UPDATE: So after a few people reccomended to switch off thunderbolt security via BIOS I am happy to tell you that with that off and if you let the apollo do its own start up (20 secs) before switching on the PC the apollo has been connecting first time on start up 🤓 FYI just to be clear when I mention -135dbfs when talking about the apollo I am referring to THD.. NOT dynamic range, which the manual states is 129dbA DR (that's A-weighted, not unweighted) What is the most you would pay for an interface?? 🤓
Not UAD with their support and windows problems. I'd better buy RME Fireface 802 or even Motu 828+FW PCIE card for dirt cheap for better drivers and freedom from overpriced hardware-based plugins. Has UAD-2 Pcie which stopped working with new AMD chips and no intent to adress the problem. So some mixes had to be redone with soft plugs. Not making that mistake again
I got an X6, spent a week with it, sent it to black lion for the full-on premium mod with XB clock. Sounded a lot more open and relaxed. Then i plugged a Burl B2 dac into it. My God. Then i got the adc b2. My God.. Burl is def on another level even after the mod.
I traded my Apollo x16 for a Burl Mothership. I really liked the Apollo for what it was. I tried the Apollo Quad and I still own an Apollo Duo. I felt the Burl Mothership just sounded better to my ears when tracking guitars and other live instruments. The Apollo is a hell of a deal and would enhance any home studio setup.
I'm way deep in the UA Apollo ecosystem. Have multiple units (including an original Silverface Quad I bought in 2012) and use LUNA as my tracking and mixing DAW (former PT user). I track with a combo of outboard analog preamps to the line ins and the Unison pres. My preferred is the API Vision ch strip but also love the 610-B (I own several others including the 1073). I also recent expanded my INs with a EVO SP8, really loving it. Run everything on Mac and mostly runs with no issues.
@@Rhuggins When you say conversion, do you mean the sound in comparison to going straight into my Apollo? I've not done any hardcore comparison between the two, but to my ears it's quite good. And, in a dense mix I'd be surprised if you could tell any difference. Kristian Kohle (Kohlekeller Studio) does a really good compare between his standard setup (API pres, SSL converters) vs EVO 16 and SP8 setup. You should check it out -- title of vid is "HIGH END vs AFFORDABLE Audio Interface".
as someone that has a silver face apollo twin duo (ancient by todays standards) i can personally attest for the value. mine is almost a DECADE old and has been reliable. it’s only now showing signs of breaking down but i believe that’s more on my 2015 macbooks power handling, as i’m replacing the bloated battery in a few days 😅. came in expecting you to light UA on fire with mock joy but came away even more satisfied with my investment. just waiting for NAMM now to see how i’ll be replacing it. cheers, Paul.
Got that interface and love it. To avoid any TB problems, I put a Gibabyte Designare in my PC build. It's got two native TB ports, so no need for a pesky pci card...
hi, I have this motherboard: Gigabyte Z390 DESIGNARE (rev. 1.0) it happens to me that Apollo X6 give me a medium sound with very little space/air, even if I listen to the music file on the iPhone, car radio etc, from you sounds good? Thank you
@@linomarino9751 I also have an x6 and that motherboard. Don't have any issue with the depth or quality of my mixes. Compared to other pro setups I've used, quality is great, actually. Your problem is probably due to other factors - mixing technique, use of plugins, mastering, etc.
Great video. Paul Third is really the only guy out there doing these types of reports who is consistently well researched with a full technical understanding in his statements and opinions. And he’s fun to listen to!
I use my x8p with an Audient for my mobile rig for 16 channels total. I think the Apollo is really great for this. I don't like the D/A as much as my Lynx Aurora (n) but I do like the A to D. With the various Unison preamps I can tailor the sound to the type of music I am working on. Really a great system.
Started on a PCI 8 channel PC interface in 2001- then Steinberg 2010 - then Focusrite2016 - bought the Cranborne pair of 500 series racks 2019 - and now have ended up with The SSL Big Six as I also wanted a console workflow. So, to answer your quire, the SSL was $3800 CND Love your video style. No sequitur: My parents were from Ayr!
Hey Paul, love your vids, try the Lynx Aurora (n) converter, took me 10 years to find a converter that is transparent and fast and this is it. I was horrendously disappointed by cranesong's quantum tech, which so far has the fastest transient response (Lynx is very close to it though) but their converters introduce a sound, such as the UAD does, heavily. If you want a positive shock, rent the Aurora (n).
While in the depths of UAD ownership I really liked the 1073 and 610 unison though a few years later after upgrading to 1073LB and 1073N, I found that preferred the result of tracking through the hardware versions. I found the price of plugins and advertising as much as I love the ads they are brilliant. The Apollo was feeling like more of a dongle to the plugins and I didnt like the need to be connected to to work on anything with the plugins etc. I do think the X6 looks great but i have long exited the echosystem.
I'm in the exact same place now where I'm on the verge of selling the X6 and switching to evo 16 because of all the limitations. Windows startup issue still exists. I can't get 16 channels over ADAT at 48k. I can't loop back for streaming without a convoluted setup that causes too much latency, I don't use the UA plugins for tracking (I have a Golden Age Premier 1073 and some 500 series channel strips) and I hate the DAC conversion to speakers as its so muddy and cloudy. Its essentially just a clunky paperweight linking my live room and the other 500 series lunchbox. I really like the UA verbs but I could just find alternatives. The dsp is handy but I just need to make do and chill out on my sessions I couldn't care what people say cause there is no beneficial difference in Modern ADC and I have arguably one of the best DAC's for monitoring in the topping dx7 pro+ I've got amazing mics and the evo preamps are super clean, and Ive got one of the best 1073 remakes money can buy.. I just don't need to worry
I'm glad you weren't 100% "fan boy" like most UAD users - I've never owned a "perfect" piece of gear. Currently I have the Antelope Audio Discrete 8... more ins/outs, 8 mic/line preamps, realtime DSP and a re-amp connections (also doesn't mind being a Windows audio port). As for the SPDIF I'm sure you've heard enough about how it is 100% digital... that's the beauty of digital - no audio is involved just 0s and 1s! SPDIF coax is more common on studio gear whereas TOS optical on HiFi. Signal is identical, although apparently TOS is more prone to jitter 😎
First off great video! Love the detail about it that most people over look. Apollo user for a few years a now. I have the x8p and it DOES have optical spdif. the issue is that it’s a bit hard to find (you gotta go into settings in the console i think). Though it may just be that model that doesn’t have optical spdif because it has the coaxial? Since my interface doesn’t have coaxial spdif. To me it’s not too big of a deal honestly. The UAD unison pres are insanely good. I have a hardware BAE 1028 (neve 1084 with more mid EQ points). Also the whole windows vs Mac problem is just that Mac in so many ways is better for audio. There are very few interfaces that have good drivers and work great on windows. RME is probably the best there. But the better interfaces just work on Mac. That being said these days most windows issues can be fixed. Hoping you can find the solution for it. Now when it comes to streaming and stuff, i think the Apollo is the BEST option. It just requires a bit of setup, which once again is easier to do on a Mac. Glad you figured it out, but honestly this is literally almost any interface. Now what is amazing about the Apollo is that you can have all those amazing UAD plugins on it and NOT have to open a DAW to improve your sound. It’s a game changer for me and streaming. On a Mac you just need to have your regular desktop audio go through the virtual channel 1-2 and send those to an aux bus and have the aux bus as channels 1-2 in your routing matrix. And that essentially becomes what most programs will listen for. Windows just sucks for audio. Most people need voice meter or use ‘reastream’ to get stuff to work properly in OBS/zoom. I hate how windows hasn’t improved their audio stuff yet. But yeah the Apollo imo is worth it just for the DSP on input.
Yeah windows is definitely all about USB. Ive never had these kind of issues before until using thunderbolt. I'd say the best streaming interface I've used is the presonus revelator io24 as its primarily set up for that function and you can get daw audio, desktop, microphone, fat channel dsp etc off the bat really easy but now I've got the apollo setup with Jack router and voicemeter it genuinely only takes me 3 clicks BUT getting to that point was an ABSOLUTE PAIN IN THE HOOP!! haha
@@PaulThird I haven’t heard anything good about presonus other than their quantum (because of its routing capabilities and I/o for the price). It’s always rme if you have pc and Apollo if you have Mac for this price point. And sometimes the focusrite clarette series. In general though macs have incredible audio drivers I started on pc and would get frustrated constantly. Ever since going to Mac 15 years ago it’s been an easier time overall and lately the power is just nuts (cause I can hook up multiple interfaces and have it all talk to each other and the daw). Pc is better for streaming though. So I gotta use both in the end. That being said my one big gripe about the Apollo series is it is weird to use console at first and I wish they had a more traditional routing matrix. Getting signal to zoom and obs was annoying when I first set it up. But after it is setup it is easier. I feel like they need to do a huge console software overhaul and make it a bit more windows compatible. They haven’t done much with it in the last decade.still the 0 latency top of the line plugins without the need of a daw is such a godsend! Can’t go back.
Paul few things to mention. If you route mic in I O matrix to input 1 and 2 and output as 1 and 2 you should not have issues (IllgatesMusic -UAD Console Streaming and Routing Tutorial) RME also have dsp but what you get depends on the hardware you have. Price of 1800 pounds is irrelevant if you need a budget solution there are plenty of them out there. I was not impressed by the converters and headphone out and main out of the UAD and preferred my rme babyface pro FS. When I switched to Mac I could tell a difference in the sound of my uad and it keeps me happy. I have had the LCD-X since their release date pretty much have had no issues with the headphone out of my uad, I have Resonance labs Concero hp to AB as well as the Babyface pro FS and hear no issues or degradation in the sound quality through the headphone out.
Coaxial S/PDIF is still an all digital format 🤔 Good video. I love the UAD stuff. The Unison thing is legit and yeah, that Neve preamp is one of the top for sure.
Tbh I dunno where I've got confused with that one. I either read somewhere that optical spidf was a purer digital signal or somebody told me that cause you have to use a 75 ohm RCA cable over copper it can introduce noise into the signal. Maybe that's what it was 🤷♂️
X16 owner whose had virtually nothing but a smooth ride with it! Was a huge upgrade from the last home studio interface. Perfectly happy with the value for the money compared to getting an HDX system for close to $10k haha
Good review ! I have been PC- Apollo user for 8 years and the connectivity was a thing at first un tell I got the BIOS right but more importantly to turn on the apollo first then the computer. I found that solution on there website years ago. The other issue I have faced loosing thunderbolt connection maybe once a year for no reason meaning everything's been checked cables, updates etc. was harder to solve and the solution to this is to disconnect everything from your computer especially the power !DUH! and remove the thunder bolt card form your PC and put it back in and now when you connect everything the way it was it will see the thunder bolt. I got that tip from a very Knowledgeable Sweet Water TECH it saved me many times. I don't know why it works but he also described it as a restart of the HANDSHAKE I hope this helps somebody !
I have been a UA Apollo user for a long time. The biggist issue for me is the lack of advanced routing. The UA mixer style interface is great for new users but less so for advanced. I do still believe in DSP and keep it (yes, I sold the others) for that investment. Oh, and I am a Windows user. Yep, UA Windows support has improved but is less than sellar to date.
Try increasing your sample rate over 8000 on your daw and 9600 on your pc if you want to use any other software with the Apollo. This worked for me because, for whatever reason, it doesn't work with a sample rate of 44 or 48 on pc just on Mac
Hey Paul, cool video. A few comments about Thunderbolt (TB) and Windows. I too had connectivity issues like you discussed when using a motherboard that came with a TB PCIe card. It was so bad, after reading the suggestion somewhere, I ended up dumping the motherboard for one that had onboard TB (the Asrock X299 Creator) and from that point on the connectivity was solid. That said, there are TB settings in the BIOS that if set incorrectly can lead to inconsistent connectivity. In addition, finding the right TB drivers proved elusive and there seem to be two sets for different use cases. For me, once I had the BIOS settings correct and was using the correct drivers, the unit connected automatically every time. No issues. But, having switched back to Mac, I can say the Apollo performs MUCH better on it. For example, I can run CPU intensive guitar sims (e.g., Neural DSP stuff) in real time with a buffer setting of 16 (which isn't even available in Windows); on Windows, I couldn't run lower than 256 without CPU spikes. Even running CPU intensive projects, the Apollo simply does much better on Mac (meaning lower latencies without dropouts). Having gone through massive pains trying to get the Apollo to work consistently and minding the massive performance different between Windows and Mac, had I stuck with a PC I would have, without a doubt, regretted selling my RME UFX as I was able to use it at much lower latencies and the performance was considerably more consistent.
