Audio PC

Preface:

This is the domain in which we are most specialized; professional audio (video). We have years of experience in building computer systems optimized for real-time audio (and video) applications.  During the 1980’s we were yet closely involved with MIDI and computers. Later in the 1990’s when MIDI was being complemented with (real) audio we were amongst the first to adopt this technology. During the ‘pioneers’ days it was quite a challenge building reliable systems, but our commitment was (and still is) to provide our customers with working solutions, hence a machine will never be delivered if it wouldn’t perform as expected. Although currently there’s a lot of improvement in this area, it still can be a challenge building a 100% reliable system. Note that today there are a lot of applications that need to run simultaneously within the audio environment (plug-ins, virtual instruments, controllers, etc. …) which all demand a well tuned system. In other words, these days it might be easy to record and playback some audio tracks (even with a standard not optimized system), there’s more needed to label a machine “Pro Audio PC”. In this context “Pro” doesn’t mean per se that such machines are exclusively made for professional or even semi-professional users; with pro we mean that it should be able to do more in the audio domain then what we expect from a standard off the shelve machine. This includes applications for hobbyist musicians, DJ’s, audio enthusiasts and so on up to high end professional users as producers, arrangers, commercial recording facility’s and so on. Modern operating systems are out of the box not at all optimized for pro-audio, they are merely aimed towards office, Internet and other quotidian applications. We have the expertise and knowledge to optimize current OS’ses as good as possible for pro-audio (-video). Our many current customers are well aware! If you are serious about pro-audio, or if you want to be creative without becoming computer (system-builder) expert in the first place, then you should not hesitate to try an Optivoks PRO-audio PC.

Pricing:

This will be the slightest of your concerns, at least if you go for an Optivoks Pro-Audio PC right away. It is probably not more expensive than a standard off the shelve PC, apart from your pro-audio/MIDI interface(s), and typical software, which you will need anyhow. We don’t need the most luxury, most expensive and most extensive parts in order to put together the ideal system. In the contrary, the so to speak excess value of these parts is mostly a drawback in real-time audio (video) streaming. Choosing for that kind of expensive parts is a common mistake often made by enthusiasts who ‘try’ putting together their own systems. It is not the power of money that will differentiate but rather the power of knowledge. And that is exactly where we come in; thanks to our many years of experience (and still being updated on every new technology release), we simply know what goes best together, and what will give you the best performing end-result. If on the other hand, you start by putting parts together whether by yourself or with off-the shelve systems (A-brand or clones…), most likely you will end up spending a lot more money, and we mean ‘a lot’. Don’t fool yourself with the idea! Go for the right solution from the start, choose for experience.

Support & Knowledge:

The challenge is not only putting together a system that works today, but one that also works tomorrow! For example, you might have some luck with an off-the shelve system today ... Later you might notice that the slightest modification reveals its weakness. Perhaps a modification isn’t even necessary; you may just touch a domain or a function where you discover the system failing.

Every Optivoks Pro-Audio PC comes with “Gold Support” (unless stated otherwise); this gives you the guarantee that your systems keeps working now and later. Have a look at our support web pages for more specific information, or if you already have an Optivoks Pro-Audio PC then click on the Optivoks PC icon from your start menu. Not only system based support is important, also knowledge must not be underestimated. It could be that one just thinks a system is generating a failure or not performing as expected, without having the slightest idea that something goes wrong due to human mistake. Our support includes not only solving eventual system problems but also knowledge, tricks and tips.

Systems:

Believe it or not, in the almost 20 years that we build pro-audio systems, I cannot remember out of my mind that we have ever made exactly the same system twice. Every customer has its own needs and wishes, and again here we come in handy because of extreme flexibility in customization. Frankly isn’t this better than having to choose from predefined setups? Of course we can show some examples:

19" Industrial Rack PC Optionally we can include flight cases in different sizes and shapes
The Industrial 19" rack PC is the ideal solution to add a PC to your existing 19" studio rack or flight case. The latter can also be used as 'on the  road' transportable system. Hard Disks are internally mounted on rubber dampers, which improves shock damping (during transport) and engine noise reduction. Options include removable hard-disk bays, silencing, extra cooling fans etc. ...

Dominator Tower
If you don't need a PC to fit in a rack,  than of course we can build a system around a standard  tower-style chassis. This is the "Dominator" which includes large rubber feet, very good cooling and robustness. It's a middle tower with external USB, IEE1394 and eSata connectors fitted on the top panel. Ideal for installation on the ground and still easily accessible. Options include removable hard drive bays, silencing, extra cooling and frontal audio I/O connections (as seen on the picture)
Midi Tower	Dominator

Specifications:   

All aforementioned  chassis can be equipped with a wide variety of motherboards, graphic adapters, hard-disks (fixed and removable). As said before, each pro-audio PC is a custom and hand-built configuration. We don't have standard ready-to-go machines, that would mostly be quite a disadvantage, because typically nobody wants to pay for useless stuff, especially the professional user. We suggest contacting us for an up-to-date price offer for your DAW.

For the connoisseurs amongst you, here are the brands we commonly use to build Optivoks workstations. Note that not every model of each respective brand conforms to our standards. The list is just there to give you an idea. The exact bill-of-materials will be customized, once we know what you exactly need.

Item	Notes	Brands
Motherboards	Only Intel chipset based
Processors	Single, Dual and Quad Core including i7
Memory modules	Always fast access memory
Hard-Disks	The fast reliable models with sufficient cache memory
Optical Drives
Professional	- Audio Interfaces* - MIDI Interfaces - Digital Sound Processors   These are just a few examples. Other hardware on demand! *We don't like USB for audio
Software	Consult our Software Pages.