Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!sdd.hp.com!news.cs.indiana.edu!ux1.cso.uiuc.edu!uxh.cso.uiuc.edu!beaucham
From: beaucham@uxh.cso.uiuc.edu (James Beauchamp)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.next
Subject: CD sound gets short shrift in NeXTWorld article
Summary: in recent NeXTWorld article "Station to Station"
Keywords: sound output CD 16-bit float benchmark RAM prices
Message-ID: <1991Mar17.022207.9534@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu>
Date: 17 Mar 91 02:22:07 GMT
Sender: usenet@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu (News)
Reply-To: J-Beauchamp@uiuc.edu
Organization: University of Illinois at Urbana
Lines: 28


The idea that you can actually make music on the NeXT or in conjunction with
the NeXT (e.g., downloading samples from supercomputers) without using MIDI or
the DSP hasn't dawned on a lot of people.  We have ported most of our Unix
software synthesis and analysis programs from other Unix platforms and are
using the ordinary ASCII and Tekronix interfaces on networked terminals without
any problems. The NeXT makes a nice sound I/O station among other things.
However, I just received the latest issue of NeXTWorld and was dismayed that in
an article comparing the Mac IIfx, the Sparcstation2, and the NeXT that they
didn't bother to mention that 16-bit "CD quality" sound output (real time from
disk under Unix no less) is standard on the NeXT. All it says in their Table 1
is "Dual RCA line-outs" are available. The implication is that NeXT sound is no
better than the Mac or Sparc built-ins. In fact, the other two machines only
have 8-bit output without expensive additional third party components and 
software. What gives?  Why don't people realize this fantastic capability of
the NeXT that other computers don't have (without a lot of trouble)?

I am also wondering about the benchmarks in Table 2.  I heard that floating
point performance of the 040 was going to soar compared to the 030.  The
float benchmark they give only shows a 46% improvement, a long way from the
x10 improvement I heard about last year.  In the text of the article they
make no comment about this insipid result.

In their table 3 they seem to be off on their RAM prices.  16 MB for $400?
AT $50 per MB (their stated assumption) that would be more like $800.
NeXT wants between $2000-3000 for their 16 MB upgrade.

Jim Beauchamp    j-beauchamp@uiuc.edu