I want to buy a rackversion av DX7 but I'm a bit confused does anyoone know the difference between these:

(My guess in paranthesis)

TX7 (one DX7)
TX81Z (4 operators)
TX802 (two DX7s, multitimbral)
TX216 (no idea)
TX816 (eight DX7s)

Hi Torsig,

Yes, you've got it right, basically.

TX7 (one DX7): correct

TX81Z (4 operators): wouldn't bother with this one.

TX802 (two DX7s, multitimbral): has newer DAC than the older DX/TX synths, and is a 2 space rackmount unit.

TX216 (no idea): like 2 DX/TX-7s, and is a 3 or 4 space rackmount unit. This is like the TX-816, but with only 2 TF-1's placed in the unit. It can be expanded if you find additional cards (rare).

TX816 (eight DX7s): contains all 8 TF-1 cards already. These units can be had for a song these days ($200-$500 used). Disadvantage: each TF-1 has a separate XLR output, so you'll probably need a separate mini-mixer. This one also has the older DAC's, unlike the 802. The 816 is overkill, unless you're really into FM synths (I used to have one).

The 802 (used price is about $250) or maybe TX-7 is the best choice if you just want a bit of FM in the rack.

Hope this helps,

Christopher



[This message has been edited by feefer (edited 06-04-2000).]

I love my TX802. The TX802 is actually 8 2 note polyphonic tone generators that can be combined as 1 16 note TG, 2 8 note TG's or any other combination.
It is not 2 DX7's. It would have to be 32 note polyphonic. It's more like 1 DX7 that can be divided up into parts which could be layered, assigned note ranges and MIDI channels.
TX216..........2 16 note TG's
TX816..........8 16 note TG's
TX802..........8 2 note TG's
I think this makes sense.

Bill Mocarsky

what about the new plug in card
that is supposed to be tx compatible
which tx model does this emulate
are the controllers compatible?
i have a ton of stuff for my tx-7 - would
I be able to use this on the new card?

thank
trevor

The plugin is supposed to be just like the DX7
Bill Mocarsky

Some addenda about the TX series:
The TX7, TX216 and TX816 rackmount synths
use Yamaha FM but do *not* have internal tuning tables. Meaning: you can't do microtonal music with these synths.
The TX802 and TX81Z do have internal tuning tables, allowing you to generate music in, say, just intonation or 19 equal tones per octave, etc.
More important from your point of view, however is the fact that the TX 7 and TX216 and TX816 feature 32 kHz sampling rate and 12-bit (yes, TWELVE BIT) DACs. Translation: the TX7, TX216 and TX816, like the original DX7, lose a lot of sparkle on the high end because they don't produce frequencies much above about 14,000 Hz. The 12 bit DACs limit the theoretical signal-to-noise ratio of the TX7, TX216 and TX816 to 72 dB. That's a pretty poor signal-to-noise ratio. In fact, the noise and low-level "grunge" on these synths is audible, especially at the tail end of a note.
By contrast, the TX802 boasts a sampling rate of 50 kHz, which allows this synth to generate frequencies up to 20,000 Hz. The difference in sparkle and sharpness on the high end is audible. As with the DX7II, the
TX802 sounds sharper and clearer and more brilliant.
More importantly, the TX802 boasts 16-bit DACs. This means that the TX802, like its cousins the DX7S and DX7II series, feature full CD-quality audio. Result? No sigital quantization noise or other grunge audibel at the end of notes, etc., since the signal-to-noise ratio on the TX802 (like the DX7II and DX7S) is a full 96 dB.
I also own 2 TX81Zs. It may be premature to dismiss these superb synths. The TX81Z has some drawbacks, but also some strong advantages.
The biggest advantage of the TX81Z is the fact that it allows you to choose from 8 different types of carrier wave -- not just the standard sine wave! On the TX802 or DX7II you are limited to using a simple sine wave as your carrier. This means that all the timbral complexity must come from your modulator frequency and envelope settings.
On the TX81Z, however, you can produce timbres much more complex than you would otherwise expect simply by using a non-sine-wave carrier.
To my ears, this largely offsets the nominal limitation of having only 4 oscillators on the TX81Z, as opposed to 6 oscillators on the TX802.
You'd think that the larger the number of oscillators you can use, the more complex the timbre...but because Yamaha cleverly allowed the use of non-sine-wave carrier waveforms, the TX81Z actually sounds a lot richer and more complex than you'd expect.
The other big difference is that the TX802 allows I believe 32 different algorithms, while the TX81Z allows (I think) only 16. "Algorithms" here refer to the way the different FM oscillators are hooked together.
You may also want to think about looking at the TG77 rackmount. It's more expensive than either the TX802 or the TX81z, but contains an SY77 in a rack. The SY77 was the big brother of the DX7II -- it boasts 8 FM oscillators instead of just 6, and some of those oscillators can also use sampled sounds burned into the SY77's ROM.
All 3 synths -- the TX802, the TX81Z,
and the TG77 -- qualify as among the best synths ever manufactured at any price. Their timbres have never gone out of date, and just one of these units contains enough programming capability to last a lifetime.