Savant Audio / Quantum Room Simulator

[Piet De Ridder]

Savant Audio's emulation of the Quantum Room Simulator is a true stereo algorithmic reverb that captures the sounds of the iconic German Room Simulator from 1982.

- Contains seven room size algorithms, ranging from a small closet to 100s Taj Mahal
- Faithful emulation of the legendary room simulator algorithm from 1982
- Freeze Mode for infinite reverb tails that never repeat
- Enhance Mode for alternative reflection patterns
- Configurable for Quadraphonic (4.0 Surround) with multiple stereo instances (true to the original hardware correlation patterns)
- Faithfully modeled analog hardware stages, including 10kHz bandwidth option
- Factory and Expanded Presets, offering our new True Resonance Mapping technology capable of emulating real-world spaces

Intro price: $74 (until Nov. 21st), regular price: $149.

An informative audio example of an acoustic guitar sent through the Quantum here.




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[Luke]

I've been waiting for someone to do this for a long time. Happy that it turns out to be the same guys who did the Quantum Evolution. There's something special about that one, so I look forward to spending some time with this one.

[Lawrence]

I knew nothing about this unit but it sounds great to me.

[Luke]

I've spent about 30 minutes with it yesterday, running it as a replacement for Liquidsonics' 7th Heaven on a buss, as well as on the Master (I don't think this is the ideal way of using this particular one) and while it's not enough time to know its innards well enough yet, I do have to say that I I like it quite a bit.

The sound is remarkably enveloping of the source, the feel of the reflections in particular stands out. It can be overdone, turning into a bit of "splashiness" but the presets do a good job of showing how to sensibly use the unit. Owning their 2772 I can say with some confidence that the two are not close in sound - much more pronounced application on this one. I suspect it will do very well on single tracks and likely on some busses - and I'll try it again on the Master.

There is a provided mode called ENHANCE, which according to the literature is an alternate way of creating the illusion of space, by removing the tail of the reverb (the respective knobs for tail manipulation won't work if Enhance is enabled). Sounds pretty good to me, but again, has to be dialed in carefully.

I do not, at all, like the interface. The color scheme on a computer screen is less than ideal and some text hard to read. But more infuriatingly, controlling buttons, yes BUTTONS, to control main functions is a two-hand operation I dislike even on hardware (especially on synths). Here, with a mouse pointer, it's downright painful. Very slow going, despite being able to just hold the button to get to your desired value (which then is entirely expectedly somewhat inaccurate). There's more, but I'll let it go for now.

Favorite presets so far are the Music Chamber and Mechanics Hall (which sounds markedly different from 7th Heaven, of course).

[wst3]

there are folks that, probably out of need, went in different directions. The two standouts, to me, are Quantec and Ursa Major. Until recently there were few plugins that even tried to emulate these beasts, now all of the sudden there are choices.

I have used the Ursa Major SST-282, and it's cousin the SST-206 from Seven Woods. I had a chance to buy the hardware SST-206 but didn't have the funds available... ugh!

Software - I have the Savant Quantum 2772, and I'm not certain I need to "upgrade" to the QRS. For $74 I probably will, but more out of some misguided idea or another. It will get used.

And for anyone that is familiar with the Ursa Major, fear not! Audiority has a plugin version - the UM-282 - that sounds great! Does it sound exactly like the hardware? I have no clue, but it sounds great and it adds a certain flair to a track.

There are certain reverb plugins that sit on effects channels in my basic template, The Savant 2772 and Audiority Space Station 282 are just two, can't imagine removing them. The Eventide 2016 also has a place of honor, as does the UA EMT140. The uHe Twangstrom, the PSP Springbox, and UA AKG BX20 all sit in the same effects slot, I'm never sure which one I'll use until I try them. I love spring reverb, probably because that was the only reverb around when I was a kid. I still have a Micmix Masterroom 110 spring reverb in the rack. Still use it!

As an officially recognized reverb and delay junkie I should probably mention I also have an effects buss for chambers and another for room simulations. Right now that would be the Capitol and Motown chambers and the Ocean Way and Fame rooms. More to come, I'm sure<G>.