What is Kyra?
Kyra is a powerful FPGA-based synthesizer capable of producing a large number of complex sounds simultaneously.
What type of musician/producer is Kyra aimed at?
Kyra is aimed at the professional and semi-professional user in both live or studio environments. Live musicians will appreciate the big, floor-filling “wall of sound” and built-in effects that means Kyra can go straight to the mixer and venue amplification. Studio producers will appreciate the massive polyphony, multiple parts and ability to integrate completely with their audio workstations via multiple, balanced analog outputs as well as the high-capacity audio streaming via high-speed, class-compliant USB 2.0.
Why was Kyra created?
Kyra was created to fill a gap in the synthesizer market for a powerful digital, virtual analog synthesizer. Key to the design was to have no compromises on sound quality, ease of use, studio integration and raw power, all with a price tag that puts ownership within reach of producers working to a real-world budget.
How would you characterise Kyra’s sound?
It really is a wall of sound. With so many oscillators and voices, Kyra really does make an impact. Having said that, it is also capable of delicate sounds too. As Kyra is oversampled, there’s no rolloff at higher frequencies. Kyra has a crystal clear sound.
We are discovering new sounds on Kyra all the time and as more programmers create patches for it, we continue to be amazed at what can be achieved. Kyra’s sound is very complementary to other synthesizers in Waldorf’s range. It can be tame and remarkably smooth with very good emulations of classic analog synthesizers but it can also be big, bold and brash.
Tell me about this FPGA technology, what does it do for me as a musician?
Kyra is, as far we know, the first professional synthesizer to be based entirely on an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array). Even though this may be appear to be a technical detail it does have some real benefits for musicians. In particular, it offers the raw processing power of a very high end desktop computer but without the problems that are associated with such machines such as slow start up, unreliable operating systems and copious amounts of heat being generated. Even though Kyra has this sort of processing power, it starts up in under 4 seconds and uses less than ten watts of fan-free power (a typical high end desktop computer would use over 250 watts of power).
Another benefit to this technology is reliability. As all of Kyra’s audio generation, filtering and processing is done on a single chip, reduced component counts mean Kyra is less expensive to build and is more reliable.
What is unique about Kyra? Why should I buy it?
There are few synthesizers, if any, that are as powerful as Kyra. There are some notable features on Kyra that would usually be associated with much more expensive instruments such as a solid, all-metal chassis, 32 bit “Velvetsound” DACs, multiple balanced audio outputs and multi-part audio streaming over USB.
So Kyra has four stereo outputs? How is that useful to me?
Kyra offers four, balanced, stereo outputs that you can freely assign each of Kyra’s 8 Parts to. Studio producers will find this particularly useful as it means you can use outboard processing and effects, either connected directly or via bus sends on your mixer. With each of Kyra’s four outputs connected to your mixer, you can level, pan, EQ and process each of Kyra’s outputs as you wish. You can choose whether to use Kyra’s on board effects or to use your favourite outboard as you wish, on a Part-by-Part basis.
Sound engine:
Virtual analog synthesis
128 voices
8 parts
All sound features can be used simultaneously
Oscillators per voice:
two Wave osc with 4096 waveforms
two Pulse osc
two Saw osc
two Noise osc
two Sub osc with several waveforms
Hard Sync
Hypersaw Mode
Oscillator FM and Ring mod
Oscillators are in two groups for better overview
All osc per voice are available simultaneously
Per part:
9 simultaneously available effects
6-slot Mod Matrix with multiple destinations per slot
Furthermore:
2 filters: 12/24dB and LP/BP/HP in all configurations
3 envelope generators (EG)
3 LFOs with 128 shapes each
Extras:
26 patch banks (A to Z) with 128 slots each
Arpeggiator with 128 preset patterns
Octave Transpose
Double Mode: layers the same sound two times and detunes them against each other
Hardware:
Sturdy full metal case
256x64 pixel OLED
Kensington Lock
Connections:
USB 2.0 for MIDI and audio
5-pin DIN MIDI In/Out/Thru
8 balanced analog audio outputs plus Headphone out
Audio interface
Kyra can be used as an audio interface
Audio is transmitted to the computer via USB in up to 24bit/96kHz
Each Part is transmitted to the computer in stereo (16 channels in total)
2 audio channels from the computer can be played back through Kyra
How much is my shipping?
Shipping is automatically calculated before you submit your payment information. Simply add items to your cart and proceed to the checkout page, where you'll be offered shipping options and their prices. In the UK it's normally around £4 for order values under £150, and free above that. Shipping to mainland EU is typically between £7 and £20, depending on the shipping method and the size and weight of the order.
Do you ship to my country?
