Whats the dif? Proteus X vs Emulator X

[pauldirks]

Both come with 2 Gb of sounds, both say they load tons of sample formats like giga and EOS.

What's the difference?

Paul

[ObsoleteAcc99]

[DELETED]

[pauldirks]

that's all? Just the interface?

Paul

[Trusty]

ONe actually samples and edits them, the other does not. The Proteu X is just playback, whereas the Emulator X has a fully featured sampler in it.

[djdorian]

OK. I had the very same question, as EMU does not explain things very clearly on their homepage (and YES, I HAVE read and re-read the entire text carefully, it's just confusingly written.)

So to reiterate: The ONLY differences are the interfaces and the fact that EmulatorX actually edits and samples?

I just want to be completely sure before "diving head first" (which I have very foolishly and unfortunately done with products previously.)

[Compyfox]

Yup, Proteus X is a rompler, Emulator X is a sampler and can do a bit more with the available samplepackages. That's pretty much it.

[Ildon]

Proteus X uses its own sample format. It's still technically a sampler, but I use it as a rompler. In the Emulator X, you can throw a WAV file into it and be done with it. In the Proteus X, you'd need to somehow convert that WAV file into the Proteus X's own format.

Proteus X translator that comes with the Proteus X can convert the following into the Proteus X format:

-Sf2
-Giga
-EXS
-Halion
-Akai S5000/S6000

Other than that, you can't edit samples like you can in the Emulator X (duh), and the interface is a little different. The Proteus X is still a pretty powerful rompler. Just be careful using it, because it's buggy and unreliable.

[Compyfox]

Well the Proteus X was first thought of being a rebuilt of the old EMU synthesizer line (Proteus 1,2, 2000 and up and the Proteus 2k based Spinoff's like Orbit, MoPhat, XL-1 and Virtuoso), so it's basicly a rompler.

However I guess the reason why Emulator X was created, was "getting a leg into the music scene" once again after Creative/EMU Ensoniq pretty much faded from the marked after they rejected the AWE series (with the AWE64 already, and later the Live!). Their sampling technology was surprisingly simple back in the day so I guess the reason they started with the Emulator X first, rather than the Proteus which came a month later with all Proteus 2000 presets and then some, was to show "we're not dead, and we can once again show you that EMU and Creative can produce good stuff".

I guess it worked.

I want a Proteus X for myself with 1 or 2 upgrades (to have my XL-1 in Software form). However I don't need to see a reason to get Emulator X if you have an other sampler like Halion or Kontakt, unless you look for a cheap and powerful tool, which can really be a CPU hog sometimes.

[djdorian]

great thanx. I've been looking at that symphonic library with lust for a while now. Well listening to it, actually.

[Ildon]

Well the Proteus X was first thought of being a rebuilt of the old EMU synthesizer line (Proteus 1,2, 2000 and up and the Proteus 2k based Spinoff's like Orbit, MoPhat, XL-1 and Virtuoso), so it's basicly a rompler.

However I guess the reason why Emulator X was created, was "getting a leg into the music scene" once again after Creative/EMU Ensoniq pretty much faded from the marked after they rejected the AWE series (with the AWE64 already, and later the Live!). Their sampling technology was surprisingly simple back in the day so I guess the reason they started with the Emulator X first, rather than the Proteus which came a month later with all Proteus 2000 presets and then some, was to show "we're not dead, and we can once again show you that EMU and Creative can produce good stuff".

I guess it worked.

I want a Proteus X for myself with 1 or 2 upgrades (to have my XL-1 in Software form). However I don't need to see a reason to get Emulator X if you have an other sampler like Halion or Kontakt, unless you look for a cheap and powerful tool, which can really be a CPU hog sometimes.

Yep, exactly. It was designed to be a rompler, but they threw in some sampling features that have come in handy for me, like the ability to convert SF2 to Proteus X's format.

But like I said, it's buggy and unreliable, and FLStudio users have it the worst, I think, with lots of GUI bugs. I might invest in the Proteus X2. I'm not sure yet.

[Compyfox]

Maybe, since the Proteus X2 got some fair ammounts of updates if I got that right the last time I called EMU. Also, you're not bound to an audiocard anymore, just grab the deal with the USB MIDI adapter and you're good to go (the MIDI adapter can also be used as a dongle, and you can keep your recording cards).

However for the time being, I can live with my XL-1 (unless somebody has the upgrade board to XL-1 Turbo) and my Virtuoso 2000. Maybe somebody has a dirt cheap Proteus 2000/2500 to spare? (and by dirt cheap, I mean like 150-200 bucks)

[Baas]

Yup, Proteus X is a rompler, Emulator X is a sampler and can do a bit more with the available samplepackages. That's pretty much it.

Pretty much it ?

I think it's a little more than that. One is a synth - the other a sampler. That's a pretty big difference I'll say.

I have the X2 and love it. I used to use a lot of E-mu hardware samplers (e-6400 Ultra, e-6400, ESI-32, Emax II and I still have 2 Emax 1000 samplers (the first Emax)).

The X and X2 interface is the closest I'll ever come to the e-6400 Ultra and it's probably the best sounding software sampler when it comes to it's incredible filters.

I love the X series. And the Proteus is not bad either but really IS basically 'just' a rompler.

KennethA

[Ildon]

Still, the Proteus X is probably the most powerful rompler I've ever encountered. Much more powerful and flexible than my Rolands. Once I pick up the Virtuoso X expansion, I'll be unstoppable. Mwahahaha...

As long as you don't use the presets, it's not even that much of a CPU hog. In general, my Hyper Canvas takes up almost twice as much CPU power than my Proteus X loaded with a GS soundset I made from soundfonts and Proteus Composer sounds. That's because I stay away from the filters and all the extras. The most I'll do is throw some FX on a sound.

The main problem is the way FLStudio handles it. You can't use global FX on it for some reason, there's a GUI bug that makes everything freeze for about 10-20 seconds before you can choose what kind of filter you want (so I don't touch the filters, sadly), and I have to right click to choose what sort of FX I want to use on a sound in single mode.

Pain in my butt... but it's still pretty usable.

I say go for it, if your PCs can handle it. It has a nice sound.

[Convolve]

I bump this one for a question: I am interested in Proteus Sounds, but as far as I understand Proteus X2 VST can only be used with EMU hardware?

I have no EMU-Soundcard in my DAW, so I can't run this? And what about using this on a notebook? Sorry if those questions are stupid, but my research on the EMU products page does not really help to enlighten me

[Ildon]

The Proteus X/X2 should come with an Emu 0404 PCI soundcard. You don't need the soundcard as your main audio device or anything, it just needs to be installed to use the software. I think if you already have an Emu soundcard on your PC, you don't need to install the 0404, but I could be wrong on that. On a laptop you won't be able to use this without an Emu 1616 (I think - someone correct me on this if I'm wrong!) The easiest and cheapest option for this on a laptop would be to get an Emu Xboard controller which comes with Proteus X LE (all the Proteus sounds, limited functionality.) Proteus X LE doesn't need an Emu soundcard to run, just the MIDI controller that it comes with.