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Post by matt on Oct 7, 2014 8:25:47 GMT -6
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Post by lpedrum on Oct 7, 2014 8:36:42 GMT -6
Literally days away from buying either a Symphony or Apollo, this complicates my decision--but in a good way I guess. I just quickly scanned the info but my big questions so far are:
1. Are the line inputs a true bypass of the internal mic pres?
2. Is the conversion as good as Symphony? The info says "modeled after Symphony." I wish it said "same as Symphony."
3. Are there no onboard effects/DSP with the new Ensemble? If not, why? Even to have some simple comfort verb for tracking would be ideal--my MR816 had that years ago. I'll have to dig into the Ensemble specs more.
4. Of course the big question is what does this sound like? If it sounds truly great it could leap to the head of the class of small studio interfaces.
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Post by matt on Oct 7, 2014 8:43:31 GMT -6
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Post by cowboycoalminer on Oct 7, 2014 8:51:31 GMT -6
5k input inpedence on this new Ensemble. 10k on the Symphony. They will NOT sound the same. It will sound more like the Apollo IMO. Not a bad thing per say but looks like the Symphony will still be king.
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Post by tonycamphd on Oct 7, 2014 9:22:53 GMT -6
It won't sound like the symphony, their own website claims and specs bear that out. It will be a bit better sounding than anything currently in its class is my prediction. If antelope was smart, they'd step up the conversion in the Orion 32 and crush the market, they should have/could have done that to begin with imo, but they went with 8 channels per chip, lousy DR and noise spec. Apogee indeed went 8 channels on this, although it seems to spec better... at least on their site, I believe it though, the chips seem to get better and better. I'd like to see sabre data sheet, and of course hear the thing.
Maybe I'll get a listen at AES this weekend?
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Post by cowboycoalminer on Oct 7, 2014 13:36:49 GMT -6
Direct hardware monitoring through Apogee’s Maestro App with 0.6ms of latency. Ensemble’s proprietary Thunderbolt driver has been written from the ground up for Mac OS X Mavericks, resulting in unmatched performance and efficiency. Latency has been reduced to an astounding 1.1ms round-trip*, allowing you to monitor through your DAW, plug-ins included, simplifying your workflow and leveraging the power of your Mac.
Wow. Very impressive. The more I learn about it, the more I like.
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Post by RicFoxx on Oct 7, 2014 14:34:26 GMT -6
Direct hardware monitoring through Apogee’s Maestro App with 0.6ms of latency. Ensemble’s proprietary Thunderbolt driver has been written from the ground up for Mac OS X Mavericks, resulting in unmatched performance and efficiency. Latency has been reduced to an astounding 1.1ms round-trip*, allowing you to monitor through your DAW, plug-ins included, simplifying your workflow and leveraging the power of your Mac. Wow. Very impressive. The more I learn about it, the more I like. So in reality you could track while monitoring native plugs (not print!) That would be awesome but I have never been able to accomplish this!!! |
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Post by kcatthedog on Oct 7, 2014 14:45:38 GMT -6
Literally days away from buying either a Symphony or Apollo, this complicates my decision--but in a good way I guess. I just quickly scanned the info but my big questions so far are: 1. Are the line inputs a true bypass of the internal mic pres? 2. Is the conversion as good as Symphony? The info says "modeled after Symphony." I wish it said "same as Symphony." 3. Are there no onboard effects/DSP with the new Ensemble? If not, why? Even to have some simple comfort verb for tracking would be ideal--my MR816 had that years ago. I'll have to dig into the Ensemble specs more. 4. Of course the big question is what does this sound like? If it sounds truly great it could leap to the head of the class of small studio interfaces. i'd cool your jets for a bit an apollo mkii has got to be very close and I will be very surprised if it doesn't have 8 pres, quad or octal dsp, tbolt2 and better interface to other apollos and will have plugs included ua's new plug deal for standard apollo basically discounts it by almost 50% so the new apollo must be targetted to come in at around the $2,500 mark good time to be buying an interface ! |
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Post by Johnkenn on Oct 7, 2014 16:54:08 GMT -6
Yeah - they're not going to undercut their own flagship product, so I would assume it's a level below the symphony. I would venture to bet it sounds as good if not better than the apollo...
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Post by kcatthedog on Oct 7, 2014 17:15:09 GMT -6
hey JohnKenn, don't disagree but I had an apogee before my apollo and at that time they sounded very different, for me the apogee was a little too rich , but I have had the bla mod done for my apollo to flatten it out too  so certainly curious about the new ensemble ;looks like it punches above its weight class for sure ! |
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Post by Guitar on Oct 7, 2014 18:19:17 GMT -6
MAC ONLY is kind of a killer for us PC people. haha. Props to UA for doing both sides of the fence.
