Waves APA32 Field Test-Mix reviews the Waves APA32 Audio Processing Accelerator

Current Issue

Reviews

Mix Forums

Subscribe Now

Online Extras

Field Test: Waves APA32 Audio Processing Accelerator
By Michael Cooper Oct 1, 2005 12:00 PM DEDICATED DSPS FOR THIRSTY PLUG-INS I love the quality and power that Waves plug-ins such as the LinMB Linear Phase Multiband dynamics processor, LinEQ Linear Phase Equalizer and IR1 Convolution Reverb provide. The downside is that these monster plugs consume a whale-sized portion of my computer's CPU resources; just a few instantiations leave my dual 867MHz G4 nearly beached. The Waves APA32 Audio Processing Accelerator offers an elegant solution to this problem. DESCRIPTION IN A NETSHELL At the heart of the APA32 is Waves' Netshell technology, which incorporates Ethernetbased hardware and software, letting the APA32 power Waves' plugins running on a host computer. Each of the two Netshell hardware products can connect directly to your computer's Ethernet port using a supplied crossed Ethernet cable. I reviewed the APA32 ($1,600), a 1U rackmountable box suitable for use in machine rooms. Also offered is the APA44-M ($2,400), a quiet, portable and more powerful half-rack unit (for which a rackmount adaptor kit is available). You can mix and match, connecting up to eight units to an Ethernet switch (not a hub) using standard Ethernet cables. Waves recommends connecting APA units using a dedicated 1,000Mbps Ethernet adaptor in the host computer to avoid network conflicts and bandwidth shortfall. A stack of APA units can be shared by two or more Netshellenabled host computers on the same network, although a single APA box cannot be shared by multiple computers. The Netshell system and APA32 can't power host-based Waves Version 5 plug-ins; they can only power Netshell-enabled versions. (Fourteen Netshell plugs are available.) APA32 users who don't already own V. 5 plugs must download V. 5.2 installers for all of the plug-ins or bundles they wish to buy; existing Waves V. 5 users must also download the installers to get duplicate Netshell-compatible versions of the host-based Waves plugs they already own. This is an update process only and does not require additional purchase or reauthorizations. After installation, Netshell plugs appear in your DAW's plug-in menu with a Net suffix appended to their otherwise familiar names. The APA32 and V. 5.2 Netshell are Mac- and PC-compatible. Visit Waves' Website for minimum system requirements and compatible DAWs. I used my dual 867MHz G4 with 1.8GB RAM for this review using one APA32; a faster machine is needed to run several APA boxes at once.

SITE SEARCH

Search

Browse Back Issues

Select an Issue
Recording Products Live Sound Sound For Picture New Media Facility Design Education
AES New Products Guide NAB Audio Products 2005 Education Directory 2005 Summer NAMM
Barbershop Studio Blog eClassifieds TEC Awards TEC20 Studio Showcase Seminars on Demand NAPRS AES NAMM NAB