Almost certainly - the site will give you an estimate of shipping costs if you add an item to the cart and then enter your country and postcode. If you have specific requirements (such as if you prefer UPS over FedEx, for example) then let us know in advance and we'll try to work something out for you.
Shipping methods
We use a combination of Parcelforce, DPD, Royal Mail and UPS for the UK, and for international orders it's either Royal Mail, UPS, DHL or FedEx depending on where you are in the world. If you have a particular preference then try to let us know BEFORE you order so we can look into it for you. Please note that there may occasionally be additional shipping charges if you live in a remote area, depending on what surcharges are applied by the shipper. We'll get in touch to discuss this with you in such cases.
Dispatch times
For UK orders, we normally dispatch the same working day if we get the order before 15:00. If you have a really urgent situation then of course drop us an email before ordering and we'll always do our absolute best to accommodate you.
For international orders, we normally dispatch the same day if we get the order before 13:00 but again, occasionally it might be the next day before we can send it out, and sometimes FedEx or UPS may come a little earlier than scheduled which would also push an order into the next day.
Shipping times
Since April 2020 the couriers we use have suspended guarantees for shipping times, so even though we're paying them for priority services - 24-48 hours for most of the world - in practice it's often an extra day on top and sometimes it can be longer.
There is absolutely nothing we can do about this unfortunately. If you are outside the UK and it's a life-or-death situation where you absolutely MUST have that passive mult for the next day then... it may be better to find a local supplier.
Saturday shipping
If you're in the UK and you order before 15:30 on a Friday then we can send something for a Saturday delivery (NB: this applies to UK mainland addresses only). The success rate with DPD is about 95% so it's worth a punt most of the time. Please note that if you select Saturday shipping on an order placed earlier in the week, we'll wait until Friday to ship it.
Pre-orders
If a product is listed as a pre-order, it means we've ordered it from the supplier but it's not physically in stock yet. The product listing will include an estimated shipping date based on the best information we have from the supplier, but do bear in mind this is subject to change and is not a guaranteed date.
If you place an order containing a mixture of in-stock and pre-order items, we'll normally hold off on shipping anything until the pre-order item(s) have arrived, rather than splitting it into multiple shipments. If you need the in-stock items sooner, we'd recommend placing separate orders. As always, please get in touch if you have questions.
Product Overview
What is Kyra?
Kyra is a powerful FPGA-based synthesizer capable of producing a large number of complex sounds simultaneously.
What type of musician/producer is Kyra aimed at?
Kyra is aimed at the professional and semi-professional user in both live or studio environments. Live musicians will appreciate the big, floor-filling “wall of sound” and built-in effects that means Kyra can go straight to the mixer and venue amplification. Studio producers will appreciate the massive polyphony, multiple parts and ability to integrate completely with their audio workstations via multiple, balanced analog outputs as well as the high-capacity audio streaming via high-speed, class-compliant USB 2.0.
Why was Kyra created?
Kyra was created to fill a gap in the synthesizer market for a powerful digital, virtual analog synthesizer. Key to the design was to have no compromises on sound quality, ease of use, studio integration and raw power, all with a price tag that puts ownership within reach of producers working to a real-world budget.
How would you characterise Kyra’s sound?
It really is a wall of sound. With so many oscillators and voices, Kyra really does make an impact. Having said that, it is also capable of delicate sounds too. As Kyra is oversampled, there’s no rolloff at higher frequencies. Kyra has a crystal clear sound.
We are discovering new sounds on Kyra all the time and as more programmers create patches for it, we continue to be amazed at what can be achieved. Kyra’s sound is very complementary to other synthesizers in Waldorf’s range. It can be tame and remarkably smooth with very good emulations of classic analog synthesizers but it can also be big, bold and brash.
Tell me about this FPGA technology, what does it do for me as a musician?
Kyra is, as far we know, the first professional synthesizer to be based entirely on an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array). Even though this may be appear to be a technical detail it does have some real benefits for musicians. In particular, it offers the raw processing power of a very high end desktop computer but without the problems that are associated with such machines such as slow start up, unreliable operating systems and copious amounts of heat being generated. Even though Kyra has this sort of processing power, it starts up in under 4 seconds and uses less than ten watts of fan-free power (a typical high end desktop computer would use over 250 watts of power).
Another benefit to this technology is reliability. As all of Kyra’s audio generation, filtering and processing is done on a single chip, reduced component counts mean Kyra is less expensive to build and is more reliable.
What is unique about Kyra? Why should I buy it?