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Post by lpedrum on Oct 8, 2014 12:01:46 GMT -6
MAC ONLY is kind of a killer for us PC people. haha. Props to UA for doing both sides of the fence. Rumors of Apple upgrading the Mini Mac this month with 16 GB ram, large drives etc etc. If so, it could be a "reasonable" way to go Mac. I'm not anti PC though--I used it for years and had no problems recording with it. It was the virus and blue screen issues that drove me crazy on the PC. |
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Post by lpedrum on Oct 8, 2014 12:05:45 GMT -6
Literally days away from buying either a Symphony or Apollo, this complicates my decision--but in a good way I guess. I just quickly scanned the info but my big questions so far are: 1. Are the line inputs a true bypass of the internal mic pres? 2. Is the conversion as good as Symphony? The info says "modeled after Symphony." I wish it said "same as Symphony." 3. Are there no onboard effects/DSP with the new Ensemble? If not, why? Even to have some simple comfort verb for tracking would be ideal--my MR816 had that years ago. I'll have to dig into the Ensemble specs more. 4. Of course the big question is what does this sound like? If it sounds truly great it could leap to the head of the class of small studio interfaces. i'd cool your jets for a bit an apollo mkii has got to be very close and I will be very surprised if it doesn't have 8 pres, quad or octal dsp, tbolt2 and better interface to other apollos and will have plugs included ua's new plug deal for standard apollo basically discounts it by almost 50% so the new apollo must be targetted to come in at around the $2,500 mark good time to be buying an interface ! Jets have been cooling for months as I figure out which interface I want to upgrade to! Honestly, it's been the fuzziest gear purchase to understand that I've ever been involved in. But yes, this seems like a good time to buy as there are real upgrades happening. What and where are the Apollo upgrades you're hearing about? Is it a guess on your part or do you know somebody that knows somebody?…. |
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Post by popmann on Oct 8, 2014 12:37:51 GMT -6
Not supporting the Windows platform actually says something about the technical side of the device. It means they usually don't have a HAL** level driver. They're replying on class compliancy and Apple's CoreAudio to work....but, given past partnerships, I'd venture that Apogee has Apple employees (or EX) doing their driver dev.
I'm skeptical of "mac only" hardware--regardless of which I plan to use it on....and FWIW--I use Cubase because I DO use both OS platforms.
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Post by kcatthedog on Oct 8, 2014 17:21:15 GMT -6
i'd cool your jets for a bit an apollo mkii has got to be very close and I will be very surprised if it doesn't have 8 pres, quad or octal dsp, tbolt2 and better interface to other apollos and will have plugs included ua's new plug deal for standard apollo basically discounts it by almost 50% so the new apollo must be targetted to come in at around the $2,500 mark good time to be buying an interface ! Jets have been cooling for months as I figure out which interface I want to upgrade to! Honestly, it's been the fuzziest gear purchase to understand that I've ever been involved in. But yes, this seems like a good time to buy as there are real upgrades happening. What and where are the Apollo upgrades you're hearing about? Is it a guess on your part or do you know somebody that knows somebody?…. Complete speculation but its ( an octal apollo) has got to happen, maybe they won't do 8 pre's but I bet they will with new ensemble on teh market Ua is under pressure so maybe this week end, by christmas and not later than next spring !! |
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Post by Guitar on Oct 8, 2014 18:54:34 GMT -6
MAC ONLY is kind of a killer for us PC people. haha. Props to UA for doing both sides of the fence. Rumors of Apple upgrading the Mini Mac this month with 16 GB ram, large drives etc etc. If so, it could be a "reasonable" way to go Mac. I'm not anti PC though--I used it for years and had no problems recording with it. It was the virus and blue screen issues that drove me crazy on the PC. That's a good tip. The Mac Mini has indeed caught my eye. Depending on specs, etc, I could conceivably go Apple for my DAW down the line. I'm not a big fan of Windows crashes either. Although I rarely get them while recording. Maybe cubase will freeze up or crash once in a while during a crazy mixdown with a lot going on. |
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Post by LesC on Oct 8, 2014 20:10:49 GMT -6
I guess I've just been very lucky. I use my studio PC for music only, so I've never had any virus issues. And I've used various RME interfaces for many years, my last blue screen was years ago.
Having said that, it's too bad I can't even consider the Symphony, with Apogee's lack of PC support. They must know they're eliminating a part of their potential market, so there must be some reason for it. Is it that difficult to create a Windows driver? At least it seems Metric Halo will be an option in the near future.
