TC Electronic PowerCore
Hits the Road
by
Stephen Murphy
At a recent press event in Los Angeles, TC Electronic announced new hardware, new plug-ins and a new structure for its PowerCore DSP processor line. The Mac/PC-compatible PowerCore products and plug-ins integrate with VST- and Audio Unit-based audio applications to provide hardware-quality audio processing without taxing the host computer.
Compact Power
The biggest news at the event was the introduction of a new hardware product in the PowerCore line. TC Electronic now offers PowerCore in three different hardware configurations: the PowerCore Element (originally called “PowerCore PCI”) PCI card, the PowerCore FireWire rack-mount unit, and the brand new PowerCore Compact.
The PowerCore Compact ($995) is a sleek and lightweight FireWire unit targeted for portable use with laptop computers. The new product is the first dedicated solution for adding DSP-powered processing to portable recording setups.
The PowerCore Compact unit is a model of simplicity. Its rugged metal and molded high-impact plastic case has three FireWire ports and a 5VDC power jack as its only external features. The unit measures approximately 10 x 5.5 x 1.5 inches and is powered by an included “line lump” adapter. The Compact package includes a heavy-duty 10-foot FireWire cable – a nice break from the three-foot variety that so often accompanies new products.
Though this article is not a review per se, I did get to put the PowerCore Compact to the test in my audio computer (3.06 GHz Pentium 4 running Windows XP Professional). The new streamlined PowerCore driver and plug-ins installer was a breeze. TC has unified its driver software to support all varieties of PowerCore models. The installer asks which PowerCore models will be used with the computer and installs the appropriate plug-in package.
The new Compact installed without conflicts and integrated seamlessly with my two existing PowerCore PCI cards in Steinberg Nuendo 2 and Cakewalk Sonar 4 audio applications. It’s a beautiful thing!
Power and Positioning
With the addition of the Compact FireWire unit comes increased choices for the end user. It also introduces some measure of confusion regarding the price structure, processing power and included plug-in packages. Here’s a run down of the three systems:
Precision Plug-Ins
The new Dynamic EQ is one of the most exciting I have seen in a while: a phase-linear four-band 48-bit double-precision EQ that can operate in static or dynamic modes. It allows EQ adjustments on sounds above a threshold, or below a threshold in inverse mode. Even better, it features the ability to link a sidechain detection frequency with a different EQ processing band. For example, one could add high-end EQ whenever the low-end range goes above the threshold – great for adding attack to tom or kick tracks without adding overall high end to the track or increasing cymbal bleed.
The biggest plug-in news for PowerCore is the porting of mastering algorithms directly from TC’s high-end System 6000 processor. The optional MD3 mastering bundle ($995) includes the MD3 Multiband Dynamics and Brickwall Limiter processors. The M/S mode of the Multiband Dynamics processor allows independent processing of the stereo or mono content within a stereo signal, while the Brickwall limiter can detect and correct what are known as 0dBfs+ peaks, preventing distortion from being generated by downstream components.
The introduction of new hardware, drivers and plug-ins – including the unprecedented introduction of System 6000 algorithms – unequivocally demonstrates TC Electronics vigorous support and development of its PowerCore product line.
Contact: TC Electronic at tcelectronic.com
At a recent press event in Los Angeles, TC Electronic announced new hardware, new plug-ins and a new structure for its PowerCore DSP processor line. The Mac/PC-compatible PowerCore products and plug-ins integrate with VST- and Audio Unit-based audio applications to provide hardware-quality audio processing without taxing the host computer.
Compact Power
The biggest news at the event was the introduction of a new hardware product in the PowerCore line. TC Electronic now offers PowerCore in three different hardware configurations: the PowerCore Element (originally called “PowerCore PCI”) PCI card, the PowerCore FireWire rack-mount unit, and the brand new PowerCore Compact.
The PowerCore Compact ($995) is a sleek and lightweight FireWire unit targeted for portable use with laptop computers. The new product is the first dedicated solution for adding DSP-powered processing to portable recording setups.
The PowerCore Compact unit is a model of simplicity. Its rugged metal and molded high-impact plastic case has three FireWire ports and a 5VDC power jack as its only external features. The unit measures approximately 10 x 5.5 x 1.5 inches and is powered by an included “line lump” adapter. The Compact package includes a heavy-duty 10-foot FireWire cable – a nice break from the three-foot variety that so often accompanies new products.
Though this article is not a review per se, I did get to put the PowerCore Compact to the test in my audio computer (3.06 GHz Pentium 4 running Windows XP Professional). The new streamlined PowerCore driver and plug-ins installer was a breeze. TC has unified its driver software to support all varieties of PowerCore models. The installer asks which PowerCore models will be used with the computer and installs the appropriate plug-in package.
The new Compact installed without conflicts and integrated seamlessly with my two existing PowerCore PCI cards in Steinberg Nuendo 2 and Cakewalk Sonar 4 audio applications. It’s a beautiful thing!
Power and Positioning
With the addition of the Compact FireWire unit comes increased choices for the end user. It also introduces some measure of confusion regarding the price structure, processing power and included plug-in packages. Here’s a run down of the three systems:
- The PowerCore Element ($645) full-length PCI card features four 100 MHz Motorola 56k DSP chips, one 200 MHz Motorola PowerPC chip and 8 MB of SDRAM. The Element package includes the “basic bundle” of nine TC plug-ins (Classic Verb, Mega Reverb, Chorus/Delay modulation multiFX, EQSat Custom parametric EQ, Vintage CL compressor/limiter, 24/7 limiting amplifier, Voice Strip vocal channel, Tubifex guitar amp simulator and the PowerCore 01 synthesizer.
- The PowerCore Compact ($995) has two 150 MHz Motorola DSPs, one 266 MHz PowerPC chip and 8 MB of SDRAM. The Compact package includes the basic bundle of plug-ins detailed above, plus Master X3 virtual finalizer, Filtroid dual “analog” filter bank and Character – a new plug-in from Novelltech, which, according to the literature, identifies and enhances characteristics in the audio source.
- The PowerCore FireWire ($1795) rack-mount unit is the most powerful of the product line, outfitted with four 150 MHz Motorola DSPs, a 266 MHz PowerPC chip and 8 MB of SDRAM. The PowerCore FireWire includes all of the plug-ins found in the Element and Compact packages plus the new Dynamic EQ and the DeNoise fingerprint-based noise reduction plug-in from TC’s optional Restoration suite.
Precision Plug-Ins
The new Dynamic EQ is one of the most exciting I have seen in a while: a phase-linear four-band 48-bit double-precision EQ that can operate in static or dynamic modes. It allows EQ adjustments on sounds above a threshold, or below a threshold in inverse mode. Even better, it features the ability to link a sidechain detection frequency with a different EQ processing band. For example, one could add high-end EQ whenever the low-end range goes above the threshold – great for adding attack to tom or kick tracks without adding overall high end to the track or increasing cymbal bleed.
The biggest plug-in news for PowerCore is the porting of mastering algorithms directly from TC’s high-end System 6000 processor. The optional MD3 mastering bundle ($995) includes the MD3 Multiband Dynamics and Brickwall Limiter processors. The M/S mode of the Multiband Dynamics processor allows independent processing of the stereo or mono content within a stereo signal, while the Brickwall limiter can detect and correct what are known as 0dBfs+ peaks, preventing distortion from being generated by downstream components.
The introduction of new hardware, drivers and plug-ins – including the unprecedented introduction of System 6000 algorithms – unequivocally demonstrates TC Electronics vigorous support and development of its PowerCore product line.
Contact: TC Electronic at tcelectronic.com