Ivory III American Concert D Review and Test

Garritan CFX is said to have similar hiss issue, but I have not found it more annoying than clicks or bum notes in other libs. However, as of 2024 product, there should not be this hiss issue. Hope they could fix it soon.

David Lai For those interested, some more Ivory III ACD performances here. Presenting Gershwin's Prelude No. 2 in a combined ambient + mid/side, as well as side B microphone positions. Enjoy the hissy samples!

Now that I've had a chance to listen closely through a good pair of headphones, I can definitely hear the hiss, particularly in the side B recording.

Argyris ACD has always been a gorgeous sounding library, at least for slower, softer, more lyrical material. It falls off a bit once the pace picks up, especially anywhere release samples become more apparent

Yes, agreed. It sounds so lovely and natural in the lyrical first section, but when it transitions into the middle part with the more detached phrasing, the illusion starts to break down. The releases are clunky and unnatural, the tone becomes a bit odd.

pipAT I agree!!! I've sent these files to Synthogy, telling them that my concerns is the serious hiss in their samples. This certainly gives Modern D the edge without me doing anything.

Heck, a member on VI Control just accused me of having a relationship with VI Labs, and trash talking ACD. The problem is, I'm not doing the talking, the piano VST speaks for itself.

Argyris I agree. I'm not sure how to get my Ivory II ACD back, but I'll do some research on it tomorrow. If I'm successful, I'll then render the same midi performance (if you're not tired of it yet) in the Ivory II ACD and the side A version of the Ivory III ACD. These 2 mic positions match.

Until then, take care and happy comparisons!

Cheers!

David Lai Awesome! Thanks for putting in so much effort. And thanks for clarifying that it's the side A that matches, not side B. I got that confused.

Argyris You're welcome. I do this out of a labor of love as well. Glad this can be helpful to you.

I have just re-read this thread and appreciate everyone's comments.

My dilemma is a bit different. I own Ivory II ACD and also Garritan CFX. While CFX has been my main piano by a small margin, I am reluctant to install it on my Mac Studio M2 Max due to lagging support. CFX itself is not Apple Silicon native, and I've learned that the correct ARIA Player needs to be chosen carefully. I prefer to avoid installing and maintaining software that may soon become fully unsupported.

This leaves Ivory II ACD. I recall that a version of this has been updated for Apple Silicon; this may be enough for me because I do not need Ivory III ACD improvements. Are there any tricks to running Ivory II ACD on a modern Mac?

Fyi, I hear basically the same things as others here when comparing ACD with Modern D. I slightly prefer ACD for its warmer and arguably less focused sound. In production I've tightened this up with mono-ized bass below about 180 Hz; this helps focus the instrument without casusing significant artifacts.

In any case, comments from Ivory II ACD users who are staying put will be much appreciated.

To follow up, I have Ivory II ACD running in the v3.0.6 player in Mac Studio M2 Max / Sequoia, both standalone and as AAX in Pro Tools. Performance is good and I'm warming up to the v3 interface. For now I'll run this plus Pianoteq 8 for alternative sounds.