Cardinal vs Sylenth1
Cardinal
cardinal.kx.studioSylenth1
lennardigital.comSide by side
| Figure | Cardinal | Sylenth1 |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | €9.95/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | — |
| Free trial | — | Yes |
| Open source | Yes | — |
| Web | Yes | — |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | — |
| API | Yes | — |
| Self-hosted | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 2 | 2 |
| Spec score · Software Synthesizers | 9.0 (#2) | 7.7 (#18) |
| Maker | DISTRHO is an open-source cross-platform audio-plugin project led and primarily coded by Filipe Coelho (falkTX), under the KXStudio umbrella. | LennarDigital says it is based in Vught, the Netherlands, and was founded in 2006 by DSP and software engineer, producer, and sound designer Lennard Addink. |
| Product | Cardinal is a free, open-source virtual modular synthesizer based on VCV Rack and packaged as a self-contained plugin and standalone app. | Sylenth1 is a virtual analog VSTi synthesizer designed for music production. |
| Support | The maker asks users to report bugs on GitHub and lists the #cardinal IRC room on Libera.Chat for community discussion. | The support page directs users to the manual and provides a support request subject selector and a link to the LennarDigital forum. |
Plans
Sylenth1
- Sylenth1 installment plan€9.95 a month
- Sylenth1 full version€139, paid once
In their own words
Cardinal
Cardinal is a free, open-source modular synthesizer based on VCV Rack, available as a standalone app and as a plugin. It bundles 1,382 modules from 84 authors or brands, but does not load external modules or connect to the official Rack library or store; modules cannot be added to an existing build. Cardinal runs on Linux, macOS, Windows, and the web. Its plugin formats are AudioUnit, CLAP, LV2, VST2, and VST3, with Main, Synth, and FX variants that all support MIDI input and output. Main provides eight audio inputs and outputs and ten CV inputs and outputs, but is unavailable in AU and VST2 and is not yet available in CLAP. Mini has a smaller hand-picked module selection, two audio ports, and five CV ports, and is available only as LV2 or standalone. OSC remote control works in standalone use, not in the plugin. The project describes Cardinal as stable, while noting CLAP support is still in progress and VST3 hosting inside Carla or Ildaeil is experimental. It is licensed under GPLv3+.
Sylenth1
Sylenth1 has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.