KXStudio is an Ubuntu based audio suite designed by falkTX.
It uses a slimmed down version of Ubuntu and Debian as well as its own audio mixers. Most of the Cpu's resources are dedicated towards production. KXStudio ignores conventional pulse audio and instead uses JACK audio. Jack audio is perfect for professional audio editing purposes.
We tried KXstudio on this computer.
All scores below are subjective based on my conception of Windows and messing around with KXStudio for an Hour.
Pre-Installed software - What programs come with KXstudio.
- Ease of access - 3/5 Easy to get to, not easy to import audio. No tutorials, you must already be a professional at sound design to understand the applications.
- Usefulness for Pro Audio - 4/5 Lots of diverse tools, non-intuitive display.
- Diversity - 5/5 plenty of different software, some graphics, audio, and video.
Supported 3rd party software - Downloadable Programs.
- Quantity - 4/5 can use Debian and Ubuntu based software. Barely has any software of its own.
- Diversity - 3/5 all Debian and Ubuntu software, only has cadence mods from KXstudio. Cadence is a third party audio production suite.
- Community - 2/5 The community tab sends you to a poorly designed forum.
UI Usability - Ability to use the OS.
- Intuitive - 4/5 designed like windows, windows key and ctrl+alt+del don’t work, but there are plenty of keyboard commands, all of which are rebindable.
- Response - 5/5 delay is negligible
- Customizable - 6/5 Nearly everything is customizable from the layout to the keybindings.
Audio Quality - Ability to produce music.
- Compatible Audio Types - 5/5 WAV, AIFF, FLAC, OGG, ALSA, JACK, MIDI, etc.
- Compile Speed - 7/5 compiling of 1 second non-compressed WAV files takes seconds
- Export Types - 5/5 can export into whatever form you need. WAV, AIFF, FLAC, OGG, MIDI, etc.
Installation
We tried to install KXstudio
14.04.2 with no avail.
At about 50% installation the installer disappears and never returns. Others have also had troubles with installing KXstudio. We tried six different times with changing detail. Live boot worked for us, allowing us to mess with the OS.
Work Around
In the current build of KXstudio installation doesn't work, forcing you to Liveboot. There are two easy ways to do this, use a disc, or use a flashdrive. The inherent problem with liveboot is your internal hard drive isn't being accessed, meaning anything you save will be deleted. To get around this problem either run a secondary flash drive or an external hard drive depending on how much you need to save. If you want to use any third party software you can create an installation folder on your external hard drive and run it every time you need to run KXstudio. Obviously this reduces the usefulness of KXstudio as an OS, rendering your computer into a pure audio production suite for all intents and purposes.
Conclusion
The OS runs and handles beautifully. If you want a super light-weight customizable audio studio, KXstudio is a dreamland for you. Otherwise another Light-weight OS might be your best bet. falkTX needs to fix the installer and the forum is hideous. Once those two problems are fixed I would recommend this to anyone that is interested in audio production.