Hi Paul - Great video. I have the Apollo X4. I heard your point on the Thunderbolt interface for Windows. The issue is the thunderbolt card and motherboard have to be compatible. That is, the motherboard has to be built to accept a thunderbolt card. The solution - I got a custom built Windows computer with thunderbolt built in. Yeah, it cost a bunch of $$, but I figured I was going to record in 24/96 and wanted a whole bunch of tracks, so I better build an industrial strength computer. Anyway, It works great and establishes the handshake every time. Totally seamless. I had the same problem using the X4 as an interface for making youtube videos. In the end UA told me to use an line-out from the X4 routed via a cable into the analog line-in of my audio card on the computer. Yes, it's analog and not digital, but for youtube or other streaming uses, it's fine. And I use all my plugins and preamp stuff for the videos. No extra clicks or software required. Thanks again!
I spent about $2k making an AMD 5900X with a Gigabyte Vision DP motherboard build and I didn't research and I never got it to connect the interface even though it had an intel licensed thunderbolt 4 onboard the motherboard. So I gave up and spent another $2k to make an MSI MEG Z690 motherboard/Intel I9-13900K build and have never had an issue with connection since. For some reason UAD and AMD Machine code do not mesh very well. Switching to intel I never have to reset or do any tricks to make it work. Intel is the way for Apollo from experience
1:44 So many missing on the chart. Its almost like coming 3rd in running race where so many just walk... but glad Soundblaster made it .. Beer though nose
I also use an TB3 Apollo with Windows. I had the same issue with my computer not recognizing/connecting the Apollo from time. I found that if i went into my BIOS, selected the Thunderbolt settings, and tuned OFF the Thunderbolt Security Settings, my computer would recognize the Apollo every time. Not sure if you tried this, but it worked for me!
I'll try cause somebody else mentioned it but as long as its just as simple as turning off the thunderbolt security settings then I'll do it. If I fuck my computer I'll have an absolute meltdown 🤣
@@PaulThird LOL you should be good. You should only have to make the one change, nothing else. In my BIOS it was under Advanced, Thunderbolt Configuration, Security Level. I had to change mine from User Authorization to No Security.
It would be nice if they made a Mic box with UNISON and their DSP inside, a couple of hardware controllers on the front, USB and wifi/bluetooth for control via App/client software. ADAT/SMUX for connecting to any interface. They could even expand it to 3 models, the entry level offering, 1-2 Unison preamps, entry level dsp, mid level offering with 2 Unison preamps, and more DSP, and a 4 UNISON preamp version. It could be a great way to introduce new customers to their Unison Preamps and the DSP. And they could probably sell a bunch to podcasters, as it can run various DSP effects on it, to deal with various issued in the chain. If it comes with analog outputs as well, it could connect to a bunch of different recording solutions, but of course, then Universal Audio, would have not control over the inputs of that other equipment to ensure the purest signal, for studio work so it would not be recommended for that. It would also be nice if at least the mid level and top level could possibly come with outputs that can run DSP on them, for Room/speaker correction, and possibly headphone correction (at a different output (with or without amp)). Both Adam and fluid now that can run Sonarworks correction curves on their built in DSP. But for the rest of us, it would be nice to have it in a box that doesn't tax the CPU and also and is always only in the monitor feed, no matter how one's daw works in regard to separate monitor feed. I would probably never buy a DSP powered interface (if doesn't run standard plugins), to run things that aren't in my direct recording path or playback path (primarily preamp, perhaps a compressor, in some cases perhaps mic modelling, but I would probably want the option to tweak it afterwards) . I don't want to be locked in to an ecosystem, as innovation is usually found by looking at different companies, and Universal audio, is not exactly know for the most innovativ plugins. I could perhaps be won over, it if came with some really cool synths that otherwise would be very taxing on the CPU (so perhaps softtube modular would be able to get me thinking about it, but I still feel that platforms is a bit limited as I would not turn to modular all the time) but I think for any taxing synth to really peak my interest, it would probably have to have support for samples, and that would require quite a bit of RAM/diskstreaming within the unit. As they are, Apollos are too expensive for what they would give me, considering the drawbacks, and then they hardly come with any DSP effect to begin with, so before you get anything meaningful out of them, you need to spend additional money on DSP effects. I hope presonus brings back their quantum interfaces, because the latency performance seemed really good on those. And the 4848, had potential for people with modular/semi-modular synths, for sending CV signals. And if CV gets more common in greater numbers on interfaces, I could see some hardware makers start using it on their audio processing units, for high resolution automation of parameters, and with that some extent analog patch recall.
Presonus is a wierd one. It's like fender took over and was like... Nah.. Your market is now only entry level. That's what it feels like now with their hardware
@@PaulThird Have you gotten any information from people working there? I was hoping it was just a chip issue. But I guess fender could bring those products under another brand, if they wanted them to be under a "premium" brand. As a windows guy myself, the fact that they were thunderbolt, as well, was a bit worrying. Thunderbolt seems like a bit of hit and miss, and even worse if the CPU is made by AMD, and that is bad, because they have better price/performance ratio. I do use mac, and the "It just works" mantra isn't true. I have encountered several of issues. Occasionally the OS stops responding to certain tasks, perhaps slightly less frequent compared to windows, but in either case it isn't that common. There is a hidden library, where there might be files left after an uninstall process, so if one tries to re-install a software/driver because of issues, there might still be files left that causes the issue. I don't like the dock, it becomes messy. I don't like how that a lot of software doesn't actually closes down when pressing the red button, it stays in the background, it may not use any resources, but it isn't officially closed. Some software/driver install that aren't supposed to require a reboot do, not that it is a major issue, but one might think it did not work, and not immediately think I should just restart- And the way the menu for the application isn't locked to the application windows, but stays on top, can be really annoying, it is not just a matter of getting used to it, as it isn't uncommon, when switching software, that one has not activated the software windows again, so suddenly the top menu does not relate to the software that seems to be active in front of you. But the new Apple silicon would be tempting if I could afford. A powerful laptop that can handle most tasks, without the fan kicking in. They do lack a bit of ports, but "distubing-fan-noise" windows laptops in the same category does as well... those might come with one extra ssd slot, and the main one may allow replacing as well, so those can be configured with a lot of storage, and the RAM expansion is cheaper as well, but Apple silicon computers are reportedly more RAM efficient, so the save might not be a great as it seems at first.. The Time machine backup system in Mac OS, is tempting as well as it allows to install the complete system on another mac that can run the same Mac OS version.
It sounds like your UEFI bios settings for the thunderbolt pcie card need a firmware update and that should help. Either update the add on card firmware or the bios for the slot.
It's definitely not the drivers but I changed the TB security settings in BIOS and as long as the apollo has enough time to do its full start up before switching the computer on it seems to be connecting first time where before it didn't matter how long I gave the apollo to start up it just wouldn't connect first time round
I got a twin x quad paired with Macbook pro 2017 I discontinued using my msi gt evr 73 windows because its sounds best on Mac and there no middle man for connections
Paul. you went deep there dude, and I am glad you talked about SPIDIFFFFF - If you want a Glesga lad with ye when your going to Vietnam I'd be happy to go - HamburgerHill stuff, I'll book the hues.
For the Thunderbolt Problem: It might be that you have to change your power settings for the controller in your BIOS. I have a hackintosh as a workstation and thats what fixed it for me. OSX and Windows handle Thunderbolt cards differently. Try to fiddle with your BIOS maybe :)
@@PaulThird i see. I think you cannot break anything if you didn’t customise your BIOS on the first place. If anything goes wrong you can just reset it to default and everything will work again. You can’t brick anything.
@@PaulThird There is a feature to save your current BIOS settings to external USB drive and then if you screw something, so it's unbootable, you can reset your BIOS to defaults by just removing battery for several secands and then restoring your initial settings from the USB drive.
Sooo I’m not crazy for liking the sound of my M50x’s plugged directly into my Mac rather than into my Apollo twin? Always thought it was just me… but the Apollo makes them sound brittle, low end sounds smeared.
Hello Mr Third… Great video.! I have some info for you. As far as the x6 not connecting on every start up I know exactly what it is. You have to go into the bios and turn off the ERP setting. I have an X6 and had the same exact problem with it and my former Apollo 8 duo. Once you do this it will connect every time..🙂 And your 100% right about the X6 not being seamless within Windows. So I use mine in conjunction with an RME UCX ii which DOES fully connect with any Windows application. And by linking them via adat I can route anything anywhere…!! Thanks for the great content.. Karma
Hey Paul, @12:38 With Zoom, OBS, TEAMS, with pretty much everything, It works perfectly, super clean, super configurable. . . .ON MAC. Also, it is the best daisychaining with other Apollos. . . . It is a great Interface!
I'm getting pops and clicks when i use the ASIO driver with apollo for obs and I dunno why. If I switch to revelator io24 the obs daw recording is perfect so dunno if it's the apollo or obs ASIO extension for input recording
I think I've managed to fix the windows startup issue by turning off the TB security via the BIOS and then letting the x6 do its whole Vegas mode startup before switching on. Been working the past 3-4 times but we'll see how consistent it is haha 😅
@@PaulThird Nice! I knew you were going to love the Apollo, since you already loved the audient. About the vegas mode start up, you should see the light show arturia keyboards have when you open a daw 😅
I own 2 apollox 8p's and one twin x I love them on my pc. I did notice if you install obs you can do screen recording very well with no issue but you need to set it up properly
Ive dump my apollo twin x and my ssl 2 and went straight for a focusrite clarette+ and never be so happy now my mix become soooo prestine crisp 3d fatter more hifi more analog sound
I think my Apollo 8p has optical SPDIF. I have had so many interfaces over the years. I will never go back to any of them I love UA Apollos. I also have a Solo and an Octo Satellite. Takes so much load off the computer. Every bit makes a difference. I would love to get my hands on another octo.I also get it with thunderbolt. Im running a Mac and I will say that UA is more directed towards the MAC user even though they work fine on PC but if you think about LUNA and how it was all Mac based for code. Im not sure if they have luna for windows yet but yes if you are running a Mac the Apollos work plug and play besides all the Mac OS security settings but still easy to install and get working.
Great review as always. I've been using the X6 (which I purchased 2nd hand for a lot less than new) with a Cranborne audio adat 500 and I love the flexibility it gives me. I'm lucky enough to be running it from a mac so no PC woes or live streaming problems. The biggest restriction I have with the X6 plugins is the inability to side-chain into a compressor. I use this for live audio ducking. What I do now is use a dbx 166x. I also use the C-Suite C-vox plugin for live noise reduction and it works fantastically. As an aside, when you were talking about proximity effect did you really mean plosives?
The Windows compatibility thing - used to have a similar problem with the Hackintosh we had in a studio, we had to reboot everything in a very particular order to make it connect. So I don't think it's Windows per se, I think it's a specifically Thunderbolt thing and it's probably Apple's doing.