Headline News Site Index

http://mixonline.com/mag/audio_waves_apa_audio/ (1 of 3)11/2/2005 2:40:05 AM
About Mix Contact Us Advertising Information Subscribe Now Customer Service
HARD AND SOFT The APA32 is a simple-looking box, featuring front and rear power switches, a power receptacle for the detachable AC cord and an Ethernet port. Connect the Ethernet port on the APA32 to that on your computer, power up and go! The Netshell Monitor, an included software utility, provides useful feedback on Netshell's performance (consumption of CPU resources, memory and network bandwidth), and lets you view and set the system's inherent latency (which most modern DAWs automatically compensate for). Netshell intelligently manages system overhead in a multiple-APA setup, loading newly instantiated Netshell plugs on the APA with the most available CPU resources. Netshell plugs look and behave just like their host-based counterparts and can be used simultaneously with them (or with any other brand plugs). I could save Netshell-enabled plug-in settings as both AudioUnits presets and as clippings in Digital Performer V. 4.6. However, I couldn't open presets for a Netshell plug (e.g., TransX Multi Net) in its corresponding host-based Waves plug (TransX Multi). I also discovered that you can't copy and paste parameter settings from a Netshell plug-in to its corresponding host-based Waves plug or vice versa. I could apply LinEQ Broadband to 19 tracks at once before the APA32's CPU was maxed out and wouldn't let me instantiate any more Netshell plugs. Alternatively, I could apply Morphoder Net to a dozen tracks or open eight instances of either LinMB Net or IR-1 Net or five instances of SoundShifter Pitch Net before hitting the wall. Maxing out the APA32's CPU also incurred an additional 7- to 20-percent load on my G4's CPU, depending on the number of Netshell plugs instantiated and due to the resulting network traffic management imposed on the Mac by the APA32. Digital Performer 4.6 automatically compensated for Netshell's latency, and the small-form Netshell Monitor always floated in front of all of Digital Performer's other windows so that it was conveniently visible. The Netshell submenu of plug-ins appeared just below the Waves submenu in Digital Performer's mixer insert drop-down menu. The APA32 is noisy and belongs in a machine room: Its built-in fan constantly ran. I measured 52dB SPL (A-weighted) one foot above the fan with my Radio Shack sound level meter. Thankfully, the supplied Ethernet cable is plenty long roughtly 32.5 feet to accommodate the APA32's remote placement. (Waves' APA44-M, which is reportedly nearly silent, is available for studio use.) NET GAIN Having the ability to open so many powerful Waves plugs at once on a project is a truly liberating experience and opens a lot of possibilities, particularly when mixing. At $1,600 list, the APA32 is reasonably priced. And for early adopters, it's a downright steal, because for a limited time, the APA32 comes with IR1-L Convolution Reverb Light Net and Q-Clone Net plug-ins for free. Waves, 865/909-9200, www.waves.com.

Radio Broadcast Engineering Broadway Sound Master Class Electronic Musician Entertainment Design Lighting Dimensions Millimeter Mix Onstage Remix Sound & Video Contractor Staging Rental Operations Video Systems Primedia Business
MixLine E-newsletter MixLine Live: Sign Up Now MixLine Archive
Mix contributing editor Michael Cooper is the owner of Michael Cooper Recording, located in beautiful Sisters, Ore.
MixLine Live Archive Special Report: Synthax Special Report: Cube-Tec

Ads by Google

Power over Ethernet
Complete PoE Solutions Including Full Power and Integrated UPS Units www.seipower.com
http://mixonline.com/mag/audio_waves_apa_audio/ (2 of 3)11/2/2005 2:40:05 AM

Power Over Ethernet

Find Part Info, Data Sheets, Application Hints & Notes - Micrel Micrel.com
Special Report: Schoeps Special Report: Mix at AES

Media Converters

Standalone, Wall and Rack Mount Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, Gigabit www.fiberdyne.com
Want to use this article? Click here for options! 2005, PRIMEDIA Business Magazines & Media Inc. Back to Top 2005 Primedia Business Magazines and Media.
About Us | Contact Us | Advertising | For Search Partners | Privacy Policy
http://mixonline.com/mag/audio_waves_apa_audio/ (3 of 3)11/2/2005 2:40:05 AM

Everything For The Recording Musician

Hardware

Software

Reviews

Techniques

Interviews

The UKs Biggest Selling Music Recording Magazine

www.soundonsound.com

September 2005 4.99

Waves APA 32

Turbocharge your plug-ins over Ethernet!
Your album mastered by Emasters

Steve Albini

What are engineers for?

Focusrite Saffire

Firewire interface with the Focusrite sound
Is your music ready to be mastered?
Logic automation masterclass

770951 681092

Universal Audio LA610 Recording channel s FXpansion Guru Software drum machine s Steinberg Virtual Bassist s V-Synth XT The first great Roland synth of the 21st century s Sampling basics Looping & multisampling explained MOTU MX4 Soft synth s Cycling 74 Pluggo The ultimate plug-in collection? s M Audio Trigger Finger Controller s Reason technique Make your own Refills! s NI Reaktor 5 Virtual modular synth s Apple, PC & sequencer news

on te st

processor
DSP Plug-in Host For Mac & PC
Waves are the latest software company to launch their own hardware DSP accelerators. The APA 32 and 44-M can be linked over Ethernet to form massively powerful plug-in farms.

