Convolution Reverb was definitely practical on CPUs for much longer than 10 years, and a lot of people were using it, even on underpowered computers (I was usin

Convolution Reverb was definitely practical on CPUs for much longer than 10 years, and a lot of people were using it, even on underpowered computers (I was using a base model Macbook Air myself since 2011, and yes, LOTS of long reverbs). Physical modelled reverb has been possible on consumer CPUs since the 90s of course (convolution reverb isn't in the category of "physical modelling" btw). If you're talking about physical modelling synthesis, it uses lots of recursion, so it's less interesting for GPUs. I'll also dispute the claim that low latency isn't necessary for amateur audio. Recording with low latency is necessary for everyone performing on an instrument. One can achieve low latency with external DSP or external sound processors, but most amateurs are only relying on plugins instead of more expensive hardware, and that's where their monitoring comes from. People programming instruments rather than playing (and not exclusively using samplers, which are I/O bound rather than CPU bound) still need real time processing for other tasks. Try mixing with Bluetooth: it's hilarious how much latency can slow you down even when you're not performing.