Korg OASYS PCI (1999–)
The OASYS PCI is one of the more unusual things Korg ever built. It was a professional synthesizer system that lived on a PCI card inside a Windows PC. Released in 1999, it paired a PCI card loaded with DSPs with an external rack-mount I/O box. That turned a desktop computer into a dedicated synthesis workstation without taxing the host CPU. It was not a soundcard in the consumer sense. EQ Magazine (April 2001, p.118) noted it was "not a souped-up SoundBlaster," but a serious DSP-based instrument.
The "Open Architecture Synthesis System" concept meant the card hosted several synthesis methods - physical modeling, analog modeling, phase synthesis and sampling - instead of one fixed engine. Polyphony was variable and depended on the complexity of the patches in use. Audio quality was rated at 24-bit/96kHz. It started out Mac-only, then gained cross-platform Windows 98/SE support by version 2.0. Korg's own advertising pushed it as "the perfect complement to any software sequencer or digital audio workstation."
The system was developed in collaboration with CreamWare, whose DSP technology formed its foundation. Don't confuse it with the later Korg OASYS keyboard workstation. The name is the same, but the two are entirely separate products.
The record is thin on firm specifications. The card shipped with four DSPs in its base configuration. Some sources suggest an 8-DSP variant existed, but the count is not consistently documented. The breakout box provided balanced analog and digital I/O, though sources disagree on exact connector counts. Some list 8 analog outputs, others 10. The original price is also uncertain: one source cites $1,200, another $1,600 for the 4-DSP version.
Among owners, the OASYS PCI earned a near-legendary reputation. Some forum users call it the "Holy Grail" of PC-based synths, praising the depth of its physical modeling and its independence from host CPU load. The software side aged poorly, though. Korg abandoned driver development, so users depend on third-party (Soniccore) drivers that only work on 32-bit systems. There are no 64-bit drivers, which makes the card unusable on modern Windows installations. Known hardware issues include hum from the external power supply and, occasionally, dead DSP chips on used units.
On the second-hand market, the OASYS PCI appears rarely, perhaps a couple of times a year. Sold listings run from roughly $300 to $800 depending on condition and completeness. The optional expansion DSP board is extremely rare and expensive when it does surface.
Known Specifications
- Released: 1999; discontinued (no exact year documented)
- Form: PCI card + external rack-mount I/O box
- Synthesis: Physical modeling, analog modeling, phase synthesis, sampling (Open Architecture)
- Audio: 24-bit/96kHz
- Polyphony: Variable, depends on patch complexity
- DSPs: 4 (base configuration; expansion possible via rare second board)
- Host: Windows 98/SE; no modern 64-bit driver support
- Original price: approximately $1,200–$1,600 (sources conflict)
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