..looks like their company-site is down..so check this out:
http://news.harmony-central.com/Newp/2003/Ikaron-Ships.html

just wanted to know if anyone is using this swiss synth yet..

Moritz Morpheus MkIII wrote:

..looks like their company-site is down..so check this out: http://news.harmony-central.com/Newp/2003/Ikaron-Ships.html just wanted to know if anyone is using this swiss synth yet..

MMMIII--

I'm not using the synth, but I was quite impressed with the demo mp3. It sounds very clear, smooth, punchy and fat. It's sometimes difficult however to judge a hardware synth demo as you never know what it's been passed through (e.g. a Trident console or something that could have a definite effect on the sound).

As cool as it sounds, I probably won't be giving it serious thought. For one, the price is almost exactly what the street price of the Nord Modular G2 engine is expected to be streetside. If the Ikaron was able to interface its audio and MIDI internally via the PCI bus, I might be seriously tempted, but as is, it seems to me to be the worse of both worlds--ties up a PCI slot (took me long enough to work out IRQ conflicts already) and forces me to open up the computer for no real gain other than replacing a power supply and a USB cord. The stated advantage of <1ms latency doesn't mean a whole lot to me, as my current system latency is already undetectable to my ears. I'm also not impressed with the web site speaking of the lack of MIDI/audio internal routing as an advantage because "this concept avoids the typical disadvantages and hassles of softsynths".

Too bad, as it is a clever concept and has a nice sound. If I had a chance, I'd love to play with it for a while and see all that it can do.

so from what i understand, you have to treat this like an external hardware synth...i.e. you HAVE to run physical outputs?? So there's no way to bounce within your sequencer? i guess the only way would be to record the output through a loopback..what a PITA... that makes it a little useless IMO..i'd rather go and get a dedicated hardware rack then(eg virus), then stuff around with pci slots and irq's and the like...

true!

I would like to have heard this thing in action...as it is, though, it seems that a Nord Modular would be a better hardware bet (and this pretty much has to be treated like hardware, 'cause of the routing), as it offers more modules...hmmm. But a Pulsar is in the same price range too, and has a modular, a mixer and a bunch of other things...I dunno. Ikaron would have to sound really fantastic to pull itself above the competition

Doesnt look exciting or inivotive, creamware do it better