DAW. Which is better?
Whichever software you choose, sound quality is important. Many people believe that there is no difference in sound quality between software, but this is not true. Each software has its own unique programming solution, and when you edit multiple tracks in the music editor, there are processes going on in the background that we don't even think about. One of these is sample conversion management. The human ear can hear sounds between 20 Hz and 20,000 Hz. A 20 Hz sound is low, and 20 kHz is the highest audible range. But to be able to sound the full audible spectrum in our music, we need to record at least 44,100 signals per second in our digitally recorded music. The highest audible frequency is 20,000 Hz, so in one second the computer needs to record over 40,000 signals to ensure that the waveform is still represented in its full range in the recorded material. So when we talk about a 44.1 kHz sound sample, that means that 44,100 signals have been recorded per second, and that's enough to allow the high frequencies to be heard. However, the music editing software must also handle sound samples recorded at a different sampling frequency. When stretching a sound sample, or playing at a different sampling frequency, the software must calculate how the audio track should sound at that sampling frequency. It does this to match the current frequency of the sound card. Different software does this with varying degrees of accuracy, so some music editing software does a better job, some a worse job.
The diagrams below show how each DAW performs the conversion. The series of diagrams show the inaccuracies that occur when converting a 96 kHz audio signal to a 44.1 kHz signal. The more lines, the less precise the filter used in the conversion. If you see a bluish blur instead of a black background, it indicates that the inaccuracies are being washed out by the filter used in the conversion to remove too sharp a difference. It's not a perfect solution, but it's better than not interfering with the signal in any way.
Forrás: http://src.infinitewave.ca
In terms of Bitwig's capabilities, it is clear that it is by far the worst performer. Unfortunately, I don't know how version 4.4 has changed, as no tests have been done with this version. Cubase 10 and Nuendo do the conversion extremely well. Ableton 9-10 is virtually perfect. The software that performs moderately or well is less washed out when using many tracks at the same time, so even Reason is adequate. Logic X also produces good conversions, still lagging behind Ableton 9-10, but with such minimal scatter and weak variation that no ear will notice. So almost all software meets today's modern expectations.
However, when testing software, what matters is the sophistication of the factory effects, their sound quality, the ease of use of the software, and the number of freezes and complications that occur when working. Looking at forums in Hungary and abroad, most of the bug reports come out when using FL Studio. However, this is not necessarily because the software is bad, it could also mean that the program is used by many more people and that the overall error rate is equal. There is not really any official information on which software has more potential for errors, so it is more the severity of the errors that matters. FL Studio shows more possibilities for errors where the problem is irreversible for the material. E.g.: disappearing settings, unrecoverable plug-ins, extreme CPU usage. In this respect, all other software performs better than FL Studio. Ableton 8 is not a processor-saving program either, while 9.1 is more optimised in the way it uses the machine's resources.
The sound quality of the built-in plug-in software is unanalysable, with one being good at one thing and another at another. In terms of quality factors, it is perhaps the compressor, reverb, EQ that can strongly determine the capabilities. In this respect Logic is very good. A few years ago I tested Pro Tools, Ableton, Bitwig, StudioOne EQ. effects, then I found Pro Tools, Logic and StudioOne effects to be the best, while Ableton/Bitwig were average. I may do a more comprehensive test with them at some point.
So these factors definitely affect the quality of the material. Sometimes it causes less problems, sometimes more. At the same time, I have to say that nowadays the big differences of a few years ago have been reduced considerably. So although it still makes sense to talk about it, it is not as relevant as it was 5 years ago. Today it is more about the user experience.