However, the newer apollo apollo 8 get the conversion updated. One example is the thunderbolt option for ua apollo, which started out using the firewire protocol but was then updated to use pcie protocol instead. Ive been using apogee sound cards for years started with the quartet and moved to the duet because i didnt need all the power of the quartet. All you get are a few controls on your channel strip, like being. Apogees own thunderbolt offering at the time for symphony was stupidly expensive.
Enjoy the same superb transparency and ultimate sonic performance when using both your analog outboard gear and digital daw. To connect a symphony mobile card to a symphony 64 card via sbus, the mobile system must be running firmware, software and drivers dated october 2008 or later. May 25, 2016 you are going from saffire 40 to a quartet or apollo quad i went from a saffire 56. Uad apollo vs apogee symphony audioengineering reddit. The price is steep, but i can do it if it makes a difference.
Watch grammywinning producer and engineer fab dupont david crosby, jennifer lopez, mark ronson set up an apollo twin audio interface and record with uad plugins in realtime. It wasnt dramatic night and day vs my old ua25ex, but was a significance improvement in preamps and converters. Im struggling to decide between these two and hope for the guidance of logic users. Experts pick of the best desktop audio interfaces you can buy for. Ive been using uad for a long time and i havent had any software, hardware, or driver issues. Builtin firewire ports on any windows computer are incompatible. Apollo twin mk ii thunderbolt audio interface universal audio. I know ensemble has very good adda conversion, but previous apollo has a very good conversion too.
Last week we asked you to listen to 3 audio files recorded using the new presonus studio 192, ua apollo twin and the apogee ensemble thunderbolt and asked you to choose which one you preferred here is the list of which interface was which, including a selection of comments left by those who listen. Products like symphony io, quartet, duet, one, jam and mic have been instrumental in capturing countless. The headphone monitoring on the symphony io mkii has been elevated to a level that is almost ridiculous. Ua audio interfaces feature allnew ad and da conversion for extremely detailed and open sound giving you the lowest noise and highest dynamic range in their respective class. Flagship sound quality symphony io mk ii is a multichannel audio interface featuring apogee s newest flagship adda conversion, modular io up to 32 inputs and outputs, intuitive touch screen display and optional worldclass microphone preamps. Apogee ensemble vs universal audio apollo twin duo logic. Flagship sound quality symphony io mk ii is a multichannel audio interface featuring apogees newest flagship adda conversion, modular io up to 32 inputs and outputs, intuitive touch screen display and optional worldclass microphone preamps. Whereas rmes biggest selling points are their driver stability, and totalmix which is very handy. The apollo 8p is uas latest addition to the line, and it packs some serious options for getting audio in and out of your computer. Universal audio apollo twin duo 2x6 thunderbolt audio. In its range i have not compared with the apogee symphony, the lynx hilo, or lavry blue, but i think its more so a matter of taste than performance. Apogees symphony interface has been thunderbolted, touchscreened and released back into the world. This past august, apogee electronics released the end all of digital audio interfaces.
Apogee electronics corporation has updated the symphony pci driver with two new features, vbus and performance tuning vbus provides unlimited routing possibilities across multiple applications in any symphonyequipped apple g5 or mac pro. Once youve installed the symphony pci card or cards in your computer, the xsymphony cards in your converters, and apogees supplied driver software on your computer, its time to wire everything up. Apogee have since played catch up and written very stable drivers for the. Symphony and apollo are great, but right now im enchanted by apollo because of its interaction with uad plugins, although symphony has a better sound in the end for what ive heard online. The symphony io mk ii from apogee electronics is an advanced, flexible multichannel audio interface featuring the newest flagship adda conversion, modular io up to 32 inputs and outputs, and an intuitive touchscreen display. Apollo 8 tb vs apogee symphony mk2 i am trying to get a feel for the discernable audio differences from any folks who have used both. After installing the apollo, and hooking up my synths and mic inputs, i found myself using more of the ua plugins than just delayreverb. In platform has also been central to their hugely successful apollo range of audio interfaces. The twin is just a crazy cool interface and crazy cheap for what it does and sounds like. In a high end gear perspective id prefer having aes. I am a sparse home studio logic user and that status might give the element a slight advantage. Apollo firewire and uad2 satellite firewire require one of the uatested pcietofirewire 800 adapter cards listed below. If youre unfamiliar with the apollo concept, heres how it works in a nutshell. Apollo x thunderbolt studio interface universal audio.
Ua device compatibility with apollo firewire universal. Apollo firewire windows compatibility universal audio. Together with its included bundle of uad analog emulation plugins which you can track through in real time with uad2. I monitor with a little verb, coming from the apollo. If youve ever worked with a pro tools system, wiring up a symphony system is.
