Pro Tools HDX and Pro Tools 10: a giant step in sound and speed

The world's fastest, most powerful and best-sounding digital audio platform delivers revolutionary new hardware and software systems.

Avid announced the new Pro Tools HDX digital audio systems and Pro Tools 10 software, delivering more performance, more sound quality and radically new possibilities for music production and audio post-production. Both options are designed to deliver high-quality, scalable, and efficient solutions to meet changing industry needs; and offer better performance, faster workflows and easier collaboration than ever for professionals.

Pro Tools HDX

The Pro ToolsHDX system enables larger, more complex productions to be mixed with solid performance and all the stability Pro Tools HD customers expect. It represents a new milestone in the development of DSP-accelerated equipment: it features up to five times more DSP power per card, more than 1000 dB more dynamic range, up to four times the number of tracks and two times more I/O than its predecessor, Pro Tools HD Accel. And when customer needs grow, track count, power and I/O can be expanded with up to three Pro Tools HDX cards and multiple Pro Tools HD series interfaces.

This new addition to the Pro Tools HD family now allows you to choose between two system types: Pro Tools HD Native gives customers the advanced workflows and sound quality of Pro Tools HD using their own computer for excellent performance and very low latency. For its part, the new Pro Tools HDX system with DSP acceleration is the best choice if you need maximum performance and almost zero latency to tackle extremely large and complex productions. All products in the Pro Tools HD family provide ideal performance with very low latency and impeccable sound quality, which will satisfy the most demanding audio and music professionals.

Faster mixing in larger projects because:

• Get up to five times more processing power than previous generation cards
• Handle larger productions with fewer cards, delivering up to four times more playable tracks
• Works with up to 64 I/O channels per card, allowing larger configurations with fewer cards

More dynamic range, fewer headaches:

• Dramatically increases audio quality when recording and mixing: more than 1000 dB of extra dynamic range and better resolution sound thanks to the new floating point architecture
• Capture, monitor and export crystal-clear audio using any of the Pro Tools HD series interfaces

New AAX Plug-in Format – Looking Forward:

• Pro Tools HD 10 introduces the new AAX (Avid Audio eXtension) format for audio plug-ins, offering better workflows and equal sound when sharing sessions between DSP-accelerated Pro Tools systems and native systems.
• Two available formats—AAX DSP and AAX Native—pave the way for future developments in Pro Tools technology

Pro Tools HD 10 software included:

• Record and play back up to 256 audio tracks per card (or play up to 768 tracks with three cards) to tackle the most complex mixes
• Responsive recording and playback thanks to extended disk cache, which can load entire sessions into RAM and ensures maximum track count on both shared network storage (such as Avid Unity ISIS) and slower local drives
• Control up to 12 Pro Tools|HD systems from one using the Satellite Link option
• Audio mixing of up to two Pro Tools|HD systems with a D-Command control surface and Multi mode

Pro Tools 10

The new Pro Tools 10 software adds important new features to the world's leading digital audio program, based on the most requested requests by music and post-production professionals. With it, Avid introduces new tools that save time in workflows, such as the sought-after Clip Gain function, which separates premix levels from the famous mixing automation in Pro Tools; This incredibly speeds up and improves the workflow between editors and mixers. Additionally, customers will get the highest sound quality and performance when recording, composing, editing, mixing or playing back sessions.

Faster and more robust tools:

• Speed ​​up premixing and editing workflows with Clip Gain
• Seamless performance—even working on a network or with slower local drives—with improved disk management and real-time fades
• Greater flexibility—and a 24-hour timeline—by conforming multiple projects to a single timeline

The best sound, faster than ever:

• Allows you to use multiple file formats and different bit resolutions in the same project (including interleaved audio) without converting files
• Record, edit and mix with files up to 32-bit floating point
• EQ sound and dynamics from the famous System 5 console with the Avid Channel Strip plug-in, now included in Pro Tools 10

“Today, music and audio post-production professionals face ongoing challenges and more demanding productions that require more power, features and sound quality than ever before,” said Chris Gahagan, senior vice president of products and systems at Avid. “Pro Tools|HDX and Pro Tools 10 software take a giant step forward in sound quality and efficiency, allowing our most professional customers to produce their most creative, best-sounding projects in less time.”

Customer opinions

“Avid engineers take into account the way people listen to and create music,” says Tony Maserati, mixer, producer and engineer (Lady Gaga, Beyoncé, Alicia Keys). "The design and architecture of the new Pro Tools|HDX will allow us to do things that we previously only imagined. The time from idea to implementation is much shorter. Everything is done faster, both from a technology and workflow point of view. And of course, that makes me more competitive."

“We try to make art and express ourselves while making the audience enjoy it,” adds Will Files, sound designer for Skywalker Sound (The Tree of Life, The Smurfs, Monstrous). "This technology allows us to work faster and easier, with fewer limitations, and realize our artistic intention with fewer obstacles. I am excited to see in Pro Tools 10 all the functions that I have been waiting for years. And the fact that sessions can now be played back from network storage devices... is going to change everything. That alone will allow us to manage projects in a totally different way, especially for a large studio like us."

“Pro Tools HDX with Pro Tools 10 sounds great,” says Vaughn Merrick, engineer, mixer and producer (Amy Winehouse, Jason Mraz, The Chemical Brothers). "The power of HDX finally allows me to record at 176k sample rates and floating 32-bit resolution without encountering latency or resource issues. This is a significant advance compared to TDM. When people find out how good this system sounds, there will be a paradigm shift in expectations of digital systems."

Avid Vantage

At the same time as these new systems are launching, Avid has announced the new Avid Vantage™ support plan, an annual subscription program for Pro Tools users that includes juicy benefits. Avid Vantage subscribers can enjoy unlimited technical support over the Internet and significant discounts on expert phone support whenever you need it. They also receive a gift of a fabulous collection of audio plug-ins and, for a limited time, a discount coupon for purchases or software upgrades in the Avid Store.

Additionally, Pro Tools customers can extend their subscription to cover a Pro Tools HD system or Mbox, Eleven Rack and 003 hardware interfaces, protecting investments and gaining peace of mind, knowing that hardware can be repaired or replaced even after the product warranty has expired.