I do like the way the rme preamps sit in a mix though, very usable. Im a recovering pt user on pcs, and i just bought a new mac pro 8core 2. Ive been wrestling with the same conflict, albeit at the lower tier. The rme total mix software was not difficult to learn. Thanks to apollo expanded software, users of thunderboltequipped apollo twin, apollo 8, apollo 8p, and apollo 16 audio interfaces can combine up to four apollos and six total uad2 devices adding io and dsp as your studio grows.
From the maker of the apollo series more on those later, the arrow is a great way to get into the phenomenal quality of ua products, which come with not only amazingsounding converters and preamps, but also feature a bevy of their own highend plugins, modeled on and licensed by some of the biggest names in the industry neve, ssl. Uad console does anyone have experience using both. Its even better sounding than my rme fireface 800, which was top notch in its class during my firewire days. While the firewire 800 port offers no improvements over the 400 port in terms of performance with just one fireface connected, performance can suffer if you start daisychaining multiple firewire devices, such as hard drives, with a fireface on one 400 buss, whereas you wont run into these issues when using the fireface on an 800 buss. On the 8 channel versions, you will typically encounter onboard preamps on channel 14 and linelevel inputs on channels 58. It uses a special customized firmware for every operating system. Previousgeneration apollo 8, apollo 8p, and apollo 16 mkii models ship from the factory with the thunderbolt 2 option card preinstalled. I recently switched from an rme fireface 400 which was about eight years old to a new apollo quad. Top quality stuff, great pres and convertors, easy to use too. The mk3s use the same base mic preamp as the ua apollo ti pga2500. Now i use a 2nd generation duet at home and an ancient rme fireface 800 in the studio. Using external digital gear with your apollo digital clocking primer.
The totalmixfx software is installed when the drivers are installed and has a comprehensive set of features and. View and download rme audio fireface 800 user manual online. Totalmix fx is rmes powerful software mixer, and you can use it on your ipad. Rme fireface uc vs universal audio apollo twin mkii duo. Rme fireface 400 vs universal audio uad apollo quad youtube. Universal audio apollo x8 18x24 thunderbolt 3 audio interface. The only thing i know about the apollo as interface is what ive read. The ua apollo is supposed to be getting a thunderbolt option this summer but im not sure its arrived yet, and anyway probably overkill for a dj interface. First, fyi the apollo is new from universal audio with 4 sharc processors essentially a combo with their uad quad cards.
Apollo twin software downloads universal audio support home. Free tech support for your rme fireface 802 audio interface. For more complex routing and recording, rmes totalmix software mixer is. Arrow desktop thunderbolt 3 audio interface universal. Pro tools audio interfaces 10 you should check out pro tools. Using fireface 800 as adat with apogee symphony page 1. Pro tools audio interfaces 10 you should check out. The one thing i didnt care for is the dsp precessing on the mix software because you cant remove it after audio was recorded with it on. Pro tools audio interfaces 10 you should check out pro. I had a talk with a digital audio pro who convinced me that thunderbolt is total overkill for my project studio. The mic pre is pristine, the included software integrates into os x at a level many other interfaces can only hope for, and the physical design is aesthetically beautiful.
Im still on my old ass rme fireface 800 and wont upgrade until rme comes out with a thunderbolt 3 interface. Arrow is the worlds first thunderbolt 3powered desktop recording audio interface for mac and windows delivering classleading audio conversion, two unison mic preamps, and a suite of onboard uad plugins for albumquality results. Before moving to apollo, i was using a fireface ufx. Im getting rid of my digi 192 and am jumping ship from the pro tools hd platform.
Im still using my fireface 800, which i bought in 2007. The installer file is downloaded to the disk location specified in your web browsers preferences. Feb 18, 20 universal audio apollo duo vs rme fireface 800 help me out cowcarmusic. Using external digital gear with your apollo digital. We pick audio interfaces we love and use for our pro tools systems, theres a lot of variety in this list, in fact something for everyone. Im thinking about a new ua apollo to replace my fireface 800 but would like some input on the software.
Ive been comparing similar priced and specd interfaces from antelope and ua. The fireface ufx now combines usb and firewire, made by rme, within one interface. I would like to control the main monitor volume of the fireface from my pcmac keyboard or standard remote control, via the computers main volume control. With the launch of the ua apollo twin everything changed, offering the same core features of the 19 apollo with a reduced io but giving more people the chance to own an apollo. All other uad solutions hit the software daw layer when monitoring and hence reap significantly more latency, especially as you pile on the plugs. Nov 24, 2016 choosing between rme and ua apollo is like choosing between bmw mercedes. That said, rme is known for the most reliable driverstructure on the market plus very useful additional software, like totalmix, or the indespensable digicheck suite, great sound and copious featuresets for their interfaces in any price range. May 19, 2015 old rme fireface 800 used, is it worth it. Or is there better way to expand, if i want my analog io to have 16 ios. Ua audio interfaces let you record through the full library of awardwinning uad powered plugins including vintage eqs, compressors, reverbs, tape machines and more at nearzero latency, regardless of your audio softwares buffer size, and without taxing your host computers cpu. Fortunately, the store where i buy my gear were good enough to let me test both. I would take the apollo though, mainly because you can start offloading processing tasks eq, compression, etc onto the apollo card. Universal audio apollo firewire 18x24 audio interface with uad dsp.
