Has anyone compared the sound quality of a MOTIF XF vs a MOXF?

Same/better/not as good?

It’s pretty much the same sound engine using the same samples and efx, so I would suggest it is exactly the same :-)

Btw the guitar patches in Pre-9 are soooo sweeet!

The reason I asked was because the MOX (that was “based” on the MOTIF XS Sound Engine) did not sound quite as good as the XS.

Yeah I had a hunch that was why. As far as the sounds go, and afaik, the only difference is the MOXf has 8 efx inserts the XF has 12, there are two less Perf banks and some other stuff that does not really affect the sound quality.

But from what I can gather from research the same samples reside on both for the factory sounds on board.

But doesn’t the XF have 8 Simultaneous Insertion FX (not 12) ?

8 is correct.

My bad, sorry.

If one were coming out the Analog Outputs on the XS and XF, the XF sounded better than the XS (according to several very knowledgeable XF Forum Members) because it had improved D to A Converters.

BUT,

if you came out the Digital Out/FW16E on both units, they sounded identical.

So does the XF have better D to A Converters than the MOXF, but again, is that possible analog advantage offset if one uses the built in Audio/MIDI USB Port of the MOXF?

Sorry but that is an answer for one of the more experienced users I think :-) I couldn’t say really.

According my experience the MOXF sounds somehow better than the MOX…

I think a lot of the “sounds better” discussion may be related to the action. I had a MOX8 and a Motif Rack XS that was being triggered from a different weighted keyboard. I thought the Motif Rack XS sounded better. But when I triggered them from the same keyboard, I thought they sounded the same. It was probably a matter of different velocity responsiveness. (Though there’s also a possible psychological factor that, if an instrument feels better, you may think it also sounds better.)

It’s somewhat moot, in that, if you’re gigging with a board, you’re going to likely be playing it from its own keyboard, so how it sounds (and how satisfying it is for you to play) from its own keyboard is what usually matters in practice.

Hi Scott, how’s thing been going?

It looks like my Topic has gone off course a little.

I was never asking if the MOXF sounder better than the MOX.

I’m comparing the MOXF to the MOTIF XF.

I think that the only way to determine if there’s a real difference in sound quality between the XF and MOXF is to run them both into the same sound system, feed both simultaneously from an external sequencer, and carefully balance the output levels (a very small difference in level gives an advantage to the slightly louder unit). Then make it a double-blind experiment as well. Otherwise, various prejudices will creep in.

Hello Mr. 5PD!

If one keeps both the XF and MOXF in the Digital Domain (not using the Analog Outs of either unit), should they sound the same (just like a XS and XF sounded the same coming out the FW16E)?

Good to hear from you again!

jerrydpi - 07 November 2013 09:15 AM

If one keeps both the XF and MOXF in the Digital Domain (not using the Analog Outs of either unit), should they sound the same (just like a XS and XF sounded the same coming out the FW16E)?

As you undoubtedly know, Yamaha claims the MOXF sound engine is the same as that in the XF.

My question is “Which outputs, connected to what, would you use to make the comparison?”.

The FW16E outputs on the XF and the Audio/MIDI USB Port on the MOXF, connected to a MacBook Pro, going to high quality Mackie Powered Studio Monitors.