I have been following a number of threads on both the DUC and Linked In groups and like me there are a good number of HDX early adopters who are not very happy with the lack of AAX plugins especially AAX DSP ones that will run on our shiny new HDX cards.  One of the contributing factors for me deciding to go with HDX now was the sales pitch that there were already 35 plus manufacturers with AAX plugins ready to go or very nearly ready.  We now have a crowd sourced database on our Pro Tools Expert site where you an go and check the status and progress of your favourite plug-in on its journey to AAX.

Now for me going to the HD Native card instead of HDX won’t solve it because my biggest problem is the number of TDM only plug-ins that mean I have a raft of sessions I cannot open. The main culprit being SoundToys’ Pitch Doctor.  Yes, I can run RTAS versions of the rest which I could on an HD Native system, so that doesn’t fix it for me.

So perhaps I should reinstate my HD2 cards in my shiny new Mac Pro and put the HDX card on the shelf. Some manufacturers have done well but nearly all my ‘go to’ plug-ins are yet to be released in AAX versions like Flux, Massey, and Waves. So my lovely HDX card sitting in computer very underused. I do plan to make friends with Avid’s new channel strip plug-in but in early attempts at using it  I haven’t got on with the GUI on it, but I do plan to persevere.

However it does seem to be a chicken and egg shaped problem. Manufacturers will be reticent to invest in recoding their plug-ins to AAX unless people buy the HDX cards, and users will be reticent to buy HDX cards unless their favourite plug-ins are available to run on them.

It is disappointing that Avid haven’t even managed to produce AAX versions of their AIR plugins or their Virtual Instruments. Don’t get me started on Waves’ response,  I find it bizarre that they are downgrading their release of AAX versions and may not even do AXX versions at all. How to alienate the top end professionals in one easy step.

But in tracking this saga I am now picking up reports that HDX cards on on back order with some suppliers quoting up to a 5 week delay in supplying HDX hardware. So has Avid under estimated demand, in which case this is yet another part of the chicken and egg equation to add into the mix?

What’s your take on it?  Do cadd your comments to this thread, thanks.

Comments (10):

1. 

   Michael said:
   January 25, 2012 at 10:04 pm

   Are you really surprised? Typical Avid. I came very close to investing in the new HDX (I’m still a loyal Pro Tools user). I decided to wait and now I’m looking forward to the new UA Apollo. Already laid down the bones for it. At least they are on top of their game.
2. 

   Pascal said:
   January 25, 2012 at 11:40 pm

   For me, coming from an HD2 Accel with a 96i/o and a G5, I have to say that for the moment, I am having a blast with PT10 + HDX + HD i/o and a brand new Mac pro 8 core. Everything is so much better now, so much faster, smoother, …
   On the plug in side of things, it feels pretty weird to have a dedicated DSP card and not being able to really use it.
   For me, VSS3 and MD3 from TC are the biggest problems as they were used in several current projects.
   I’ll wait for AAX plug ins …
3. 

   Jared said:
   January 27, 2012 at 4:58 am

   I just upgraded my HD3 to an HDX. My intention is to put the HDX card on the shelf for a handful of months until more plugs come out. I wanted to use PT 10, but I didn’t want to pay the upgrade charge when I would be getting it free in the hardware exchange. In theory, I think I am supposed to send my HD3 setup back to Avid in 30 days… but, as has been pointed out above, HDX isn’t really ready until more plugs come along. So, I bought the chicken and now hopefully, in so doing, I am helping the eggs come along. As long as Avid doesn’t bug me about returning my HD3 for a while, things will be good. If they start chirping that I need to send it in… then I will be pissed. I paid for the system… that helps them show that users will buy HDX systems… but I can’t really use it yet, so lets have a serious grace period to turn in our hardware under the exchange program.
   In any case, that was my thinking – we will see how it plays out.
4. 

   Torsten said:
   January 27, 2012 at 10:26 am

   Hi,

   Sorry for the shame-less self-promotion, but for those of you that bought the chicken, know that Softube has plenty of eggs! We have ported all our plugins (except TSAR-1 and TSAR-1R) to run on the HDX cards. Visit http://www.softube.com and take a look.

   Cheers,
   Torsten
5. 

   Mike Thornton said:
   January 27, 2012 at 11:07 am

   Hi Torsten,

   Thanks for the response, as I said in part 3 of my upgrade story I have acknowledged your good work “Softube – released Mac AAX versions of over 20 plug-ins both Native and DSP (although the DSP were still in beta back in early November. They also announced their Native license would enable the DSP versions as well.”

   Thanks, Mike
6. 

   Torsten said:
   January 27, 2012 at 12:10 pm

   Ah, I see, thanks Mike! I’d just like to add that the DSP versions are now out of beta and ready for prime time.

   Cheers,
   Torsten
7. 

   Mogens said:
   January 27, 2012 at 1:36 pm

   Hi
   Also just upgraded my HD3 to a HDX-system containing 2 DSP-cards and still haven´t
   been able to fill out more than about 1/3 of the first card! I am forced to do a lot of AudioSuite processing in order to keep my machine running smoothly with all those now-native olugins running. So come on Avid!! Get the rest of your TDM plugins, all of the AIR-bundle and the virtual instruments ported in a hurry!
   That said, I think the new channelstrip is great!
   Thanks to Softtube for being on the spot!
   I don´t have high hopes for TC Electronic.
   Just look at what they did to the owners of Power Core!! I also bought TDM versions of
   the MD3, the VSS3, The Nonlin verb AND the Tubetech compressor (I know Softtube now has the exact same algorithm in their AAXDSP version, but to buy it twice…!!?)
8. 

   Mike Thornton said:
   January 27, 2012 at 1:41 pm

   Thanks, Torsten, great to see you guys ahead of the curve. I have updated the page too.
9. 

   Will said:
   February 1, 2012 at 6:59 pm

   Hey Mike, sorry to bother but can’t find info anywhere on this – do you know if you buy a new hdx system if Revibe is now included? I am looking at kitting out another room and to match the 1st room it seems we now need to get revibe separately… and that’s well expensive! Any advice appreciated if you have experience on this…
10. 

    Mike Thornton said:
    February 1, 2012 at 11:06 pm

    Hi Will,

    Revibe is in my AAX plug-in folder and it was understanding it was included as a native plug-in. 

    Mike