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Post by swurveman on Jan 9, 2019 9:34:06 GMT -6
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Post by bricejchandler on Jan 9, 2019 12:39:43 GMT -6
I probably can help. I don't own an Ensemble but I own the Element 88 which is a stripped down version of the Ensemble.
The specs are identical and when I talked to Apogee, they told it was the same thing only with less I/O and no knobs which considerably reduced the cost.
Anyway I bought it to track drums and demos outside the studio and It's been awesome, it fits in my backpack with my laptop, it's super light and sounds pretty good.
I've done some nice recordings with it. The preamps are good, clean, maybe a little dull but they're better for my tastes than most interface preamps I've used ( RME, Focusrite Clarett ).
They're not as good as dedicated preamps but still completely useable.
The conversion is awesome, I love it, it's extremely smooth. Latency is very low but you better have a good computer. My Clarett 8 was more stable on my system but didn't sound anywhere near as good, I could get the Clarett down to 64 easily on my Macbook Air, 128 is the lowest I can get with the Element without having to worry about it.
It seems reliable, I've had it for over a year and never had an issue and it's moved around a TON.
In a previous discussion about Audient preamps, I uploaded on my dropbox some drums cut exclusively with the Element 88 preamps and conversion.
All you hear was recorded only with the integrated preamps. The four examples were tracked with my usual setup,
Sontronics DM1b on kick
57 on snare
spaced pair of schoeps MK41s on OHS
Now none of these were tracked in studios, one was in a house, the other in a barn, one was tracked in a small rehearsal studio so the acoustics aren't the greatest but it should still give you an idea of the sound of the unit.
These are raw drumtracks, no eq, no comp, just pan and volume, except for Element 4 were the kick mic was multed to an outboard preamp in parallel that I was hitting extremely hard to get some crunch on the kick but besides that that's it.
The video was live in an apartment, again tracked only with the Element
Hope this helps a bit, I know it's not the Ensemble but if you like the general vibe of the Element, you should enjoy the Ensemble.
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Post by swurveman on Jan 9, 2019 13:09:26 GMT -6
I probably can help. I don't own an Ensemble but I own the Element 88 which is a stripped down version of the Ensemble. The specs are identical and when I talked to Apogee, they told it was the same thing only with less I/O and no knobs which considerably reduced the cost. Thanks for your reply Brice. I'll listen to your drum tracks. Nice job on the piano song. Do you use the Adat with your Element? |
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Post by bricejchandler on Jan 9, 2019 13:17:31 GMT -6
I probably can help. I don't own an Ensemble but I own the Element 88 which is a stripped down version of the Ensemble. The specs are identical and when I talked to Apogee, they told it was the same thing only with less I/O and no knobs which considerably reduced the cost. Thanks for your reply Brice. I'll listen to your drum tracks. Nice job on the piano song. Do you use the Adat with your Element? Yes, I have used adat preamps into the Element and it worked flawlessly. |
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Post by popmann on Jan 9, 2019 14:02:21 GMT -6
Swurve--you can't use this without a Mac. You switching platforms?
Apogee no longer makes conversion. see my rants about the Symphony, which is the only SORT OF converter they still make. Everything they make is an interface....and being an Apple partner means there will BE no Windows drivers.
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Post by bigbone on Jan 9, 2019 14:16:52 GMT -6
NOT a first hand experience,one of my friend use the Ensemble with great result.
Solid driver ( MAC only ), preamp sound pretty nice, low latency, they got
only good thing to said about the Ensemble. And if you are with Logic.
the integration is so easy. plug in the unit and Logic see all the I\O from the Ensemble.
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Post by swurveman on Jan 9, 2019 14:35:35 GMT -6
Swurve--you can't use this without a Mac. You switching platforms? Apogee no longer makes conversion. see my rants about the Symphony, which is the only SORT OF converter they still make. Everything they make is an interface....and being an Apple partner means there will BE no Windows drivers. Alas, though I thought I was getting state of the art with my RME AES 32 PCIe cards, the converter industry has mostly ditched it for Thunderbolt. Burl and Lynx are left, but I'm looking at these hybrid boxes-Apogee Element/ UAD Apollo- and so I'll have to switch. If you know of any of these hybrid boxes that I can go directly i/o digital out to my RME PCIE card I'd gladly look. I do not want to buy a new computer, but it looks like I'm gonna have to due to fucking Thunderbolt. Sorry for the language. |
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Post by popmann on Jan 9, 2019 23:40:04 GMT -6
I dont know why. The converter market hasnt changed. Apogee changed. You can get AES and HD connections for the Symphony.
PCIE is state of the art. Still. Thunderbolt is intel’s solution for connecting peripherals externally so OEMS can make the devices smaller. The Thunderbolt Ensemble is replacing the FIREWIRE Ensemble before it.
Apogee and Ua will require a Mac-no matter if you buy a new PC with a Thunderbolt port or not.
