Sylphyo with different hardware configurations
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During the corona lockdown I had time to try out different configurations with my Sylphyo. I just finished an article about the different options and their advantages and disadvantages. This might help someone who is evaluating to buy a Sylphyo or who starts with it.
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Hello! Thank you very much for the article, great to read from our community.
Here are a few corrections and remarks about the article:
First, the Link has all the sounds contained within the Sylphyo, you just need to update your Link in the same way as your Sylphyo. These sounds can be used wirelessly with Sylphyo or independently with another midi controller, using the usb or the Midi DIN ports on the Link.
Secondly, plugging in your Sylphyo via usb to use it as a midi controller does not actually drain the battery or ruin it. This would have been the case many years ago with older batteries, but newer batteries are much more resistant to this kind of wear, so much so that they do not deteriorate significantly from being plugged in.
As for your comments about using Sylphyo and Link with a windows computer, we regularly use windows computers (I myself use one almost exclusively) for our music and have not had a problem with latency and no needs for specialised drivers. Can you tell us more about this issue? Are you using windows 10 or a previous windows OS?
Regarding your comment about no bluetooth functionality in the Sylphyo, we chose not to include bluetooth connectivity because it is generally slow, unreliable and has poor range. Instead, the proprietary wireless technology that connects the Sylphyo with the Link receiver has a range of more than 20 metres, a latency of less than 1ms and is very reliable.
I hope this is helpful to you! Please let me know if you have any questions or additional comments.
Musically,
Maxence + Aodyo Team
Aodyo Instruments
Aodyo.com -
Hi Maxence
Thanks for your answer.
"First, the Link has all the sounds contained within the Sylphyo, you just need to update your Link in the same way as your Sylphyo." This information is not correct, I have the latest update of the link and of the Sylphyo. What I had to update was the Sylphyo Bench. Unfortunately, the download link for the Bench is somewhere else and there no information about the software version is visible. Maybe you could mention this on the Update page and put the link for the Bench also on this page (normally that is the place where people expect it to be).
"Plugging in your Sylphyo via usb to use it as a midi controller does not actually drain the battery or ruin it." I'm glad to hear that and that is what the battery producers tell us, but I'm not yet convinced. We still have to wait for a battery producer who gives us a warranty of two years or more.
"Regarding your comment about no bluetooth functionality.." I don't criticize that the Sylphyo has no bluetooth, I agree with you. I only point out in my article that you need headphones with plugs and cables, because nowadays everyone seems to expect bluetooth headphones. -
I think there was some misunderstanding. What I had understood was that the Sylphyo Link had only 5 sounds in it, so I was correcting that, sorry for the mistake! The Sylphyo Bench software does indeed have 5 sounds built-in. The Bench was meant originally as a simple midi functionality test, so we are not at the moment planning any updates to it.
With regards to the battery drain, if you take my sylphyo which I have been using every day for the past two years, the battery is still lasting a significant amount of time despite constantly using it plugged in as well as in various modes, both on stage and as a midi controller. So I can assure you the battery is not very much affected by plugging in the Sylphyo.
Yes good point, thank you for poiting it out about the expectation of bluetooth functionality.
Thanks for the comments! :) It's exciting to see users taking an active part in our community.
Musically,
Maxence
Aodyo Instruments
Aodyo.com -
Thanks for your answer. But if I cannot play the internal sound with the Sylphyo Bench, is there another possibility to play the internal instruments apart from headphones, the amplifier and the "Sylphyo with PC via Audio Out" solution? With the software (Garageband, Mainstage etc) I used until now I always played software instruments, not the internal instruments of the Sylphyo. Do I overlook something? Or do I have to buy a DAW or a sequencer for this?
"First, the Link has all the sounds contained within the Sylphyo"
The Link has not really sounds in it, does it? It's the Sylphyo that has a sound generator, and the Link is routing the Midi signals to the software on PC or Mac, or am I mistaken? -
@rothen_s Yes the common solution for this is to use an audio interface. The fact that you have not been using one would explain why you have had trouble connecting to a windows computer. An external audio interface essentially bypasses your built-in sound card and lets you get clean audio with very little latency. Most also come with microphone preamps as well. For example the one I use at the moment lets me connect up to 8 sources individually, so I would use the stereo left and right outputs from the Link receiver and connect them into, for example, input 1 and 2 on my audio interface, and then if I want a microphone as well I can connect it to input 3, and if it requires phantom power some interfaces also allow you to individually turn on phantom power for any channel. Most interfaces also include outputs to monitor speakers, headphones and more. They range anywhere from small desktop interfaces with one or two inputs and a headphone output all the way to large rackmounted interfaces with up to 96 inputs, and even more on some very specialised models! If you do not have one already you should definitely look into it. They are essential for any kind of modern audio work.
For your question about the Link, it does have sounds in it actually! It contains exactly the same sound card as the one built in to the Sylphyo. The Link can both receive and send midi data, so that is what happens when you use the Sylphyo wirelessly connected to the Link which is plugged in to the computer. However, Midi data does not transmit audio, but can be used to control audio, with a computer or a synthesizer.
The simplified reason why the Sylphyo and Link have a near-instantaneous connection is because we are only transmitting midi data between the two, not audio.
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@rothen_s said in Sylphyo with different hardware configurations:
But if I cannot play the internal sound with the Sylphyo Bench, is there another possibility to play the internal instruments apart from headphones, the amplifier and the "Sylphyo with PC via Audio Out" solution?
Another option is to plug the Sylphyo audio out into powered speakers. Powered speakers are similar to an amplifier in that they contain both an amp and loudspeakers, but they're designed to be used with a computer or other source. Most computer speakers (like Audioengine, Klipsch ProMedia) are powered speakers, so most people already have them.
Look for an "aux in" (3.5mm AKA 1/8") plug on your computer speakers. As an example, on the Presonus Eris E4.5, the aux in plug is 1 of the 2 small plugs on the front: E4.5 photo. You only need the speakers and the Sylphyo, no computer, audio interface, or Link.
Troy
