PC and Music News

Apogee Electronics R&D is moving toward a new paradigm of digital audio interconnection based upon Thunderbolt.
Symphony I/O's modular, user definable system was the first step. AD/DA conversion modules (our primary technology) were designed to be independent of the Symphony I/O Chassis. This allows Apogee to address interfacing from the Chassis level without impacting I/O module implementation.

Powered by Thunderbolt, the Symphony I/O platform is the foundation of future digital audio production systems. Any Mac equipped with Thunderbolt technology and paired with Symphony I/O will deliver incredible, high-performance recording from the Hollywood soundstage to the hotel room nightstand.

The goal of ValhallaRoom is to be a useful "workhorse" reverb, for subtle drum rooms that can be felt more than heard, lush halls, dense plates, and big ambient decays. The algorithm designs have been influenced by some of the "classic" room simulation boxes, as well as state of the art modern theory.

Some Features:
- ValhallaRoom features several original reverberation algorithms, designed to produce tight and subtle room sounds, as well as larger hall sounds and huge ambiances.
- Unique Early reverb section allows user to dial in subtle and short bursts of early reverberation energy, as well as gated reverbs up to 1 second in length.
- The Late section produces natural reverb decays ranging from 0.1 seconds to 100 seconds. The decay can be controlled in 3 adjustable frequency bands.
- Both Early and Late reverb sections have adjustable modulation, to produce sounds ranging from lush chorusing, to subtle and natural long decays.
- ValhallaRoom is true stereo. The Early and Late reverb sections are both stereo-in, stereo-out.

Ear Machine today unveiled iQ, an equalizer plug-in designed to learn the user's preference. iQ recommends equalizer settings by analyzing user ratings of examples. The result is displayed in a traditional equalizer window where users can fine-tune the recommendation.

iQ uses a model of auditory perception to gradually hone in on the user's preference. A meter at the bottom of the window indicates when iQ thinks it has learned what the user wants. The user then clicks "Create EQ" and iQ's recommendation is displayed in a traditional equalizer window. Users can also double click any dot to display it in the equalizer window.

iQ is the first audio plug-in that is designed to learn a user's preference. Ear Machine recently launched a related free web app (myMicSound) that is designed to learn a user's preferred microphone characteristics.
iQ is compatible with AU hosts or VST hosts on the Mac or PC, and is compatible with RTAS wrappers.

Next-generation quad-core and dual-core Intel processors.
The 13-inch MacBook Pro now features a 2.3GHz Intel Core i5 processor or the fastest dual-core processor available — the 2.7GHz Intel Core i7. With Turbo Boost speeds up to 3.4GHz, these processors allow the 13-inch MacBook Pro to perform up to twice as fast as the previous generation.1
The integrated Intel HD Graphics 3000 processor — now included across the MacBook Pro lineup — handles the things you do every day. Thunderbolt: Ultrafast and ultraflexible, the Thunderbolt pipeline is more than 12 times faster than FireWire 800 and up to 20 times faster than USB 2.0, and it offers unprecedented expansion capabilities.

Complete the Dark Tech experience with 'Dark Tech Progressions Vol 3'. You'll find 5 deep and moody construction kits guaranteed to keep the party going until the sun comes up. Everything you need is included, from fat quirky bass lines to vocal fragments and a whole assortment of pads, synths and fx.

In addition to these 5 kits - totaling more than 700MB per format - you also get a bonus folder which includes 33 additional loops, all of the same high quality and all optimized to work with Sony ACID, Logic Pro, Garage Band and any other software which supports time stretching and pitch correction.

When it was originally introduced in the mid-1970s, the Aphex Aural Exciter® brought its distinctive sound to select sessions by leading recording artists, traveling from studio to studio as an exclusive (and expensive) rental unit.

A true groundbreaker, the original Aural Exciter was highly regarded for its ability to increase and enhance presence, brightness, and vibrancy on vocal and instrumental tracks alike. It was even credited as a "session player" on best-selling albums by the likes of Jackson Browne, Linda Ronstadt and James Taylor, engineered by Val Garay, who worked closely with us on the development of the plugin.

Modeled on one of only a few tube-powered units ever made, the new Waves Aphex Vintage Aural Exciter plugin delivers all the unique character of the rare original hardware unit, with all the advantages of software.