Receptor alternatives

[andym63]

Boy oh boy johnrule you shure sound like you dont like the Receptor.!
Cant you just let other people enjoy their Receptors and accept that not everyone shares your opinoin.(imo) as you put it.

kind regards Andy.

[johnrule]

Boy oh boy johnrule you shure sound like you dont like the Receptor.!
Cant you just let other people enjoy their Receptors and accept that not everyone shares your opinoin.(imo) as you put it.

kind regards Andy.

Is it not true that the "superb sound quality" is attributed to the plugin developers and the hardware manufacturers of the audio hardware? Credit where credit is due, that's all. To give that sort of unwarranted credit to Muse seemed like a correction was in order. There is nothing special going on inside the Receptor that can't happen in a laptop or a desktop. So, pointing out the truth makes me a hater?

Sure, enjoy your Receptor, but why are you enjoying it in a thread entitled "Receptor Alternatives"? I just installed an ssd in mine so I could get more use out of it, but ultimately the goal is to be finished with it and move on. When it dies (and it will), I will not replace it with another. When I need "superb sound quality" and vst hosting I have a lot of other options, and that's what I thought this thread was about.

What exactly is your issue with me Andy? It seems like you keep trying to put me in some sort of bad light. You are coming across as the bad guy now imo.

[andym63]

Phillmuler

Great to see that someone else got omnisphere2 working on receptor.It took a few hrs for me to get it going but well worth it.
ime runing one my receptors through a firface 800 aswell.
Kind Regards andy

[PhilMuller]

At the moment I am spoiled in my studio with the superb sound quality of my Receptor 2 Pro Max(s) as played through my RME FireFace 800 and my NS10M monitors.

I just have to say that any pc is capable of adat I/O and "superb sound quality". I have four lightpipe interfaces on 4pcs: Profire lightbridge with adat and 36 digital I/O, Korg Oasys pci with adat and 12 stereo digital I/O, a Bheringer FCA 6/10 (2 stereo light pipe), EMU pci 0404 (2 stereo lightpipe). And, guess what? I have "superb sound quality"!

It seems like you're attributing your "superb sound quality" to the Receptor and Muse, and that's just not accurate imo. They didn't make the card or your plugins (or your RME or monitors), which is where that quality comes from actually. Besides, this thread is about alternatives, so what exactly is your point?

I was mainly answering someones question and really didn't have a point to make other than describing my environment. So, you are right of course ... The RME Fireface800 and Yamaha NS10M monitors are most likely the reason for the great sound quality ... but I was told by a reliable source that the audio engine et al in the Receptor 2 Promax is better than that from the Qu4ttro alone and the Qu4ttro coupled with the Prosonus. It seems that if I play for example Ivory American Grand from within Live on my PC and compare that to the sound from doing the same on my Receptor, the Receptor chain sounds better. Maybe my ears have a short ... and of course if I buy a pair of Barefoot monitors for $15K the sound should get even better. Oh well, this is a never ending quest with diminishing returns

[emcee]

My Casio SK-1 sounds great through its built in speakers. #justsayin

[johnrule]

I was told by a reliable source that the audio engine et al in the Receptor 2 Promax is better than that from the Qu4ttro alone and the Qu4ttro coupled with the Prosonus.

Oh no! Not the "reliable source" ploy

Again, it seems like you're putting a spin on something. There is no "engine" in the Receptor that is doing anything to the audio other than routing. The audio hardware is good, but there is a lot of audio hardware out there that is as good or better (and ultimately less expensive). I do like the vst/mixer interface though, and I wish they would de-couple that from the hardware, and sell it separately (on Windows, Mac, and Linux).

Show me some proof that the Receptor is doing some unique audio processing that improves the sonic quality (which is what you seem to be implying by using the word "engine"). I've dug deeply into the guts of both the hardware and software, and I see no evidence of what you are referring to. I did see evidence that the audio card was some iteration of the Envy24, which is not very impressive imo. I hope they improved on that.

If by "engine" you are referring to hardware, then it probably is true that the Receptor audio hardware is better than many interfaces. It better be for the price you are paying! However, the sonic quality for that hardware still goes to someone else. I think I am simply pointing out the truth - you know - credit where credit is due. Muse may have assembled the parts, but it is not as custom a box as you think. It's a pc, plain and simple, and I installed Windows on mine to prove it (see the video above).

I don't see what any of this has to do with "Receptor Alternatives". To continue to come back proclaiming the benefits of the Receptor is more like trolling to me. No offense, but what are you doing here, really? Have you contributed anything to the subject at hand? I believe I have.

[PhilMuller]

On every forum there is always a guy who thinks he runs the show and with every post he makes sure he puts someone down ... which in his mind makes him king of the thread. Of course this tactic is also not contributing to others on the thread and makes them think twice before posting albeit they will quickly get punished by the king of the thread.

[emcee]

So to get the thread back on track..

If my shopping list included the following, what would my options be?

• 1) Reliable, Roadworthy and easily transportable between gigs, plus rack mountable
  2) able to play the majority of my preferred VST instruments
  3) minimal ongoing maintenance
  4) ease of use on a dark stage, sometimes also with a fog/smoke machine to throw a curve ball
  5) minimal cable tangle and setup pre/post gigs
  6) easily backed up and restored, or at least be recoverable offsite (read - error message pops up and you have no internet, or want to dismantle it to just swap a drive)
  7) boots and shuts down quickly
  and finally, within a working musician's budget and not out of reach

Whilst the Receptor doesn't tick all of the above boxes, it covers most of them well enough for it to be my #1 option, and short of a hybrid build my own solution, can't really think of an option 2, or 3 for that matter..

