Hi Bearlover,

Unfortunately, I can answer your question only negatively: I woiuld suggest that you avoid any PC Windows system built around the AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950x processor, which presently holds second place in the Passmark ranking of most powerful processors. I cannot pinpoint the blame, but the Threadripper system I've just purchased created constant dropouts (crackles and pops) in all music play back, in my Cubase 8.5 and 9.5 sequences as well as in simple iTunes music streaming.

I spent hours with technicians at Ilio, Universal Audio, ASUS, and Steinberg, and no one was able to diagnose the problem. I even disabled 4 cores out of the processor's 16 cores and also disabled multithreading, but to no avail. My sequences just continued to snap-crackle and pop.

Don't get me wrong. The Threadripper is a splendid processor. With 16 cores, it is half the price of its Intel competitors, and it rips through everything with great ease. But when I opened my sequences in Cubase, I hit a... noise barrier. Presently, I'm looking into changing my motherboard and Threadripper CPU with an Intel i9 chip, probably a 7920x, but I'm very wary of high-core chips and I will ask around a lot before making my move. I'm not out to destroy the Threadripper. I think it's a great processor - for other high-power applications. For music production, beware.

Here's my present configuration:

Threadripper 2950x, ASUS Prime x399-A motherboard, 1TB 970 EVO Samsung SSD, 1 TB 850 Samsung SSD, 64 Gig RAM, Windows 10, and a pretty hefty sample library, where VSL is the centerpiece.

Good luck!

Yan

Bravissimo! If there is any demonstration that has convinced me of the value of the Syncron approach, it is your Holberg simulation. It is the best of its kind I have heard anywhere. You should give classes on orchestral simulation.

I agree with most comments made by others, but I take a different perspective. The sharpness, clarity and "fattiness" of the sound here are such a welcome improvement in sampling. I've spent hours trying to imprint these qualities in my simulations, with very mixed results. It will be easier, I think, to shave off and blur the sharpness than it was to improve the sharpness of more sloppy sounds. To use a cryptic formula, it's always easier to do less with more, than to do more with less.

A last note: I have never heard any simulation that could really stand up the comparison with a top notch orchestra. In this case, I listened to Karajan directing the Berlin Philharmonic in the Holberg Prelude, and I must say that your simulation held up very strongly. Not perfect, OK, but extremely convincing, with a sound envelope that is very dense and lifelike. Now, the challenge is to humanize and blur the contours, an easier task than trying to make blurry stuff more incisive. Once again: bravissimo!