bus with the ngTubeEQ in red mode, and it sounds cinematic. Thank you for this comparison.

[@AudioAnimalsStudio]

@michael.maurus 100% you active those tubes it just sings to you. I thought it would be unfair on the BM EQ to activate the tubes in this comparison.

[@Javarrockamore]

The ngtube is just too good. My question is the bettermaker better than fab filter?

[@dingbatjack1234]

lol

[@ezstproductions_]

Are there any Wes Audio 500 EQ that Give you a bit of throw factor you mentioned?

[@AudioAnimalsStudio]

@ezstproductions_ to be honest, not really. The hyperion has a lovely low end that is somewhat comparible with the tube EQ. I can't say I've ever used the hyperion and had the same wow moment as the tube EQ. However ever time I use it, I get a wow factor from the high bands. They have a certain brilliance to them.

[@Standard.Candle]

The difference is quite evident. I'm a proud NgTubeEq owner, also thanks to your videos Paul. I will say that in your comparison the bass on the BM sounds a bit anemic, but on the TubeEq, while it does have that "wow" factor, it sounds almost a bit uncontrolled. Probably just the locked freq you chose for this demo, but I can see a use in having something clean to pull down resonances that a sweetening EQ might amplify. For me that's just Fab Pro-Q 4 before sending it out to the analog chain.

[@AudioAnimalsStudio]

@Standard.Candle yeah I mean these settings aren't tailored for the tracks. It's just a global setting to highlight specific frequency differences. If I was using it over these kinds of tracks in an every day scenario I'd have not applied as much low end and allowed the box tone to generate the fullness in the lows. Then brightened the highs with the tube active. Yes Fabfilter will work great as you clean EQ before or after. This is why I have the BM EQ in there with the tube EQ as my clean EQ that does what fabfilter is doing for you.

[@Standard.Candle]

@@AudioAnimalsStudio Thank you for the context my man. Yeah, I could see that it was a fixed EQ setting that didn't change between tracks, but maybe that's something worth mentioning in the video yeah? It's sort of an obvious thing, but sometimes breaking it down could be helpful, we're all just learning :) I've noticed some people are "preferring" the way one track sounds over another, and it's like... the experiment wasn't to show how GOOD these tracks could sound, cause like you said, it's not tailored for them. Love your channel. Keep up the good work!

[@nickrony7307]

I prefer the tube EQ in general but in the first exemple Bettermaker simply sounds better lol like it just does

[@AudioAnimalsStudio]

@nickrony7307 This is why I have both. Both are great and totally different EQs with different purposes in the mastering chain.

[@azoteapost8734]

Night and day. How the WesAudio transforms the low end is tremendous. And by the way, I own the better maker mastering eq. It’s like the NgEq has some mojo circuitry inside it even with the tubes turned off.

[@AudioAnimalsStudio]

@azoteapost8734 even with the gain set to 0db you get that lovely warm box tone from it. This is why I say the BM EQ is vanilla. It's the same at 0db as if you had it bypassed. Which is great. Exactly what you want from a clean EQ. The tube EQ has a wow factor straight out the box as soon as you activate it.

[@Javarrockamore]

cant lie the better maker sounded better no pun intended

[@AudioAnimalsStudio]

@Javarrockamore the Bettermaker is an awesome EQ. It's a super clean, no colour EQ that is brilliant for everything you wouldn't use the Tube EQ for. Which is why I have them both working together.

[@ffseri]

Thanks for another informative video! Based on your findings on the Bettermaker what would you say is the added benefit over an in-the-box eq?

[@AudioAnimalsStudio]

@ffseri 100% better than being in the box. But it's just a nice clean EQ, which many may prefer.

[@mattevans1427]

Wes on both. But if If the song already had a bit of colour and had a smacking low end. like a club song. I'd have to go Bettermaker. The Wes Audio pleasently glued the bass area together with saturation. But lost clarity a little. worked great for these tracks. hard hitting club song, would oftern loose some smack and kick definition.

