Mix Rescue: See Hear
I just want to say 'excellent'; it's been a while since I listened to any clips on the Sound On Sound web site, but I find that they considerably enhance the reading experience. Will you be doing more?
David Parrot
News Editor Chris Mayes-Wright replies: Thanks David, I'm glad you find the audio files useful. Since we started the Mix Rescue series back in January 2006, we've posted links to audio examples from the sessions inside the on-line articles on our web site. More recently, we've listed them separately, so that news-stand readers can refer to them easily, without the need for a Web Sub. For those of you who haven't yet found these, simply surf to the SOS web site and select the issue you want to refer to, using the 'search past issues' tool on the home page. Then click on the Mix Rescue Audio Examples link, where you'll find MP3 and WAV versions of the files mentioned in the article (sometimes in a downloadable ZIP file).
Misleading Prices?
I have just read the PC Musician feature entitled 'Specifying & Building A Dual-core Desktop PC' by Martin Walker in SOS February 2007. I have found that the actual cost of some of the equipment used in the article is a lot higher than the prices quoted in the magazine. I haven't checked out all of the prices, but I went to the web site of the company he mentions for the PaQ 4U 550 case, and found that the cost is £209 and not the £140 that was quoted in the article. Could you please explain this to me?
J Guarder
PC music specialist Martin Walker replies: PC component prices are always in a state of flux, going down as well as up. The prices I quoted in that feature were what I paid in mid-November, and just to give you an idea of what can happen, I revisited the same web sites while writing this response (in mid-February) and found that the Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 CPU had dropped from £209 to £190, the Samsung 250GB drives had dropped from £102 to £93, and the 2GB Corsair Twin 2X2048-6400 RAM dropped from £187 to £148, a total saving of £67.
Since I wrote my feature, PaQ have decided to bundle the recommended Seasonic S12 430-watt power supply (which I quoted separately as £40, and which now typically retails at £45) with their 4U 550 case, as they work so quietly together. The £209 price you found on the PaQ web site also includes a £10 courier delivery charge.
This is still a slightly higher overall total price, but PaQ have also kindly put in place a special offer for SOS Forum users. Anyone who was registered on the SOS Forums prior to February 1st 2007 can contact PaQ directly (email them on sales@paq.ltd.uk) instead of buying direct from the web site, and can buy the case including PSU, carriage, and VAT for an all-inclusive £199. This offer will run until the end of April. Thanks to all at www.paq.ltd.uk.
Why No Pyramix In Sound On Sound?
I'm wondering why you don't feature Merging Technologies' Pyramix systems in your magazine. I have spoken to numerous sound designers and studio owners and, although they use platforms like Pro Tools, Nuendo or Logic, they all tell me that the best one to work with is Pyramix, especially if doing sound for film. I never see it mentioned in SOS. Why is this the case?
Merging Technologies' Pyramix systems are highly respected in the world of broadcast and post-production, but are often deemed too costly for music recording setups. The traditional Pyramix configurations predominantly run on proprietary hardware, like the rackmount system pictured, although the Pyramix core card can be installed in a suitably specified PC. However, Pyramix software can be bought in a native package, where it runs on a laptop or desktop computer, using standard audio interfaces and ASIO drivers.
Criss Seregni
Technical Editor Hugh Robjohns replies: We have covered the Merging Technologies Pyramix system in Sound On Sound: there was a review back in SOS June 2005, for example. But you are right in that it doesn't feature that often. You are also correct in stating that the Pyramix system has become extremely popular in some audio production markets. In the UK it has become immensely common in audio-for-video, TV outside broadcasts, and studio recording and film dubbing areas, especially. However, these aren't exactly the core subject areas that Sound On Sound is intended to cover, hence its relatively rare appearances in the magazine. Pyramix isn't alone in that, of course. There are several other highly regarded high-end DAW systems that don't get many column inches in these pages: Fairlight, SADiE and Sonoma are three that spring instantly to mind, and for the same reasons — that they tend to be used in professional post-production for TV or high-end mastering and these aren't bread and butter subjects for the magazine's typical readership.
The Pyramix system is impressive, though, and there is an entry-level native version as well as the all-singing, all-dancing bespoke hardware version. Part of its attraction is the freedom to use any interface hardware that takes your fancy or suits your budget, and the very intuitive user interface, which users of other systems seem to find fairly easy to migrate across to. For more details, check out Merging Technologies' web site, www.merging.com.