The New Fairlight Xynergi - Fairlight's Sales and Marketing Director, Stuart DeMarais answers the questions...

Q: To many this may simply look like a new controller/interface? Could you sum up what The Xynergi really is?

A: Xynergi is a unified media production system. It brings together all the professional tools you need to build (record, edit and mix) audio for video and music projects from start to finish. The Xynergi controller (interface) is just one part of a highly specified system known as the Xynergi Media Production Centre (MPC). The Xynergi MPC is hosted on a standard Windows PC uniquely hardware accelerated by Fairlight’s CC-1 FPGA PCIe processing card.

In essence the Xynergi MPC is made up of a dedicated tactile controller, dedicated hardware acceleration, hardware I/O box and a highly evolved suite of software tools.

Details:

Xynergi’s comprehensive suite of software tools provide audio recording, video capture/playback, detailed editing, automated mixing and monitoring in all formats up to 7.1 surround, audio bridge to third party VST plug-ins and Re-Wire supported sound design tools, sound FX library management and a file delivery system.

Xynergi’s hardware acceleration (CC-1) provides up to 230 audio channels each with mastering quality EQ, Dynamics, surround processing and most importantly ‘no’ latency! This is a system capable of managing huge projects.

The Xynergi MPC system can be optioned with up to two Xynergi 12 fader sidecars or alternatively a MACKIE Control Extender Pro 8 fader Sidecar.

Q: How long has it been in development, what was the process?

A: The key elements that differentiate a Fairlight system from others are the dedicated tactile control and groundbreaking hardware acceleration; that’s what professional users demand – creative freedom, tons of processing power and no processing latency. The hardware acceleration engine (CC-1) took over 3 years to develop (around 20+ man years) whilst the controller was a relatively rapid development over a period of around 19 months.

The process usually starts with an inspirational idea from Fairlight’s CTO Tino Fibaek which is then framed in a commercial context i.e. what operational and performance benefits can it deliver to our customers and what value does that have to them. The next stage is ‘proof of concept’ and that is usually done in-house. From there it is a case of our CTO directing a team of hardware and software engineers together with contracted industrial design expertise to fulfil the brief. Inevitably along the way there are a host of engineering challenges to overcome before the product can be brought to market

Q: What is most exciting thing about having the Xynergi in the Studio, how does it revolutionise the workflow?

A: The most exciting thing about having Xynergi in your studio is that it has the potential to centralise control of all of your studio technology from one human interface. In a typical session you’ll primarily be working within the Xynergi environment with the controller providing dedicated ‘knob per function’ operation, but at times you’ll need to be setting up plug-ins, perhaps sequencing in Reason or Ableton Live or even diving into Outlook to check your emails and pick up a sound file that somebody has emailed to you. Xynergi allows you to do all this from one central controller which makes the whole studio feel more integrated. It delivers simplicity of operation that was previously unattainable and overall a more productive and creative experience.

Q: What the cost break-down? What are the options?

A: I’m glad you asked me to clarify the price. There was a headline that proliferated on the net that claimed Xynergi was a $28,000 ‘keyboard’. Completely inaccurate! As explained in Q1, Xynergi is a highly specified system that includes three hardware elements (desktop controller, CC-1 card and SX20 unit) plus a suite of software tools that allow you to create projects in all surround formats up to 7.1.

Let me give you the real price and what that includes: The entry level Xynergi MPC-96 system provides 96 mixing channels each with 8 bands of EQ and 3 stages of dynamics, a 32 buss fully automated multi format mixer with monitoring matrix, 96 track disk recorder and editor, integrated video plus Re-wire support and an inbuilt audio bridge to VST plug-ins. It also provides a full range of professional sync options plus 20 physical audio inputs and outputs… and of course the Xynergi ‘controller’.

The MRSP for the above system is £11,500. For a professional user who charges £100 per hour, an investment in Xynergi is paid off in 115 hours!! – That’s less than a month (and it can make out the invoices). This is breakthrough technology creating completely new ROI opportunities.

Note: The Xynergi MPC system can be optioned with up to two Xynergi 12 fader sidecars or alternatively a MACKIE Control Extender Pro 8 fader Sidecar.

Q: It seems this is another product that glimpses into the future of Audio production. What made you build such a product?

A: Fairlight has a history of introducing disruptive technologies or put another way, groundbreaking ideas! For those that may not know, it was Fairlight who pioneered and introduced digital audio sampling and music sequencing to the world with the iconic CMI (Computer Musical Instrument). The company has always been more ‘revolution’ then ‘evolution’ and there’s a culture that embraces challenging the prevailing standards.

CC-1 is the industry’s first example of ‘virtual hardware’ for processing – because it uses an FPGA it has the potential to be re-shaped to meet emerging standards and other applications including applications away from audio. The Xynergi controller is the industry’s first example of ‘virtual hardware’ being applied to a user interface.

Building the Xynergi MPC was therefore a logical progression from introducing the CC1 engine and we knew that the combination of the two would allow us to put an aspirational product into the market at a compelling price point.