I dont really understand your GAS for conversion....what are you using now? That RME is a professional level digital interface, other than Apogee getting more expensive (if you price a Symphony with actual AES IO its a good bit more than 16x units were)....nothing has changed since you bought the RME card. All the people who made them then make ADA units now PLUS people like Burl and JCF and such going that different route.
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Post by swurveman on Jan 10, 2019 11:19:48 GMT -6
I dont really understand your GAS for conversion....what are you using now? That RME is a professional level digital interface, other than Apogee getting more expensive (if you price a Symphony with actual AES IO its a good bit more than 16x units were)....nothing has changed since you bought the RME card. All the people who made them then make ADA units now PLUS people like Burl and JCF and such going that different route. I don't have a GAS for conversion. I'm looking for an easy-to-use system as I go from a commercial studio to a songwriting studio for my own enjoyment. I also want to try a different converter than my Aurora 16's. So, these offerings from UA and Apogee combine both my interests. Of course, I'd have to buy a MAC which I have to factor into my overall costs. I could keep my computer, buy an 8 channel preamp and an old Apogee a/d with a two channel D/A. So, I'm looking at that as well. However, my computer is 10 years old. So, I have to figure in the chance of having a failure in the future as well in my cost/benefit thinking. Thanks for your thoughts popmann! |
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Post by bricejchandler on Jan 10, 2019 12:04:14 GMT -6
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Post by popmann on Jan 10, 2019 13:15:59 GMT -6
So, you want a home studio interface for a different purpose. Cool. that makes sense, then. Yes, Apple and their business partners have a slick songwriting operation going. I love using Logic for my demos....as much as I hate it moving north of that. Ha.
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Post by mhbunch on Jan 10, 2019 13:19:51 GMT -6
FWIW I can't hear any difference between the conversion on my Element 24 at home and the conversion on the Symphony Mk1 at the studio I work out of. It's really good for the price.
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Post by swurveman on Jan 10, 2019 14:54:13 GMT -6
So, you want a home studio interface for a different purpose. Cool. that makes sense, then. Yes, Apple and their business partners have a slick songwriting operation going. I love using Logic for my demos....as much as I hate it moving north of that. Ha. I'm also considering the Apollo which can use a PC with a Thunderbolt 3 via USB-C motherboard. It is a turnoff to me that Apogee is-for the most point- an Apple proprietary company. |
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Post by popmann on Jan 10, 2019 19:48:01 GMT -6
They've always treated Windows like a redheaded step child. The only difference I see between them and Apogee is they have a unique product at their price point.
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Post by adamjbrass on Jan 11, 2019 9:03:57 GMT -6
Really nice sounding box with super low latency and good features. Too bad it got swept under the marketing rug of 2017-2018.
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Post by Johnkenn on Jan 11, 2019 12:30:34 GMT -6
I could see expanding with one of these.
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Post by mrholmes on Jan 11, 2019 14:57:29 GMT -6
I probably can help. I don't own an Ensemble but I own the Element 88 which is a stripped down version of the Ensemble. The specs are identical and when I talked to Apogee, they told it was the same thing only with less I/O and no knobs which considerably reduced the cost. Anyway I bought it to track drums and demos outside the studio and It's been awesome, it fits in my backpack with my laptop, it's super light and sounds pretty good. I've done some nice recordings with it. The preamps are good, clean, maybe a little dull but they're better for my tastes than most interface preamps I've used ( RME, Focusrite Clarett ). They're not as good as dedicated preamps but still completely useable. The conversion is awesome, I love it, it's extremely smooth. Latency is very low but you better have a good computer. My Clarett 8 was more stable on my system but didn't sound anywhere near as good, I could get the Clarett down to 64 easily on my Macbook Air, 128 is the lowest I can get with the Element without having to worry about it. It seems reliable, I've had it for over a year and never had an issue and it's moved around a TON. In a previous discussion about Audient preamps, I uploaded on my dropbox some drums cut exclusively with the Element 88 preamps and conversion. All you hear was recorded only with the integrated preamps. The four examples were tracked with my usual setup, Sontronics DM1b on kick 57 on snare spaced pair of schoeps MK41s on OHS Now none of these were tracked in studios, one was in a house, the other in a barn, one was tracked in a small rehearsal studio so the acoustics aren't the greatest but it should still give you an idea of the sound of the unit. These are raw drumtracks, no eq, no comp, just pan and volume, except for Element 4 were the kick mic was multed to an outboard preamp in parallel that I was hitting extremely hard to get some crunch on the kick but besides that that's it. The video was live in an apartment, again tracked only with the Element Hope this helps a bit, I know it's not the Ensemble but if you like the general vibe of the Element, you should enjoy the Ensemble.
Good Job shows me two things. No one can beat a great performance and software pianos dont osund at all like a real piano.... I like the way you tacked and mixed this one....!!!
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Post by bigbone on Jan 11, 2019 20:41:49 GMT -6
The video was live in an apartment, again tracked only with the Element Hope this helps a bit, I know it's not the Ensemble but if you like the general vibe of the Element, you should enjoy the Ensemble. Nice performance, great song,love the vibes and the way you sound at the end.!!!! |
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