There are few synthesizers, if any, that are as powerful as Kyra. There are some notable features on Kyra that would usually be associated with much more expensive instruments such as a solid, all-metal chassis, 32 bit “Velvetsound” DACs, multiple balanced audio outputs and multi-part audio streaming over USB.
So Kyra has four stereo outputs? How is that useful to me?
Kyra offers four, balanced, stereo outputs that you can freely assign each of Kyra’s 8 Parts to. Studio producers will find this particularly useful as it means you can use outboard processing and effects, either connected directly or via bus sends on your mixer. With each of Kyra’s four outputs connected to your mixer, you can level, pan, EQ and process each of Kyra’s outputs as you wish. You can choose whether to use Kyra’s on board effects or to use your favourite outboard as you wish, on a Part-by-Part basis.
Sound engine:
Virtual analog synthesis
128 voices
8 parts
All sound features can be used simultaneously
Oscillators per voice:
two Wave osc with 4096 waveforms
two Pulse osc
two Saw osc
two Noise osc
two Sub osc with several waveforms
Hard Sync
Hypersaw Mode
Oscillator FM and Ring mod
Oscillators are in two groups for better overview
All osc per voice are available simultaneously
Per part:
9 simultaneously available effects
6-slot Mod Matrix with multiple destinations per slot
Furthermore:
2 filters: 12/24dB and LP/BP/HP in all configurations
3 envelope generators (EG)
3 LFOs with 128 shapes each
Extras:
26 patch banks (A to Z) with 128 slots each
Arpeggiator with 128 preset patterns
Octave Transpose
Double Mode: layers the same sound two times and detunes them against each other
Hardware:
Sturdy full metal case
256x64 pixel OLED
Kensington Lock
Connections:
USB 2.0 for MIDI and audio
5-pin DIN MIDI In/Out/Thru
8 balanced analog audio outputs plus Headphone out
Audio interface
Kyra can be used as an audio interface
Audio is transmitted to the computer via USB in up to 24bit/96kHz
Each Part is transmitted to the computer in stereo (16 channels in total)
2 audio channels from the computer can be played back through Kyra
Technical Specs
Shipping Details
How much is my shipping?
Shipping is automatically calculated before you submit your payment information. Simply add items to your cart and proceed to the checkout page, where you'll be offered shipping options and their prices. In the UK it's normally around £4 for order values under £150, and free above that. Shipping to mainland EU is typically between £7 and £20, depending on the shipping method and the size and weight of the order.
Do you ship to my country?
Almost certainly - the site will give you an estimate of shipping costs if you add an item to the cart and then enter your country and postcode. If you have specific requirements (such as if you prefer UPS over FedEx, for example) then let us know in advance and we'll try to work something out for you.
Shipping methods
We use a combination of Parcelforce, DPD, Royal Mail and UPS for the UK, and for international orders it's either Royal Mail, UPS, DHL or FedEx depending on where you are in the world. If you have a particular preference then try to let us know BEFORE you order so we can look into it for you. Please note that there may occasionally be additional shipping charges if you live in a remote area, depending on what surcharges are applied by the shipper. We'll get in touch to discuss this with you in such cases.
Dispatch times
For UK orders, we normally dispatch the same working day if we get the order before 15:00. If you have a really urgent situation then of course drop us an email before ordering and we'll always do our absolute best to accommodate you.
For international orders, we normally dispatch the same day if we get the order before 13:00 but again, occasionally it might be the next day before we can send it out, and sometimes FedEx or UPS may come a little earlier than scheduled which would also push an order into the next day.
Shipping times
Since April 2020 the couriers we use have suspended guarantees for shipping times, so even though we're paying them for priority services - 24-48 hours for most of the world - in practice it's often an extra day on top and sometimes it can be longer.
There is absolutely nothing we can do about this unfortunately. If you are outside the UK and it's a life-or-death situation where you absolutely MUST have that passive mult for the next day then... it may be better to find a local supplier.
Saturday shipping
If you're in the UK and you order before 15:30 on a Friday then we can send something for a Saturday delivery (NB: this applies to UK mainland addresses only). The success rate with DPD is about 95% so it's worth a punt most of the time. Please note that if you select Saturday shipping on an order placed earlier in the week, we'll wait until Friday to ship it.
Pre-orders
If a product is listed as a pre-order, it means we've ordered it from the supplier but it's not physically in stock yet. The product listing will include an estimated shipping date based on the best information we have from the supplier, but do bear in mind this is subject to change and is not a guaranteed date.
If you place an order containing a mixture of in-stock and pre-order items, we'll normally hold off on shipping anything until the pre-order item(s) have arrived, rather than splitting it into multiple shipments. If you need the in-stock items sooner, we'd recommend placing separate orders. As always, please get in touch if you have questions.
