Speculation about our computers getting slow for our DAWS

[chk071]

I know this sounds harsh, but... you should get rid of Reason. There's been so many times you complained about its sound quality, or something else about it now. Get a VST host. Get some quality plugins. Never look back. Seriously.

This has nothing to do with Reason's sound.

I know. It is about performance this time. Still.

Can I ask you though: Have you ever been using another DAWs than Reason, which actually did sound better in YOUR opinion?

I don't know if there's any DAW which sounds better than Reason (call me crazy, but, i was sure i hear a difference between Cubase and Reaper, back when i compared those, with the same plugins), but, some VSTi's smoke Reason's internal synths for breakfast IMO. Ok, not too much of an issue anymore now, since Reason supports VST's. What's left are the sequencer shortcomings in Reason, compared to hosts which support VST since decades.

[deep'n'dark]

I know this sounds harsh, but... you should get rid of Reason. There's been so many times you complained about its sound quality, or something else about it now. Get a VST host. Get some quality plugins. Never look back. Seriously.

This has nothing to do with Reason's sound.

I know. It is about performance this time. Still.

Can I ask you though: Have you ever been using another DAWs than Reason, which actually did sound better in YOUR opinion?

I don't know if there's any DAW which sounds better than Reason (call me crazy, but, i was sure i hear a difference between Cubase and Reaper, back when i compared those, with the same plugins), but, some VSTi's smoke Reason's internal synths for breakfast IMO. Ok, not too much of an issue anymore now, since Reason supports VST's. What's left are the sequencer shortcomings in Reason, compared to hosts which support VST since decades.

I my case: Why do I never find myself in a situation that, NOW I SOUND like it's not me. Haha!

[stardustmedia]

Why do our PC's get slower without getting remarkably better sound?

Why do you think there is a link between PC-speed (performance) and sound quality? Maybe that was the case in the 00's, where computers weren't able to hande "highend" algorithms, or so.

[fmr]

I know this sounds harsh, but... you should get rid of Reason. There's been so many times you complained about its sound quality, or something else about it now. Get a VST host. Get some quality plugins. Never look back. Seriously.

This has nothing to do with Reason's sound.

I know. It is about performance this time. Still.

Can I ask you though: Have you ever been using another DAWs than Reason, which actually did sound better in YOUR opinion?

I don't know if there's any DAW which sounds better than Reason (call me crazy, but, i was sure i hear a difference between Cubase and Reaper, back when i compared those, with the same plugins), but, some VSTi's smoke Reason's internal synths for breakfast IMO. Ok, not too much of an issue anymore now, since Reason supports VST's. What's left are the sequencer shortcomings in Reason, compared to hosts which support VST since decades.

I my case: Why do I never find myself in a situation that, NOW I SOUND like it's not me. Haha!

Maybe because it is still YOU that's sounding

[deep'n'dark]

Why do our PC's get slower without getting remarkably better sound?

Why do you think there is a link between PC-speed (performance) and sound quality?

There is no as I still sound the same. But why did I buy a new PC? Because my Dual Cored AMD did run out of the CPU. Why do the developers demand more PC-Power if nothing sounds better?

[deep'n'dark]

Maybe because it is still YOU that's sounding

I feel like my songs are sounding too Coca Cola'ish no matter what.

[Guenon]

Why do the dvelopers demand more PC-Power if nothing sounds better?

To stay within the "sounding better" discourse, think of it this way: a healthy dose of this is just your own bias, and another portion is the software - both hosts and plugins - containing more features aimed at the user being able to make things sound better (insert quotation marks where needed ) if the user has the expertise to put the said features to good use.

The software doesn't magically sound dramatically better (there are exceptions), but instead it offers you the potential to make your productions sound dramatically better when you have the knowhow yourself. It is possible some of those capabilities might make the product more heavy even when you're not using them to their full potential. But again, the main thing to check here is just your own bias.

[deep'n'dark]

Why do the dvelopers demand more PC-Power if nothing sounds better?

