If we had to help you choose, it might come off as a little biased :) But either one is a great option. The office's favorite is the Symphony Desktop due to the flagship conversion you are getting from our Symphony Mk II line. If your primary focus is mixing and mastering, then having quality converters is one of the main things you should be focusing on and will have a massive impact on your work.
What about the conversion in the Apogee Duet 3 USB-C Audio Interface? Is it the same as the Symphony? Looking for a bus powered unit for tracking and mixing.
I recently switched to an RME Fireface UCX II and it is hands down the best audio interface i ever used. Drivers are so good and routing a dream. So i'd vote for the Babyface by RME.
Excuse me ser. Is that any quality difference between RME baby face pro fs and RME UCX ii ? For example converting. Can you tell me please difference. I am mixing engineer ,i will use for mixing))
@@Dj.Amirchik The UCX II has more inputs and outputs and can act as a standallone device for live performance. The Babyface is the only RME interface that can be powered through USB or a power supply, making it ideal for a mobile setup. Quality wise, i am sure you'll be very happy with either one of them.
Apogee commenting and choosing the symphony 😂😂😂 . I own a symphony. It’s been solid it sounds the best. I’d choose RME if the usb bus power was a must have. If not symphony .
when you buy any gear for your studio you should always take a demo and try it out yourself coz everyone has different ears and taste so you cannot get best suggestion by asking from others, in this price range you have 3 best options 1. RME babyface pro fs, RME UCX ii and Symphony desktop but both brands has bit different sound and conversion so see if you can listen them before buying that would be best for you, after having demo buy which you feel is right for you and do not forget to share your experience so that it can also help others too. In my opinion the best value for money audio interface in this price range is RME UCX ii. all the best cheers!
I've owned both and used both for recording and mixing. The Apogee went bad after a few years, so I dumped it and switched to RME. My vote is RME 100%, clean as a whistle and solid as a rock, not to mention Totalmix that comes with it for no additional cost is incredibly deep and versatile.
I have a ufx+ and a babyface pro fs. So I’m a bit of an RME fan boy. And you probably already made your decision at this point. But I would say if you’re not planning on doing mobile work, I personally would find the baby face to be annoying. Not because it’s not great and it is, but I look at it in the sense that it is a desktop units in a mobile setting. It’s not that big of a deal. You’ll use it pack it up and be done with it. If it’s gonna be your main unit that you’re gonna actually sit on your desk that’s gonna be there all the time I would find out annoying. Because you’re going to have your monitors chords hanging out the back of it and depending on where you have it sitting those porch can take up a lot of desktop space. Then you’re gonna have the headphone coming out the right side so I recommend trying to find an L-shaped headphone adapter kinda slim it down a little. And then if you decide you want to grow even more and use the AA then you got wires coming out the left side. So for like a stationary desktop audio interface, it really does take up a lot of space in the grand scheme of things. If I was going to continue to stick with RE and you said the $500 doesn’t make that big deal I would spend a little bit more and get like a UCX. That way it is a audio interface that meant to be on the desk in the majority of everything is gonna be hanging out the back you would put it at the back of your desk so that way it’s not taking up much space. But then you only have to worry about essentially I headphone wire coming out the front or a microphone cable. Typically those aren’t something you have plugged in all the time so it’s not like a big deal.
I have been using the Apogee symphony Desktop for over 1 year. It has a very clear sound, the preamps are powerful, do not distort and have little background noise. it gets quite warm but not too hot. I use it to record mostly classical music. Sometimes in multitrack with the RME Octamic II connected by Adat. I use an iPad Pro M1, with the Apogee App for 2 mics and in case of more microphones I use Auria Pro, which in the last recording failed and recorded as if in slow motion, I could not find the reason for the failure. In the Conservatory where I work they have bought the RME Baby face Pro so I will soon try it and even compare them.
