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Post by keymod on Aug 4, 2014 8:14:11 GMT -6
Anyone using one? Curious to hear of your impressions.
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Post by Guitar on Aug 4, 2014 15:20:07 GMT -6
I've got the Duo, not the 16, but I love it. The conversion definitely has a tone to it, it's not boring, or flat, or whatever. And it's plenty crisp. I can't wait to get a chance to track cymbals with it.
I think you're right to look at the 16. The Apollo preamps are OK, but, they will never win against my outboard collection. I would rather have double the ins and outs, in retrospect. I bet the 16 is a really good value, I even think the regular Apollo is already an incredible value for what you get, so the 16 goes a step farther.
My small UAD plugin collection is impressing me already.
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Post by jeromemason on Aug 4, 2014 15:32:14 GMT -6
I've got the Duo, not the 16, but I love it. The conversion definitely has a tone to it, it's not boring, or flat, or whatever. And it's plenty crisp. I can't wait to get a chance to track cymbals with it. I think you're right to look at the 16. The Apollo preamps are OK, but, they will never win against my outboard collection. I would rather have double the ins and outs, in retrospect. I bet the 16 is a really good value, I even think the regular Apollo is already an incredible value for what you get, so the 16 goes a step farther. My small UAD plugin collection is impressing me already. Yeah, sadly the Pre's in the Apollo are not that great, even when you use the Unison stuff, something is just lacking. I recently tracked some vocals with it, Had the 1073 Unison, rolled the dice..... didn't turn out too well. I have to go outboard for really important elements, especially vocals and bass, the Apollo just can't cut it. With that said, it's a really nice device to have, you get the UAD intro and not to mention the extra pres. I would rather have the Apollo than the satellite for sure. You never know when you're going to need additional preamps and like I said it's not like they are horrible, just not what you get with outboard. |
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Post by Johnkenn on Aug 7, 2014 8:14:38 GMT -6
I would venture to say the problem lay more with the AD conversion than the pre. The pre's have tons of headroom and I thought they were usable. I'm judging them against my outboard going into the Burl...but I've always thought it was more the fault of the cheaper conversion.
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Post by mjheck on Aug 8, 2014 14:07:38 GMT -6
On Monday I received my BLA modded Apollo. I will conduct a proper comparison next week, but my first couple of days of impressions are that the improvement is noteworthy, and worth the cash.
I will be conducting some tracking next week using a mic splitter and a UAD versus analog matching signal chains - probably mic > neve pre > 76 Blue Stripe > API 550a (those are what I consider "best effort" UAD plug ins, and stuff that I own in hardware form) - that should be about as fair of a fight as I can muster. I may try to rent a 3-way splitter so I can run two analog chains into different converters (one through the Apollo, the other through my beloved 2192) to separate the differences between the Apollo AD and the Apollo preamps.
Sorry - I'm rambling - if you are interested in the UA family, Alto Audio sells already modded Apollos. Not sure of their return policy, but I would have love to simply bought the unit this way in the first place.
MJH
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Post by Johnkenn on Aug 8, 2014 14:30:12 GMT -6
Oh, wow. Interesting about the already modded ones.
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Post by keymod on Aug 9, 2014 5:43:24 GMT -6
Well, thanks for all of the input. However, the Apollo 16 to which I was asking about doesn't have mic pres. I was wondering if anyone is using one as an interface between computer and analog desk/summing mixer. How is it at getting out of the virtual world and into the real world?
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Post by Johnkenn on Aug 9, 2014 10:35:53 GMT -6
I've found my Apollo 8 to be rock solid. Zero problems with spdif or adat. I had problems with other brands but not UA.
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Post by Guitar on Aug 9, 2014 12:47:11 GMT -6
Mine has been really solid too, I haven't hardly messed with the buffer settings, and I don't think I've had a single pop, click, or dropout.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 9, 2014 12:58:52 GMT -6
Funny after all the hype surrounding the launch that in the end, it's just a solid, decent interface series among the many.
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Post by jeromemason on Aug 9, 2014 14:12:25 GMT -6
Yeah the unit is rock solid as far as being a d/a. I use a standalone master clock with 2 other interfaces and I've never had any issues at all.
I will say that they are a bit tricky in how you start them up. The sequence and where it is positioned in the chain. They suggest it be unit hooked into the computer, then all the other firewire or TB devices daisy chain off from it. I usually don't have any startup issues as long as I power up the Apollo first and then everything in oder after it. Then I turn my computer on. Others might not have any issues, but I did when I first got into it, and I believe I read how to do that from UA's manual.
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Post by Guitar on Aug 9, 2014 23:26:53 GMT -6
Funny after all the hype surrounding the launch that in the end, it's just a solid, decent interface series among the many. I think it's more than that, I think it's one of the best current interfaces. |
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Post by Johnkenn on Aug 10, 2014 14:34:21 GMT -6
I would have to agree. For the quality and quantity of what you get, it's a fantastic deal.
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mhep
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Post by mhep on Aug 11, 2014 3:31:34 GMT -6
The converters are fine. They're no Burl (nor Symphony io), but nothing needing an apology. If anything, the Apollo conversion is a touch on the lean side, though. Closer to Lynx than Burl. Better than a 192, IMO.
Pres are also fine. I still haven't had a chance to put Unison against my 1073 or API, but I plan to.
Of course the Apollo 16 has no pres.
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Post by keymod on Aug 12, 2014 5:16:28 GMT -6
I was thinking it might be cool to make a hybrid/virtual SSL - mixing station using an Apollo set with the SSL CHANNEL STRIP and run that through a Sigma.
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kcatthedog
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Post by kcatthedog on Aug 12, 2014 8:36:20 GMT -6
There have been some posts on the GS thread, Ua forum and at pro tools expert about people using 16, basically it seems pretty seamless; plug and play and of course they typically have consoles and/or OB pres, so set up has really only been about having the right connectors and figuring out the I/O routing which can be between 8-16 depending on how you set up console.
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