Spectral Computers has announced a new line of high-powered Windows-based computer systems — two standard systems plus a custom-build option — each optimized for audio and qualified by leading software manufacturers. Spectral Computers are designed to deliver a level of performance and reliability far beyond that offered by the consumer products so often found in studio and production environments.
Off the shelf, PCs are not designed to operate in the ‘industrial’ 24/7 environment of the production studio; these are often susceptible to, and a cause of, both RF and acoustic interference, while case build, power supply and other elements do not provide the reliability and robustness required for professional audio use. The operating system is not optimized, as Windows variants include vast numbers of processes and applications that are running all the time but apply to a general computing, rather than an audio-specific environment, slowing the speed of the machine and precipitously reducing reliability. In addition, standard PCs tend to be built from a grab-bag collection of boards, drives and parts, making it impossible for their behavior, even in a tightly-defined software environment, to be predicted.
Qualifications
Spectral Computers have been designed, built, tested and then qualified as meeting or exceeding the exacting system requirements of pro audio software by all the major suppliers including: Digidesign, Steinberg, TC Electronic, Native Instruments, Cakewalk, Gigastudio, M-Audio and others.
Optimizations
The complete Spectral range delivers the power, stability and reliability needed for use in the professional digital audio world where everything must work properly, all the time. Spectral Computers are designed to maximize the throughput of AV data, providing the features required by today’s audio creation software. The Spectral range is able to process significantly more AV data at higher speeds, while the installed Windows XP operating system has been deeply optimized to clear out unnecessary features and applications that have no place in a studio, resulting in greatly increased speed, with improved reliability and stability.
Customization & Upgrade Options
If customers need even greater performance than Spectral’s off-the-shelf models deliver, Spectral Computers can be customized to deliver what’s required. Whether it’s a faster processor, more RAM or a special hardware/software configuration, Spectral has a solution. And Spectral Computers are based on an open architecture, which allows a system to be upgraded as performance needs increase.
Spectral Computers offer audio production ‘must-have’ features, including ultra-quiet operation, automatic thermal regulation and automatic data backup/recovery. These are not just ‘extras’ in pro audio: they’re necessities.
It all adds up to one thing: Spectral makes the best solution for Windows-based audio creation and manipulation in the professional audio world.
The Spectral Line
The Spectral line is based around two standard products — the RM-5000 and RM-7000. Both computers offer more bang for the buck compared to several other so-called ‘music PCs’ where systems have similar price points but slower CPUs and hard drives. Spectral Computers feature the latest Serial ATA drives which operate at superfast speeds — up to 10,000 rpm — resulting in faster access times. The fast system drive, which contains the operating system and application software, is complemented by a separate data drive on which audio is stored. This maximizes efficiency and means that accessing system hard disk areas does not compromise audio read and save performance.
The RM-7000 system includes a removable drive to use for backup purposes, in addition to storing samples, loops and VST instrument libraries. Multiple drives are no longer a luxury but a necessity in the professional marketplace.
The RM-5000 is based around a 3U rack-mount case with a super low-noise cooling and automatic temperature control system that’s perfect for recording, processing and editing. Featuring an Intel motherboard with 865 chipset and 3.0 GHz Pentium 4 800 FSB Hyper Threading 1 MB L2 Cache, the unit comes with 1 GB of 400 MHz dual-channel RAM and a 160 GB SATA 7,200 RPM system drive with 8 MB cache, and a 160 GB SATA 7,200 RPM, 8 MB cache audio storage drive. The unit features 3 IEEE1394 (FireWire) ports and 6 USB 2.0 ports, a built-in DVD-R/W 8x drive, onboard Intel video card and 10/100 LAN port, plus keyboard and optical mouse. The OS is Windows XP Home.
The RM-7000 is the top of the line, where the processor is bumped up to 3.4 GHz, and the system hard drive is 74 GB 10,000 RPM SATA with 4.5 ms seek time. However, for an even more powerful system configured to your own needs, visit the Spectral Custom Shop at http://www.spectralcomputers.com/ and build/configure your own. All models include spare drive and card bays for upgrades and add-ons. All products are currently available.
