Hello,
I'm very intrigued about getting a Receptor Pro to augment and dramatically increase the number of VI's I can add to my studio recording capability.
To buy the Receptor Pro with Komplete 5, is about $3200. For the same money, you can get a pretty high-end Mac Pro or PC.
My question - which solution will give me the most capability. Of course, the portability aspect of the Receptor is a great plus, but for me, not the most important aspect of the deal. I would like to know what is going to give me the most horsepower for, say, running the most simultaneous instances of Kontakt 2, for example.
Any "benchmark" measurements to compare each scenario would be most appreciated, if available.
Also - if the computer route is the better solution, what ideas, configurations, pricing, and sources of PC and / or Mac, would you recommend.
Of course, the fact that I'm posting on the Receptor forum is an indication that I'm crossing my fingers that the Receptor route is indeed the better solution, portability aside.
Convince me !!
Thanks very much for any input !
Best,
JT.
What's more VST capable - Receptor, or High-end Mac / PC ?
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- KVRist
- 98 posts since 13 Sep, 2005
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- KVRist
- 225 posts since 12 Sep, 2006 from Amsterdam, The Netherlands
I am a receptor owner so I thought I'd give my two pennies. The receptor is a nice and sturdy machine for live usage, but in the end when it comes to raw horsepower, you're better of with a decently built PC or Mac. As far as I know, the receptor in it's current incarnation is still single core (maybe the pro is dual core), while you can buy a decent quad core PC for around 800 euros or cheaper.
Most VST hosts nowadays support multiple cores. I know Cubase SX does (which I am using) so you can run lots and lots of plugins simultaniously, much more than on the receptor. Of course real receptor-believers will tell you that nothing beats the ruggedness of a receptor, but as you've said, you'll be mostly using it in a studio, not live. That basically cancels out the one major advantage of a receptor.
Another problem with the receptor is, that although it's advertised as the universal vst player, it does not nearly play all vsts you throw at it. Unsupported vsts at the moment include many widely used commerical ones.
So in short, buy yourself a decent quadcore PC with a lot of memory. Install a Windows XP 64 bit to make full advantage of 4 gigs or more of memory, and use a quadcore capable host.
I'm in the process of building a new DAW myself and I am going for the intel QX9450 processor when it comes out (any day now).
Most VST hosts nowadays support multiple cores. I know Cubase SX does (which I am using) so you can run lots and lots of plugins simultaniously, much more than on the receptor. Of course real receptor-believers will tell you that nothing beats the ruggedness of a receptor, but as you've said, you'll be mostly using it in a studio, not live. That basically cancels out the one major advantage of a receptor.
Another problem with the receptor is, that although it's advertised as the universal vst player, it does not nearly play all vsts you throw at it. Unsupported vsts at the moment include many widely used commerical ones.
So in short, buy yourself a decent quadcore PC with a lot of memory. Install a Windows XP 64 bit to make full advantage of 4 gigs or more of memory, and use a quadcore capable host.
I'm in the process of building a new DAW myself and I am going for the intel QX9450 processor when it comes out (any day now).
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- KVRist
- Topic Starter
- 98 posts since 13 Sep, 2005
Thanks for the informative reply ! I was kind of getting the feeling that what you stated was the truth... It's too bad that Muse won't move their processors with the current times, as it really would be a tough choice for those who need horsepower more than portability...
I'm going to go with a Mac Pro 8-core for my needs. I think that'll do the trick ; from what I read, you can throw any number of plug-ins at it, and it won't even break a sweat...
Thanks again for the confirmation...
Best,
JT.
I'm going to go with a Mac Pro 8-core for my needs. I think that'll do the trick ; from what I read, you can throw any number of plug-ins at it, and it won't even break a sweat...
Thanks again for the confirmation...
Best,
JT.
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- KVRist
- 106 posts since 1 Jun, 2004
my $.02 on plugins ..
Being a Mac user, Receptor gives me access to all those VST's on the PC (I can't be bothered with a wrapper). That's a huge perk for me.
On the other hand, I've bought a number of things via plugorama, and you ONLY get the receptor version. I feel I would have done better buying synths like impOSCar and oddity and did a manual install, since now I HAVE to set up the receptor if I want those in the studio environment.
As always, there's plenty of pros and cons. I'd say you'd get maximum power and flexibility buying a top of the line mac laptop with a bootable windows partition, and a REALLY good physical security system if you plan on using it out. I've had all kinds of liquids spilled on my keyboards/gear, can't imagine a laptop putting up with that too well ...
Being a Mac user, Receptor gives me access to all those VST's on the PC (I can't be bothered with a wrapper). That's a huge perk for me.
On the other hand, I've bought a number of things via plugorama, and you ONLY get the receptor version. I feel I would have done better buying synths like impOSCar and oddity and did a manual install, since now I HAVE to set up the receptor if I want those in the studio environment.
As always, there's plenty of pros and cons. I'd say you'd get maximum power and flexibility buying a top of the line mac laptop with a bootable windows partition, and a REALLY good physical security system if you plan on using it out. I've had all kinds of liquids spilled on my keyboards/gear, can't imagine a laptop putting up with that too well ...
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- KVRist
- 79 posts since 18 Dec, 2003
8-core Mac or a Macbook Pro is def better.
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- KVRist
- 96 posts since 2 May, 2004 from USA
Receptor runs synths good but I feel it shines as a EFX rack.
for someone like my friend that hates using A computer when producing or having to set up his outboard gear before dumping to tape....the receptor fit nicely in that set up.
I myself use it as A dedicated Reaktor-5 station, EFX Rack and for mastering hot on the main mix.
as long as I DONT get in that EVERYTHING box mentality...It works nicly.
for someone like my friend that hates using A computer when producing or having to set up his outboard gear before dumping to tape....the receptor fit nicely in that set up.
I myself use it as A dedicated Reaktor-5 station, EFX Rack and for mastering hot on the main mix.
as long as I DONT get in that EVERYTHING box mentality...It works nicly.
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