Re: [LAU] Small instrument hardware module

On 22/10/2014 11:45, linux-audio-user-request(a)lists.linuxaudio.org wrote: I did some simple benchmarks on a Allwinner A20 board (cubieboard) recently. The benchmark consist of computing a bunch of sine oscillators (second order resonator filter), generally used for modal synthesis and other types of sound synthesis. The results I got from the A20 when clocked at 1GHz are suprisingly good: 1000 theoretical oscillator can be computed in a 128 samples period, while on my quad core-i5 I get 1500. On a 7-years onld Centrino Duo I get about 850. While this don't stand as a real-world benchmark (buffer transfers are not taken into account) and I haven't optimized for the architectures (but just let g++ go with -O2) you get the idea. I didn't experience overheating on the A20 but the tests are not continuous as you would during a performance, so I won't bet it will last long. :) I have a sensation that generally the kernel is also quite unstable on most platforms unless a silicon manufacturer is there to help (as it happens with some TI chips) and in general I would prefer Intel for reliable live performance. However as a researcher I am trying to squeeze ARMs to perform as musical instruments and I think they can work well if the industry supports kernel development. But I'm wondering if this will continue to happen, since the eastern mobile market is crushing the sales of the reliable manufacturers. Going slightly OT: I really hate how the market is pushing on short products lifecycles, following the trend of the mobile industry. On one side the audio and music market is similar to the consumer market as users want to have ever new and fancy products with appeal. On another side it is similar to the industry/autmotive market as you need reliable products that last for years. What you should find inside is sturdy electronics with a support of >10 years and the possibility to find new pin-compatible ICs after those 10 years from the manufacturer. There's too much consumerism in the silicon industry following the mobile "revolution" meaning that everything contains electronics is destined to last less and die shortly. Or enter the market in pre-beta stage (which nowadays is considered a "feature"). The only way to get long term support is sticking to the old good silicon manufacturers, hoping they won't discontinue your MCU/CPU/DSP soon (as they are doing to cut costs). I hope someday people will realize that not all electronic products are like smartphones.