CreamWare Presents Pulsar II
April 15, 2000
At Musikmesse 2000 in Frankfurt, CreamWare introduced the newest
incarnation of the successful Pulsar DSP system.
Pulsar II was developed with the objective of making a good thing even
better. Therefore, the system is based on a new, even more powerful DSP
board and it comes with the completely revised software version 2.0 for
Windows and Mac.
The new Pulsar II PCI card features a generous six Analog Devices SHARC
DSPs. Compared to its predecessor, this is a 50% plus in DSP power. This
permits the simultaneous use of more synths, more effects and more mixer
functions, or higher polyphony for the sound generators. Furthermore,
Pulsar II now features a second independent S/TDM bus for seamless
integration with other DSP cards from the SCOPE family. Thus, the bus
capacity was accommodated to fit the increased power of Pulsar II.
In terms of connectivity, Pulsar II is very flexible. The inputs and
outputs are situated on a daughterboard, which can easily be connected to
the DSP card. This allows the user to choose from various interface units.
In its basic configuration, the system features 20 I/Os (stereo analog,
stereo S/PDIF and 2 x ADAT). Thanks to the 24 bit/96 kHz AD/DA converters,
the utmost in professional sound quality is guaranteed. Alternatively, a
24-I/O daughterboard with three ADAT interfaces can be used. Additional
I/O-boards are scheduled for future release.
In version 2.0, the software has acquired a new look. The ergonomic design
was borrowed from the high-end SCOPE system. A new surface handling
mechanism was developed especially for use on slower computer systems. If
desired, features such as partially-transparent windows can be switched
off, greatly speeding up overall operation.
Pulsar II also includes additional new devices. As one example, the effects
lineup has been outfitted with shelving EQs, new compressors and new
limiters. Pulsar II users who register their product via the Internet
within a specific period of time will also get the new Modular Synthesizer
V2 as a free registration bonus. This includes not only a large collection
of new modules (e.g. step sequencer, drum and morphing oscillators and
various effects, including a vocal-format filter), but also a new menu
structure and a completely revised design – all of which combine to make
creating new modular synths even more productive and enjoyable than before.
In addition to the drivers for ASIO, EASI, MME, DirectSound, tripleDAT, OMS
and Sound Manager, version 2.0 also includes an ASIO 2.0 driver.Furthermore, the Pulsar II board is equipped with the newly-developed Ultra
Low Latency Interface (ULLI), which also features hardware-based ASIO
support. The ASIO driver latency can be adjusted to a minimum of 2 ms (!),
thus enabling the configuration to be fully optimized for the host computer
- including the more-powerful computers which the future will bring.
Pulsar II is fully compatible to its predecessor. Thus, a Pulsar II can
also be used for expansion of existing Pulsar systems. Furthermore the
Pulsar II user can immediately benefit from the large library of around one
hundred optional software modules, which were developed by CreamWare, by
third party developers such as SPL and Sonic Timeworks, and by SCOPE users.
Version 2.0 will also be made available to users of existing Pulsar systems
as a free update.
Pulsar II is scheduled for release in May 2000 with software for Windows
and Mac, at an anticipated suggested retail price of US$ 1398,-.
For more information, visit CreamWare at www.creamware.com. |
