Pro Tools 11 – A focus on the new Avid Audio Engine

By Jeff Silverman

There are a host of new features to be explored in Pro Tools version 11, the latest Avid Pro Tools release. In this article I will discuss the all new 64-bit audio engine that will allow many users to get even more performance out of their current computers by adding as much RAM as their systems will support. Furthermore, the new Avid Audio Engine delivers significantly more processing power for Virtual Instruments and Plug-in effects out of the same configuration, when compared to the Digidesign Audio Engine (DAE).

64-BIT MEMORY ADDRESSING

Being able to utilize a lot more RAM definitely raises the bar as far as whatâ€™s possible with the Native version of Avid Pro Tools, compared to previous 32-bit only versions.

Mac OSX

If youâ€™re on Mac OSX 10.8 Mountain Lion, youâ€™ll be able to take advantage of up to 64GB (Mac Pro only). With most other models in Appleâ€™s current lineup supporting up to 16GB, which is still a lot of RAM!

Windows

(For all of the different versions of Windows 7 64-bit, here are the upper RAM limits)
Starter: 8GB
Home Basic: 8GB
Premium: 16GB
Professional: 192GB
Enterprise: 192GB
Ultimate: 192GB

For Windows 8, supported RAM goes even higher overall:

Standard Edition: 128 GB

Professional: 512GB!

OTHER FEATURE ENHANCEMENTS INCLUDED IN THE AVID AUDIO ENGINE

DYNAMIC HOST-BASED PLUG-IN PROCESSING

When enabled, maximizing your plug-in counts is as easy as ever, as Pro Tools will allocate resources where and when they are needed. Plug-ins will only use CPU cycles when they actually have audio going though them.

LOW-LATENCY INPUT BUFFER

This feature is automatically engaged when monitoring thru virtual instruments and record-enable audio tracks, without sacrificing plug-in performance.

All of these new features are set to allow you to do more than you’ve ever done before with your Pro Tools installation! Â We hope you’ve found all this information useful – are you using Pro Tools 11? Â What do you like about the new Avid Audio Engine? Tell us in the Comments!