I think what is scary is how common it is on windows or non apple computers just by reading the comments. The guy that built my computer purposely put in a TB card that was compatible with Apollos but messaged me this week to say yeah maybe try looking at BIOS security settings to see if it works better but couldn't give me a better solution to the streaming thing where I've got to route audio out of the computer via jack router and voicemeter
all you need to do for the streaming routting is have your output in daw go to uad virtual channel in console which you link as stereo.. this is now going to be passed off to aux 1 or 2.. from there you want to use a cue send on the aux channel recieving the the virtual out and send that at unity to the line 3/4 output on the back on apollo.. now inside zoom or skype or whatever ...the line input is going to capture everything..... let me know if you want me to make a video explaing it better.. but this is an easy fix
We tried everything. All the routing but couldn't get the fix without using jack router and voicemeter. I had direct contact with UA and they got me to try everything before making the video. If you are on mac there doesn't seem to be this issue but on windows no matter what I did it was the same issue
@@PaulThird yes,, i am on windows.. i had an issue figuring this out myself but the virtual out that sends to and an aux that send to a cue that goes to a line is what works for me... the only time i dont have to worry about the outputs is if i am using my davinci atem mini pro, cause for some reason the audio from thunderbolt feeds into the atem with no problem.. but the perk of using the virtual channel will allow to to mix buss process on the aux track which has been transformed into the mix buss tracking via this tricky routing .. mahalo and aloha
@@PaulThird I’m sorry Loop Back is a program I bought that allows me to control any audio source inputs and outputs to work super easy in obs. I’m sure there might be a video on how to. It made my life and live streaming super easy. I also have a presonus 16.0.1 usb that I use for my live streams and it has the same issues that most interfaces have without a loop back feature installed into their mixing software. So look up loop back software super easy to use. You will love it.
@PaulThird A coaxial S/PDIF with RCA plugs can never have an impedance of 75 Ohm, as the RCA plug has an impedance of 50 Ohm. So a cable with 75 Ohm impedance and RCA plugs will always be a mismatch. But that is theory, in the real world, almost any RCA cable can be used, just keep it as short as possible (less than 2m).
@@PaulThird The cable without the RCA plugs is 75 Ohm. The RCA plug is 50 Ohm or less. But as I stated earlier, almost any cable will work, the dynamic range in the digital signal will survive the noise generated by a short cable run. And yes, it is the same data (the audio part) transfered by S/PDIF, USB, ADAT etc. It's just different protocols and the audio should null or something is very wrong. (:
Thank you Paul Fascinating I always feel very confident that your advice is spot on It’s now mid April and I have been looking at the Apollo x4 Three years old now so a little unsure if they will be announcing some new pro interfaces or go subscription I do dislike subscribing it feels like a tax on musicians ,, I digress my question is would you say an Apollo X is a good choice for spring 2023 The included Helios 69 is honey to my ears can anyone say there is a better alternative ? affordable alternative that is please keep em coming
You mention Lynx and Prism, but how about RME? I think they are quite comparable on specs, features and quality for the price, and arguably have the better drivers and driver support.
Did all that, thought issue was fixed as x6 loaded on startup but it's not consistent. 8 times out of 10 it isn't recognised on startup and computer needs restarted
Can you help me I have the rme ucx2 after having an Apollo twin x and love the conversion on the rme it’s night and day you really hear the mix better and natural without all that coloring in my opinion but I hate total mix from rme I can’t figure it out I’ve tried it’s a headache and love console it was way easier and let me actually do what I wanted to do which was record can you advice me on what to do I was gonna buy a x16 and then get the best rme ad/da converter for conversion I don’t know if that’s overboard or if that’s even possible how it would work but yea any tips please money won’t be an issue I just want ua console with rme conversion basically
Even how I would set that all up and if it’s possible I also recently got analog gear 1073spx and distressor don’t know how that would work with this setup I’m fairly new to everything please Help thanks I just want to record one mic and I do hip hop vocals nothing crazy
With x16 you can go AES out to AES in of RME but if we are talking converters I would personally reccomend topping dx7 pro+ which has multiple digital inputs & it's headphone amp is of the highest quality. As of this minute that's what my buddy Ed Thorne is doing. X16 to topping over AES
I had the same problems with windows and zoom when I had an Apollo Twin ... It was even dropping out while recording or switching between my daw and youtube ... I just got annoyed and sold it. I now use a Motu 828es and it has been flawless ever since. I dont really miss the unisson stuff. I now have a wa73 and a wa76 and I far prefer those to the plugins.
I'm really unsure about the warm audio stuff. They always sound a bit muddy to me. Ed sold his wa73 for that exact reason and he's contemplating moving from his WA76 & 2A combo cause he's finding he's having to eq a lot after using them as his main vocal compression chain when mixing
Few years ago, I had a similar problem with a windows, PC, it didn’t recognize a device, on the motherboard There was a delay setting that could be adjusted to give it time to recognize a device. If you know someone that knows motherboards, I would look into that, it might solve your problem, I’m a Mac guy now, so I no longer am up to date with windows
I was on the Place where i must decide to go with Apollo or RME UFX2 ......Apollo, i hate that everybody in the world use it. ( Dont belive the hype) I like to go with the Underdog. The Choice was RME, and i dont regret it. BTW. The RME has also two Adat In´s and Out´s
Don't really see how when it's only got 120db dynamic range. Pretty standard tbh. Not saying it's gonna sound shit or anything like that but I don't see how the carbon would knock out apollo x range and RME 🤷♂️
It is a good thing to see however whether it's a good headphone amp for mixing is still to be measured. Rupert Neve headphone amp for example has an output impedance of 1.2 ohm which is good but measured very poorly on audio science review overall as a headphone amp. I'm still sceptical due to the size of the neumann
@@PaulThird with Sennheiser, Neumann and Merging Technologies doing the joint development I think they have enough experience to know what makes a good headphone amp, there are a couple of reviews on UA-cam, check them out
You'd think that but there is very limited space in interfaces. The fact that SPL and RND are big respected names and both flopped with their standalone hp amps, I'm very sceptical about this interface. Be good if it did though but I'll wait to see if Amir gets his hands on it to measure
I just spent 1700 for an RME HDSPE Raydat and a ferrofish pulse 16. Seemed like the best way to go. Very expandable. I would Love to hear your thoughts on the ferrofish!!
Specs wise looks pretty much like the Audient EVO 16/sp8. Standard interface cirrus logic converter chips. Same dynamic range and THD levels which are OK but not "studio grade". Looks pretty much the correct price tbh in regards to i/o & specs. There would be no issues using that as your ADC for analog gear I'd imagine without testing it myself but you'd still get the moaners complaining about the dynamic range and THD+N levels but then that's up to them to pay another 5-6 grand for 16 straight ins and outs of "studio grade" conversion
@@PaulThird completely agree. I had been using an id44 mk 1 for the last 5 or six years. I bought the evo 16 when it came out hoping to replace it, but the DA sounded noticeably worse to me. Sound stage was different and sounded duller. With the ferrofish Im not hearing as much of a difference and the raydat card gives me the flexibility to get different DA or AD later. Using the Audient asp8 for my pres currently. By the way, really enjoy or channel. I appreciate your qualitative approach
I've not heard great things tbh. Ed had one of the interfaces and he was sure all the dsp was running in parallel instead of series so there were phasing issues as he was definitely sure there were phasey things happening. And then add that on to the whole "we need access to your computer to fix issues" And then you've got my Turkish mentor who told me all the horror stories he had with antelope. Expensive units lasting 6 months. They have a terrible reputation for selling expensive units which are actually massively overpriced for the quality they actually are. Due to all that I'm gonna be honest, I've avoided them like the plague
That's the new range which is lower quality to keep costs down. There's only the 2626 now. Presonus originally had a quantum range that was all high spec and compared very well to the apollo range. These are all now discontinued and have been replaced by the cheaper lower spec 2626
It's not bad. It's pretty good but not "studio grade" specs like RME or apollo. The evo 16 is a better buy than the 2626. Similar specs and cheaper with auto gain. 1824c main & line outs aren't great compared to 2626 and especially evo 16 which has more dynamic range and slightly cleaner than both
i know for my windows interface i had to install a thunderbolt control center (and possibly a special driver, been a while) to get it to work. not sure if that helps or not.
I'll try the BIOS first. That's been mentioned and then I'll have a look at drivers but I remember I had an absolute nightmare getting windows and the apollo tb connection to see each other at first. Can't remember what I did but it was driver related
Good video... But don`t get the ``Presonus`` where the quantum was discontinued... The Quantum 4848 yes, BUT still got the Quantum . Quantum2 , And Quantum 2626...
It's not THE quantum range everybody goes on about that was UADs main competition. The new quantums are much lower quality than the quantums they were selling. The quantum 2626 falls more in line with budget spec where the older ones measured more in line with "top grade" AD/DA
@@PaulThird yes i understand that but they looks like they are still have 2 Quantum ``better quality`` available... ( at least theyare still avalable on her web site... ). Not shure if is the same that you are talking about, but they are good quality one ( the 2626 are about 800$ us dollars and the more quality Quantum are 1500$ us dollar...) . Anyway keepm doing your good job , enjoy you`re video !! ✌
They discontinued them because Thunderbolt 4 pretty much killed all Thunderbolt 2 interfaces. Thunderbolt 4 is only backwards compatible to Thunderbolt 3 hence why the 2626 is still available. Hopefully they announce a new highend Interface at NAMM in a few weeks. Otherwise people gotta buy PCIE Thunderbolt 3 Cards and run the mod setup like me for my Quantum 26x32 😂
If you go on their website and go to products>interfaces it'll only show quantum and quantum 2626. If you go on quantum all the links to buy are discontinued. Its only quantum 2626 that is available to buy from retailers “Unfortunately PreSonus will not be receiving any more quantum 4848, they are discontinued. The only Quantum model in stock at this time, is the Quantum2626.” 28 Feb 2022 Been that way since
Great video Paul. I was wondering if my motherboard already has thunder bolt can I use the Apollo as a windows user? I was thinking about running it in Adat with my RME UCX.
@@PaulThird OK I see. My RME does have two ports for Adat so I think I will give this a go. Many thanks Paul. I really appreciate it and enjoy your channel.
UA-cam has somehow managed to fuck the video. It was fine for over a year but it's done something with the end cards and thinks the video is ending sooner that it should. Dunno if I can fix it as it's on their end
I have Windows and no Thunderbolt and FireWire connector... Is it really possible to connect the Apollo X8 or Apollo quad 4 FireWire to a PC, for example, via a "FireWire USB cable" and will it all work?
Windows systems have massive issues with Thunderbolt. So many windows systems ive used have had so many TB issues. Its a mess and no one is fixing it. Choosing thunderbolt as a PC user (and trying to stick with it) has been a bad move on my part
My experience in the early stages of building my own custom rig to utilize thunderbolt 3 functionality was far from easy. I admit that the timing of my current build created in 2016 was a very eager decision. I struggled to finalize my rig and Asus was of no help. After weeks of research, determination, and careful observation of the manual and my consistent documentation of each result. I arrived at an extremely stable Windows system. Asus X99 Deluxe II, Intel I7 6850K, UA Apollo x6. I do not suffer many of the issue that most experience around Windows, TH3, and UA X6. ua-cam.com/video/KbT-79vF7eA/v-deo.html
No offense, Paul... But i'm currently at @4:34 and listening as I type, but a few minutes ago, you mentioned "TWO" sets of "ADAT". And, I only bring this up because it "reasonably" misleads viewers to believe that 2 separate 8-channel ADAT devices can be be connected. However, that is a fallacy in this case. And, so for "full disclosure", not to disinform your public via "omission" I feel that you should update this information, as that can be a major detail regarding one's budget strategy (even if you clarify later in the video), someone may have clicked off after making a pre-emptive decision to purchase. Please clarify this point. Thank you for any consideration which you may give this.