Closest I can come up with keeps coming back to a rack mount mini PC (similar form as a mac mini?) with an external sound unit, and some form of VNC interface from an ipad or android tablet.. then there's the software component, choice of OS and then what conduit to use between OS and the VST's..

#limitedoptions

[andym63]

Phil I couldnt agree more.
I think the best thing is just to ignore him you can switch him of in the forum setings dialog that way you dont have to read his monotonous rantings.
I dont think there is any point trying to argue with him he seems to have nothing else to do than think up ways of being a pain in the b.tt
I dont think he means any harm but it just seems to come out all wrong i think its just a case of low self esteem.

Kegards Andy

[andym63]

emcee
Mac minis might do the job but they arent they quite expensive?
Especialy the higher level ones that you would need to run lots of Vsts at the same time.
I still think that a rackmounted pc in either a 1u or 2u case witha an Ssd is a good alternative and cantabile as a vst host .as for the audio interface take your pick there are loads of them out there i use a presonus sometimes and an Old RME. Fireface 800 sometimes to Just put the lot in a rack attatch a touch screen to your keyboard stand with an E-bay clamp and away you go ive been using such a setup allong side my receptors for a while now .Backing up is no probs use unetbootin,or reedobackup,or any of the other free programs out there.I dont like using VNC,s live you have to connect a rauter to the unit in order to get a connection and the response can be slugish it is just something else that can go pear shaped.As long as you dont install a load of antivirus programs and addwere and other sh.t on it it will work fine and be very stable.
//Andy

[emcee]

Whilst not wanting to turn this into the ol' internet flame-throwing competition, JohnRule does have some valid opinions - the Receptor isn't the all magical box that a lot of the Muse Sales hype would lead you to believe. If you want to be very simplistic about it, it IS a PC with some reasonably cool facets that make it appealing to use. Give him some credit for a) being passionate, and b) knocking my literal socks off with the level of effort put into the aMusing Receptor. But, granted they do come off unfortunately as being pretty Anti-Muse. (Un-aMused?)

Now, as to Receptor Alternatives, anyone come up with a viable real-world option that compares mostly 1:1 with the form factor (rack mount/can be run without a laptop/PC) and useability/reliability (boots in under 20 seconds-ish, doesn't need weekly updates or requires an i7 Octa-core CPU with 32gb of ram just to run Diva)..

personally (per above) I keep coming back to some form of a custom rack mount NUC PC with audio interface and touch screen tablet bastardised to control it via VNC..

[emcee]

emcee
Mac minis might do the job but they arent they quite expensive?

Was thinking more the form factor of the mac mini more than the actual real deal. I originally was looking at the G2digital (http://g2digital.co.uk/ Nano but even the PC option looks viable.

Then a rack mountable audio box (again, take your pick) and there's my 2RU filled - then just a method to control it. Touch screen somehow to interface, and agree, using wifi means another bit of gear and another thing to go wrong..

Just put the lot in a rack attatch a touch screen to your keyboard stand with an E-bay clamp and away you go
//Andy

Perfect world (ha) I'd use this keyboard stand that has the tablet holder, or substitute that for something cabled (USB?) to interface with said box.



Then yes, a slimmed down Windows install set up to JUST do music, no Adobe Reader, Browser etc.. VST Host, the VST's and samples, and the very basics windows needs to run smoothly. I'm sure there's been another thread on KVR with guides on how to achieve that, so won't re-invent the wheel, or in this case the Window.

[plethoraguy]

Please everyone take a step back and don't be unkind to anyone on this forum. Johnrule is a very smart cookie, but he is a software engineer and he suffers AS ALMOST EVERY GOOD ENGINEER I'VE KNOWN does, from a touch of intellectual arrogance. Please don't take that as an insult, Johnrule, I say it respectfully, but it IS an occupational hazard. You have a great clarity of targeted thought, but perhaps can be bit blinded to the viewpoints of others. (e.g. why a touchscreen, mouse, or qwerty keyboard would be an absolute deal breaker for some people).

So PLEASE, everyone play nice, we are a dying breed, and we can use ALL the technical help we can get. Let's not shut anyone out. Johnrule has plumbed the depths of this more than most.

[emcee]

Please everyone take a step back and don't be unkind to anyone on this forum. Johnrule is a very smart cookie, but he is a software engineer and he suffers AS ALMOST EVERY GOOD ENGINEER I'VE KNOWN does, from a touch of intellectual arrogance. Please don't take that as an insult, Johnrule, I say it respectfully, but it IS an occupational hazard. You have a great clarity of targeted thought, but perhaps can be bit blinded to the viewpoints of others. (e.g. why a touchscreen, mouse, or qwerty keyboard would be an absolute deal breaker for some people).

So PLEASE, everyone play nice, we are a dying breed, and we can use ALL the technical help we can get. Let's not shut anyone out. Johnrule has plumbed the depths of this more than most.

+1

[Fishoow]

Please everyone take a step back and don't be unkind to anyone on this forum. Johnrule is a very smart cookie, but he is a software engineer and he suffers AS ALMOST EVERY GOOD ENGINEER I'VE KNOWN does, from a touch of intellectual arrogance. Please don't take that as an insult, Johnrule, I say it respectfully, but it IS an occupational hazard. You have a great clarity of targeted thought, but perhaps can be bit blinded to the viewpoints of others. (e.g. why a touchscreen, mouse, or qwerty keyboard would be an absolute deal breaker for some people).

So PLEASE, everyone play nice, we are a dying breed, and we can use ALL the technical help we can get. Let's not shut anyone out. Johnrule has plumbed the depths of this more than most.

+1

+2