Behringer Gives an Update on their Yamaha CS80 Clone the DS-80

Note John Price, is also working on their EMS VCS3 SYNTHI clone.

"We have some exciting update on the DS-80 development. Our lead engineer John Price spent nearly two years recreating the magical CS-80 voice board and transform it into a modern design, while retaining the authentic behavior or the original circuitry. This board is now ready to be tested.

We have completed the voice 'bread board', which is the final step before moving to the actual design of the synthesizer.

This board serves as test and evaluation platform to compare its performance with the original voice board. As you can see, the board contains two voices, and also the digital control section including the powerful ARM processor, plus the VR’s that represent the temporary front panel controls.

For a complete DS-80 we would need 8 of these boards, which shows you the insane amount of complexity and components.

Because this is one of the most complex synthesizer ever designed, we’re still a long way from delivering a final product, but we hope you’ll find this interesting.

Wish us luck with this ambitious project - there is also a substantial risk that we won’t succeed."