It would be false if I said you can get 16 channels of ADAT through the 2 sets of ADAT. I didn't say that. If you are recording at 88.2 & 96k then you can get seperate adat in and out but still only covers 8 channels but you can use 2 different interfaces at 88 & 96 (adat 1 is 1-4, adat 2 is 5-8) but not at 44.1 & 48.. if I'm right. Think adat input 2 is disabled at 44.1 & 48 which means youd use 1 interface sending 8 channels
@@PaulThird Paul, I am not stating that. I am merely stating that many presume that 2 ADAT I/Os allow for 2 separate device out options and many noobs make purchasing errors due to both ignorance and omitted details provided by the "information provider".... I and many others experienced the same with Presonus interfaces regarding their inability to be used in "Stand-alone"/Slave Mode. That stated, sharing the extra bit of detail could aid a person tremendously who may purchase another interface which would better suit their need, as opposed to "presuming" due to lack of experience that 2 ADAT pairs don't "automatically" equal "X, Y, or Z". Even if we call it erring on the side of over-caution to protect the audience. Just one more measure of transparency, as I know that transparency is important to you. Either way, thank you for taking the time to read my comment/concern. And thank you for all of the continued hard work which you lend your audience.... I've learned a lot from you thus far, and plan to continue doing so. Sláinte!
Slightly off topic, i'm looking for a one output DAC for mixing duties with a digital input to be fed from an interface. I would get the RME ADI but i don't want (cant) spend that money because this is only for an old home setup. I considered a used Benchmark DAC-1 but i've heard that even newer low price DACs outperform it nowdays. Any picks out there, mid tier price at max.
@@PaulThird haha ! That's why i'm here pal ! 🤣 thanks for the link :) I'll have a good read on the internet. I've already come across a potential possibility of going even further down in budget because what i read is that the SMSL M500 mk iii is comparable to the Topping, but the DAC on their lower model SMSL C200 sounds real close to the SMSL M500 mk iii, and it's around £175 new lol. But i'd have to find more information on the SMSL M500 mk iii in regards to studio use. If i can get both with the possibiltiy to return one, i'll do it.
Hey forgive me if I'm not understanding correctly, but are you currently looking to bypass your current DAC with a unit such as the Topper? If so, I'm looking to do something similar with a silver face Apollo duo but not sure if or how it can be done.
Apolos drivers are crap. I switched to rme. The problem with dsp is you have to by there plugins to use it, so i dont think it matters. Just spend extra on your pc, and have native low latency with rme. The dsp dsp isnt zero latency, and apollos latency is high
I don't get any audible latency when recording with UAD dsp. Been using it for 6 months and can record over an hour of footage and from start to finish my audio stays in time with the video. Same with mixing. I don't have any latency issues 🤷♂️
@Paul Third yeah that was my point, other then dsp the latency is bad. With that said i have the older 8p not the new one. So my needs are a bit more demanding on latency then most. My band uses a daw like a mixer. We use vsts live
No wdm driver. Only 2 auxes. No EQ for headphones and monitor output. Impossible to change Alt1/2 to different outs. No external controller like Arc USB. Impossible to setup mute, dim and mono at once (only 2 of these). Sounds worse then RME ufx ii via analog and spdif. Too many cons for 3300$ interface. Unfortunately
How can it sound worse 🤷♂️ I tested topping USB vs topping via apollo spidf and there was no audible difference. Also where is the $3300 coming from. are you talking about x16? Are we talking about the same interface? BTW if you set your main output to virtual 1+2 and route accordingly then you can apply your own eq to your monitors and headphones. Cambridge eq is a great eq for that use. However I've got realphones so I use that when listening in and out of the daw with my sundaras. Either way as I said in the video, the RME ufx ii really is the biggest competitor to apollo x6 and if the apollo didn't have the UAD dsp then i probably would consider the RME over the x6.. Well actually I'm lying cause if I had to pay for an interface then I'd refuse to pay over a grand so I wouldn't buy either. I personally don't think any interface is worth more than a grand but that's just me
Hey Paul, avid fan of the channel so I have to ask: What about the 2626 from PreSonus? The 4848 was discontinued but the newer 2626 is the supposedly around the same price as the Quantum 2 (4848) but with more features. Is it worth it?
Nah its not as good quality as the discontinued quantums. I'd argue the evo 16 or sp8 is a much better buy as its cheaper and doesn't use thunderbolt. In regards to 2626 specs it's tough to compare as the numbers are all determined by what they feel looks good and they all use different max inputs but I did manage to figure this out. Dynamic range in 2626 for ADC & DAC is 115 dbA for both with the line outs measuring 0.0035% THD @+4dBu Evo is 112 dbA ADC / 121 dbA DAC with the line outs measuring 0.001% THD at around +12dBu (which means that it's lower THD even when going in 8dBu hotter than quantum) So for analog gear as a converter even the evo 16/ SP8 has much cleaner conversion than the 2626. Headphone outs are even worse as 2626 measure 0.03% THD (no input reference) with 110 dBA dynamic range. Headphone outs in evo is 0.001% THD @-1dbfs with dynamic range of 118 dBA. Their new 2626 is around £500 mark. Evo 16 or SP8 is £399. Quantum 2626 isn't anywhere near apollo X6's league never mind being a better option than audients budget range imo.
Hi Paul, I've a question, if I bypass the uad preamp and connect for example a bass guitar and put some 1173 preamp plugin like noiseash or acustica audio etc, is not close to the hardware try to emulate a real preamp?
It's different with instruments cause thats line level. There is no preamplification, just amplification so yes those plugins can model that closer but using a plugin to replicate the sound of the mic through actual preamplification .. No. Its not a pre amp at that point, it's a post amp
Id44 is a great interface but limited in comparison for ADA. It's big benefit is that it has an extra 2 mic pres as well as 2 send and returns which is essentially 2 line in and out where you can bypass the preamps. If you aren't using a lot of gear and want more mic pres then id44 is a very good shout
@@PaulThird I have 2 audio interfaces: Steinberg AXR4U and Apollo x6. How could I get the best of them without spending on other audio interfaces? I mean, which one should I use as my main audio interface?
I use x6 as my main interface but use a seperate DAC over spdif for my monitoring as the DAC isnt great in x6. For whatever reason it sounds muddy compared to other high quality DACs
Thanks Paul. Can someone / Paul educate me on this : If UA's Unison is a "thing", then why does the UA Spark native 1073 (for example) sound identical to the Unison version? UA themselves have stated ... repeatedly ... the sonics are identical. Tests show they null. Clearly, I'm missing something.
The plugins are identical but the relationship between the microphone and the preamp is different. I ran a mic splitter and tested unison vs apollo preamp with 1073 after. They do not null and you can still hear the difference. I mean it's really really close but the impedance of the microphone in combination with the impedance of the modeled pre is the difference Its very slight but it's there and you can pass a blind AB. Unison is smoother
Paul how deep you go into this stuff is admirable. The passion is undenaiable. Keep doing you man. Glad you're digging your UAD. I got a triple x8p rig, haven't had any connection issues with my gigabyte aorus through thunderbolt for years. Perhaps its a per manufacturer thing?
Quite a few windows users in the comments with the same thunderbolt issue but it's dependent per computer. Macs never have this issue from what I've seen
@@PaulThird Yeah UAD and windows support seems to be second class citizens at the moment. Luckily I've had good luck with Gigabyte drivers. Seem rock solid.
@@PaulThird Hahaha well geez golly. Yeah Gigabytes were used alot of in the hackintosh days. Yeah I got two rigs, with gigabyte horus and they work fine with my two UAD rigs. Sorry you're having issues.
I think I fixed it by turning off TB security via the BIOS. As long as you give the X6 enough time to boot up (about 20 seconds) before turning on the pc it seems to have fixed the handshake thing
I've had all the top and low end digital stuff ffor the last 40 years and I feel generally you get what you pay for. However recently my acquired Audient EVO 16 has rewritten the rule book. I'm still thinking I 'stole' this from them for £2,000!. Got it online for £368 ...yes - mad! As you say with their new SP8 for the same money you can add real time physical 16 ins and outs for £750!! As I write it I still think they going to come after me for the 'extra' £1500!!... They've put down a huge marker here I feel
@@samueloluyinkaojomu6548 tbh in this day and age where the quality of these things are at incredible heights they are all 'brilliant'. I'd would say though for this price you cannot go wrong. I'd add too that from the years way back where 'noise' was part of the sound it has now all moved to a different place. It's more about how you hear your sound to be and for me down to the raw 'takes' of everything you record, then how you mix / master it all down. The quality is now universally so fantastic you can honestly hardly hear any difference in a lot of high end equipment imo. I criticize a lot of modern methods and technologies but not here, not in the audio recording business - we are truly blessed.
UPDATE: So after a few people reccomended to switch off thunderbolt security via BIOS I am happy to tell you that with that off and if you let the apollo do its own start up (20 secs) before switching on the PC the apollo has been connecting first time on start up 🤓
FYI just to be clear when I mention -135dbfs when talking about the apollo I am referring to THD.. NOT dynamic range, which the manual states is 129dbA DR (that's A-weighted, not unweighted)
What is the most you would pay for an interface?? 🤓
$6000 for a Burl Mothership B16
1/10 what uad costs
Not UAD with their support and windows problems. I'd better buy RME Fireface 802 or even Motu 828+FW PCIE card for dirt cheap for better drivers and freedom from overpriced hardware-based plugins. Has UAD-2 Pcie which stopped working with new AMD chips and no intent to adress the problem. So some mixes had to be redone with soft plugs. Not making that mistake again
I’m cheap, so my Audient id4, whatever that cost when I bought it.
SSL 2 is the best
I’ve got an Apollo 16, x16, and two 8s on a Mac and have never looked back. So well made and easily integrated.
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I got an X6, spent a week with it, sent it to black lion for the full-on premium mod with XB clock. Sounded a lot more open and relaxed. Then i plugged a Burl B2 dac into it. My God. Then i got the adc b2. My God.. Burl is def on another level even after the mod.
I traded my Apollo x16 for a Burl Mothership. I really liked the Apollo for what it was. I tried the Apollo Quad and I still own an Apollo Duo. I felt the Burl Mothership just sounded better to my ears when tracking guitars and other live instruments. The Apollo is a hell of a deal and would enhance any home studio setup.
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Both companies HQ just about 5 miles from eachother.
I have the burl too, and I love it
I'm way deep in the UA Apollo ecosystem. Have multiple units (including an original Silverface Quad I bought in 2012) and use LUNA as my tracking and mixing DAW (former PT user). I track with a combo of outboard analog preamps to the line ins and the Unison pres. My preferred is the API Vision ch strip but also love the 610-B (I own several others including the 1073). I also recent expanded my INs with a EVO SP8, really loving it. Run everything on Mac and mostly runs with no issues.
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How do you feel about the conversion on the SP8. I have one and really prefer my RME
@@Rhuggins When you say conversion, do you mean the sound in comparison to going straight into my Apollo? I've not done any hardcore comparison between the two, but to my ears it's quite good. And, in a dense mix I'd be surprised if you could tell any difference. Kristian Kohle (Kohlekeller Studio) does a really good compare between his standard setup (API pres, SSL converters) vs EVO 16 and SP8 setup. You should check it out -- title of vid is "HIGH END vs AFFORDABLE Audio Interface".
as someone that has a silver face apollo twin duo (ancient by todays standards) i can personally attest for the value. mine is almost a DECADE old and has been reliable. it’s only now showing signs of breaking down but i believe that’s more on my 2015 macbooks power handling, as i’m replacing the bloated battery in a few days 😅. came in expecting you to light UA on fire with mock joy but came away even more satisfied with my investment. just waiting for NAMM now to see how i’ll be replacing it. cheers, Paul.
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Got that interface and love it. To avoid any TB problems, I put a Gibabyte Designare in my PC build. It's got two native TB ports, so no need for a pesky pci card...
hi, I have this motherboard: Gigabyte Z390 DESIGNARE (rev. 1.0) it happens to me that Apollo X6 give me a medium sound with very little space/air, even if I listen to the music file on the iPhone, car radio etc, from you sounds good? Thank you
@@linomarino9751 I also have an x6 and that motherboard. Don't have any issue with the depth or quality of my mixes. Compared to other pro setups I've used, quality is great, actually. Your problem is probably due to other factors - mixing technique, use of plugins, mastering, etc.
@@jjcoolidge6276 hi, then I solved it, with a new installation of pro tools, the update I had done went wrong! A thousand thanks
Great video. Paul Third is really the only guy out there doing these types of reports who is consistently well researched with a full technical understanding in his statements and opinions. And he’s fun to listen to!
