From: rmintz@ecst.csuchico.edu (Rich Mintz)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.soundcard
Subject: Complaints: Pro Audio Spectrum 16
Date: 12 Sep 92 22:21:40 GMT
Organization: California State University, Chico

The following is a message I posted to the guy assigned to field
questions for Media Vision (maker of the Pro Audio Spectrum 16 sound
card) on CompuServe (MULTIVEN forum). His reply was only several lines
long and said, basically, (paraphrasing here) "sorry your computer has
trouble keeping up with our card; maybe you should upgrade."
That was it! Some "customer support!"
 
I'm posting this here so that prospective sound card buyers will be
aware of *my* experience with the product. I'd also like to hear from
other PAS 16 owners to see if they've encountered similar problems.
 
--------------------------------BEGIN MSG
The more I use my PAS 16 and its accompanying software, the more angry
I get at its failure to deliver what was promised by its technical
specifications.
 
I have a 100% compatible 386 SX @ 16 Mhz, and am using a 9 m/s, 100
megabyte hard disk. The software won't let me play or record in 16 bit
mode using either the DOS or Windows utilities provided, or display
over one "scope" at a time in the TBPRO application, for starters. It
should have been made more clear on the box and in the advertisement
for the unit that a faster-than-average system is needed to take
advantage of many of the capabilities the PAS 16 package has to offer.
The inability of the provided waveform editor to deal with 16 bit
files should also have been noted (the "Pocket Recorder"'s limited
editing capabilities doesn't make up for having a real waveform editor
*that works*).
 
The SFX waveform editor is too slow to be of any practical use.
Granted, there's a lot of processing that must be done to handle
editing digitized audio, but even the screen writes of menu boxes and
the like creep out like they're running in slow motion. It's also got
a great many bugs that further complicate things if you DO have the
patience to wait 30 minutes to change the sound envelope on a 3 minute
stereo sample. For example, it unassigns the left>left, right>right
channel assignments for monitoring what you're about to record, so you
simply can't. I tried for hours to simply combine two mono samples
into a stereo one, using the blend function exactly as described in
the user's manual. About 80% of the time my computer locked up (as it
often does running SFX), and the rest of the time it just simply
didn't work. I'm not talking about a few bugs here and there... I mean
that there are so many that SFX is virtually useless.
 
The PANEL utility often gets completely screwed up, sometimes
indicating volume levels by stray color dashes out in space far to the
right or left of its indicator boxes. It also has a problem utilizing
a mouse, namely, preventing the mouse pointer from entering the lower
half of the screen before some change, whether you want it or not, is
made on the upper volume slides first.
 
The PAS utilities help screen uses "SET" in its examples for fades,
whereas the user guide instructs one to use the "FADE" command. I have
been unable to make the PAS utility perform fades of a duration
exceeding 10 seconds... it seems that the duration is set to 10
seconds for any value entered that is equal to or greater than 10
seconds. This greatly limits the usefulness of your product even in
the role of a mixer.
 
I haven't messed with any of the MIDI/music stuff or the Audiomate
package so I can't comment on those.
 
In my opinion, the user manual couldn't be put together in a more
illogical and unorganized way. It contains errors, and gives very
brief explanations on some important topics that need clarification.
I've used computers for 10 years, am a freelance programmer
knowledgeable of several programming languages, have studied
electrical engineering, and am currently majoring in a/v production. I
find several aspects of the card's use confusing based on the
descriptions in the user manual.
 
More times than not, the Media Vision customer service number answers
with a recording stating that everyone's busy and to leave a message.
Having a person actually answer and provide help would be preferable,
as would the tech support line being toll free so one doesn't have to
go broke paying long distance charges while sitting on hold for 10
minutes waiting for someone to answer (when you don't get the "leave a
message" recording).
 
With all its flaws, I don't know that there's a better sound card out
there than the PAS 16. The Sound Blaster Pro is a lot worse. Maybe an
efficient computerized system for the PC that will mix, digitize, and
allow manipulation of audio signals is too much to expect at this
point in time. Since I'm a student specializing in audio production, I
had hoped to be able to use this system as an alternative to sitting
in a sound booth with a real mixer board and having to manually cut
and splice reel-to-reel tape. I was also interested in the flexibility
that digital audio can provide as far as signal processing and
enhancement. But I've yet to find a hardware/software combination for
the PC that really has any serious potential to be a practical tool
for accomplishing these objectives.
 
Did the PAS 16 go through any beta test period AT ALL????? It's no
wonder your customer service department is flooded with calls.
 
     Rich 
 
P.S. Sorry if my tone is overly hostile. Maybe I should get some of
those fake sponge-bricks to throw at my computer when it doesn't do
what I want it to. 8-)
---------------------------------------------------END OF MSG
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.soundcard