Ive never had issues with my apollo software or had to plug and replug the apollo. Universal audio apollo duo vs rme fireface 800 help me out. The ua apollo 8 18in24out thunderbolt 2 audio interface. Will probably buy an new audio interface motu or rme. Rmes totalmix fx software certainly wont clash with the curtains in your studio. Ua s plugins, ad conversion quality, overall sound, and workflow are exceptional.
Type 2 ad interface with optional preamps digi 003 rack, ua apollo, rme fireface these interfaces include onboard preamps, but not on every channel. Fantastic universal audio forum too, where people from ua actually answer you. Rme is usb just sold ff800 because of disappearing fw technology. Apollo thunderbolt option card info universal audio. Kind of kills it all off to use amp simulator of ua apollo series. I use a fireface 800 at work coupled with a symphony system adda 16xs and although the fireface is seriously awesome i just cant get over how good the 16xs sound and im hoping that my ensemble will come close to that. How to setup and record with apollo interfaces and console software ft. Check it out and if you are shopping for a new audio interface for your pro tools system then make sure you have some of these on the shortlist. Home rme audio interfaces format converters preamps.
Ive put together a list of what i think are some of the best audio interfaces on the market in 2020. Nov 21, 2016 rme fireface 400 vs universal audio uad apollo quad gnomstudio. Im sorry there arent any audio samples of either as i have not made my decision, obviously. Finally, select the universal audio apollo driver as both your input. I have the duet now v2, and i have to say, the software is buggy, and i find myself having to unplugreplug the interface sometimes. Apollo expanded also provides seamless integration with previous generation apollos over thunderbolt. Firewire, combined with the legendary rme driver stability and maintenance. Apollo hardware manual ua part number 6540424 revision c.
Music is our passion, and we focus on making a big sound in an intimate setting. Ill try to cover everything from budget end to project studio and you should find what you need right here with the most uptodate products and latest technology. Connecting an external microphone preamplifier to your. Built upon uas 60year heritage of audio craftsmanship, apollo firewire distinguishes itself with onboard uad2 quad core processing and an included bundle of awardwinning uad plugins which you can track through with nearzero latency, shaping sounds like a classic analog studio without taxing your host mac or pc. Apollo twin usb duo ive been quite happy with my focusrite forte for several years. I put 9 because there are better convertos because it has no physical knob for volume and it has no builtin effects etc. The dsp really depends on which version you get and what plugins you are using. Quantum achieves such low roundtrip latency in part by not using onboard dsp for routingmixingloopback recording.
Rme audio professional live, studio, recording and broadcast solutions. Latestgeneration apollo x6, apollo x8, apollo x8p, and apollo x16 models ship from the factory with the thunderbolt 3 option card preinstalled. This means that you can monitor incoming audio with uad2 plugs at a very low latency. Plus, i hate the stupid breakout snake for connectivity. The ua apollo twin has a whole lot to like about it. With the apollo, latency only becomes an issue if you need to track using non ua plugins. Thats the downside of quantum all monitoring has to be done via software. When the apogee ensemble was discontinued recently, i started looking closely at the apollo and the rme fireface 800, which provide vaguely ballpark specs. Ua apollo vs rme ufx blind test so i got the universal audio apollo interface last week, and today i received the rme fireface ufx interface. Rme babyface pro vs universal audio apollo twin mkii. The apollo, of course, now provides thunderbolt as an extra option. I have a kemper profiling amp and make profiles of my amps using multiple mics. The fireface drivers have been rock solid for me and i wouldnt want to replace a perfectly good interface with one that has unstable drivers.
Thats the downside of quantum all monitoring has to be done via software loopback recording means physically patching. The fireface 802 is a more than worthwhile update to an audio interface that is still in daily use in thousands of studios around the world, and looks set to build on the fireface 800 s reputation for reliability, flexibility and good sound quality. Im thinking about a new ua apollo to replace my fireface 800 but would like some input on the software mixer for each. Apollo twin software downloads the latest uad powered plugins software installer, which includes all drivers and files necessary to use the apollo twin, is available here.
Ive recently been using the ua apollo x8 interface via thunderbolt 3, with an imac and focal monitors. The ua apollo twin has proved to be a hugely popular audio interface and for a good reason. Universal audio apollo 8 thunderbolt audio interface, pair. Pls help to choose new audio interface recording forums. I wish there was an intermediate model between the ua apollo twin duo and the apollo 8. I actually have the ua 4710 that has 8 channel adat on which i send 4 isa preamps i have and i drive it at 96khz, so. A small but important feature is to understand that the dual firewire 800 ports on the rear of apollo will not power your external hard drives. Pretty interesting comparison imo, especially since everyone seems to think the apollo would be far better and on gearslutz especially the rme stuff gets downplayed a lot lately for no apparent reason other than them being biased gearslutz of course.
