My system comprises many DSPs distrubuted between two computers, one a source-plus-DSPs front end, the second the 'active crossover' for a 7-way system (pair of 3-ways with single sub). Changes are numerous partly because of this; a pair of pcie soundcards are (besides the computers) the only actual hardware before the power amps, all else being software. Thus, the biggest change was a computer upgrade.
The originals had Celeron dual-cores, but in late summer I found a sale online for refurbed HP Compaq Pro 6305s with quad-core AMD processors plus a bunch of expansion slots and decided to give them a shot. They were only $160 apiece! Apparently some big company dumped its workstations for new models and they hit the refurb market all at once. Anyway, it was a great move. The machines proved so fast compared to the originals that I was, e.g., able to extend my FIR crossover filters to a huge 64k taps/channel (over all 7 channels), way above what my old machines could handle comfortably. The sonic improvement has been very obvious and satisfying. I'm still experimenting with squeezing all I can from the new setup on both ends.
The originals had Celeron dual-cores, but in late summer I found a sale online for refurbed HP Compaq Pro 6305s with quad-core AMD processors plus a bunch of expansion slots and decided to give them a shot. They were only $160 apiece! Apparently some big company dumped its workstations for new models and they hit the refurb market all at once. Anyway, it was a great move. The machines proved so fast compared to the originals that I was, e.g., able to extend my FIR crossover filters to a huge 64k taps/channel (over all 7 channels), way above what my old machines could handle comfortably. The sonic improvement has been very obvious and satisfying. I'm still experimenting with squeezing all I can from the new setup on both ends.