Soundscape, anybody?

[tony666]

I have a mixtreme for 7 years now, still happy with it and the soundcard is still compatible with the new software!

Sydec/Soundscape is a very devoted small company with high quality products. It can rival a Protools system with it's onboard DSP's, which I think can be very important when tracking vocals/bands, but they don't have the plugins/comfort a Protools setup can offer (total integration).

If you can live with some workarrounds, don't mind it doesn't have a fancy look, it sure can be a competitor to Protools!

Back when Mackie owned 'em, I ALMOST bought their system. I went PT HD instead. I am glad. I like the PT interface better. I like the lack of OS upgrade BS with the Soundscape. When you look at their interfaces, etc, it is about a wash, atleast it was then. To me, PT HD is more compact, etc.

[Robert Randolph]

I have a mixtreme, I prefer RME solutions better but it is really, really nice.

I dont use soundscape, but the mixtreme has ASIO, mme and dwave drivers. Works really great.

[adamcal]

I had quite a lot of soundscape stuff a while ago, 4 mixtreme cards, and 6 of the 8 channel boxes.

In one computer I had 2 cards and 4 boxes giving a 32 in/out system, with no latency monitoring. It worked and sounded great and was always relaible. This was way back (pre rme) when everyone else was have a hard time getting anything to work propley on the PC.

The developers were great to deal with and even responded to emails.

And even though the boxes were RCA unbalanced and 20bit they still managed to sound better than just about everything else of the time.

I have nothing but good memories for soundscape stuff.

[Yannick]

We've been on Soundscape since december 93.
At that time, Protools was still wetting its pampers ...

Now we still have the original unit (still running on a older PC - still completely reliable 6 track 24 bit), and we have added two SS32 with mixpander9.
They are in use every day, stable as hell, enough DSP plugins and since more than a year now VST compatibility, which gives some nice highend VST plugins as well (convolving reverb etc...).

One SS32 is 32 track, has 2 Gflops of DSP (mixpander 9) and can stream 48 channels to and 48ch from the PC into its mixer, giving IO to other Pc applications, and the possibility to insert lots of VST (or VSTi) plugs (two or more consecutive VST plugs use only one stereo stream).

With the mixpander power pack, you get the same mixer&DSP, but not the SS32 editing functionality and rock solid track laying.

There are no sound quality issues, no mix buss problems. Just no infinite headroom as on other systems, you have to think first - then mix.

visit our site at :

www.sydec.be

There's also a 210 euro soft that guarantees compatibility with almost any other app, including Protools (not version 6 however - grace to digidesign).

[Sammas]

Originally Posted by Yannick

There's also a 210 euro soft that guarantees compatibility with almost any other app, including Protools (not version 6 however - grace to digidesign).

Thats Great! I was pretty much sold on soundscape before, but that compatability software pretty much secured it.

I wonder if they'll be adding support for Nuendo/Cubase, Logic and Sonar...

[RyanC]

Yannick-

How does a mixpander work just as a native solution? I want to use it with cubase, and what I really want to know is if the mixer is flexible enough to track with a band AND have eq's reverbs compressors etc just for the foldback mix?

Also do you have the ibox? if so how does it sound? Thanks-

Ryan

[Yannick]

The mixer is extremely flexible.
Also, if you do not use VST plugins during tracking, latency will be extremely low, if you monitor through the Ibox/Mixpander mixer combination.

Of course you would have to buy a DSP reverb plugin.

The Ibox48 and 64 are great - considering they cost 100 euro/ADDA channel.
If you want, you can always add a highend AD later, you can connect it simultaneously through the Ibox (it has 24 analogue IO AND 24 ch tdif IO, and a MADI interface (optional)).

[TheSweetener]

Originally Posted by Revelation

I just read a very in depth review at Sound on Sound (April edition) regarding Soundscape Mixpander Power Pack adn Mixtreme 192. This is a very high end system that appears to compete well with Pro tools. Has anyone used it and what are your impressions?

I have also used two Mixtemes for many years. In my opinion one of the best soundcards available!
Now I have bought a Mixpander Power Pack. It rules so far!

48 in/outs (you can have 64 with MADI)
You can choose between TDIF, ADAT, AES/EBU and Analog. All in 24 channel banks).

A totally flexible REAL TIME software mixer with cool plugins (Drawmer, TC, Aphex...) and 9 Motorola DSPs.

64 ASIO streams from the sequencer (I use Cubase) to the software mixer.

The cool thing is, the drivers are very good, so everything is stable. Who else has 64 ASIO outputs?
AND: The software mixer really behaves like a digital hardware mixer. I also tested the A/D converters of the included IBox and find them very cool! If you want better ones, just buy a ADAT or AES/EBU, TDIF or MADI IBox.

So if you don't mind having two software mixers (sequencer + ss) it's a very interseting bundle. The only drawback so far, is that they have not included "Asio direct Monitoring" in the ASIO driver. I hope it will follow soon.

Beside that, what I like about Soundscape (at least in Germany) ist that they have a good and personal support! Not an XXX hotline like Steinberg, where you pay a lot to talk to some student.