ALGORITHMIC & CONVOLUTION REVERBS

COMPARISON AND DIFFERENCES

Afrodite Karantonaki (Greece)

INTRODUCTION
Reverberation is the persistence of sound in a particular enclosed space after the original sound is produced, causing many echoes (discrete repetitions of sound), which build up and then slowly decay, as a result of the sound being absorbed by the surrounding objects (e.g. walls) and air. Reverb, as used in a DAW, is an effect that is comprised of many different delayed signals, which creates a background ef fect, similar to sound in a room, bouncing around. Reverberation is measured with the RT60 index, which is the time required for reflections of a direct sound to decay 60dB. Reverberation time is something essential among other elements- in the fields of Acoustics and for all those who want to measure and improve the sound properties of a specific room.

ALGORITHMIC REVERBS
This is the standard reverb plug-in. Most decent DAWs are supposed to come with some of them. They implement a sense of reverb in our sound, but they dont sound REALLY amazing or natural. Algorithmic reverbs generate the reverb sound, strictly based on parameters set through the DAW, trying, in a way, to generate the same thing as convolution reverbs, by simulating the impulse response. They tend to sound fake, especially when isolated in a solo instrument case. Of course, it doesnt mean that they cant produce well-sounded results. Algorithmic reverbs use multiple feedback delay circuits, which create a diminishing series of sounds. The early reflections are controlled by variables such as room size, room shape and stereo controls. The reverb time is generally less than 2ms. Another important feature is stereo capability, which allows the reverb to use up some space in the width of the mix.
(http://prorecording.org/blog/2013/04/the-difference-between-algorithmic-and-convolution-reverb)

CONVOLUTION REVERBS
Convolution reverb is the digital simulation of reverb using a pre-recorded sample, based on the impulse response of a real space. The computer generates output based on the convolution of the samples of input audio and the samples of the reverb file. The general idea is that you can hear how YOUR audio recording would sound in a specific real place (although its not so simple as it sounds ) Convolution is an advanced mathematical equation similar to cross-correlation that produces a third modified version, which leaves an overlap that can be utilized to create this reverb effect. These can be real spaces, such as an auditorium or a famous concert hall or even a natural cave. An important feature of convolution reverb is its ability to mimic a variety of different room by importing lossless audio files.
(http://prorecording.org/blog/2013/04/the-difference-between-algorithmic-and-convolution-reverb)

IN CONCLUSION
Although it will never be easy to find the best result for your sound, convolution reverb is much more highly respected than algorithmic, due to the fact that they are based on real space sound behavior and can produce much more realistic results. The real difference, though, lies on the way that these two reverb are designed. For once more, convolution reverb seems to be the winner, although, algorithmic reverbs can give us a decent result, when properly used. So, the choice is always yours Below there is a link with some very wellknown reverbs, which I think you may find interesting.
http://getthatprosound .com/the-10-best -reverb -pl ugins -in-the-world/

THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME!!!