Интересно какую карту в итоге выбрал? Понимаю, что выбор уже был сделан, но все равно напишу свои мысли... Может кому то поможет?!... Если DSP не нужен и предназначение только в микшировании, то какая разница какая карта? Все микширование происходит внутри DAW, карта ни на что не влияет. Разве что только на качество мониторинга. Но все карты дороже 500$ звучат очень хорошо... Так что не понимаю зачем делать выбор именно из этих двух? Для микширования подойдет любая... У меня например, есть Apodgee Duet звучит великолепно. И так же есть Audient iD4 mk2 которая стоит копейки. Она на столько простая и надежная, не прихотливая и дешевая... И самое главное, она звучит не хуже чем Apogee Duet. На каждый день для мониторинга или записи 1 микрофона раз в месяц - мне ее хватает за глаза. Так что, может оно того и не стоит? Я имею в виду тратить 1500$
I had an Apogee Quartet, have a RME Babyface Pro an MOTU M4. I record mostly nylon guitar with 2 mics and synths. I only record on iOS (Cubasis & Multitrack DAW). My 2 cents: RME and Apogee were on the same level sonically. However, the Apogee recordings had a ready to mix (musical) feeling to them. I was worried about the Quartet OLED giving out, that's why I sold it. The MOTU M4 is very nice to operate (e.g. stereo linking by long-pressing MON1 button) without an app. I find the beed for a powered hub annoying, the M6 or ULMK5 would cure that, though. Sound quality is ok, however DAC headphone monitoring AKG Q701 & old 240 DF) can sound a bit boxy. Was better on Apogee and RME. Looking for ideas: Really looking for a new interface. The Apogee Symphony Desktop is visually the sexiest interface I know. Would also consider UCX II, MOTU M6 or UltraLite, Sound devices MixPre6, ...?? Requirements (iOS, preferably no app for control necessary, 2-4 HQ mic pres, 2-4 Line in, HiZ, DSP optional). Any ideas/suggestions?
I would say RME I recently let go of my ensemble and picked up a ufx 2 its an awesome piece of gear. I have always like apogee but you definitely can’t go wrong with RME
I took the plunge with the RME ucx ii with an arc controller you should compare the baby face to the fireface ucx, apogee sounds great and both pre and mic amps are great. I chose the ucx over babyface and TotalMix is a big learning curve for me. As a windows fan and user, streamlined usage with RME on W11. Set up and running great.
It always comes down to these companies for me. I think the Apogee sounds better but if you're planning on keeping this interface forever pick the RME.
Hi there in regard to your request I know it’s been five months now that you post this video but if you didn’t choose yet, I’m a share with you my experience with my apogee Symphony desktop ….. To make it short, microphone preamps are excellent …… headphones preamp you can feed as much as 600 ohm and you have the power that goes with it, balanced, and unbalanced headphones, so if you mix /track, and you need good preamps for your headphones or monitors you have what it takes with the apogee …. The apogee makes my day each time I use it ….. good luck. I hope this will help.(if you are a very analytic person with your headphones, the apogee is very accurate. If you look for detail, you will have detail with a good set of headphones.) if you have any questions I’m around. ooo and it is good to go withe apple ad windows.
I have both, the Symphony Desktop just sounds better to me, more vivid and exciting sounding, ive tried on vocals and guitar. The Babyface is fine but it's duller and less 3D sounding, you need to put more effort in to mixing what you record to make it nicer. Only reason I'm here is to look to see Babyface vs Apogee Duet 3 comparisons. I like the ease of bus powered but i think i might prefer the Apogee sound now
I’m still on the fence about UA on windows. They literally said Luna was going to be available on Windows, and then they took it off of their website and we’ve heard nothing about it. 🤷🏼♂️
@TheCreativeWade I get what you mean, but I don't think it's an issue. Maybe they need more time to work on the daw for Windows. I actually was glad to see they made a twin x usb version for windows because the thunderbolt version wasn't compatible with windows. But either way, since you insist that using dsp isn't a priority then you should just go with Rme babyface pro fs.
If just for mixing, why not check the RME adi-2 line? I wouldn’t trust apogee drivers especially on windows. In my experience they are way behind all the other big name interface companies with drivers. Their duet three was nothing but a headache for me on a mac. I hate to say it, Because I’ve had apogee products in the past that I’ve absolutely loved. I hope they start to turn it around because their hardware is amazing
Which one would you buy? And if you already have one, what do you think of it?
Bro which one did you choose??? You have tested , please say us your opinion 🙏
wtf Josh, you wanted help from us making a choice, help us out now, say what choice you made & how it's going
If we had to help you choose, it might come off as a little biased :) But either one is a great option. The office's favorite is the Symphony Desktop due to the flagship conversion you are getting from our Symphony Mk II line. If your primary focus is mixing and mastering, then having quality converters is one of the main things you should be focusing on and will have a massive impact on your work.
What about the conversion in the Apogee Duet 3 USB-C Audio Interface? Is it the same as the Symphony? Looking for a bus powered unit for tracking and mixing.
