Waldorf's more compact and affordable Iridium Core desktop synthesizer is getting a meaningful free upgrade: firmware OS 4.1.0, currently in public beta, raises its polyphony from 12 to 16 voices — matching the larger Iridium and Quantum models that share its synthesis engine.
A small box with the full engine
The Iridium Core was built to bring Waldorf's flagship hybrid synthesis engine into a smaller, cheaper enclosure (346 × 200 × 64 mm, 2.2 kg) without cutting the sound-design ambition of the design. Under the hood it keeps three oscillators and three stereo filters per voice, a 40-slot modulation matrix, six envelopes, six LFOs, and Waldorf's "kompleks" modulator, alongside more than 1,700 factory presets. It launched at €1,849 back in October 2023; as of this September, street pricing has settled closer to €1,349, making the jump to 16 voices land at a moment when the instrument is also more accessible on price.
Why the voice count bump matters for expressive playing
Polyphony limits bite hardest exactly where MPE playing pushes hardest: a controller sending independent pitch, pressure, and timbre data per finger can burn through voices quickly once a player is sustaining several notes with continuous modulation on each one. Going from 12 to 16 voices doesn't change what the Iridium Core's engine can do per note, but it gives players more headroom before the synth has to start stealing voices — particularly relevant given that the Core already supports MPE, poly-aftertouch, and a 32-step sequencer aimed at exactly this kind of expressive, per-note performance.
Waldorf has form here: an update to the larger Quantum and Iridium models back in late 2025 (firmware 3.3.0) added MIDI 2.0 support and improved MPE handling, so OS 4.1.0 continues a pattern of the company treating expressive-controller compatibility as an ongoing firmware priority rather than a one-time launch feature.
Getting the update
OS 4.1.0 is free for existing Iridium Core owners and currently available through Waldorf's Quantum & Iridium Beta Program ahead of a full public release. More details on the Iridium Core and the wider Iridium line are available at waldorfmusic.com.
The trend to watch
Firmware-driven voice count increases are becoming a fairly common way for hardware synth makers to keep instruments feeling current years after launch, and pairing that with MPE and poly-aftertouch support suggests manufacturers increasingly see expressive-controller compatibility as a durable selling point rather than a niche checkbox. For MPE players shopping in the sub-€1,500 desktop synth range, the Iridium Core's combination of price drop and voice-count parity with its pricier siblings makes it noticeably more competitive than it was even a few months ago.