BUILT IN THE OPEN · PREEMPT_RT · PIANOTEQ
Commodity hardware. Purpose-built firmware. Under 5 seconds to Pianoteq.
PianoRT is an open-knowledge project: a PREEMPT_RT Linux build tuned for 1.3ms audio buffer latency and boot into Pianoteq in under 5 seconds. We’re documenting the whole build as we go — the code is headed toward being fully open source.
This is TuxPiano — the actual boot splash, on screen the moment coreboot hands off to the Linux kernel.
<5s
BOOT TO PLAYABLE
1.3ms
BUFFER LATENCY
250+
VOICES, 0 XRUNS
<30μs
MAX SCHEDULING DELAY
Think your own Pianoteq setup can hold 250 voices clean?Take the 250 Challenge →
Want to build one yourself? The HP Chromebox G3 Community Edition is free, with known limits.See the Community Edition →
Figures measured on the Dell OptiPlex 3050 Micro. 1.3ms is the audio buffer (64 samples at 48 kHz), the part of the key-to-sound delay PianoRT controls, and it sits well below the roughly 10ms point where delay becomes noticeable. Press a key and the sound feels directly connected to your touch — not routed through a computer.
