I've been playing around with the Spire demo, comparing it to Dune 2. Subjectively of course, in some tests they are roughly on equal ground, but once I start taking a single OSC and fattening it up with a little unison, getting the reverb settings and tail similar on both synths, Dune2 starts to come alive and use less CPU (on my system at least, running Cubase 7.5) than Spire.
I'm restricting myself to the plate reverb on Dune2 since that's the only type available on Spire at least in the demo, whereas Dune2 gives a much better reverb selection and better sound of the effect itself.
Spire can definitely get fat too, it's just that it starts peaking 15-20% more CPU usage. I do realize this exist only in the demo, the demo has the white noise LFO swooshing going on to restrict unauthorized use but that would not account for a 20% hit.
Comparing only the demo of Spire I have to say Dune2 wins for my particular use. Mileage may vary depending on what how you plan to use it. I don't think I can get the crazy, lush and warm multi voice sounds out of Spire I can get out of Dune2.
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