[sound_music]

i've been advocating an external DSP box to replace the TDM cards since early 2010. (long before the HDX cards were launched.)

there's a list of good reasons why giant PCI cards (which are going the way of the dodo bird soon), and antiquated DSP chips should have been abandoned before the HDX transition. neither of these two choices were logical from a technology perspective.

unfortunately, there's also a list of good reasons why HDX appeared in the format it did. and they all make perfect sense from a dollars and cents business perspective.

in avid's defence on the clunky "card" front, don't forget that still to this day, there is no replacement for the Mac Pro, and the latest available models don't have thunderbolt. avid's HD products are aimed at professional facilities, none of whom are running their systems on TB equipped laptops! (and very few running windows machines!) so at least avid has a good excuse on that point.

IMO there's no excuses for the dinosaur DSP chips though. to me it's akin to selling day-olds as freshly baked...

YMMV