Just wondered what folk think pros and cons are in using a slave PC rather than Receptor to run VSTi's, especially power hungry Kontakts e.g. string and orchestrals like LASS, Symphobia, Hollywood Strings (and other East West's like Choirs etc) rather than a Rep 2 Pro Max?
I get the portability advantages but how about in terms of latency and compatibility (still no East West 64-bit player on Receptor?) and price bang for your buck?
I guess 3 grand buys you a pretty good xeon rig with more RAM and will run VE Pro as a host? Any experiences? Uniwire still better? Cheers.
Receptor Pro or Westmere Slave?
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- KVRian
- 691 posts since 13 May, 2004 from Silicon Valley
Hi Maffin,
In my opinion, if your intended application is for composition/sequencing in a project studio, where you don't intend to move computers (eg. to stage for performance), you would be best served with a slave machine running Vienna Ensemble Pro (instead of a Receptor). The Receptor 2 does bring the latency down from previous models, but it cannot possibly keep up with the latest Intel CPUs / Front Side Bus speeds / newer Ram speeds. Uniwire lacks preset syncronization on the DAW and Slave (unlike VEP), and maxes out at 16 audio channels. Speeds and dropouts are common issues with Uniwire, and it always seems like a balancing act slowing the DAW audio rates for acceptable latencies.
Then there is the issue with supported plugins being available.
Keep in mind, I am a proponent of Receptor 2 (I have 3) I find them mostly useful for live performance setups. You can make them work with a DAW, but the limitations add up rather quickly. In the studio, they are probably most useful for 'compute intensive' plugins (eg. Analog Synth emulations, like Arturia, Omnisphere, ....) - but I wouldn't buy a Receptor strictly for this purpose - given my previous experience.
Hope this helps. Regards,
Kevin L
In my opinion, if your intended application is for composition/sequencing in a project studio, where you don't intend to move computers (eg. to stage for performance), you would be best served with a slave machine running Vienna Ensemble Pro (instead of a Receptor). The Receptor 2 does bring the latency down from previous models, but it cannot possibly keep up with the latest Intel CPUs / Front Side Bus speeds / newer Ram speeds. Uniwire lacks preset syncronization on the DAW and Slave (unlike VEP), and maxes out at 16 audio channels. Speeds and dropouts are common issues with Uniwire, and it always seems like a balancing act slowing the DAW audio rates for acceptable latencies.
Then there is the issue with supported plugins being available.
Keep in mind, I am a proponent of Receptor 2 (I have 3) I find them mostly useful for live performance setups. You can make them work with a DAW, but the limitations add up rather quickly. In the studio, they are probably most useful for 'compute intensive' plugins (eg. Analog Synth emulations, like Arturia, Omnisphere, ....) - but I wouldn't buy a Receptor strictly for this purpose - given my previous experience.
Hope this helps. Regards,
Kevin L
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- KVRer
- Topic Starter
- 3 posts since 30 Oct, 2010 from London
Thanks Kevin, that's very helpful. I intend to use PT9 on a (slightly lower spec) 64-bit windows 7 setup and really need to run large vsti's on the dual westmere slave.
I am a film composer who uses mac PT HD systems in the studio but need to set up a new complete project studio early in the new year (perhaps waiting till NAMM 2011 might be a good idea to see if there are any surprises I wish I saved my cash for). I kind of prefer PC's - but guess the RTAS support from Vienna Ensemble Pro only works on Macs?
I think the auto delay comp in PT9 means I can get away with not using Native (which seems like an overpriced dongle) as PT9 is only now one flavour by adding the production toolkit and a decent interface (any thoughts?) and my audio recording needs are limited compared with virtual instruments which is heavy, but I obviously need HD video playback and it seems SSD drives improve polyphony...I think what you suggest is the best option.
Cheers anyway - thanks for the advice!
I am a film composer who uses mac PT HD systems in the studio but need to set up a new complete project studio early in the new year (perhaps waiting till NAMM 2011 might be a good idea to see if there are any surprises I wish I saved my cash for). I kind of prefer PC's - but guess the RTAS support from Vienna Ensemble Pro only works on Macs?
I think the auto delay comp in PT9 means I can get away with not using Native (which seems like an overpriced dongle) as PT9 is only now one flavour by adding the production toolkit and a decent interface (any thoughts?) and my audio recording needs are limited compared with virtual instruments which is heavy, but I obviously need HD video playback and it seems SSD drives improve polyphony...I think what you suggest is the best option.
Cheers anyway - thanks for the advice!
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- KVRian
- 691 posts since 13 May, 2004 from Silicon Valley
Hi again,
Sorry - I can't comment on PT9 & windows. I've just installed on Mac OS, and it seems fine. I have a recent Windows 7/64 slave machine running VEP (using an SSD for boot drive) and this combination works great. I can run all the East-West lib/plugins as well as many heavy Kontakt libs (Ocean Way Drums, Vir2, Scarbee, ....) and Ivory without any issues. Scene recall works great.
For my PT interface, I use the standard 192 IO (not the new HD one). This works fine for my project studio. I read about pros using other interfaces for their studios. If this is an issue for you, you may wish to look at Digi's new MADI inteface (to connect to a console or some other converters.
Best of luck,
Kevin L
Sorry - I can't comment on PT9 & windows. I've just installed on Mac OS, and it seems fine. I have a recent Windows 7/64 slave machine running VEP (using an SSD for boot drive) and this combination works great. I can run all the East-West lib/plugins as well as many heavy Kontakt libs (Ocean Way Drums, Vir2, Scarbee, ....) and Ivory without any issues. Scene recall works great.
For my PT interface, I use the standard 192 IO (not the new HD one). This works fine for my project studio. I read about pros using other interfaces for their studios. If this is an issue for you, you may wish to look at Digi's new MADI inteface (to connect to a console or some other converters.
Best of luck,
Kevin L