Steinberg Hypersonic 2

Trouble-free installation. No incompatibility problems up to now. Everything was conceived in order to be able to start using the synth right away (which, I remind you, can also be used as a standalone unit) without the need of reading the manual. For once, the manual is easy to understand for someone who doesn't know much about computer music, as long as you don't want to know but the essentials.

SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE

I have a 3.2Ghz pentium 4 with 1.5G ram. two sata 160gb HDDs and a sound blaster audigy.
The manufacturer recommends 1GB ram.
Considering the specs of modern computers, I don't think anybody will have problems with that.

OVERALL OPINION

I've used it for two days and what I like most is being able to use only one vst instrument with cubase, which simplifies everything and reduces the loading of songs. I test and own a lot of vst synths but I must confess that this one really won me over. The quality of the sounds is excellent, except maybe the pianos, which I find average. But considering its price, I don't think that's too bad. In short, to simplify your life, and for those who don't want to break their heads with 50 buttons, go for it, it's very good.

- Did you have any problems during the installation? No problemo! You only need to insert the CD and answer the questions. An important point (clearly stated in the manual): the Steinberg key should not be connected when installing Hypersonic 2.

- Did you have any incompatibility problems?
None

- Is the overall configuration easy?
No problem whatsoever.

- Is the user's manual clear and comprehensive?
Yes.


SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE

- What's your computer setup? (motherboard/CPU/RAM/HDD/soundcard...)
Pentium 4, 2.80 GHz. 1GB RAM. 56 GB HDD
E-MU 1616m soundcard.. Cubase SE3.

- Does the software work correctly with your setup?
It works great. Hypersonic 2 uses almost no CPU resources.. I can easily have four Hypersonic 2 instruments that use up the same as Arturia's MiniMoog V.

- How is the performance? (if measurable)
Excellent. See below.

- What about the hardware/software configuration stability?
Very stable. No issues.


OVERALL OPINION

3 months

- Which features do you like the most / the least?
The most: a single VST instrument offering a very comprehensive palette of excellent sounds. The hyper-potentiometers and their pre-configuration in relation to modulation wheels - master keyboard Pitch bend.
The three "demo" modules (US-1 Ultra-Synth, GP-2 Grand Pianos and NB-3 Virtual Tonewheel Organ (Hammond)), which are in fact forever (by loading Hypersonic 2 unto two Instruments VST slots, the second instance includes the "demo" modules).
The least: certain sounds (from the lead synth block, for example) aren't always in the right key. I have found two such cases up to now. In which case you can solve the problem by retuning the sound with the 1/100-tone settings...

- Did you try any other models before buying it?
Yes: E-MU Proteus, Native Instrument Reaktor 5, Arturia's Analog Factory.

- How would you rate its value for money?
Excellent, given the sounds available and their quality!

- Based on your experience, would you choose this product again?
Absolutely!

- Did you have any problems during the installation?
- Did you have any incompatibility problems?
- Is the overall configuration easy?
- Is the user's manual clear and comprehensive?
- No installation problems.
- Yes, in the beginning, with the Cubase security key, because Hypersonic 2 uses it.
But tweaking the setup I managed to change the key from Cubase to Hypersonic 2.
- Yes
- I haven't read it. The synth is very intuitive.

SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE

- What's your computer setup? (motherboard/CPU/RAM/HDD/soundcard...)
- Does the software work correctly with your setup?
- How is the performance? (if measurable)
- What about the hardware/software configuration stability?
- Intel Core 2 Duo 1.98 Ghz, 2.00GB RAM, 320GB HDD, MOTU Firewire Series (the last before the MOTU HD series)
- It works properly.
- High performance, no latency. I have recorded up to 10 tracks and the CPU usage within Cubase didn't even rise to 1/6!!
- Yes, it is stable.

OVERALL OPINION

- How long have you been using it?
- Which features do you like the most / the least?
- Did you try any other models before buying it?
- How would you rate its value for money?
- Based on your experience, would you choose this product again?
- One month

Pros
Its sound library, it's very comprehensive.

Cons
I had some problems using it with ReWire (which I nevertheless solved), for a moment it forces me to activate the Cubase window to hear sounds in ReWire.
- Hypersonic 1
- A bit expensive, but it's worth it..
- Yes, I would buy it again with my eyes closed. Hypersonic 2 is one of the best on the market.

Simple and fast installation, no issues!
Very easy to get a grip of, almost intuitive!


SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE

No complaints in terms of performance.
Light on the CPU.


OVERALL OPINION

I've been using it for about six months.
The pros: comprehensive software in terms of sounds, be it vintage or modern.
The cons: the steinberg key is really tedious to install, but most annoying of all, I think, is the sounds imitating real instruments, like a piano, violin, etc.... They are really awful!
I think this plug-in has really good and really bad things. Why offer twenty sounds of dreadful acoustic pianos when there are much more pleasing freeware options. Fans of realistic sounds, don't look this way.
I would evidently not buy this product again!