KVR Audio

thecontrolcentre · Post by **thecontrolcentre** » Thu Feb 26, 2015 12:44 pm

Hi

Ableton finally dropped support for XP so I am going to buy a new laptop to replace my now long in the tooth XP system. I was hoping that someone here can recommend a pro-audio laptop builder in the UK that can build me a Win 7 / 8 system with SSD drives, 17" screen, lots of RAM and a decent (i7 at least) processor. I've checked out Scan Computers, and they can build the system I want for around £1800 (phew), but am hoping there are alternatives around.

Anyone bought a pro-audio laptop in the UK recently? Thanks.

[EDIT] I just pulled the trigger on this system from Scan.co.uk ...

3XS Scan Performance 17" - Studio Laptop

Case
3XS N170SD 17.3" Laptop With 960m + I74720HQ + 7265AC

CPU
Intel Core i7 4720HQ, 2.6GHz, quad-core + HT, 6MB cache, 3.6GHz + TB

Memory - DDR3
16GB Corsair (2x8GB) - 1600MHz, CAS 11-11-11-28, 1.35V

M.2 Solid State Drives
500GB Samsung 850 Evo, 540MB/s Read, 500MB/s Write, 97k IOPS

Storage Drives
2 x 1TB Samsung 850 EVO, 2.5" SSD, 3D V-NAND, SATA 6Gbps, Read 540MB/s, Write 520MB/s, 1GB Cache, 98000K IOPS Max

Optical Drives
Samsung SN-506BB/BEBE Slim Black Internal Blu-ray & DVD Writer OEM

£1681.08 inc. VAT + Delivery

By waiting I seem to have inadvertently saved myself about £200, and ended up with more SSD space. Expecting delivery in a day or two ...

BertKoor · Post by **BertKoor** » Thu Feb 26, 2015 4:52 pm

Reknown pro audio laptop builder ADK from the US is the same as "Scan" in the UK. I think... Google is your friend!

thecontrolcentre · Post by **thecontrolcentre** » Fri Feb 27, 2015 12:59 am

BertKoor wrote:Reknown pro audio laptop builder ADK from the US is the same as "Scan" in the UK. I think... Google is your friend!

Yeah ... I did much googling before posting and searched the forum. There isn't a lot of choice as far as I can see.

thecontrolcentre · Post by **thecontrolcentre** » Fri Feb 27, 2015 2:00 pm

BUMP

There must be someone here who's bought a production laptop in the UK.

bibz1st · Post by **bibz1st** » Fri Feb 27, 2015 3:27 pm

Why not give Dell a try

BertKoor · Post by **BertKoor** » Fri Feb 27, 2015 5:18 pm

Well, pro audio is a very niche market. Sorry...
Any regular office brand will be a toss of a coin whether it' just OK or excellent for a DAW.

Mushy Mushy · Post by **Mushy Mushy** » Fri Feb 27, 2015 5:22 pm

thecontrolcentre wrote:BUMP

There must be someone here who's bought a production laptop in the UK.

Are you aware of Carillon?
http://www.carillonac1.com/

I'd go for them or Scan. Probably the latter though because I find their presence on this forum reassuring.

BertKoor · Post by **BertKoor** » Fri Feb 27, 2015 5:30 pm

If its the price that makes you think twice, look up what a DX7 or IBM AT costed back then and correct for inflation. Then that laptop is quite cheap!

Arcvidean · Post by **Arcvidean** » Fri Feb 27, 2015 5:32 pm

Music-pc.com in Nottingham have built my computers in the past. I'll presumably be getting my next computer from there sometime soon.

Arcvidean.

thecontrolcentre · Post by **thecontrolcentre** » Fri Feb 27, 2015 5:47 pm

Thanks for the replies.

I've been really happy with the HP Pavilion I bought in 2006 , but recently it's been struggling with some plugins. It has a maximum of 2GB RAM installed, and sometimes that's just not enough.

I checked out Carillon, thanks Mushy and Dean. Nice systems, but top prices ... Scan come in a bit cheaper.

@Arkvideon Will have a look at Music-pc ... thanks.

@BurtKoor I know what you mean. I paid £1500 for my last hardware sampler in 1997. My current laptop was £1200 back in 2006, So £2000 for something modern isn't bad. Really I am looking for advice from satisfied customers, and those who know more about this than I do (who are legion).

MFXxx · Post by **MFXxx** » Sat Feb 28, 2015 8:24 pm

For music I've always gone desktop self buld, however, if I was going laptop as a backup or main 1st choice would be scan you could look at redsub laptops.

http://www.scan.co.uk/3xs/configurator/ ... h-firewire

http://www.gear4music.com/Audio_Compute ... ptops.html

AFAIK the san systems are Lenova base models with audio spec from stateside.

Kaine · Post by **Kaine** » Wed Mar 04, 2015 10:20 am

Just to correct the thread as I'd hate to do Scott and the rest of the team at ADK any injustice, whilst the ADK shells remain great units in their own right, we ended up switched our own sourcing to direct from manufacturer a few years back.

As we diverged into other markets with the laptops we made it to a point where we were permitted to go direct and more importantly get direct support and changes made by the design team in Taiwan due to us finally meeting their requirements to become a distro and reseller in our own right. It made sense to take the option as it allowed us to up our warranty period for our end users and reduce both costs and shipping times at the same time.

standalone · Post by **standalone** » Wed Mar 04, 2015 1:54 pm

Check this company out:
http://www.moltenmusictechnology.com/

pljones · Post by **pljones** » Fri Mar 13, 2015 10:56 pm

Do any of these "audio" laptops come with a reliable 6-pin Firewire interface? The specs never seem to say much (the "best" - clearest - I've seen is Scan's "not suitable for audio"...).

MFXxx · Post by **MFXxx** » Sat Mar 14, 2015 8:20 pm

pljones wrote:Do any of these "audio" laptops come with a reliable 6-pin Firewire interface? The specs never seem to say much (the "best" - clearest - I've seen is Scan's "not suitable for audio"...).

I was under the distinct impression from an email with scan back in the summer of 2013, that the firewire was fine for audio interfaces. Has this since changed?

Pro Audio Laptop UK