Sam Inglis

choose whatever software they wanted without having to navigate a minefield of standards and compatibility issues. Of course, it didnt work out like that. Steinberg, Emagic, MOTU and Cakewalk all ended up supporting different native formats, and the plug-in manufacturers struggled to sell their wares in any of them. Increasingly baroque copy-protection systems failed to curb illegal redistribution, while competition from freeware and shareware developers also threatened the more established companies. It also became clear that the limitations of host-based processing would not fall away as many people had predicted. Sure, the newest Mac or PC could run hundreds of basic plug-ins, but the realisation was
t the height of the dot.com boom six years ago, the world of music software was gripped by an optimism that seems unimaginable today. With the power of off-the-shelf computers constantly increasing, it seemed only a matter of time before hardware DSP boards and proprietary plug-in protocols became obsolete. Just as Sequential, Yamaha and Roland had come together to create the MIDI standard in the early 80s, so the major software companies would agree on a universal format for native plug-ins. The 21st century would be a golden age of open standards and native processing, where Mac and PC owners could
SOUND ON SOUND september 2005
dawning that basic plug-ins didnt always sound very good. Meanwhile, new technologies such as convolution and sample streaming placed further demands on the power of our computers. Digidesigns decision to stick with DSP acceleration hardware and proprietary standards soon began to look like a good one, and the early years of this century saw other companies follow their lead. TC Electronic turned their attentions from native plug-ins to their own Powercore platform, while Universal Audios UAD1 PCI card likewise hosted powerful plug-ins that were not available in native formats, and Digi themselves introduced the new HD and Accel systems.

Standing Waves

Throughout all of this, Israeli software developers Waves have retained an impressive commitment to supporting all possible plug-in formats. Virtually all of their many effects and processors are available both in TDM format for Pro Tools systems and in all the major native plug-in formats on both Mac OS and Windows. And although the company have now introduced their own hardware DSP units, it seems clear that they

Photos: Mark Ewing

in transferring data between a host machine and a DSP accelerator, Waves say that there would be no point in creating APA-hosted versions of plug-ins that dont tax the host CPU very much in any case.

Waves APA 32 1199

More power than an Accel card, but less expensive. Seamless integration with your recording software. Multiple APA processors can be stacked on a network, and accessed from more than one computer. Ethernet connection permits long cable runs, and doesnt take Firewire bandwidth away from hard drives or audio interfaces.

The Naked APA

The review unit we received was the larger APA 32, which is apparently designed for use in a machine room. The meaning of this sank in when I switched it on for the first time to be greeted by a noise like a Red Arrows flypast. The first unit we were sent was a pre-production model, and I was hoping the production version would be better, but alas there was no difference. The fan noise remains constant while the APA 32 is switched on, and means that you really do need to put some walls between you and it: recording or even mixing in the same room would be out of the question. Fortunately, there are no physical controls on the unit, and the Ethernet protocol allows far longer cable runs than Firewire or USB the APA 32 ships with a 10m cable, and Waves say theyve tested it with a 100m cable. Those without a machine room will have to opt for the more expensive APA 44-M, which is claimed to be almost silent, but was not available for this review. The APA 32 is solidly constructed, with few external features. The front panel just features a momentary on/off switch, plus a small hole that you can poke a pin in to reset the unit in an emergency. A green LED confirms that its switched on if the racket hasnt already given the game away. The only sockets accessible from the rear panel are an IEC mains inlet with associated on/off rocker switch, and a single RJ45 socket for connection to a computer. However, if you peek through the metal cage at the back, you can see a bank of connectors that look suspiciously like serial, parallel and USB ports. Taking the lid off the unit confirmed that it is, in essence, a PC based around an ATX-format motherboard, with 512MB RAM and an AMD Sempron CPU. This discovery rather puts the APA 32s 1200 price tag in perspective, and its disappointing that Waves didnt stretch their component budget to cover some quieter fans. Where a single APA unit is connected directly to a computer, you need to use a crossed Ethernet cable, which is the type supplied with the unit. If, however, you wish to connect multiple APA units to a single computer, you will need an Ethernet switch (not a hub), and standard non-crossed cables to connect the computer and APA units to the switch. It is also possible to share a group of APAs between several computers, by setting up separate virtual networks for each machine using a managed