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I love my Apollo x6 ! It’s very powerful and it’s built like a tank!
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I use my x8p with an Audient for my mobile rig for 16 channels total. I think the Apollo is really great for this. I don't like the D/A as much as my Lynx Aurora (n) but I do like the A to D. With the various Unison preamps I can tailor the sound to the type of music I am working on. Really a great system.
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Started on a PCI 8 channel PC interface in 2001- then Steinberg 2010 - then Focusrite2016 - bought the Cranborne pair of 500 series racks 2019 - and now have ended up with The SSL Big Six as I also wanted a console workflow. So, to answer your quire, the SSL was $3800 CND
Love your video style. No sequitur: My parents were from Ayr!
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Hey Paul, love your vids, try the Lynx Aurora (n) converter, took me 10 years to find a converter that is transparent and fast and this is it. I was horrendously disappointed by cranesong's quantum tech, which so far has the fastest transient response (Lynx is very close to it though) but their converters introduce a sound, such as the UAD does, heavily. If you want a positive shock, rent the Aurora (n).
I purchased an X6 back in November. I enjoy it.
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While in the depths of UAD ownership I really liked the 1073 and 610 unison though a few years later after upgrading to 1073LB and 1073N, I found that preferred the result of tracking through the hardware versions. I found the price of plugins and advertising as much as I love the ads they are brilliant. The Apollo was feeling like more of a dongle to the plugins and I didnt like the need to be connected to to work on anything with the plugins etc. I do think the X6 looks great but i have long exited the echosystem.
I'm in the exact same place now where I'm on the verge of selling the X6 and switching to evo 16 because of all the limitations.
Windows startup issue still exists. I can't get 16 channels over ADAT at 48k. I can't loop back for streaming without a convoluted setup that causes too much latency, I don't use the UA plugins for tracking (I have a Golden Age Premier 1073 and some 500 series channel strips) and I hate the DAC conversion to speakers as its so muddy and cloudy.
Its essentially just a clunky paperweight linking my live room and the other 500 series lunchbox.
I really like the UA verbs but I could just find alternatives. The dsp is handy but I just need to make do and chill out on my sessions
I couldn't care what people say cause there is no beneficial difference in Modern ADC and I have arguably one of the best DAC's for monitoring in the topping dx7 pro+
I've got amazing mics and the evo preamps are super clean, and Ive got one of the best 1073 remakes money can buy.. I just don't need to worry
Again, cutting to the chase with a concise, no bullshit
Presentation. Great consistent videos from you. Thank you.
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I'm glad you weren't 100% "fan boy" like most UAD users - I've never owned a "perfect" piece of gear. Currently I have the Antelope Audio Discrete 8... more ins/outs, 8 mic/line preamps, realtime DSP and a re-amp connections (also doesn't mind being a Windows audio port). As for the SPDIF I'm sure you've heard enough about how it is 100% digital... that's the beauty of digital - no audio is involved just 0s and 1s! SPDIF coax is more common on studio gear whereas TOS optical on HiFi. Signal is identical, although apparently TOS is more prone to jitter 😎
First off great video! Love the detail about it that most people over look.
Apollo user for a few years a now. I have the x8p and it DOES have optical spdif. the issue is that it’s a bit hard to find (you gotta go into settings in the console i think). Though it may just be that model that doesn’t have optical spdif because it has the coaxial? Since my interface doesn’t have coaxial spdif. To me it’s not too big of a deal honestly.
The UAD unison pres are insanely good. I have a hardware BAE 1028 (neve 1084 with more mid EQ points).
Also the whole windows vs Mac problem is just that Mac in so many ways is better for audio. There are very few interfaces that have good drivers and work great on windows. RME is probably the best there. But the better interfaces just work on Mac. That being said these days most windows issues can be fixed. Hoping you can find the solution for it.
Now when it comes to streaming and stuff, i think the Apollo is the BEST option. It just requires a bit of setup, which once again is easier to do on a Mac. Glad you figured it out, but honestly this is literally almost any interface. Now what is amazing about the Apollo is that you can have all those amazing UAD plugins on it and NOT have to open a DAW to improve your sound. It’s a game changer for me and streaming. On a Mac you just need to have your regular desktop audio go through the virtual channel 1-2 and send those to an aux bus and have the aux bus as channels 1-2 in your routing matrix. And that essentially becomes what most programs will listen for. Windows just sucks for audio. Most people need voice meter or use ‘reastream’ to get stuff to work properly in OBS/zoom. I hate how windows hasn’t improved their audio stuff yet.
But yeah the Apollo imo is worth it just for the DSP on input.
Yeah windows is definitely all about USB. Ive never had these kind of issues before until using thunderbolt. I'd say the best streaming interface I've used is the presonus revelator io24 as its primarily set up for that function and you can get daw audio, desktop, microphone, fat channel dsp etc off the bat really easy but now I've got the apollo setup with Jack router and voicemeter it genuinely only takes me 3 clicks BUT getting to that point was an ABSOLUTE PAIN IN THE HOOP!! haha
And yes the x8p does have optical spidf but they said there wasn't enough room for it in the x6. Its a non issue if you get the right cable
@@PaulThird I haven’t heard anything good about presonus other than their quantum (because of its routing capabilities and I/o for the price). It’s always rme if you have pc and Apollo if you have Mac for this price point. And sometimes the focusrite clarette series. In general though macs have incredible audio drivers I started on pc and would get frustrated constantly. Ever since going to Mac 15 years ago it’s been an easier time overall and lately the power is just nuts (cause I can hook up multiple interfaces and have it all talk to each other and the daw). Pc is better for streaming though. So I gotta use both in the end.
That being said my one big gripe about the Apollo series is it is weird to use console at first and I wish they had a more traditional routing matrix. Getting signal to zoom and obs was annoying when I first set it up. But after it is setup it is easier. I feel like they need to do a huge console software overhaul and make it a bit more windows compatible. They haven’t done much with it in the last decade.still the 0 latency top of the line plugins without the need of a daw is such a godsend! Can’t go back.
Paul few things to mention. If you route mic in I O matrix to input 1 and 2 and output as 1 and 2 you should not have issues (IllgatesMusic -UAD Console Streaming and Routing Tutorial)
RME also have dsp but what you get depends on the hardware you have. Price of 1800 pounds is irrelevant if you need a budget solution there are plenty of them out there. I was not impressed by the converters and headphone out and main out of the UAD and preferred my rme babyface pro FS. When I switched to Mac I could tell a difference in the sound of my uad and it keeps me happy. I have had the LCD-X since their release date pretty much have had no issues with the headphone out of my uad, I have Resonance labs Concero hp to AB as well as the Babyface pro FS and hear no issues or degradation in the sound quality through the headphone out.
Coaxial S/PDIF is still an all digital format 🤔
Good video. I love the UAD stuff. The Unison thing is legit and yeah, that Neve preamp is one of the top for sure.
Some people may not like the onboard DSP thing but it’s what gives us the ability to monitor WITH UAD plugins and zero latency. I love it.
The streaming routing thing is super easy with TB3 haha 🥸 Glad you found a workaround though.
Tbh I dunno where I've got confused with that one. I either read somewhere that optical spidf was a purer digital signal or somebody told me that cause you have to use a 75 ohm RCA cable over copper it can introduce noise into the signal. Maybe that's what it was 🤷♂️
@@PaulThird gotcha. Yeah it’s using copper but it’s all 0’s and 1’s for sure. Try plugging it into an analog input and listen for yourself 😆🤓
@@dickjonesify I did. And I proved to myself there was no difference but I wasted a good hour testing 🤣
X16 owner whose had virtually nothing but a smooth ride with it! Was a huge upgrade from the last home studio interface. Perfectly happy with the value for the money compared to getting an HDX system for close to $10k haha
Sidenote: I only mention HDX because it was what I was potentially looking at getting at the time, nearly 4 years ago. Glad I opted for UAD.
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Good review ! I have been PC- Apollo user for 8 years and the connectivity was a thing at first un tell I got the BIOS right but more importantly to turn on the apollo first then the computer. I found that solution on there website years ago. The other issue I have faced loosing thunderbolt connection maybe once a year for no reason meaning everything's been checked cables, updates etc. was harder to solve and the solution to this is to disconnect everything from your computer especially the power !DUH! and remove the thunder bolt card form your PC and put it back in and now when you connect everything the way it was it will see the thunder bolt. I got that tip from a very Knowledgeable Sweet Water TECH it saved me many times. I don't know why it works but he also described it as a restart of the HANDSHAKE I hope this helps somebody !
Tbh im on the verge of selling the X6 now as its just too limited for my workflow. Not having 16 channels of ADAT is killing me
I have been a UA Apollo user for a long time. The biggist issue for me is the lack of advanced routing. The UA mixer style interface is great for new users but less so for advanced. I do still believe in DSP and keep it (yes, I sold the others) for that investment. Oh, and I am a Windows user. Yep, UA Windows support has improved but is less than sellar to date.
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Try increasing your sample rate over 8000 on your daw and 9600 on your pc if you want to use any other software with the Apollo. This worked for me because, for whatever reason, it doesn't work with a sample rate of 44 or 48 on pc just on Mac
Hey Paul, cool video. A few comments about Thunderbolt (TB) and Windows. I too had connectivity issues like you discussed when using a motherboard that came with a TB PCIe card. It was so bad, after reading the suggestion somewhere, I ended up dumping the motherboard for one that had onboard TB (the Asrock X299 Creator) and from that point on the connectivity was solid. That said, there are TB settings in the BIOS that if set incorrectly can lead to inconsistent connectivity. In addition, finding the right TB drivers proved elusive and there seem to be two sets for different use cases. For me, once I had the BIOS settings correct and was using the correct drivers, the unit connected automatically every time. No issues.
But, having switched back to Mac, I can say the Apollo performs MUCH better on it. For example, I can run CPU intensive guitar sims (e.g., Neural DSP stuff) in real time with a buffer setting of 16 (which isn't even available in Windows); on Windows, I couldn't run lower than 256 without CPU spikes. Even running CPU intensive projects, the Apollo simply does much better on Mac (meaning lower latencies without dropouts).
Having gone through massive pains trying to get the Apollo to work consistently and minding the massive performance different between Windows and Mac, had I stuck with a PC I would have, without a doubt, regretted selling my RME UFX as I was able to use it at much lower latencies and the performance was considerably more consistent.
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Switched the tb security off on bios and same startup issue
Hi Paul - Great video. I have the Apollo X4. I heard your point on the Thunderbolt interface for Windows. The issue is the thunderbolt card and motherboard have to be compatible. That is, the motherboard has to be built to accept a thunderbolt card. The solution - I got a custom built Windows computer with thunderbolt built in. Yeah, it cost a bunch of $$, but I figured I was going to record in 24/96 and wanted a whole bunch of tracks, so I better build an industrial strength computer. Anyway, It works great and establishes the handshake every time. Totally seamless. I had the same problem using the X4 as an interface for making youtube videos. In the end UA told me to use an line-out from the X4 routed via a cable into the analog line-in of my audio card on the computer. Yes, it's analog and not digital, but for youtube or other streaming uses, it's fine. And I use all my plugins and preamp stuff for the videos. No extra clicks or software required. Thanks again!
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Happy to hear you’ll be at NAMM. Hope to see you there!
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I spent about $2k making an AMD 5900X with a Gigabyte Vision DP motherboard build and I didn't research and I never got it to connect the interface even though it had an intel licensed thunderbolt 4 onboard the motherboard. So I gave up and spent another $2k to make an MSI MEG Z690 motherboard/Intel I9-13900K build and have never had an issue with connection since. For some reason UAD and AMD Machine code do not mesh very well. Switching to intel I never have to reset or do any tricks to make it work. Intel is the way for Apollo from experience
I have Intel and didn't work well for me 🤷♂️
1:44
So many missing on the chart.
Its almost like coming 3rd in running race where so many just walk... but glad Soundblaster made it ..