Apollo does have dual adat port for smux but thats only interesting if youre going to use it. Neve 1073 unison and the api unison channelstrip and tried a lot of settings with la2a and 1176 and also a few of the ua preset settings for unison since we have all of the ua series plugins and they sound amazing and cant compare to lots of other dsp plugin powered. Im struggling to decide between these three and seek your guidance. It had much better performance specs as the input gain was much higher than the ua25ex, with internal clocking, jetpll jitter reduction and much higher dynamic range of 109 db aweighing ad in and 108 db aweighing da out. Apogee quartet vs apollo quad from people that owned or. Last week we asked you to listen to 3 audio files recorded using the new presonus studio 192, ua apollo twin and the apogee ensemble thunderbolt and asked you to choose which one you preferred here is the list of which interface was which, including a selection of. Ive been using the ua apollo twin for the last couple years. I think we can all agree that apogee produces some of the best digital conversion on the market. Universal audio apollo 8 vs apogee ensemble avid pro. Page 2im putting together a small home recording room, so i can get into recording. Once youve installed the symphony pci card or cards in your computer, the x symphony cards in your converters, and apogee s supplied driver software on your computer, its time to wire everything up. Dec 22, 2016 apogee element vs focusrite clarett what do you see as the pros and cons of both the apogee element and focusrite clarett.
Similar to its predecessor, this is a 1ruheight interface capable of 24bit, 192 khz operation, with an onboard quad uad2 for realtime effects with four sharc processors inside to process the uad plugins. With the announcement of the universal audio apollo x, the brand is once again pushing their flagship interface forward and providing significant upgrades in power, conversion and monitoring. Apogee symphony io mk ii audio interface overview youtube. From apogee duet to universal audio apollo twin mkii uad. Made for the musician, producer and engineer that wants the ultimate sound quality and studio control in a compact desktop form factor, quartet features legendary apogee adda conversion, 4 worldclass microphone preamps, usb midi io.
Ive always said that the only reason to go with an apollo interface is if youre going to be using ua plugins. I had it for about 8 months, and did enough work with it to compare it to other systems ive worked on. Apollo firewire and uad2 satellite firewire require one of the ua tested pcietofirewire 800 adapter cards listed below. Aug 18, 2017 apollo firewire and apollo 16 silver cannot be connected together via firewire when using two apollo firewire units, uad2 satellite firewire cannot be used maximum of two firewire devices uad2 satellite thunderbolt, firewire, usb and uad2 pcie cards can be combined with each other and apollo firewire. The new ensemble, or if you can swing it, one of the symphony models are great choices for mac users.
Mar 01, 2016 rob clark from apogee electronics talks us through the new apogee symphony io mk ii thunderbolt audio interface. Im just going to be writing about the best ten of them. In this video, i compare my top 24 channel audio interface picks. How to setup and record with apollo interfaces and. Universal audio apollo 8 vs apogee ensemble avid pro audio. The symphony io is the exemplar of this, its their flagship offering, and it carries that banner well. Universal audio apollo twin mk2 and arrow audio interface.
Apogee quartet is the ultimate desktop audio interface and studio control center for professional recording. You get an unbelievable amount of noisefree headroom with this interface, and id expect nothing less from apogee. The apollo 8p is ua s latest addition to the line, and it packs some serious options for getting audio in and out of your computer. Built upon uas 60year heritage of audio craftsmanship, apollo twin mkii starts with two unisonenabled mic preamps and stellar nextgeneration ad and da conversion derived from uas flagship apollo 8, 8p, and 16. I opened up the box from apogee containing the symphony io and remember thinking, well, this is it. Im in the market for a new interface and this is a tough call at this point. Ua apollo twin x quad vs apogee symphony desktop i recently asked elsewhere about different pieces of gear im looking at for my home studio setup, and briefly settled on the symphony desktop although i also briefly settled on the duet, but fell in love with the idea of being able to use onboard dsp with plugins for live.
After installing the apollo, and hooking up my synths and mic inputs, i found. Apogee symphony io ive read several threads about apogee and uad, but im still in doubt where to spend this load of money. I didnt know my converters were bad until someone told me. Breakthrough unison mic preamp modeling gives you the character and color of classic mic preamps, including legendary designs from neve, api, manley, helios, and. Meet the all new symphony io mk ii intuitive touch screen. Universal audio apollo x4, apollo twin x, thunderbolt.
Apogee quartet vs apollo quad from people that owned or used. Theres always ua negativity floating about on issues like the age and. After exhaustive research, im between the apogee element 24 and the new ua apollo twin mkii quad. Results of the audio shootout between the presonus studio 192. While i have a quad, i wanted more processing it will refresh completely the apoplo you listen and make i was pretty dead set on the apogee symphony due to the reputation of the converters and the expansion options.