With unprecedented flexibility, compatibility, the inclusion of durec direct usb recording and rmes famous low latency hardware and driver designs, the fireface. You wont find many companies who make a bigger range of interfaces than german stalwarts rme, whose lineup incorporates everything from oldschool expansion cards to the thoroughly politically incorrect pink ladyface model the companys fireface 400 and 800 models were some of the most popular options in the firewire interface market, but as apple and other. When it first appeared, the fireface 800 was the first audio interface to take. I bought an apollo thunderbolt twin duo, amazing, i later bought an apollo 8 and i use them linked, the twin sits on my desk and i use it as the main controller. Universal audio apollo 8 thunderbolt apollo 8 is the worlds most acclaimed professional recording interface for mac and windows, giving project and commercial studios superior ad and da conversion with the tone, feel, and realtime workflow of classic analog recording. The key selling point is that the apollo can run ua dsp directly on io streams. Looking for advice on an interface, and have narrowed my decision down the apogee ensemble or the rme fireface 800.
Universal audio apollo x8 18x24 thunderbolt 3 audio. Ua apollo vs rme ufx blind test gearslutz pro audio. Audio hardware setup guide please select your audio device as the cakewalk software you are using and click show setup instructions. Also the focusrite control software really helps with routing and monitoring everything. If you are tracking through the excellent ua plugs, including compressors, eq, reverbs etc. Universal audio is back with updated versions of their wellregarded apollo line of. When you add a stateoftheart audio interface from rme, quite possibly. Good, not great hardware and the software drivers etc. Anyways ive been bouncing around the same question for a while now myself and i am going to go with the ensemble. Rme is good hardware, while the drivers and software are top notch. Universal audio apollo twin mkii duo universal audio apollo twin mkii duo. One guestion though, id like expand my io in future, and im thinking of getting fireface 802 probably, how does the old 800 and 802 work along can i have them on same setup. A couple of points the uad emulation is top notch but native stuff is getting better all the time. First, please connect your apollo firewire, apollo 8, or apollo 8p as you.
Using external digital gear with your apollo digital clocking primer customers often contact us for advice on how to connect a third party interface or standalone preamp converter digitally into their apollo firewire, apollo 8, or apollo 8p to expand its io. There seems to be a fair amount of complaints on the antelope interfaces reguarding reliability drivers software glitches, resale. Thunderbolt is a highspeed data transmission protocol that. I wont say the apollo is any better sound wise just different. The rme preamps are very boring and plain but they work, i wouldnt be surprised if the motu pres initially will sound better. I used to have a ufx in my old studio before it got destroyed by a hurricane. Ua apollo vs rme ufx blind test ultimate metal heavy.
This will compensate the lack of a volume knob on the fireface s front panel. Universal audio apollo quad firewire, audio interface, 18 x 24 firewire audio interface, 24bit 192khz adda converter, internal uad quad core realtime processing. The fireface ufx has been uncompromisingly optimized for highest performance under windows and mac os. Rme cest moins cher, hyper stable cote drivers, ultra pratique, dune neutralite audio presque parfaite le petit cote trop rigide dans le bas. We will let you know our recommended configuration steps for your device and cakewalk software. However, a uad2 satellite can be daisychained on the apollo s firewire bus for additional dsp power, if required. Simply place a unison preamp plugin on your mic input in apollo console software, and it physically reconfigures the apollo interfaces impedance so you can tap into the classic sounds of the worlds most recorded mic preamps. The apollo x8 sounds as good as my apogee rosetta 800 big ben combo on its own internal clock with the added bonus of thunderbolt 3 connectivity and ample power to run high quality uad plugins. Ua apollo vs rme ufx blind test im getting rid of my digi 192 and am jumping ship from the pro tools hd platform.
By using an external mic preamp like an audient asp800, you can get 8 additional. I use a tascam us144 external interface which is usb powered, has all the inputs and outputs i need and i would. Someone made a blind test using the universal audio apollo and the rme fireface ufx. For stability and hassle free operation, i love the rme. The apollo s ability to play thru uad plugins and monitorrecord thru them at 2ms latency is a great feature. Firewire 800 ensures the ability to use all of apollo s io as well as its dsp processing. I havent used or even seen the apollo, so i cant make a comparison between the two. Help choosing a new audio interface ni community forum. Your assertion that the studer 800 and 827s are different, well the smart ass kid in me would like to respond that if you actually listen to the podcast, thats about the first thing i indicated. It has more outputsinputs than you could ever need and even if you do need more, you can expand on it easily. This compact 2x4 interface starts with esteemed ua conversion derived from ua s flagship apollo interface range, to sonically outperform anything in. Uad console im thinking about a new ua apollo to replace my fireface 800 but would like some input on the software mixer for each.
1228 1412 367 19 1450 30 113 1468 723 941 499 27 641 653 847 41 1001 388 893 138 107 1253 354 321 450 1472 100 95 779 1199