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Post by lpedrum on Oct 9, 2014 8:25:09 GMT -6
Rumors of Apple upgrading the Mini Mac this month with 16 GB ram, large drives etc etc. If so, it could be a "reasonable" way to go Mac. I'm not anti PC though--I used it for years and had no problems recording with it. It was the virus and blue screen issues that drove me crazy on the PC. That's a good tip. The Mac Mini has indeed caught my eye. Depending on specs, etc, I could conceivably go Apple for my DAW down the line. I'm not a big fan of Windows crashes either. Although I rarely get them while recording. Maybe cubase will freeze up or crash once in a while during a crazy mixdown with a lot going on. Even right now one can buy a Mini Mac i7 with two drives, TB, and 16GB RAM, which sadly is more powerful than my 2010 Mac Pro. (the opposite of "future proof!") Shane at Alto Music (Dr. Koss) has been a longtime friend--I played music with him long before he got the Alto gig. He's been really helpful in understanding the computer part of the equation and suggested the Mini. There's an Apple event on Oct 16, and there's speculation that the Mini is ripe for an update. If I can get a souped up mini for under $1500 I'll go that route--I just can't get myself to plunk down the amount of cash they want for the new Mac Pro. By the way, I'm a Cubase user too with no desire to change--I only use Protools to consolidate files if needed. |
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Post by tonycamphd on Oct 9, 2014 8:58:09 GMT -6
That's a good tip. The Mac Mini has indeed caught my eye. Depending on specs, etc, I could conceivably go Apple for my DAW down the line. I'm not a big fan of Windows crashes either. Although I rarely get them while recording. Maybe cubase will freeze up or crash once in a while during a crazy mixdown with a lot going on. Even right now one can buy a Mini Mac i7 with two drives, TB, and 16GB RAM, which sadly is more powerful than my 2010 Mac Pro. (the opposite of "future proof!") Shane at Alto Music (Dr. Koss) has been a longtime friend--I played music with him long before he got the Alto gig. He's been really helpful in understanding the computer part of the equation and suggested the Mini. There's an Apple event on Oct 16, and there's speculation that the Mini is ripe for an update. If I can get a souped up mini for under $1500 I'll go that route--I just can't get myself to plunk down the amount of cash they want for the new Mac Pro. By the way, I'm a Cubase user too with no desire to change--I only use Protools to consolidate files if needed. What are the specs on ur 2010 macpro? |
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Post by cowboycoalminer on Oct 9, 2014 16:34:13 GMT -6
I guess I've just been very lucky. I use my studio PC for music only, so I've never had any virus issues. And I've used various RME interfaces for many years, my last blue screen was years ago. Having said that, it's too bad I can't even consider the Symphony, with Apogee's lack of PC support. They must know they're eliminating a part of their potential market, so there must be some reason for it. Is it that difficult to create a Windows driver? At least it seems Metric Halo will be an option in the near future. Les you can still use a Symphony easily with a PC. RME MADI card and your good to go. Run the Symphony as a standalone converter.  |
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Post by RicFoxx on Oct 9, 2014 17:08:09 GMT -6
Just put an order in for one!
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Post by LesC on Oct 9, 2014 17:33:57 GMT -6
I guess I've just been very lucky. I use my studio PC for music only, so I've never had any virus issues. And I've used various RME interfaces for many years, my last blue screen was years ago. Having said that, it's too bad I can't even consider the Symphony, with Apogee's lack of PC support. They must know they're eliminating a part of their potential market, so there must be some reason for it. Is it that difficult to create a Windows driver? At least it seems Metric Halo will be an option in the near future. Les you can still use a Symphony easily with a PC. RME MADI card and your good to go. Run the Symphony as a standalone converter. Thanks Cowboy, yes I know the Symphony can be run standalone, but I think a temporary Mac connection is needed for configuration. In any case, I prefer supporting a PC-friendly company. With the new interfaces from Lynx, Antelope, Metric Halo, and others, my only problem will be picking the one I like best. In the mean time, I'll suffer with the Burl ADC and Dangerous DAC connected via RME UFX over usb. |
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Post by popmann on Oct 9, 2014 18:40:14 GMT -6
Yeah, I complained loudly about that. Was planning to buy a 16x rig INSTEAD....it's not just a mac vs PC thing--as I use both (though I guess that's functionally an issue as this would count one out)....it's that ANY piece of hardware that needs consumer OS software to configure it is as disposable tech as the computer it's plugged up to. Will there be people hoarding "vintage" i5 MAcBooks to keep with their $15k Symphony systems? "Hey--fire up that old laptop and adjust the input trim on output 30 and 31...."
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Post by ericn on Oct 10, 2014 21:41:23 GMT -6
Yeah, I complained loudly about that. Was planning to buy a 16x rig INSTEAD....it's not just a mac vs PC thing--as I use both (though I guess that's functionally an issue as this would count one out)....it's that ANY piece of hardware that needs consumer OS software to configure it is as disposable tech as the computer it's plugged up to. Will there be people hoarding "vintage" i5 MAcBooks to keep with their $15k Symphony systems? "Hey--fire up that old laptop and adjust the input trim on output 30 and 31...." Part of why I went with AES based converters and Digi AES boxes I love my Panasonic Converters , and Pretty much every system has a a way to get 32 ch of AES I /O , That may change now with MADI and Dante, but a lot of broadcast had a ton of AES still! |
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Post by Jason on Oct 11, 2014 19:50:33 GMT -6
As a frustrated Apollo user who finds UAD's plugs not very cost effective, I'd sure like to hear/see more about monitoring in real-time with native plugs through my DAW with the new Ensemble.
I'm still skeptical, although I have no doubt the box sounds very good; and, as and aside, I wish UAD would consider some sort of subscription-based service for their plugs...
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