Only bundled with two plug-ins, and thats an introductory special offer. APA 32 is very, very noisy. Its yet another proprietary system that wont run other manufacturers plug-ins.

summary

If youre already a Waves user and you need more power, the question to ask is not Should I buy an APA? but Which APA should I buy? If youre not, the availability of the APA processors is another good reason to look at the Waves range, although some people will find that other options are more cost-effective.
dont intend to abandon development for these other platforms. Rather, it seems that Waves hardware boxes are designed to complement a native or TDM workstation. The APA 32 and APA 44-M are, respectively, a 1U rackmounting box and a half-rack-width desktop device. The two models are functionally identical, except that the smaller 44-M is more powerful, and more expensive, than its larger sibling. They connect to the host computer via Ethernet, and can be stacked to create still more powerful systems containing up to eight APAs per computer. Many of Waves most processor-intensive plug-ins, including the IR1 convolution reverb, can be run on the APAs DSP chips, thus taking the load off your host computers CPU. However, because there is a system overhead involved
Ethernet switch that supports the V-LAN protocol. A single Waves plug-in authorisation will cover multiple APAs connected to a single Mac or PC, but every computer you connect will need its own separate authorisation. Each individual APA unit can only work with one computer at a time, but the networking approach allows APAs to be reassigned from one computer to another as needed. Waves recommend that each computer connected to an APA does so using a dedicated Ethernet adapter, but it is possible to hook APAs up to an existing general-purpose network, again by creating a virtual network. Gigabit (1000Mbps) Ethernet is required for all configurations involving an APA 44-M, and for all APA 32 setups except the most basic, where a single computer is directly connected to a single APA 32; this is the one case where you can get away with a 100Mbps connection.

To Put It In A Netshell.

Initially, Waves are shipping two plug-ins free with the APA 32 and APA 44-M: the new Q-Clone EQ emulator, and a light version of their IR1 convolution reverb. This is a special offer which wont last for ever, but anyone who already owns any of the Waves plug-ins that are APA-compatible can download the new versions without the need to reauthorise them, as long as their existing authorisation covers the latest version 5. The APA-enabled versions have been given the version number 5.2, and v5.2 installers for all of the Waves bundles

september 2005 SOUND ON SOUND

Test Spec

Waves plug-ins version 5.2. Inta Audio Centrino laptop with 2.0GHz Pentium-M processor and 2GB RAM, running Windows XP Home Edition SP2, with built-in 100Mbps Ethernet adapter. Tested with Digidesign Pro Tools M-Powered v6.8 and Steinberg Cubase SX v3.0.2.

WAVES APA 32

that include APA-compatible plug-ins are available for download from their site. Existing Waves users will be familiar with the concept of the Waveshell, a layer of code that sits between the plug-in algorithm itself and your MIDI + Audio sequencer, allowing the sequencer to see the plug-in in a format that it recognises. Likewise, plug-ins loaded onto the APA unit are made accessible in your sequencer by a utility called Netshell. The Netshell itself is totally transparent in operation, but a separate Netshell Monitor
should be easy to achieve a latency which is small enough to be accommodated by the host applications plug-in delay compensation feature, if it has one. The only other feature of Netshell Monitor is a small virtual LED indicating Audio Drop-outs. These can occur if you get your buffer sizes wrong or if there are network problems, but also because its possible in certain circumstances to overload the APAs CPU. The Netshell is intelligent enough to prevent you from straightforwardly overloading an APA by opening too many plug-ins, but there are circumstances where changing the settings on an already active plug-in can increase its CPU consumption for instance, by loading a longer IR1 impulse response and this can push a fully loaded APA over the edge.

