Subject: FOLLOWUP: AD516 16-bit direct-to-hard-disk audio board
From: [email-masked] (Iddo Ilan)
Date: 11 Mar 1993 17:01:14 GMT
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.reviews

[MODERATOR'S NOTE:  This is an update of a Iddo Ilan's previous
	review of the AD516, posted on January 27, 1993.  Please read the
	original review for more detailed information about the product.
	You can find it in the c.s.a.reviews archives; see the Monthly
	"Introduction" Posting to learn how to do this.  - Dan]

AD516 UPDATE

	Some weeks after I wrote and sent the AD516-V2.05 review, I received
the V2.06 update by mail.  I understand from Blue Ribbon (authors of
Bars&Pipes) there is yet a newer version of the Studio16 Bars&Pipes modules,
fixing the yet unfixed bugs, available either with the B&P 2.0 (is that
available yet?) or downloadable by modem.  I tried to download it, but
didn't find it.  SunRize, via a reader of the group, conveyed that a V3.0 is
coming soon.

ABOUT V2.06

	This version is better than the previous one -- it now runs without
crashing on an A3000 with B&P.  One button named "test" tests only your mouse
click (instead of playing a sample), and another button does its job only
when it is NOT pressed, but none crash.  My main gripe is that sample
playback still is not fully predictable (due to delays, etc.).

	One cure Blue Ribbon offered to my inability to play short,
repetitive samples predictably is to load them to RAM: disk, and play them
from there.  Another idea they offered is to clone the problematic samples
and play the clones alternately (so the poor samples can rest in between).
Later, I had the same timing problem with long, non-repeating samples:  they
started late if another sample finished playing just before, even if only
one channel was active.  This is partly because the AD516 seems to gasp upon
changing its playback rate, and my samples were sampled at different rates.
(By the way, there is no way to find this information short of opening the
full Studio16 editor for *each* sample.)  And partly... beats me!

	On the A2000, the AD516-B&P combination is still unreliable.  Worse:
through recent misfortunes and frequent changes of platform, I found out that
B&P, the MIDI support for Studio16/AD516, is not so reliable as is.  Since
we're dealing with precise timing here, this is important:  B&P/A2000 does
not produce its displayed BPM.  On the 3000, it produces a stable BPM equal
to its displayed BPM minus one (says my Yamaha drum machine).  On the 2000,
it oscillates at least +-0.5 BPM around its display (says an Alesis drum
machine), and at moments I could swear it slowed down when the AD516
played back a sample. 

	Note, this should not prevent useful work with any of the above
tools!  I guess B&P just barely makes it on its own on the 2000, and adding
an AD516 is stretching it too far.  Now, the 3000 quirk is just plain weird.
(And very easy to get around -- you simply build a conversion table in your
head, "Amiga - 1 = Yamaha", and continue from there.)

STATUS

	In the letter that accompanied V2.06 update, sent 29-JAN-93, SunRize
states the product is in Beta status.  A distribution version is expected,
according to that letter, in two weeks (mid-February), incorporating
beta-testers' bug reports.  The AD516 was not sold or advertised as beta. 

	Readers who wish to avoid such after-sale surprises should verify
the version number and its status before purchase.  With the digital I/O
board, be advised to verify its actual existence. 

	Personally, I don't like the life of a beta-tester, so I returned
the card to the distributor, and in my current project I'm using a
distribution version Akai S1000.

CORRECTION

	Some GURUs I originally reported were traced after long exhausting
weeks to my 6-month-old 2091 HD.  So AD516 is not to blame for *those*.  But,
wait a second!  I checked the AD516 on a 3000, too!  Well, I guess the
AD516/B&P performance on the previous review was equal on a faulty A2000 and
a functioning A3000. 

CONCLUSION #2

	Never unconsciously beta-test and diagnose a 2091 at the same time,
kids. The vapours will kill you.

---

   Daniel Barrett, Moderator, comp.sys.amiga.reviews
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