Do ppl really expect OT’s converts to be at the level of a dedicated 2in2out interfaces/converts costing 500-1000 euros? Or even 300 euros? And btw, converts alone are just part of the story, another part are analog components that surround the converts.
The question is does OT ruin sounds significantly or not… imo NOT
(monitored on a decent pro system)
It can! 
Yes I have Yamaha MSP10s, compared with a good CD player (CDX596), A/B test with OT recording / playing with a FLEX (no fx, timestrech, pitch).
I couldn’t hear the difference.
Maybe I’m too old. 
That was not ruined - improved
I compared the test files and they are different.
Means OT is probably not transparent.
However, looks like the peaks are limited slightly in the OT waves, just about half dB.
Is it a non-linear error of the AD conversion or simply the signal was too hot?
I bet it was the later. The peak indication at the OT is tricky and the recorded wav looks attenuated in the editor which force people to drive recording to the red zone.
I am sure some or most of the complaints about sound quality can be easily cured with just keep the incoming signal strictly in orange-green.
Lol
Go to hell!! 
How?!
I obviously need to invest more time in my OT
I already answered to you, same question, in another topic…
Ups sorry
Will try that today!
You can’t improve the Amen break.
You can use it, enjoy it, honour it, coax it, hype it, celebrate it, reference it and you can attempt to squash it (a task you will fail at). NOT using the Amen is, in some genres, a conscious choice and thus is still using it, silently. It is the beginning and the ending. And the middle 8, and the breakdown.
For me, OT sounds so good going into Blackhole and then Heat, even when the samples are junk, that I stopped caring about conversion.
Those processors do such great things to the sound that even my pocket operators come out sounding like finished records. There’s a reason so much of the pro audio industry is full of signal processing. It works.
I can’t change the OT conversion, and I like the OT workflow, so I don’t worry about the things I can’t change and focus on the things I can, choosing whichever signal processing that yields a smile on my face.
Never found myself smiling while splitting hairs as much as I smile once I’ve finished a tune.
I’m a few months late, but I’d take the side of “OT actually butchers your analog synths”.
I bought a Moog Matriarch just because of the samples Moog put up before release - the synth made me feel something just by sound alone, it was incredible. Some time later I started using OT mk2 as a mixer, wondering where the Moog’s magic went.
I found out the answer after a year, thanks to Stimming’s OT video on youtube - the Elektron box put a blanket over it.
It basically took away the very top end (that crunchy sizzle) and lowest end (pulsating analog bass), along with sound clarity. Comparing between headphone direct out vs OT through machine, no FX of course.
I have to agree with Stimming’s assessment, that OT converters sound like a mid range smartphone from 5 years ago. I wouldn’t mind on samples or anything, but with an analog synth where this really does matter…
I’m thinking the OT will be leaving house first opportunity.
In my experience, any digital conversion of a Moog will leave something to be desired compared to its raw sound. My Babyface did a good deal better job converting my Mother32 (when I had it), but one would hope so considering the RME is a dedicated interface and the OT is a sampler. In that respect, the OT is no slouch in the conversion department.
Of course, my Scarlett 2nd gen messed up the sound a bit as well, but nowhere near OT levels. Running through the OT the Moog sounds like a different instrument. And at that point I can either drop analog synths or the sampler. Or, you know, save up for a normal small mix console.
But I’m almost looking at dropping all of it and getting a single A4, saving myself many pains - and gaining others in the process 
You definitely followed all the gain staging advice?
Also… honestly, if you’re willing to sell the OT just because it slightly colours your Matriarch, it sounds like the right decision to me. Let go of the sample mangling, mixing, FX, sequencing, DJing, and cross-fader trickery that you don’t need.
Iirc it turned out that Stimming had the OT on 16 bit. Plus he made other errors about it. I’m not sure he’s the best judge of the machine. Plus, like @Octagonist said, if he’s making these easy errors his gain staging might not have allowed for the best results.
All I know is that when compared to my Babyface, it’s not shocking how much worse it sounds imo. It’s quite workable, in fact.
not just Moog, even an old ROMpler or something is different with an extra generation of conversion. It all changes the sound. A good, 24/96 transfer of a poorly recorded cassette doesn’t sound as good as the same cassette played on the same deck through the same monitors. Whether it’s better, worse or just different is completely context dependent and subjective, though.
Anyway, the difference between direct analog monitoring and passing through the OT (24 bit, no timestretch) is pretty far from “butchering” as far as I’m concerned. It’s minor.
Analog synths I’ve passed through the OT before:
Juno 6
Matrix 1000
Mother 32
MI Anushri
Kijimi
Jasper (WASP clone)
x0xb0x (with NOS ICs and transistors)
Roland RS-09
The only synth the Octatrack actually made sound different enough to be a problem for me was actually a Kawai K1. the analog stuff still sounded perfectly fine, just ever so slightly “smaller” for lack of a better word. In the room the would sound a little less impressive; as part of a full mix, the coloration from the Octatrack sometimes made the work better; the Mother 32 in particular had a way of being kind of overbearing (part of the reason I ended up selling it back to the friend who sold it to me) - good, but also “hey there’s a Moog with some other stuff around it” rather than “there’s a mix that has a Moog in it” and the Octatrack tamed that a bit. The Anushri handles the Octatrack converters the best of the bunch. In all cases except the K1 it’s been really minor, and this is in actual practical use (i.e. with filters left on), much less trying to make the OT as transparent as possible.
…?
If Ess thinks the OT sound is ‘pretty much on par’ with an RME Babyface, then it’s good enough for me.
That makes sense to me. Anything sampling at 44.1 is going to take away all of the stuff happening above the audible range that produces all kinds of subtle stuff IN the audible range. As far as low end goes that might just be a level matching thing, since low frequencies are what digital should theoretically be able to reproduce the most accurately, but who knows. That’s the stuff that mostly gets EQed out in the end anyway because it ruins a mix, but it’s definitely fun to hear in the room when you’re playing. Sort of like how playing bass in front of a giant 2x18" cabinet sounds and feels great but if you actually want to sound good to an audience, on a recording or with a band you’re better off with some little 10" drivers that sound plunky and disappointing on stage but HUGE from 30 feet away where you’d barely even hear the big speakers that sound good on stage. It’s all context, and balancing what sounds/feels inspiring to you as the performer with what actually works in context (because the two are often different and you need some of both).
The way the Octatrack changes the sound of an analog synth isn’t going to bother anyone listening to you, live or a recording. They aren’t going to notice. In that sense it “doesn’t matter.” But if it bothers you so much that it interferes with your ability to make music, then that’s still important even if it’s completely insignificant to listeners. Even if it’s 100% placebo it still makes a difference if it interferes with your process, and in the case of the Octatrack it’s not 100% palcebo, it does change the sound of stuff that passes through it.
Maybe 95% placebo.
I started drinking coffee again two days ago after having only one cup of tea every morning since January.
I sure can type a lot suddenly.
Ok. I prefer to listen for myself.