To stay within the "sounding better" discourse, think of it this way: a healthy dose of this is just your own bias, and another portion is the software - both hosts and plugins - containing more features aimed at the user being able to make things sound better (insert quotation marks where needed ) if the user has the expertise to put the said features to good use.

The software doesn't magically sound dramatically better (there are exceptions), but instead it offers you the potential to make your productions sound dramatically better when you have the knowhow yourself. It is possible some of those capabilities might make the product more heavy even when you're not using them to their full potential. But again, the main thing to check here is just your own bias.

It's impossible to tell how good or bad I sound because my scizophrenia makes my mind change my hearing all the time. Anyway, I get the point you people say.

[stardustmedia]

There is no as I still sound the same. But why did I buy a new PC? Because my Dual Cored AMD did run out of the CPU. Why do the developers demand more PC-Power if nothing sounds better?

Alright, now I understand what you mean.

Is it this what you mean?
Instead of optimising a software, (a lot of) developers just go with the new available power. Yes, there are a lot of "bloated" code, unnecessary big. Although that doesn't also mean the code is not optimised. It's just that I get that feeling as well.

But there are developers that really dig deep. And sometimes they come up with ideas, that just need more power. If it sounds better is then again another story. Sometimes it's not that obvious.

[fmr]

There is no as I still sound the same. But why did I buy a new PC? Because my Dual Cored AMD did run out of the CPU. Why do the developers demand more PC-Power if nothing sounds better?

Alright, now I understand what you mean.

Is it this what you mean?
Instead of optimising a software, (a lot of) developers just go with the new available power. Yes, there are a lot of "bloated" code, unnecessary big. Although that doesn't also mean the code is not optimised. It's just that I get that feeling as well.

But there are developers that really dig deep. And sometimes they come up with ideas, that just need more power. If it sounds better is then again another story. Sometimes it's not that obvious.

Sometimes it is. I remember when DIVA came out. I immediately got it in the pre-launch Beta, and started programming sounds. For two reasons:

1. The jump in quality was immediately noticeable. It sounded like basically nothing else in the VST world sounded up to it.

2. The mix and match concept was so refreshing and inspiring that I immediately felt in love with it. It was like a Columbus egg. I wondered: "Why didn't anyone else thought of this earlier?"

Was it killing CPU? Well, mine not entirely, but it wasn't certainly putting it to a lot of strain. Was it justified? Absolutely. Now, everybody is talking about 0DF filters, although I think (and Urs said it too already) there's more in DIVA than just 0DF filters

The same can be said of several sound processors, I have been trying during the years. So, sometimes, the jump in quality is quite noticeable. Sometimes it's more subtle. Sometimes it's just bloating and marketing mambo-jambo. We have to pay attention and be very critic about it.

[Kinh]

Shit, daws aren't a problem. They make cpu's faster to keep up with games not audio programs. And vsts are more demanding anyway.

[Kinh]

[Mathematics]

For the record, CPU's don't get slower...it's software operation improvements that requires more clock cycles to accomplish tasks. Money solves that problem. Just buy faster or find a more efficient workflow.

As far as sound is concerned...unless we find a form of converting kinetic energy to digital information bypassing an electrical module...nothing is going to greatly improve in terms of sound.

Just be cautious about what you spend for better sound...graphically as quality vs money, it's completely logarithmic.

[jabe]

A few years back, I was looking at creating a batch file that would stop some processes and services running under Windows to preserve as much resource as possible for the use of required music software. The plan was that on reboot all the processes and services would restart, allowing normal use again. This would have been on Windows versions up to Windows 7. I don't know whether this kind of thing is possible or desirable under Windows 10.

The processes and services to be stopped would be partly decided by research, with further additions from trial and error.

Perhaps one day.

[SJ_Digriz]

I thought everyone knew programmers spend 80% of their time trying to figure out new algorithms for utilizing CPU cycles without an output. It's the only way to get a new computer .. the sales guys are always first to get brand new, fully tricked out equipment that they have no idea how to use.