[@batistuta8783]

Wes Audio Tube EQ vs SPL PQ?

[@AudioAnimalsStudio]

@batistuta8783 this is something i can do

[@Javarrockamore]

Yes we need it!

[@iSeaSicc]

@@AudioAnimalsStudio I've been waiting to hear a shootout between these two.

[@dingbatjack1234]

I prefer the BM

[@thegsalmon]

With the tubes off i think the bettermaker has better sound i think wes audio had to compensate a bit on the solid state circuitry to allow for great tube saturation without become too coloring

[@patricioandres2562]

I'm very happy, I think it's one of the few times in my life that I don't like the most expensive thing; in my case, the truth is that I haven't liked any of the tests I've heard about Wes, fortunately!!! In the spirit of helping your channel, I think it would be great to also include the unprocessed audio version in the videos and files, so it's more noticeable what the equipment does. Greetings,

[@AudioAnimalsStudio]

@patricioandres2562 bear in mind the tubes aren't active though. You get a better sound with the tube active. Wouldn't be fair to compare a super clean EQ whilst driving the tubes on a tube EQ, making it sing. Would blow it out the water. So for that reason I left them off. As I said if you are after a super clean EQ, the bettermaker is a great choice. Regarding the original audio, this is supplied in the review videos. For this video I'm answering a question I was asked on how they compare with eachother and the differences between them and which I prefer. Audio examples of how they sound bypassed isn't answering that question. It answers a different question that is answered in the reviews videos.

[@patricioandres2562]

Hey, and between the Bettermaker and the Maselec, there is a big difference, both are transparent,...

[@AudioAnimalsStudio]

@patricioandres2562 I've not directly compared them. But what I plan on doing is a shootout of all my EQs. All setup the same and show the differences between them all. So in this video you'll get a comparison between these two. But I've had a few people ask this question so it's something I can put together.

[@patricioandres2562]

Excellent.thanks

[@bakerlefdaoui6801]

We still waiting for the king of compressors review. The Elysia Alpha !

[@AudioAnimalsStudio]

@@bakerlefdaoui6801 you'll wait a little longer. No long. Think audio examples will be shot on Friday to go out over the weekend.

[@braxal6983]

Great video Paul!!. I really want to get that Wes Audio Tube EQ. I got my Wes Audio Titan now for my Pandora. I hope Wes Audio has more 500 series gear coming to help fill it. Oh, did you see the new RME M-1620 pro and Dante version 16 ins and outs converter in a 1 unit space ? It has upgraded converters. Check it out.

[@AudioAnimalsStudio]

@braxal6983 i didn't see that converter but dante and RME have me interested

[@bontempo1271]

Wes Audio Tube EQ, thick and warm low end

[@AudioAnimalsStudio]

@bontempo1271 when you need that instant wow from the low insert the tube EQ.

[@АлексейВискалов-и6х]

Thank you so much for your tests! It's so important! (I like Bettermaker Mastering EQ) / (I really want a comparison of Bettermaker Mastering EQ and Prism Sound MASELEC MEA-2) (maybe Bettermaker is the best option for me??) thank you!

[@AudioAnimalsStudio]

@@АлексейВискалов-и6х that would be an interesting comparison. I plan on doing a shootout soon with every EQ I own.

[@marius8001]

Prefer bettermaker

[@jochenh.7428]

Neither nor. Get the Chandler Curve Bender and you will never reach out for another analog EQ.

[@AudioAnimalsStudio]

@jochenh.7428 if you get one over to me, I'll put this to the test, see if you are right.

[@doguaydn5186]

Is it just me cause I hear that the tube eq is almost helping out with the groove of the song, espically for the second track

[@joeyf808]

Bettermaker sounds rolled off.

[@AudioAnimalsStudio]

@joeyf808 In comparison to the low end in the tube EQ, it sounds rolled off. When comparing the bettermaker EQ on and off to the original audio, it doesn't sound rolled off.