I have a question for the Fourier team.
The final month of Q2 has now begun. It is June, and according to the roadmap, the CEDAR plugin update, including the Hyper port, as well as the de-feedback related update, should be released within this month.
This has already been delayed once, and honestly, in terms of performance, Fourier hardware is now falling behind the price-to-performance ratio of custom-built VST3 server systems that individuals can implement themselves.
The Hyper port is the update I am looking forward to the most, as it should bring a significant latency advantage. However, because it will be that much faster, I also expect it to place a clear additional burden on the CPU, so extensive testing will be necessary after the update.
Based on what has been shown at exhibitions, it appears that the CEDAR plugin issue has already been resolved. I assume you are aware that many users purchased these plugins but still cannot actually use them.
If this kind of broad and detailed plugin testing is difficult to handle internally, I believe you need to have more testers who are capable of properly testing these issues.
As for de-feedback, I understand that a dedicated version is currently being tested and has apparently been distributed to testers. However, the limitations of Intel CPUs are already very clear, and my own test results have shown this clearly as well. Because of that, I do not expect a dramatic performance improvement.
In addition, regarding the system heat issue, I believe Fourier should look into providing additional fans to customers so that the internal heat can be exhausted properly, and this should be offered as an update to all users who have purchased the hardware.
In Korea and Japan, the system temperature reaches a level where it is practically unusable outdoors. Once the system load begins, it already starts throttling at around 90°C, causing performance to drop.
At least when additional cooling is added to the front intake, it is possible to reduce the temperature by around 20°C. However, that itself is also evidence that the product’s cooling design has failed.
The system only cools the CPU. The heat generated by surrounding components, such as the power section, is not properly addressed at all. Also, because there is an internal partition, the heated air after cooling cannot be exhausted and simply remains trapped inside the system.
Heat continues to accumulate inside the unit. When it is mounted in a rack case, the environment becomes even more enclosed, which only makes the cooling situation worse.
Ultimately, I think it is a serious issue if the user has to spend additional money and solve the cooling problem themselves just to make the system usable at a proper level.
The final month of Q2 has now begun, and time passes very quickly.
I hope to see a fast and properly working update soon.