Getting Installed

application allows you to view the status of each of your APAs. Netshell Monitor is a small always on top window that indicates the amount of CPU power, memory and network bandwidth available on each connected APA unit. It also allows you to specify the round trip latency that will be incurred by sending data to and from the APA. As with the Powercore and UAD1, the minimum latency achievable is dependent on the buffer size being used by the host application to communicate with your audio interface. In essence, the APA latency must be at least as large as the interfaces round trip latency, which equals the audio buffer size doubled. Thus, when you specify a latency for the APA in Netshell Monitor, it helpfully tells you the maximum hardware buffer size compatible with that latency, so that you can change your soundcard settings to suit. The minimum possible APA latency is 256 samples, which requires a hardware buffer size of 128 samples, and equates to a delay of about 6ms at 44.1kHz. In most cases, it I tested the APA 32 on a Centrino laptop running Windows XP, with Waves Diamond Bundle, IR1 and L3 mastering processor installed. When you run the v5.2 installers, which should be done with the APA connected but not switched on, they begin by uninstalling the previous versions, before replacing them with the new ones. The first one you install configures your network settings as necessary, and adds a shortcut to the Netshell Monitor utility to your desktop. Waves recommend having this utility open whenever you are using an APA. Initially, I had some problems getting my computer to see the APA. The installers did their job, and claimed to have successfully configured the computers network settings, but when I launched Netshell Monitor and switched on the APA, I got repeated messages from Windows telling me that a network cable was unplugged, and that the network had no connectivity. I reinstalled the software several times and tried different Ethernet cables, all to no effect, and I was just at the point of giving up and

phoning Waves technical support when it suddenly began to work perfectly for no apparent reason. I never tracked down the cause of the problem, which recurred when I reinstalled the Waves plug-ins a few days later. I did wonder if it might have to do with the fact that my machine is only equipped with 100Mbps rather than Gigabit Ethernet, although this meets Waves minimum specification. Once everything was up and running, theres little to say beyond the fact that it worked. I tested the APA with both Pro Tools M-Powered v6.8 and Cubase SX v3.0.2, and encountered no problems in either application. In each case, Netshell-enabled Waves plug-ins show up in the plug-in list twice the second time, with the word Net appended to the name (which can make for a very long series of nested plug-in menus in Cubase or Nuendo, where all the Waves plug-ins appear under a single submenu). If you choose the first version, the plug-in is instantiated on your host CPU, or on an HD or Accel card in a TDM rig. If you choose the Net version, its sent off to the APA to be run remotely, and youll see the CPU and Memory readings in Netshell Monitor change to match. In either case, the plug-in appears to work in exactly the same way. There are no restrictions as to where you can place plug-ins in the signal flow, and its no problem to have multiple Netshell-enabled processors alternating with host-powered ones within a single mixer channel. Cubases Freeze function worked fine with plug-ins running on an APA, too. If you do try to squeeze too much out of your APA, youll get a polite message telling you that the last plug-in you inserted cant be activated. Its hard to find fault with such a transparent system, though I suppose that Pro Tools users who are used to switching between TDM and RTAS versions of the same plug-in with a single click might wish for a similar feature here.
Although the APA 32 is based around a standard ATX PC motherboard, the only connection presented on the back panel is an RJ45 Ethernet port.
The Waves site includes a table detailing how many instances of each plug-in type you can expect to get out of each APA unit. I wont reproduce that list here, but my tests broadly confirmed Waves own findings. They say, for instance, that you can expect to get six instances of the IR1 convolution reverb running on either an APA 32 or an APA 44-M, although which version of IR1 they used is not stated. I found that five stereo-to-stereo instances of the most demanding, IR1 Full Net, with the default Concert Hall preset, took the Netshell Monitor CPU reading to around 95 percent in Pro Tools, and to exactly 100 percent in Cubase SX. All of them appeared to function correctly without dropouts, even this close to the edge. By comparison, five instances of the native IR1 Full took up about 60 percent of my computers own 2.0GHz Pentium-M CPU, according to Cubases VST Performance meter. If those figures are representative, then it would seem fair to say that adding an APA 32 to my system increased the plug-in power available to me by approximately 60 percent assuming, of course, that I wanted to use that power to run Waves plug-ins. Extrapolating that figure to a network of eight APA 32 units should thus increase the total power of the system by about five times, although with that much network traffic, the load on the host computer itself would be non-trivial. (According to SXs VST Performance meter, the CPU overhead for a single fully loaded APA 32 was about 5 percent on my PC.)

