Digital Audio Workstations

Unfortunately, the needs of musicians are not really catered for on the high street, and the well established companies in the business know they can get away with a hefty premium on their 'niche' products. 

We have chosen to represent those musicians, students, teachers, technicians and customers who don't want to pay the premium for an established brand name, and don't want to buy from a standard PC retailer who is dressing one of their gaming or web-surfing computers up as a music computer.

Our DAWs are built from the ground up, with the highest attention to detail paid to component selection and design. With multiple testing stages and compatibility checks we can guarantee the best performance at the best prices, whilst always focusing on the criteria that are most important to our customers.

 The competition

Generally, computers that are designed for consumer use are geared towards two purposes: Functionality and compatibility for desktop publishing, or Performance for gaming purposes. Audio processing has different requirements to gaming, and as such the design is based around different priorities.

High street or online manufacturers will design a system and buy the components in bulk; assemble the systems then put them into storage in individual stores. The main focus being on profit margins with little concern for performance beyond basic functionality.

Here at XLPROSYSTEMS we buy our components to order, which means we don't stock systems that are out of date, enabling us to offer our customers the best possible value for money and the most up to date technology. We're also not tied to any manufacturers, which means we have the freedom to choose components based on their own merits.

Our Priorities

Music computers have many requirements that go way beyond the standard concerns of a domestic computer manufacturer.

The following represent our critical priorities when designing our systems:

• High performance CPU and Memory bandwidth architecture

• Reliable data storage

• Low noise

• Low heat

Specifications

PC components come in so many varieties and specifications that it can be hard to keep up with the most important factors that influence system performance. To help you, we've taken the hard work out of this process by testing and comparing many varieties to find the best value for money across all our systems.

When directly comparing with other websites it can be difficult to tell the difference between two specifications, when they are quite similar, so just as an example, we have outlined some of the features to look out for when comparing RAM specifications.

Example: 2GB DDR2 RAM ( 800MHz) 

• RAM = Random access memory

• 2GB = 2000 Megabytes capacity

• DDR2 = DDR2 supersedes the original DDR RAM and is standard

• 800MHz = The speed at which the memory runs

This particular memory module can cost anything between £15 and £50 according to the brand, quality, and crucially; the latency or CAS latency of the memory module. (We don't include this information as it can be confusing, although it can be provided if requested) CAS timings are crucial to digital audio processing because they directly influence the response of the system when operating under the load of mixing a full session or recording multiple tracks to disc. Rest assured, all our components have this same attention to detail put into their selection, and represent the very best possible value for money.

Stress Testing

Once we have the criteria and budget for a new system, we begin by testing different combinations of components, crucially to test the capability of Motherboard / RAM / CPU combinations within a given price range.

This is the heart of your DAW, and it's essential to guarantee it will perform in the most difficult studio conditions. We do this by stress testing the designs to the extreme, using benchmarking, to evaluate the best blend of:

• CPU performance

• RAM performance

• Motherboard performance/bandwidth/compatibility/stability

• System temperature at high stress state

When the best combination of performance relative to price is found, we develop this onto a complete system by integrating the following components:

• Hard drives – Reliability and performance / low noise

• Power supply – Reliability / efficiency / low interference / low noise

• Chassis - Construction quality / thermal efficiency / internal layout

• Graphics – Compatibility / multiple output / operating temperature / noise levels (if active)

   

  During construction of the system, some features that came factory fitted are removed and upgraded according to our extensive experience in this process. These can include the following:

• CPU – stock cooler upgraded

• Motherboard – stock heat-sinks upgraded

• System fans – upgraded to high efficiency / low noise

• PSU – anti vibration mounting added

• Graphics cards – improved cooling / silencing

Construction

• Once you have chosen your system, it is built from scratch by our technicians. The Windows operating system and all relevant drivers are installed, then the system is configured optimally for digital audio use.

• Once assembled and running, your system is stress tested one last time to ensure it conforms to all the benchmarking criteria.

• This is our final chance to weed out components that may operate perfectly well but not perform optimally for various reasons 

• By buying an XLPROSYSTEM you have the peace of mind that it was designed by musicians for musicians.

Shipping

• Our standard delivery service involves the system being sent by registered and insured mail.

• Our systems can be delivered, set up and installed for use, upon request.

  
  

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