EXS 24 Logic Sampler Users Group

At 07:29 PM 2/16/03 -0500, you wrote: 
>
> Stupid8Track has posted on Sonikmatter's Logic forum a very detailed 
> streaming test he conducted to explore the limits of the EXS24's polyphony. 
> He's planning to buy the Vienna Symphonic Library and wanted to see which 
> setup would give him the most voices:
>
>
> <http://community.sonikmatter.com/emagic/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=25
>
> ;t=000261>http://community.sonikmatter.com/emagic/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_t
> opic;f=25;t=000261


Thanks for this link Ned. The results obtained are interesting and relevant to
anyone who needs a lot of voices for their arrangements. 

One problem with the results --  the key variables are a little confounded. 
CPU performance and Disk read  performance -- the two limitations on
simultaneous sample playback -- are both coming into play because the RAID
configurations are software RAID which burdens the CPU. 

Hardware RAID (ATA or SCSI RAID controller with an onboard processor) , where
the dedicated onboard controller handles all the processing load,  leaves the
CPU to run the EXS24. 

Software RAID means that the disk chores are loading the CPU and the load can
be quite a significant share of the available power -- OSX disk overheads and
the RAID routines could easily be what is loading the midi/system processor so
heavily.

Ideally -- you would run this test with an Adaptec (or similar) SCSI or ATA
RAID card.

BTW Western Digital are soon to release a 3" single platter, 36 Gig,  10kRPM
ATA hard-drive. An ATA RAID array built from a set of those and running on an
ATA RAID controller could be a seriously fast system for this sort of
application. 36 gigs is a little small for samples unfortunately -- but no
doubt Maxtor/Quantum and Seagate will join the party with something similar but
hopefully a bit bigger. 

Western Digital have no high-end enterprise business to protect as they are new
entrants at 10K rpm but Seagate, IBM/Hitachi, Fujitsu and Quantum all have had
10k/15k SCSI drives on the market for some time.

Regards,
Murray