Audio interface 18 x 24 firewire audio interface, 24bit 192khz adda converter, internal uad. Mar 03, 2015 watch grammywinning producer and engineer fab dupont david crosby, jennifer lopez, mark ronson set up an apollo twin audio interface and record with uad plugins in realtime. You want the best audio interface for your project studioperiod although an highend audio interface boast impressive capabilities, it doesnt mean that your sound will be equally impressive. I am an alleged, emerging songwriter using logic pro x. Apogee symphony io mk ii 16x16 thunderbolt audio interface. Overview introduction symphony io mk ii is a multichannel audio interface featuring apogees newest flagship adda conversion, modular io up to 32 inputs and outputs, intuitive touchscreen display and optional worldclass microphone preamps.
Im upgrading my studio focusrite 18i20 to either of these. All in a sleek, expandable thunderbolt 3 package for mac and pc. I am aware that the conversion quality is supposed to have better numbers in the symphony. Ua apollo twin mkii quad updated to quad to get more of what youre buying ua apollo for. So if i were using pc i wouldnt touch it and i dont even think it works with pc even via usbidk so.
Rob clark from apogee electronics talks us through the new apogee symphony io mk ii thunderbolt audio interface. Audio interface 18 x 24 firewire audio interface, 24bit 192khz adda converter, internal uad quad core realtime processing, microphone preamplifier with unison technology, analogue inputs. Okay, you got me it might not actually be the endall because nothing ever is, but i for one havent been more excited about a piece of electronics since the original release of nintendo 64. I dont own a big studio but i wanna get the best gear i can. Since 1985, apogee has produced innovative, awardwinning technology that powers many of the worlds most respected studios. As of now its between the duet 2, element 24, ua apollo solo, rme babyface here is a quote from a rep on gear slutz hello everyone, glad to hear youre excited for our element series. My main chain in a 20 year old 414 into a vintage neve 1073 straight into an apogee symphony converter at 96k. Adda converter and pre specwise, this is true as apogee specs out better than ua apollo twin or focusrite clarett. Designed specifically for mastering engineers, the apogee symphony io. You get a topnotch audio interface with an easytouse console interface that runs on your computer. Ive read great things about the universal audio apollo twin, so i was considering picking one up.
The chassis provides two io module slots for a variety of digital audio conversion options that form the interface side of the symphony io mk ii. Apollo twin usb cannot be combined with apollo firewire models. I know both symphony and apollo are great, but right now im enchanted by apollo because of its interaction with uad plugins, although symphony has a better sound in the end for. Aug 24, 2016 the new apogee symphony io km2 thunderbolt audio interface doesnt just look, sound and feel great, its highly configurable and definitely high quality too. Made for the musician, producer and engineer that wants the ultimate sound quality and studio control in a compact desktop form factor, quartet features legendary apogee adda conversion, 4 worldclass microphone preamps, usb midi io, ess sabre32 dac technology and monitor controls. Since its initial release in 2012, the universal audio apollo series has revolutionized the world of digital audio interfaces by offering an impeccable sound at an affordable price. Introduced in 2012, the original silver apollos were 1u rackmounted firewire devices, while a second.
You are going from saffire 40 to a quartet or apollo quad i went from a saffire 56. I have an imac and im looking for an interface and mic as well that will provide excellent results. If youve ever worked with a pro tools system, wiring up a symphony system is pretty much the same, and very easy to do. To be honest its a bit like working in a chocolate factory, the novelty soon wears off and in fact it can have the opposite effect and leave one cynical and unmoved by most new offerings. As long as the driver is stable, you should have no problem recording relatively high track counts with relatively low latency. Apollo x8 vs apogee symphony hey all, about to pull the trigger on either the apollo x8 or the apogee symphony mk2 and wondering if anyone has heard side by side comparisons or has any info on the differences between the convertor quality of the two interfaces seeing as the new apollo line up have improved convertors. Richtig luxurios wird es mit dem modularem apogee symphony, was bei rund. Apollo firewire and apollo 16 silver cannot be connected together via firewire when using two apollo firewire units, uad2 satellite firewire cannot be used maximum of two firewire devices uad2 satellite thunderbolt, firewire, usb and uad2 pcie cards can be combined with each other and apollo firewire. Apogee s own thunderbolt offering at the time for symphony was stupidly expensive. Nov 29, 2017 apogee electronics corporation has updated the symphony pci driver with two new features, vbus and performance tuning vbus provides unlimited routing possibilities across multiple applications in any symphony equipped apple g5 or mac pro. Apogee element is an excellent choice for logic they are logic oriented.
Results of the audio shootout between the presonus studio. The element series is very minimalist because apogee chose to put more into the converters and pres. Symphony io mk ii is a multichannel audio interface featuring apogees newest flagship adda conversion, modular io up to 32 inputs and outputs, intuitive touchscreen display and optional worldclass microphone preamps. The bestselling interface in its price range, the universal audio apollo has an undeniably attractive mix of onboard features. Adda converter and pre specwise, this is true as apogee specs out better than ua. I had a chance to test the original apollo vs ensemble in the past and a win for ensemble. Symphony io mk ii is available from esv from as little as. I dont have access to an element, but i have seen the logic implementation of the apogee ensemble and symphony io.