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Future Audio Forums » Circle

1. Numeral
   Member

   Hello,

   The concept behind this is simply excellent. It's a really superb design. The graphic and audio elements are so well fused. The texture and detail in the sounds is amazing / often very sensual / always interesting. I really like the wavetable creation / editing feature. Congratulations!

   Comments: [Machine: 4 Gig RAM / Core2 Duo 2.2 GHz Intel T7500 / Win XP SP2 Lite]

   - I looked through feature requests but didn't see much(except in general terms) re: spreading processing across multiple cores, which this baby - and it's a BIG baby - desperately needs. Otherwise latencies and CPU usage become ridiculous even on a core2 duo machine. I guess that's the trade off for working with multiple wavetables, filters etc. (NB: 2048 samples is the minimum buffer setting using MOTU drivers / otherwise no sound. CPU can climb to as much as 50%)

   What are your plans in making Circle at least dual processor aware (better still, across multiple cores) ? Are there any current workarounds to at least assign processing to a second core?

   - In the current version (v1.07) is the engine working at the highest possible resolution by default?

   - Record / export audio feature in standalone version?

   - Finally where FAW settings located? Is there an *.ini file hidden away somewhere? In other words, how do you change the paths of folder locations etc (linked to the Sounds menu) / create start up preferences?

   I really hope you guys can take this project to the top. There might be 100s of excellent VSTi out there but this is quite unique.

   Regards,

   Andrew

   Posted 1 year ago #
2. Numeral
   Member

   Just a quick note:
   I've just tried using the circle.dll (VST) with SAVIHost.

   Using SAVIHost:
   - There is 30-50% reduction in CPU in comparison to the official standalone release.
   - It loads faster. GUI elements are more responsive / faster redraw.
   - Sample buffers can be wound down safely to about 512 or so @ 48kHz setting - which is pretty good considering the heavy processing going on. [relevant to machine / drivers described in previous post]
   - You can record the audio output.

   For others, a quick guide:

   SAVIHost (Win) is here:
   http://www.hermannseib.com/english/savihost.htm
   - Allows you run a VSTi / VST as a standalone device.
   - Very handy for testing products and editing presets etc.

   1) Circle needs to be fully installed
   2) Copy the Circle.dll from your VST folder into a separate folder
   3) Name the folder. NB: It can go anywhere on your machine / on any drive. SAVIHost will reference the data in the default installation.
   4) Copy SAVIHost and rename the savihost.exe as "Circle"
   5) Dig into the SAVIHost menus for all the settings / preferences required for audio & midi i/o as well as recording bitrate etc.
   6) Optional: create a sub folder for recording audio output of Circle

   Andrew

   PS: Another option is Minihost which offers some extra features, notably a MIDI / wav file player / PDF manual (donationware via PayPal). Recordings can be made @ 16 bit integer / 32 float.
   http://www.tobybear.de/p_minihost.html

   Posted 1 year ago #
3. BobTheDog
   Member

   I must admit I never thought Circle standalone was that cpu intensive, I can run it with a 32 buffer at pretty low cpu.

   Don't know why you should be having problems, have you got speed-stepping turned off?

   Cheers

   Andy

   Posted 1 year ago #
4. Numeral
   Member

   Hi Andy,

   Interesting. I've just got Circle happily running using Minihost [see above] on an ancient 2.0 GHz P4 desktop with 1 Gig RAM / Win XP SP2 Lite. Buffer 64 @ 48 kHz / M-Audio Delta drivers.

   On the same machine the FAW standalone version takes about 90 secs to open and then freezes. CPU runs at over 90%. Something is leaking here ...

   Meanwhile, on the Core2 Duo laptop: speed-steeping (and just about everything detrimental to audio) has been turned off.

   Like you I've been able to get down to 32 samples - but only using SAVIHost or Minihost. However, with this setting there can be glitches using multiple envelopes with long decays / releases. Thus far on the laptop, 192 seems comfortable (MOTU drivers).

   Anyway, tech crap aside, Circle is quite wonderful - loving every minute of it.

   Andrew

   Posted 1 year ago #
5. Numeral
   Member

   This is getting bizarre - the regular standalone version is now working better on the laptop! The more I've explored the presets the "efficiency" mentioned using SAVIHost / Minihost is more like 10-15% less CPU load. There is also increased chance of glitching / dropouts with more than 4 voices (> polyphony settings). Otherwise, the sound design potential here is exciting.

   Posted 1 year ago #
6. Numeral
   Member

   Sorry folks if this is turning into a blog ...

   Comments on v1.07 continued ... Meant to say that I tested economy mode which helps. Turning off FX makes a significant difference. CPU usage drops by 20% or more (in regular mode). Good.

   REQUEST: A master FX ON / OFF that overrides presets. A good thing for those who prefer to edit / play / record the dry output adding FX later in the mix.

   Posted 1 year ago #
7. BobTheDog
   Member

   Well to be quite honest you shouldn't see a performance increase by running in a host, it doesn't make sense really.

   Also it should not take 90 seconds to load, thats insane!

   Maybe email FAW support and ask them for some help on this one, it sounds very weird.

   Posted 1 year ago #
8. GavinFAW
   Admin & Help

   Hi guys,

   I'm looking at this at the moment.

   Gavin.

   Posted 1 year ago #
9. robgs
   Member

   I've found that reducing the 'release' on the filter envelopes to below 1 sec really reduces the CPU usage in a hosted situation.

   Posted 1 year ago #

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