Compatible Plug-ins

Summing Up
At first glance, the APA 32 seems pricey when you compare it to the likes of TCs Firewire Powercore or Universal Audios UAD1. Not only is the hardware itself more expensive, but the APA doesnt ship with plug-ins as standard, so you need to own one of the larger Waves bundles to make it a worthwhile investment. Moreover, the average home-studio user wont be able to exploit high-end features such as the ability to stack multiple APAs on a network. And the APA 32 doesnt just face competition from dedicated DSP processors: given that it is, at heart, little more than a modestly specified PC, some will see better value for money in buying a second computer and networking it via FX Teleport or Logic Node. However, the point of the APA units becomes clear when you consider what they have to offer Pro Tools TDM users. Here is a device that costs less than a single Accel card, yet offers far more processing power its not possible to run IR1 as a TDM plug-in at all, yet even the APA 32 can host at least five instances. The TDM Waves Netshell plug-ins appear in the HTDM 132
The Waves range now encompasses some 50 different plug-ins, most of which are sold in themed collections such as the Restoration Bundle and Masters Bundle. Of those plug-ins, 14 are now available in Netshell-compatible versions for use with an APA 32 or 44-M. The L3 Multimaximizer and Ultramaximizer multi-band mastering limiters were reviewed in last months SOS (www.soundonsound.com/ sos/aug05/articles/wavesl3.htm), and use Waves proprietary Peak Limiting Mixer technology to increase gain reduction whilst avoiding intermodulation distortion. Waves IR1 convolution reverb was reviewed in SOS May 2004 (www.soundonsound.com/sos/ may04/articles/wavesir1.htm). The new IR1 v2 can be run on an APA, as can the IR-L light version which is currently being given away with the APAs, and the Mac-only IR360 surround convolution reverb. Q-Clone, the other plug-in presently being bundled with the APAs, also uses convolution technology to sample hardware equalisers. Expect a review in SOS soon. The two most processor-intensive plug-ins in
the vintage-themed Renaissance Maxx bundle (reviewed in SOS August 2003: www.soundonsound.com/sos/aug03/articles/ wavesmaxx.htm), Renaissance Reverb and Renaissance Channel, are both now available in Netshell versions, although its not possible to route an external side-chain to Renaissance Channel when running on an APA unit. From the Masters Bundle (reviewed in SOS August 2002: www.soundonsound.com/sos/ Aug02/articles/plugin0802.asp), Waves Linear Phase algorithms offer impressive sonic clarity, but have always been CPU-hogs, so fans will be pleased to see that the Linear Phase Equalizer and Linear Phase Multiband processors can both now be hosted on an APA box. The same is true of the powerful C4 multi-band dynamics plug-in. From the Transform Bundle (reviewed in SOS December 2004: www.soundonsound.com/ sos/dec04/articles/wavestb.htm), the Soundshifter real-time pitch shifter and Morphoder vocoder have both been converted to Netshell format, as has the multi-band version of the TransX transient processor.

plug-in selector menu, so you can use them in Aux and Master busses as well as audio tracks. Many Pro Tools owners have already bought into the Waves range, and the APAs may well represent the most cost-effective way to expand these users rigs, especially in cases where a PCI expansion chassis would be needed to add more Accel cards. I like the choice of Ethernet for connecting the APAs, too. Now that many of us are using Firewire audio interfaces and hard drives, the last thing we need is a DSP processor that drains Firewire bandwidth, while the PCI format has its own drawbacks: you cant share or move PCI devices between computers, you cant use them with laptops, and theres always a limited number of PCI slots. The APA can even piggy-back onto an existing network in your studio, if needs be, and long cable runs are
no problem. Of course, it would be even more welcome if it supported other peoples plug-ins, too, but the Waves range of processors and effects is comprehensive, and the APA hardware allows us to use as many of them as we could possibly want. As usual, Waves havent been the first company to market with a product of this type, and theirs is not the cheapest, but theyve taken the time to get it right.

information

T F E W W
APA 32 1199; APA 44-M 1799. Prices include VAT. Sonic Distribution +44 (0)1525 840400. +44 (0)1582 843901. sales@sonic-distribution.com www.sonic-distribution.com www.waves.com