@v3zMedia I tried to reach out to Apogee for a test unit, but they never replied. 🤷🏼♂️
@@joshuabutlermusic Wow what a missed opportunity for them.
@@v3zMedia Trust me, I wanted to test the symphony desktop. Lol
@@joshuabutlermusic Where did you contact them?
I recently switched to an RME Fireface UCX II and it is hands down the best audio interface i ever used. Drivers are so good and routing a dream. So i'd vote for the Babyface by RME.
Excuse me ser. Is that any quality difference between RME baby face pro fs and RME UCX ii ? For example converting. Can you tell me please difference. I am mixing engineer ,i will use for mixing))
@@Dj.Amirchik The UCX II has more inputs and outputs and can act as a standallone device for live performance. The Babyface is the only RME interface that can be powered through USB or a power supply, making it ideal for a mobile setup. Quality wise, i am sure you'll be very happy with either one of them.
Apogee commenting and choosing the symphony 😂😂😂 . I own a symphony. It’s been solid it sounds the best. I’d choose RME if the usb bus power was a must have. If not symphony .
If it helps. I made a upgrade to RME UFX III this year and very happy with it and love TotalMix software!!!
I've heard nothing but great things about TotalMix. RME really seam to have the software and driver game figured out.
when you buy any gear for your studio you should always take a demo and try it out yourself coz everyone has different ears and taste so you cannot get best suggestion by asking from others, in this price range you have 3 best options 1. RME babyface pro fs, RME UCX ii and Symphony desktop but both brands has bit different sound and conversion so see if you can listen them before buying that would be best for you, after having demo buy which you feel is right for you and do not forget to share your experience so that it can also help others too. In my opinion the best value for money audio interface in this price range is RME UCX ii. all the best cheers!
I've owned both and used both for recording and mixing. The Apogee went bad after a few years, so I dumped it and switched to RME. My vote is RME 100%, clean as a whistle and solid as a rock, not to mention Totalmix that comes with it for no additional cost is incredibly deep and versatile.
I have a ufx+ and a babyface pro fs. So I’m a bit of an RME fan boy. And you probably already made your decision at this point. But I would say if you’re not planning on doing mobile work, I personally would find the baby face to be annoying. Not because it’s not great and it is, but I look at it in the sense that it is a desktop units in a mobile setting. It’s not that big of a deal. You’ll use it pack it up and be done with it. If it’s gonna be your main unit that you’re gonna actually sit on your desk that’s gonna be there all the time I would find out annoying. Because you’re going to have your monitors chords hanging out the back of it and depending on where you have it sitting those porch can take up a lot of desktop space. Then you’re gonna have the headphone coming out the right side so I recommend trying to find an L-shaped headphone adapter kinda slim it down a little. And then if you decide you want to grow even more and use the AA then you got wires coming out the left side. So for like a stationary desktop audio interface, it really does take up a lot of space in the grand scheme of things. If I was going to continue to stick with RE and you said the $500 doesn’t make that big deal I would spend a little bit more and get like a UCX. That way it is a audio interface that meant to be on the desk in the majority of everything is gonna be hanging out the back you would put it at the back of your desk so that way it’s not taking up much space. But then you only have to worry about essentially I headphone wire coming out the front or a microphone cable. Typically those aren’t something you have plugged in all the time so it’s not like a big deal.
I have been using the Apogee symphony Desktop for over 1 year. It has a very clear sound, the preamps are powerful, do not distort and have little background noise. it gets quite warm but not too hot. I use it to record mostly classical music. Sometimes in multitrack with the RME Octamic II connected by Adat. I use an iPad Pro M1, with the Apogee App for 2 mics and in case of more microphones I use Auria Pro, which in the last recording failed and recorded as if in slow motion, I could not find the reason for the failure. In the Conservatory where I work they have bought the RME Baby face Pro so I will soon try it and even compare them.
@josmardon Hi,did you compared them?
Hi did you compare ?))
Интересно какую карту в итоге выбрал? Понимаю, что выбор уже был сделан, но все равно напишу свои мысли... Может кому то поможет?!... Если DSP не нужен и предназначение только в микшировании, то какая разница какая карта? Все микширование происходит внутри DAW, карта ни на что не влияет. Разве что только на качество мониторинга. Но все карты дороже 500$ звучат очень хорошо... Так что не понимаю зачем делать выбор именно из этих двух? Для микширования подойдет любая... У меня например, есть Apodgee Duet звучит великолепно. И так же есть Audient iD4 mk2 которая стоит копейки. Она на столько простая и надежная, не прихотливая и дешевая... И самое главное, она звучит не хуже чем Apogee Duet. На каждый день для мониторинга или записи 1 микрофона раз в месяц - мне ее хватает за глаза. Так что, может оно того и не стоит? Я имею в виду тратить 1500$
I had an Apogee Quartet, have a RME Babyface Pro an MOTU M4. I record mostly nylon guitar with 2 mics and synths. I only record on iOS (Cubasis & Multitrack DAW).