Beer though nose
I couldn't be bothered finding the most up to date one haha i couldnt even tell you the last interface Amir tested
@@PaulThird I was just having a laugh...
Aspergers takes everything literally haha 😅
I also use an TB3 Apollo with Windows. I had the same issue with my computer not recognizing/connecting the Apollo from time. I found that if i went into my BIOS, selected the Thunderbolt settings, and tuned OFF the Thunderbolt Security Settings, my computer would recognize the Apollo every time. Not sure if you tried this, but it worked for me!
I'll try cause somebody else mentioned it but as long as its just as simple as turning off the thunderbolt security settings then I'll do it. If I fuck my computer I'll have an absolute meltdown 🤣
@@PaulThird LOL you should be good. You should only have to make the one change, nothing else. In my BIOS it was under Advanced, Thunderbolt Configuration, Security Level. I had to change mine from User Authorization to No Security.
Out of curiosity, how is the Apollo X conversion compared to the Lynx Aurora(n)?
Especially compared to:
A) The conversion
B) THD
It would be nice if they made a Mic box with UNISON and their DSP inside, a couple of hardware controllers on the front, USB and wifi/bluetooth for control via App/client software. ADAT/SMUX for connecting to any interface. They could even expand it to 3 models, the entry level offering, 1-2 Unison preamps, entry level dsp, mid level offering with 2 Unison preamps, and more DSP, and a 4 UNISON preamp version.
It could be a great way to introduce new customers to their Unison Preamps and the DSP.
And they could probably sell a bunch to podcasters, as it can run various DSP effects on it, to deal with various issued in the chain. If it comes with analog outputs as well, it could connect to a bunch of different recording solutions, but of course, then Universal Audio, would have not control over the inputs of that other equipment to ensure the purest signal, for studio work so it would not be recommended for that.
It would also be nice if at least the mid level and top level could possibly come with outputs that can run DSP on them, for Room/speaker correction, and possibly headphone correction (at a different output (with or without amp)). Both Adam and fluid now that can run Sonarworks correction curves on their built in DSP. But for the rest of us, it would be nice to have it in a box that doesn't tax the CPU and also and is always only in the monitor feed, no matter how one's daw works in regard to separate monitor feed.
I would probably never buy a DSP powered interface (if doesn't run standard plugins), to run things that aren't in my direct recording path or playback path (primarily preamp, perhaps a compressor, in some cases perhaps mic modelling, but I would probably want the option to tweak it afterwards) . I don't want to be locked in to an ecosystem, as innovation is usually found by looking at different companies, and Universal audio, is not exactly know for the most innovativ plugins.
I could perhaps be won over, it if came with some really cool synths that otherwise would be very taxing on the CPU (so perhaps softtube modular would be able to get me thinking about it, but I still feel that platforms is a bit limited as I would not turn to modular all the time) but I think for any taxing synth to really peak my interest, it would probably have to have support for samples, and that would require quite a bit of RAM/diskstreaming within the unit.
As they are, Apollos are too expensive for what they would give me, considering the drawbacks, and then they hardly come with any DSP effect to begin with, so before you get anything meaningful out of them, you need to spend additional money on DSP effects.
I hope presonus brings back their quantum interfaces, because the latency performance seemed really good on those.
And the 4848, had potential for people with modular/semi-modular synths, for sending CV signals. And if CV gets more common in greater numbers on interfaces, I could see some hardware makers start using it on their audio processing units, for high resolution automation of parameters, and with that some extent analog patch recall.
Presonus is a wierd one. It's like fender took over and was like... Nah.. Your market is now only entry level. That's what it feels like now with their hardware
@@PaulThird Have you gotten any information from people working there? I was hoping it was just a chip issue. But I guess fender could bring those products under another brand, if they wanted them to be under a "premium" brand.
As a windows guy myself, the fact that they were thunderbolt, as well, was a bit worrying. Thunderbolt seems like a bit of hit and miss, and even worse if the CPU is made by AMD, and that is bad, because they have better price/performance ratio.
I do use mac, and the "It just works" mantra isn't true. I have encountered several of issues. Occasionally the OS stops responding to certain tasks, perhaps slightly less frequent compared to windows, but in either case it isn't that common. There is a hidden library, where there might be files left after an uninstall process, so if one tries to re-install a software/driver because of issues, there might still be files left that causes the issue.
I don't like the dock, it becomes messy. I don't like how that a lot of software doesn't actually closes down when pressing the red button, it stays in the background, it may not use any resources, but it isn't officially closed. Some software/driver install that aren't supposed to require a reboot do, not that it is a major issue, but one might think it did not work, and not immediately think I should just restart-
And the way the menu for the application isn't locked to the application windows, but stays on top, can be really annoying, it is not just a matter of getting used to it, as it isn't uncommon, when switching software, that one has not activated the software windows again, so suddenly the top menu does not relate to the software that seems to be active in front of you.
But the new Apple silicon would be tempting if I could afford. A powerful laptop that can handle most tasks, without the fan kicking in. They do lack a bit of ports, but "distubing-fan-noise" windows laptops in the same category does as well... those might come with one extra ssd slot, and the main one may allow replacing as well, so those can be configured with a lot of storage, and the RAM expansion is cheaper as well, but Apple silicon computers are reportedly more RAM efficient, so the save might not be a great as it seems at first..
The Time machine backup system in Mac OS, is tempting as well as it allows to install the complete system on another mac that can run the same Mac OS version.
Great content. Super honest and balanced. nice one Paul
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X6 glitched all the time. Unstable TB drivers using MacBook Pro M1. Switched to RME MadiFace Pro and life is good again
That's interesting as everybody I spoke to on mac didn't have any TB issues 🤔
It sounds like your UEFI bios settings for the thunderbolt pcie card need a firmware update and that should help. Either update the add on card firmware or the bios for the slot.
It's definitely not the drivers but I changed the TB security settings in BIOS and as long as the apollo has enough time to do its full start up before switching the computer on it seems to be connecting first time where before it didn't matter how long I gave the apollo to start up it just wouldn't connect first time round
I got a twin x quad paired with Macbook pro 2017 I discontinued using my msi gt evr 73 windows because its sounds best on Mac and there no middle man for connections
X6 and can’t imagine life without it. I wish I didn’t buy all this hardware.
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Paul. you went deep there dude, and I am glad you talked about SPIDIFFFFF - If you want a Glesga lad with ye when your going to Vietnam I'd be happy to go - HamburgerHill stuff, I'll book the hues.
Vietnam 🤣
Great info mate, I'm gonna look into getting one of these. Cheers pal
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For the Thunderbolt Problem: It might be that you have to change your power settings for the controller in your BIOS. I have a hackintosh as a workstation and thats what fixed it for me. OSX and Windows handle Thunderbolt cards differently. Try to fiddle with your BIOS maybe :)
BIOS does give me a bit of anxiety though incase I f*ck up my computer 🤣
@@PaulThird i see. I think you cannot break anything if you didn’t customise your BIOS on the first place. If anything goes wrong you can just reset it to default and everything will work again. You can’t brick anything.
@@PaulThird There is a feature to save your current BIOS settings to external USB drive and then if you screw something, so it's unbootable, you can reset your BIOS to defaults by just removing battery for several secands and then restoring your initial settings from the USB drive.
What mother board are you using to get thunderbolt with your hackintosh?
Gigabyte Z390m Motherboard
Sooo I’m not crazy for liking the sound of my M50x’s plugged directly into my Mac rather than into my Apollo twin?
Always thought it was just me… but the Apollo makes them sound brittle, low end sounds smeared.
Hello Mr Third… Great video.! I have some info for you. As far as the x6 not connecting on every start up I know exactly what it is. You have to go into the bios and turn off the ERP setting. I have an X6 and had the same exact problem with it and my former Apollo 8 duo. Once you do this it will connect every time..🙂 And your 100% right about the X6 not being seamless within Windows. So I use mine in conjunction with an RME UCX ii which DOES fully connect with any Windows application. And by linking them via adat I can route anything anywhere…!! Thanks for the great content.. Karma
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Help me please… stesso problema …mi dici esattamente come imposti il bios ?
@@greb1967 English??
My dude rocking the home bedroom setup 🤘🤘
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Hey Paul, @12:38 With Zoom, OBS, TEAMS, with pretty much everything, It works perfectly, super clean, super configurable. . . .ON MAC. Also, it is the best daisychaining with other Apollos. . . .
It is a great Interface!
Yes... On mac haha
On PC is free asio driver for obs studio
I'm getting pops and clicks when i use the ASIO driver with apollo for obs and I dunno why. If I switch to revelator io24 the obs daw recording is perfect so dunno if it's the apollo or obs ASIO extension for input recording
Glad you like your Apollo. Sorry about your windows issue. I ended up moving to Mac a few years back. Its just quieter for music.
I think I've managed to fix the windows startup issue by turning off the TB security via the BIOS and then letting the x6 do its whole Vegas mode startup before switching on. Been working the past 3-4 times but we'll see how consistent it is haha 😅
@@PaulThird Nice! I knew you were going to love the Apollo, since you already loved the audient. About the vegas mode start up, you should see the light show arturia keyboards have when you open a daw 😅
I own 2 apollox 8p's and one twin x I love them on my pc. I did notice if you install obs you can do screen recording very well with no issue but you need to set it up properly
Ive dump my apollo twin x and my ssl 2 and went straight for a focusrite clarette+ and never be so happy now my mix become soooo prestine crisp 3d fatter more hifi more analog sound
Damn I wish I saw you at Namm. I was so overwhelmed I didn't get my bearings until day 3.
Yeah I didn't even see all of it haha 🙈
Enjoyed this!! Very informative🎉
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I think my Apollo 8p has optical SPDIF. I have had so many interfaces over the years. I will never go back to any of them I love UA Apollos. I also have a Solo and an Octo Satellite. Takes so much load off the computer. Every bit makes a difference. I would love to get my hands on another octo.I also get it with thunderbolt. Im running a Mac and I will say that UA is more directed towards the MAC user even though they work fine on PC but if you think about LUNA and how it was all Mac based for code. Im not sure if they have luna for windows yet but yes if you are running a Mac the Apollos work plug and play besides all the Mac OS security settings but still easy to install and get working.
Only x6 doesn't have optical spdif
Great review as always.
I've been using the X6 (which I purchased 2nd hand for a lot less than new) with a Cranborne audio adat 500 and I love the flexibility it gives me. I'm lucky enough to be running it from a mac so no PC woes or live streaming problems. The biggest restriction I have with the X6 plugins is the inability to side-chain into a compressor. I use this for live audio ducking. What I do now is use a dbx 166x. I also use the C-Suite C-vox plugin for live noise reduction and it works fantastically.
As an aside, when you were talking about proximity effect did you really mean plosives?
Yeah. I have the loosest script ever so it's 1 take and just roll with it in the edit. Meant to say plosives
The Windows compatibility thing - used to have a similar problem with the Hackintosh we had in a studio, we had to reboot everything in a very particular order to make it connect. So I don't think it's Windows per se, I think it's a specifically Thunderbolt thing and it's probably Apple's doing.
I think what is scary is how common it is on windows or non apple computers just by reading the comments. The guy that built my computer purposely put in a TB card that was compatible with Apollos but messaged me this week to say yeah maybe try looking at BIOS security settings to see if it works better but couldn't give me a better solution to the streaming thing where I've got to route audio out of the computer via jack router and voicemeter
would love to see more of Paul Shady though , in fairness
all you need to do for the streaming routting is have your output in daw go to uad virtual channel in console which you link as stereo.. this is now going to be passed off to aux 1 or 2.. from there you want to use a cue send on the aux channel recieving the the virtual out and send that at unity to the line 3/4 output on the back on apollo.. now inside zoom or skype or whatever ...the line input is going to capture everything..... let me know if you want me to make a video explaing it better.. but this is an easy fix
i do this with my x8p and twin quad and use the line 3/4 of the twin
We tried everything. All the routing but couldn't get the fix without using jack router and voicemeter. I had direct contact with UA and they got me to try everything before making the video. If you are on mac there doesn't seem to be this issue but on windows no matter what I did it was the same issue
@@PaulThird yes,, i am on windows.. i had an issue figuring this out myself but the virtual out that sends to and an aux that send to a cue that goes to a line is what works for me... the only time i dont have to worry about the outputs is if i am using my davinci atem mini pro, cause for some reason the audio from thunderbolt feeds into the atem with no problem.. but the perk of using the virtual channel will allow to to mix buss process on the aux track which has been transformed into the mix buss tracking via this tricky routing .. mahalo and aloha
but you have to adjust line level in win settings
Hey the easiest way to use any interface I just use Loop Back on all my computers. You can route any audio anywhere.
