There is a definite crispness and clarity to the sounds even with distorted samples, I agree.
I agree with you about Razz (and Lemondrop) sounding better then Blackbox. But I can’t put my finger on what it is. Maybe that to get it to the same volume in my headphones (HD25) it then sounds more driven / slightly distorted? Is that perhaps something to do with the BB being more designed for eurorack levels? Is there a way to improve it?
I assume it is the different converter fitted in these boxes - Blackbox was released in 2019 whereas the nanoboxes started to be released in 2022
3 years difference in converter technology is significative.
Really? DACs have been around since at least the early 70’s. Surely the technology can’t still be changing that fast ? More likely just some of the higher spec stuff available in a smaller format or at a different price point.
It probably is that. What difference would it make to the actual sound, physically?
Technology in this field is very fast I am afraid
an Asahi Kasei DAC from 2010 might sound different from a new one from
2014
Different sound, more open or closed, higher resolution etc etc
I recently asked the sampling frequency on the Razz to 1010 and they said 48 kHz - 24bits.
Could it be that BlackBox is a bit lower?
Anyway, I always thought the BB sounds very good as well - but I’m no audiophile aficionado.
Thanks!
Same sample rate & depth across all of our products.
TY for confirming. Can you suggest why the Nanoboxes would seem to have better sound quality than the Blackbox then? I don’t like the general sound from my Blackbox as much - my headphones are sennheiser HD25, could it be something to do with impedance etc?
Unfortunately, I don’t have a good answer to that. The hardware is in fact different in a number of ways. I suspect it’s an artifact of the components we chose and perhaps the board layout, although we’re not really sure. Of course we’re always paying attention to audio quality, but in developing the nanos we didn’t have an “improve audio quality over the tabletop gear” as a North Star in the design.
Glad folks find it that way, though!
Thanks for the engagement KF6GPE … my words of ‘quasi wisdom’ are
Don’t shoot yourselves in the foot at 1010 trying to distinguish one nanobox from another - or the BB.
For example, limiting midi note to pitch into the razz in case it means it becomes a midi controllable synth of mass appeal rather than a drum box only…
Instead, rather than (one might speculate) artificially preserving distinction between the nanos as though they are the only market buyers can choose from, maximise their competitiveness by themselves against the whole market.
Overlap and similarity is absolutely fine. Each box can still stand by itself as an attractive purchase rather than no purchase.
The more useful each of these boxes are is far more important than setting limits to avoid cannibalisation between them in terms of sales appeal.
the incredibly high noise floor, as described above. there’s a little headroom available. one of the reasons, not the sole probably. no tech specs published, but I presume inputs can be easily overloaded too.
I can’t find mention of that above; there are a ton of posts.could you direct me to what you read please?
I’ve read previously of an update that caused a noise problem on blackbox, but that t was fixed. Is this what you were referring to?
I wouldn’t characterise the sound quality issue asked about as noise. It’s clear, it’s not noisy. I think it’s maybe better described as more driven?
Would you be so kind as to share a link (if there is one) to guide someone who’s handy with a soldering iron, please? I’d love to do the same.
Pinging @maxmatteo 
Stimming posted a great short set with 2x Blackbox at the helm, not sure as a non-user exactly what’s going on, but finding lots of inspiration here anyway:
using black box as percussive and baselines device on my rig
Are there any roumors of the updated Blackbox with USB-C and its possibility to use it as audio interface?
Looove this track
I would love to see the “Black and Blue Box”. Ultrawide aspect screen, sound design, composing, mixing and recording in one box.