My 2 cents:
RME and Apogee were on the same level sonically. However, the Apogee recordings had a ready to mix (musical) feeling to them. I was worried about the Quartet OLED giving out, that's why I sold it. The MOTU M4 is very nice to operate (e.g. stereo linking by long-pressing MON1 button) without an app. I find the beed for a powered hub annoying, the M6 or ULMK5 would cure that, though. Sound quality is ok, however DAC headphone monitoring AKG Q701 & old 240 DF) can sound a bit boxy. Was better on Apogee and RME.
Looking for ideas:
Really looking for a new interface. The Apogee Symphony Desktop is visually the sexiest interface I know. Would also consider UCX II, MOTU M6 or UltraLite, Sound devices MixPre6, ...?? Requirements (iOS, preferably no app for control necessary, 2-4 HQ mic pres, 2-4 Line in, HiZ, DSP optional). Any ideas/suggestions?
Thanx mate you helped me!
I would say RME I recently let go of my ensemble and picked up a ufx 2 its an awesome piece of gear. I have always like apogee but you definitely can’t go wrong with RME
I took the plunge with the RME ucx ii with an arc controller you should compare the baby face to the fireface ucx, apogee sounds great and both pre and mic amps are great. I chose the ucx over babyface and TotalMix is a big learning curve for me. As a windows fan and user, streamlined usage with RME on W11. Set up and running great.
Apogee forever
Take a look at the Neumann Mt48.
Rme! why? Drivers! I have never had a problem with RME interfaces. They have fantastic support, even for older devices.
It always comes down to these companies for me. I think the Apogee sounds better but if you're planning on keeping this interface forever pick the RME.
Symphony.
Hi there in regard to your request I know it’s been five months now that you post this video but if you didn’t choose yet, I’m a share with you my experience with my apogee Symphony desktop …..
To make it short, microphone preamps are excellent …… headphones preamp you can feed as much as 600 ohm and you have the power that goes with it, balanced, and unbalanced headphones, so if you mix /track, and you need good preamps for your headphones or monitors you have what it takes with the apogee ….
The apogee makes my day each time I use it ….. good luck. I hope this will help.(if you are a very analytic person with your headphones, the apogee is very accurate. If you look for detail, you will have detail with a good set of headphones.) if you have any questions I’m around. ooo and it is good to go withe apple ad windows.
I have both, the Symphony Desktop just sounds better to me, more vivid and exciting sounding, ive tried on vocals and guitar. The Babyface is fine but it's duller and less 3D sounding, you need to put more effort in to mixing what you record to make it nicer. Only reason I'm here is to look to see Babyface vs Apogee Duet 3 comparisons. I like the ease of bus powered but i think i might prefer the Apogee sound now
Universal audio twin x has a USB version now
I’m still on the fence about UA on windows. They literally said Luna was going to be available on Windows, and then they took it off of their website and we’ve heard nothing about it. 🤷🏼♂️
This post was not meant to be about a DAW, but it kind of sits uneasy with me about where their focus is.
@TheCreativeWade I get what you mean, but I don't think it's an issue. Maybe they need more time to work on the daw for Windows. I actually was glad to see they made a twin x usb version for windows because the thunderbolt version wasn't compatible with windows. But either way, since you insist that using dsp isn't a priority then you should just go with Rme babyface pro fs.
If just for mixing, why not check the RME adi-2 line? I wouldn’t trust apogee drivers especially on windows. In my experience they are way behind all the other big name interface companies with drivers. Their duet three was nothing but a headache for me on a mac. I hate to say it, Because I’ve had apogee products in the past that I’ve absolutely loved. I hope they start to turn it around because their hardware is amazing
@@TheMrCull I was looking at that interface also. I’m leaning towards RME for sure. But UA did just come out with the USB apollo X…… 🤔 lol
RME 100%
I have a video out about testing the Apollo and I choose the RME over both apogee and Apollo. This interface is amazing. Lol
The apogee sounds better and looks better lol