UA told me the only way to get loop back with the apollo in windows is via that jack router + voicemeter combo
@@PaulThird I’m sorry Loop Back is a program I bought that allows me to control any audio source inputs and outputs to work super easy in obs. I’m sure there might be a video on how to. It made my life and live streaming super easy. I also have a presonus 16.0.1 usb that I use for my live streams and it has the same issues that most interfaces have without a loop back feature installed into their mixing software. So look up loop back software super easy to use. You will love it.
@PaulThird
A coaxial S/PDIF with RCA plugs can never have an impedance of 75 Ohm, as the RCA plug has an impedance of 50 Ohm. So a cable with 75 Ohm impedance and RCA plugs will always be a mismatch. But that is theory, in the real world, almost any RCA cable can be used, just keep it as short as possible (less than 2m).
Mines is a 75 ohm RCA cable and sounds identical to USB 🤓
@@PaulThird The cable without the RCA plugs is 75 Ohm. The RCA plug is 50 Ohm or less. But as I stated earlier, almost any cable will work, the dynamic range in the digital signal will survive the noise generated by a short cable run. And yes, it is the same data (the audio part) transfered by S/PDIF, USB, ADAT etc. It's just different protocols and the audio should null or something is very wrong. (:
on mac I have had the silver, the black and now the x Apollo's and the system has always been completely faultless...
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Thank you Paul Fascinating
I always feel very confident that your advice is spot on
It’s now mid April and I have been looking at the Apollo x4
Three years old now so a little unsure if they will be announcing some new pro interfaces or go subscription
I do dislike subscribing it feels like a tax on musicians ,, I digress
my question is would you say an Apollo X is a good choice for spring 2023
The included Helios 69 is honey to my ears can anyone say there is a better alternative ?
affordable alternative that is
please keep em coming
Im using it over other interfaces so I'd say yes but depends on budget and exactly what you need
You mention Lynx and Prism, but how about RME? I think they are quite comparable on specs, features and quality for the price, and arguably have the better drivers and driver support.
That's a different argument. Being honest id rather have an RME over lynx and prism
@@PaulThird Thanks Paul.
I had issues with thunderbolt, turns out there are setting in the bios you need to enable. Look at the bios options.
Did all that, thought issue was fixed as x6 loaded on startup but it's not consistent. 8 times out of 10 it isn't recognised on startup and computer needs restarted
Can you help me I have the rme ucx2 after having an Apollo twin x and love the conversion on the rme it’s night and day you really hear the mix better and natural without all that coloring in my opinion but I hate total mix from rme I can’t figure it out I’ve tried it’s a headache and love console it was way easier and let me actually do what I wanted to do which was record can you advice me on what to do I was gonna buy a x16 and then get the best rme ad/da converter for conversion I don’t know if that’s overboard or if that’s even possible how it would work but yea any tips please money won’t be an issue I just want ua console with rme conversion basically
Even how I would set that all up and if it’s possible I also recently got analog gear 1073spx and distressor don’t know how that would work with this setup I’m fairly new to everything please Help thanks I just want to record one mic and I do hip hop vocals nothing crazy
With x16 you can go AES out to AES in of RME but if we are talking converters I would personally reccomend topping dx7 pro+ which has multiple digital inputs & it's headphone amp is of the highest quality.
As of this minute that's what my buddy Ed Thorne is doing. X16 to topping over AES
I had the same problems with windows and zoom when I had an Apollo Twin ... It was even dropping out while recording or switching between my daw and youtube ... I just got annoyed and sold it. I now use a Motu 828es and it has been flawless ever since. I dont really miss the unisson stuff. I now have a wa73 and a wa76 and I far prefer those to the plugins.
I'm really unsure about the warm audio stuff. They always sound a bit muddy to me. Ed sold his wa73 for that exact reason and he's contemplating moving from his WA76 & 2A combo cause he's finding he's having to eq a lot after using them as his main vocal compression chain when mixing
@@PaulThird Don't have any issue for my use. I mainly track vocals though, so I cant say for other task, but i've been pretty happy with the result
Few years ago, I had a similar problem with a windows, PC, it didn’t recognize a device, on the motherboard There was a delay setting that could be adjusted to give it time to recognize a device. If you know someone that knows motherboards, I would look into that, it might solve your problem, I’m a Mac guy now, so I no longer am up to date with windows
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I was on the Place where i must decide to go with Apollo or RME UFX2 ......Apollo, i hate that everybody in the world use it. ( Dont belive the hype) I like to go with the Underdog. The Choice was RME, and i dont regret it. BTW. The RME has also two Adat In´s and Out´s
Yeah I said that the rme has all the features of the apollo 🤓
Sound Missing at the back end of the Video.. at the quantum stage.. :(
Yeah youtube screwed me over there for whatever reason 🤷♂️
Great vid. How are you connecting the topping DX7 Pro+ for tracking and/or mixing? Cheers.
Coaxial spdif
1:42 protools carbon knock all that down right now best conversion on market
Don't really see how when it's only got 120db dynamic range. Pretty standard tbh.
Not saying it's gonna sound shit or anything like that but I don't see how the carbon would knock out apollo x range and RME 🤷♂️
@@PaulThird we gotta line them 🆙 x6 vs carbon i can get my hand on a x6 re a test ? Then run a b2 and see
Bro with the handshake problem just switch the output on windows to another and then back to your x6 and it works without needing to restart your pc
Don't get what you mean by that
Check the new Neumann MT48, check the headphone output impedance, basically so low it will never have a problem
It is a good thing to see however whether it's a good headphone amp for mixing is still to be measured.
Rupert Neve headphone amp for example has an output impedance of 1.2 ohm which is good but measured very poorly on audio science review overall as a headphone amp.
I'm still sceptical due to the size of the neumann
@@PaulThird with Sennheiser, Neumann and Merging Technologies doing the joint development I think they have enough experience to know what makes a good headphone amp, there are a couple of reviews on UA-cam, check them out
You'd think that but there is very limited space in interfaces. The fact that SPL and RND are big respected names and both flopped with their standalone hp amps, I'm very sceptical about this interface. Be good if it did though but I'll wait to see if Amir gets his hands on it to measure
I just spent 1700 for an RME HDSPE Raydat and a ferrofish pulse 16. Seemed like the best way to go. Very expandable. I would Love to hear your thoughts on the ferrofish!!
Specs wise looks pretty much like the Audient EVO 16/sp8. Standard interface cirrus logic converter chips. Same dynamic range and THD levels which are OK but not "studio grade".
Looks pretty much the correct price tbh in regards to i/o & specs.
There would be no issues using that as your ADC for analog gear I'd imagine without testing it myself but you'd still get the moaners complaining about the dynamic range and THD+N levels but then that's up to them to pay another 5-6 grand for 16 straight ins and outs of "studio grade" conversion
@@PaulThird completely agree. I had been using an id44 mk 1 for the last 5 or six years. I bought the evo 16 when it came out hoping to replace it, but the DA sounded noticeably worse to me. Sound stage was different and sounded duller.
With the ferrofish Im not hearing as much of a difference and the raydat card gives me the flexibility to get different DA or AD later.
Using the Audient asp8 for my pres currently.
By the way, really enjoy or channel. I appreciate your qualitative approach
Personally love my duo over my 6x
Paul your the Best eh ...can i diwnload this ? Lol
Would be great to see how you compare that to a Discrete 8Pro by Antelope for example, imo Antelope diserve more recognition.
I've not heard great things tbh. Ed had one of the interfaces and he was sure all the dsp was running in parallel instead of series so there were phasing issues as he was definitely sure there were phasey things happening.
And then add that on to the whole "we need access to your computer to fix issues"
And then you've got my Turkish mentor who told me all the horror stories he had with antelope. Expensive units lasting 6 months. They have a terrible reputation for selling expensive units which are actually massively overpriced for the quality they actually are.
Due to all that I'm gonna be honest, I've avoided them like the plague
The Presonus Quantum is still in Bax & Gear for Music
That's the new range which is lower quality to keep costs down. There's only the 2626 now. Presonus originally had a quantum range that was all high spec and compared very well to the apollo range. These are all now discontinued and have been replaced by the cheaper lower spec 2626
@@PaulThird So is the quality that bad? Im thinking of getting the 1824c and ditching my Soundcraft Signature 22
It's not bad. It's pretty good but not "studio grade" specs like RME or apollo. The evo 16 is a better buy than the 2626. Similar specs and cheaper with auto gain.
1824c main & line outs aren't great compared to 2626 and especially evo 16 which has more dynamic range and slightly cleaner than both
@@PaulThird Thanks mate.
i know for my windows interface i had to install a thunderbolt control center (and possibly a special driver, been a while) to get it to work. not sure if that helps or not.
I'll try the BIOS first. That's been mentioned and then I'll have a look at drivers but I remember I had an absolute nightmare getting windows and the apollo tb connection to see each other at first. Can't remember what I did but it was driver related
Good video... But don`t get the ``Presonus`` where the quantum was discontinued... The Quantum 4848 yes, BUT still got the Quantum . Quantum2 , And Quantum 2626...
It's not THE quantum range everybody goes on about that was UADs main competition. The new quantums are much lower quality than the quantums they were selling. The quantum 2626 falls more in line with budget spec where the older ones measured more in line with "top grade" AD/DA
@@PaulThird yes i understand that but they looks like they are still have 2 Quantum ``better quality`` available... ( at least theyare still avalable on her web site... ). Not shure if is the same that you are talking about, but they are good quality one ( the 2626 are about 800$ us dollars and the more quality Quantum are 1500$ us dollar...) . Anyway keepm doing your good job , enjoy you`re video !! ✌
They discontinued them because Thunderbolt 4 pretty much killed all Thunderbolt 2 interfaces. Thunderbolt 4 is only backwards compatible to Thunderbolt 3 hence why the 2626 is still available. Hopefully they announce a new highend Interface at NAMM in a few weeks. Otherwise people gotta buy PCIE Thunderbolt 3 Cards and run the mod setup like me for my Quantum 26x32 😂
If you go on their website and go to products>interfaces it'll only show quantum and quantum 2626. If you go on quantum all the links to buy are discontinued.
Its only quantum 2626 that is available to buy from retailers
“Unfortunately PreSonus will not be receiving any more quantum 4848, they are discontinued. The only Quantum model in stock at this time, is the Quantum2626.”
28 Feb 2022
Been that way since
Excluding the DSP is Audient not a contender?
I talked about that at the end of the video
Sorry, totally missed that! Only heard RME
It says the Apollo X16 in the measurements. Not the X6.
My own ADC measurements in doctor match the X16
Great video Paul. I was wondering if my motherboard already has thunder bolt can I use the Apollo as a windows user? I was thinking about running it in Adat with my RME UCX.
Depends if the rme can send it's internal signal out via adat
@@PaulThird OK I see. My RME does have two ports for Adat so I think I will give this a go. Many thanks Paul. I really appreciate it and enjoy your channel.
The audio is muted at the of the video. Why?
UA-cam has somehow managed to fuck the video. It was fine for over a year but it's done something with the end cards and thinks the video is ending sooner that it should. Dunno if I can fix it as it's on their end
Hi Paul, Can you do a review on the Steinberg AXR4?
