Thank you for the links! SSE/SSE2 optimizations would be a good thing.
My interest in DSP actually started with wanting to make a high-quality guitar amp simulator, as the (in my opinion, anyway) best one on the market, by SofTube (http://softube.com/vintage_amp_room.asp) is kinda pricey and requires an iLok dongle. Now, I don't object to giving money for good software and to a good company (or person), but I do object to automatically being treated like a criminal. So the article on guitar and amp simulation in that second link is an interesting one to me.
This interest has now lead me to wanting to dive into circuit modeling of all kinds, so tools like CLAM and Faust will hopefully let me try out ideas quickly.