Fantom S Sound vs. XP series

4 Dec 2006, 13:23

New Fantom S owner. I have been happily playing an XP-50. Is it me or does the XP have a generally punchier sound than the Fantom. I don't quite know how to describe or quantify it but the Fantom just seems slightly muffled, subdued in the upper mid-range. I have tried experimenting with the Mastering processor and at the moment, prefer it off entirely but the same/similar patches still don't cut through the band the way the XP did. What am I doing wrong?

Re: Fantom S Sound vs. XP series

4 Dec 2006, 13:50

As an ex-owner of XP-80 I can say I find the sound of Fantoms more fat and clear, but of course XPs sound different and have their charm some people may prefer over the new boards.

Re: Fantom S Sound vs. XP series

4 Dec 2006, 13:51

If you were happy with the XP-50, I don’t know, why you decided to move to smth. else (i. e. Fantom S). I moved to Juno-G, because I was nOt happy with the XP-50.
Anyway, I wouldn’t say that ANY sound in JV-1080 (that sounds better than XP-50, though both acclaimed to have the same synth engine) is punchier than ANY sound in J-G. All-in-all I prefer J-G. And so my mates do.
Mayb’it’s a question of personal taste.

Fantom S vs XP

4 Dec 2006, 14:45

I still have the XP which may explain why I find the difference so striking. I love the Fantom for all the playing features (pad, sampling etc.) and the larger rom. I am a newbie so I keep thinking I've got a setting out of whack. Am I incorrect in assuming most of the multi-samples of the same name are the same in both boards? I guess I expected them to sound more alike than they appear to.

wave rom

4 Dec 2006, 14:52

waveforms in rom may be identical between models. roland (and emu) are masters as repackaging old stuff as new.

however, the voice architecture is different and xp/xv/jv patches may not work correctly if you attempt to load them in the fantom. coupled with the newer effects system, I can easily see where even the same patch might sound less punchy because with the dsp power of the fantom, riland is likely finessing their sounds.

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Re: Fantom S Sound vs. XP series

4 Dec 2006, 15:00

Also, are you using balanced cables? Fantom S has balanced outputs for the A section. I notice a greater punch and more quality in using balanced cables in my fantom x (The manual states that you should expect 50% volume drop when using unbalanced cables, also, I have this theory that this is the reason why some say it sounds "thin" when they demo the FX at their local stores that use unbalanced jacks to connect the fantom). So if thats not it... then I guess its just a matter of preference...