If steinberg want to send me one then sure 🤓
The end of the video is muted
I dunno what happened. UA-cams fucked it up somehow 🤷♂️
I have Windows and no Thunderbolt and FireWire connector... Is it really possible to connect the Apollo X8 or Apollo quad 4 FireWire to a PC, for example, via a "FireWire USB cable" and will it all work?
No, diferent protocols. You need firewire or thunderbolt protocol compatible with yout motherboard, ;)
Windows systems have massive issues with Thunderbolt. So many windows systems ive used have had so many TB issues. Its a mess and no one is fixing it. Choosing thunderbolt as a PC user (and trying to stick with it) has been a bad move on my part
Yeah I really don't understand why UA stuck with it. Surely USB-C would be the way forward
My experience in the early stages of building my own custom rig to utilize thunderbolt 3 functionality was far from easy. I admit that the timing of my current build created in 2016 was a very eager decision. I struggled to finalize my rig and Asus was of no help. After weeks of research, determination, and careful observation of the manual and my consistent documentation of each result. I arrived at an extremely stable Windows system. Asus X99 Deluxe II, Intel I7 6850K, UA Apollo x6. I do not suffer many of the issue that most experience around Windows, TH3, and UA X6. ua-cam.com/video/KbT-79vF7eA/v-deo.html
which output from the apollo do you use to send to your headphone amp?
Mon 1&2
But when I use the topping dx7 pro+ it's the coaxial spidf
No offense, Paul... But i'm currently at @4:34 and listening as I type, but a few minutes ago, you mentioned "TWO" sets of "ADAT". And, I only bring this up because it "reasonably" misleads viewers to believe that 2 separate 8-channel ADAT devices can be be connected. However, that is a fallacy in this case. And, so for "full disclosure", not to disinform your public via "omission" I feel that you should update this information, as that can be a major detail regarding one's budget strategy (even if you clarify later in the video), someone may have clicked off after making a pre-emptive decision to purchase.
Please clarify this point. Thank you for any consideration which you may give this.
It would be false if I said you can get 16 channels of ADAT through the 2 sets of ADAT. I didn't say that.
If you are recording at 88.2 & 96k then you can get seperate adat in and out but still only covers 8 channels but you can use 2 different interfaces at 88 & 96 (adat 1 is 1-4, adat 2 is 5-8) but not at 44.1 & 48.. if I'm right. Think adat input 2 is disabled at 44.1 & 48 which means youd use 1 interface sending 8 channels
@@PaulThird Paul, I am not stating that. I am merely stating that many presume that 2 ADAT I/Os allow for 2 separate device out options and many noobs make purchasing errors due to both ignorance and omitted details provided by the "information provider"....
I and many others experienced the same with Presonus interfaces regarding their inability to be used in "Stand-alone"/Slave Mode.
That stated, sharing the extra bit of detail could aid a person tremendously who may purchase another interface which would better suit their need, as opposed to "presuming" due to lack of experience that 2 ADAT pairs don't "automatically" equal "X, Y, or Z". Even if we call it erring on the side of over-caution to protect the audience. Just one more measure of transparency, as I know that transparency is important to you.
Either way, thank you for taking the time to read my comment/concern. And thank you for all of the continued hard work which you lend your audience.... I've learned a lot from you thus far, and plan to continue doing so.
Sláinte!
Could u upload the test between unison and plugin inserted afterwards? Just curious.
Was gonna do it on patreon but not here
great video subscribed
🤜🤛
Slightly off topic, i'm looking for a one output DAC for mixing duties with a digital input to be fed from an interface. I would get the RME ADI but i don't want (cant) spend that money because this is only for an old home setup. I considered a used Benchmark DAC-1 but i've heard that even newer low price DACs outperform it nowdays. Any picks out there, mid tier price at max.
Topping dx7 pro+. That's what I use
@@PaulThird and that is ok for mixing ? No colouration, precise timing, transients, spatilisation etc ?
www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/topping-dx7-pro-review-dac-hp-amp.36978/
This is Paul third you are speaking to 🤣
@@PaulThird haha ! That's why i'm here pal ! 🤣 thanks for the link :) I'll have a good read on the internet. I've already come across a potential possibility of going even further down in budget because what i read is that the SMSL M500 mk iii is comparable to the Topping, but the DAC on their lower model SMSL C200 sounds real close to the SMSL M500 mk iii, and it's around £175 new lol. But i'd have to find more information on the SMSL M500 mk iii in regards to studio use.
If i can get both with the possibiltiy to return one, i'll do it.
Hey forgive me if I'm not understanding correctly, but are you currently looking to bypass your current DAC with a unit such as the Topper? If so, I'm looking to do something similar with a silver face Apollo duo but not sure if or how it can be done.
Apolos drivers are crap. I switched to rme. The problem with dsp is you have to by there plugins to use it, so i dont think it matters. Just spend extra on your pc, and have native low latency with rme. The dsp dsp isnt zero latency, and apollos latency is high
I don't get any audible latency when recording with UAD dsp. Been using it for 6 months and can record over an hour of footage and from start to finish my audio stays in time with the video.
Same with mixing. I don't have any latency issues 🤷♂️
Hi, Dan, are you on Windows with your Rme? If so, which model of Rme without latency?
@Paul Third yeah that was my point, other then dsp the latency is bad. With that said i have the older 8p not the new one. So my needs are a bit more demanding on latency then most. My band uses a daw like a mixer. We use vsts live
@Relax Max well i still use a old aio pci card for personal use. The band uses a ufx.
@@danjones4002 Thank you . One Ufx with Windows or Mac system ?
That AD list is missing some great convetors, is this just the list of what they chose to use ?
Whatever Amir measured. He doesn't do many interfaces. It's whoever sends him stuff to measure
No wdm driver. Only 2 auxes. No EQ for headphones and monitor output. Impossible to change Alt1/2 to different outs. No external controller like Arc USB. Impossible to setup mute, dim and mono at once (only 2 of these). Sounds worse then RME ufx ii via analog and spdif.
Too many cons for 3300$ interface. Unfortunately
How can it sound worse 🤷♂️ I tested topping USB vs topping via apollo spidf and there was no audible difference. Also where is the $3300 coming from. are you talking about x16? Are we talking about the same interface?
BTW if you set your main output to virtual 1+2 and route accordingly then you can apply your own eq to your monitors and headphones. Cambridge eq is a great eq for that use.
However I've got realphones so I use that when listening in and out of the daw with my sundaras.
Either way as I said in the video, the RME ufx ii really is the biggest competitor to apollo x6 and if the apollo didn't have the UAD dsp then i probably would consider the RME over the x6.. Well actually I'm lying cause if I had to pay for an interface then I'd refuse to pay over a grand so I wouldn't buy either. I personally don't think any interface is worth more than a grand but that's just me
Hey Paul, avid fan of the channel so I have to ask: What about the 2626 from PreSonus? The 4848 was discontinued but the newer 2626 is the supposedly around the same price as the Quantum 2 (4848) but with more features. Is it worth it?
Nah its not as good quality as the discontinued quantums. I'd argue the evo 16 or sp8 is a much better buy as its cheaper and doesn't use thunderbolt.
In regards to 2626 specs it's tough to compare as the numbers are all determined by what they feel looks good and they all use different max inputs but I did manage to figure this out.
Dynamic range in 2626 for ADC & DAC is 115 dbA for both with the line outs measuring 0.0035% THD @+4dBu
Evo is 112 dbA ADC / 121 dbA DAC with the line outs measuring 0.001% THD at around +12dBu (which means that it's lower THD even when going in 8dBu hotter than quantum)
So for analog gear as a converter even the evo 16/ SP8 has much cleaner conversion than the 2626.
Headphone outs are even worse as 2626 measure 0.03% THD (no input reference) with 110 dBA dynamic range.
Headphone outs in evo is 0.001% THD @-1dbfs with dynamic range of 118 dBA.
Their new 2626 is around £500 mark. Evo 16 or SP8 is £399. Quantum 2626 isn't anywhere near apollo X6's league never mind being a better option than audients budget range imo.
Right on time
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Hi Paul, I've a question, if I bypass the uad preamp and connect for example a bass guitar and put some 1173 preamp plugin like noiseash or acustica audio etc, is not close to the hardware try to emulate a real preamp?
It's different with instruments cause thats line level. There is no preamplification, just amplification so yes those plugins can model that closer but using a plugin to replicate the sound of the mic through actual preamplification .. No.
Its not a pre amp at that point, it's a post amp
Dear Paul, did you notice more 3D or better quality using outboard gear with the Apollo x6?
Nope.
thanks! @@PaulThird
And compared to the Audient ID44 mkii
Id44 is a great interface but limited in comparison for ADA. It's big benefit is that it has an extra 2 mic pres as well as 2 send and returns which is essentially 2 line in and out where you can bypass the preamps.
If you aren't using a lot of gear and want more mic pres then id44 is a very good shout
Hello Paul, would you recommend UAD Apollo x6 AD/DA converter over RME UFXIII or Focusrite 8reline ?
Depends if you want the plugin dsp and unison preamps. If you don't then RME
@@PaulThird I have 2 audio interfaces: Steinberg AXR4U and Apollo x6. How could I get the best of them without spending on other audio interfaces? I mean, which one should I use as my main audio interface?
I use x6 as my main interface but use a seperate DAC over spdif for my monitoring as the DAC isnt great in x6. For whatever reason it sounds muddy compared to other high quality DACs
@@PaulThird Just being curious. What kind of DAC are you using? 🙂
Topping dx7 pro+
Thanks Paul. Can someone / Paul educate me on this : If UA's Unison is a "thing", then why does the UA Spark native 1073 (for example) sound identical to the Unison version? UA themselves have stated ... repeatedly ... the sonics are identical. Tests show they null. Clearly, I'm missing something.
The plugins are identical but the relationship between the microphone and the preamp is different.
I ran a mic splitter and tested unison vs apollo preamp with 1073 after. They do not null and you can still hear the difference. I mean it's really really close but the impedance of the microphone in combination with the impedance of the modeled pre is the difference
Its very slight but it's there and you can pass a blind AB. Unison is smoother
@@PaulThird Thank you!
Paul how deep you go into this stuff is admirable. The passion is undenaiable. Keep doing you man. Glad you're digging your UAD.
I got a triple x8p rig, haven't had any connection issues with my gigabyte aorus through thunderbolt for years. Perhaps its a per manufacturer thing?
Quite a few windows users in the comments with the same thunderbolt issue but it's dependent per computer. Macs never have this issue from what I've seen
@@PaulThird Yeah UAD and windows support seems to be second class citizens at the moment.
Luckily I've had good luck with Gigabyte drivers. Seem rock solid.
That's what I've got.. Gigabyte motherboard 😅
@@PaulThird Hahaha well geez golly.
Yeah Gigabytes were used alot of in the hackintosh days.
Yeah I got two rigs, with gigabyte horus and they work fine with my two UAD rigs. Sorry you're having issues.
I think I fixed it by turning off TB security via the BIOS. As long as you give the X6 enough time to boot up (about 20 seconds) before turning on the pc it seems to have fixed the handshake thing
I've had all the top and low end digital stuff ffor the last 40 years and I feel generally you get what you pay for. However recently my acquired Audient EVO 16 has rewritten the rule book. I'm still thinking I 'stole' this from them for £2,000!. Got it online for £368 ...yes - mad! As you say with their new SP8 for the same money you can add real time physical 16 ins and outs for £750!! As I write it I still think they going to come after me for the 'extra' £1500!!... They've put down a huge marker here I feel
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Do you think the EVO16 is in the same league as the US Apollo x16
@@samueloluyinkaojomu6548 tbh in this day and age where the quality of these things are at incredible heights they are all 'brilliant'. I'd would say though for this price you cannot go wrong. I'd add too that from the years way back where 'noise' was part of the sound it has now all moved to a different place. It's more about how you hear your sound to be and for me down to the raw 'takes' of everything you record, then how you mix / master it all down. The quality is now universally so fantastic you can honestly hardly hear any difference in a lot of high end equipment imo. I criticize a lot of modern methods and technologies but not here, not in the audio recording business - we are truly blessed.