I just bought a used S90 ES and found an S90 XS to try side by side.  The S90 ES came first and so far love it but wanted more features like playing WAV files back and being able to hit record when you have some inspiration.

I was wondering how they sound side by side?  Is the DAC a better DAC in the XS than the ES?

I heard the MoXF has the DAC1 and people say it sounds better than the S90 XS.  If so, can one really tell or is it splitting hairs?

Thanks!

jamiesea - 27 July 2017 10:42 AM

I just bought a used S90 ES and found an S90 XS to try side by side.  The S90 ES came first and so far love it but wanted more features like playing WAV files back and being able to hit record when you have some inspiration.

I was wondering how they sound side by side?  Is the DAC a better DAC in the XS than the ES?

Welcome to the forum.

The ES and XS models, both Motif and S90, all use the AK4393 DAC from Asahi Kasei Microdevices.

I suspect that any differences heard between those models are primarily due to the samples being played. The number of Elements in a Voice, and the available Effects, can also play a part.

 

jamiesea -

I heard the MoXF has the DAC1 and people say it sounds better than the S90 XS.  If so, can one really tell or is it splitting hairs?

Splitting hairs. If you haven’t already seen the following thread, you might find it interesting:
http://www.motifator.com/index.php/forum/viewthread/470507/

jamiesea - 27 July 2017 10:42 AM

I was wondering how they sound side by side?  Is the DAC a better DAC in the XS than the ES?

I heard the MoXF has the DAC1 and people say it sounds better than the S90 XS.  If so, can one really tell or is it splitting hairs?

Thanks!

Another thing to consider is (if you could get them side by side) do you have a suitable well tuned listening environment with good enough monitoring to accurately hear any differences and split the hair?

If you are a gigging keyboard player, would your live set up allow you to hear differences?  The audience won’t care.

Another more personal, but equally important question is, how’s your hearing?

Discussions about what converters sound like, or which converter sounds the best have long been the mainstay of non musicians and pretty much most people who aren’t connected with music, or maybe just tenuously.

I’ve never played an S90XS, but I know for sure that the S90ES and MOXF both sound great and I’ve been lucky enough to hear them on some great monitoring in a perfectly tuned room.

One area where people might be getting confused on the MOXF is that playing it on a velocity curve of ‘soft’ tends to make it sound brighter than a Motif on soft or S90ES, and since brightness is completely associated with clarity, that might be the reason why you’ve heard that the MOXF sounds better than the S90XS.

Similarly, if you go from a MOX6 or a MOXF6 directly to a Motif XF 6 or 7, you’ll notice a slight mellowing in sound, but it’s nothing that can’t be fixed with a little bit of EQ.

philwoodmusic - 27 July 2017 12:58 PM

jamiesea - 27 July 2017 10:42 AM

I was wondering how they sound side by side?  Is the DAC a better DAC in the XS than the ES?

I heard the MoXF has the DAC1 and people say it sounds better than the S90 XS.  If so, can one really tell or is it splitting hairs?

Thanks!

Another thing to consider is (if you could get them side by side) do you have a suitable well tuned listening environment with good enough monitoring to accurately hear any differences and split the hair?

If you are a gigging keyboard player, would your live set up allow you to hear differences?  The audience won’t care.

Another more personal, but equally important question is, how’s your hearing?

Discussions about what converters sound like, or which converter sounds the best have long been the mainstay of non musicians and pretty much most people who aren’t connected with music, or maybe just tenuously.

I’ve never played an S90XS, but I know for sure that the S90ES and MOXF both sound great and I’ve been lucky enough to hear them on some great monitoring in a perfectly tuned room.

One area where people might be getting confused on the MOXF is that playing it on a velocity curve of ‘soft’ tends to make it sound brighter than a Motif on soft or S90ES, and since brightness is completely associated with clarity, that might be the reason why you’ve heard that the MOXF sounds better than the S90XS.

Similarly, if you go from a MOX6 or a MOXF6 directly to a Motif XF 6 or 7, you’ll notice a slight mellowing in sound, but it’s nothing that can’t be fixed with a little bit of EQ.

I have a project studio using Prism converters (Lyra 2) and Blue Sky System One monitors (The same monitors used at Lucas Films) so things here are pretty revealing.  As far as my hearing, I have some tinnitus and a slight loss of highs, but everything else is pretty good.

But I agree 100%.  I figured any difference would be slight and when in a live situation now one would hear the difference!