Ultralite mk3 vs Apogee Duet

[stever11]

Hello everyone,

new member of the forum here and another newbie too- gotta start somewhere.

i'm looking into buying my first audio interface. i'm using macbook pro (leopard 10.5.6 i think) and logic studio now.

i decided on FireWire and $500-600 price range and so far narrowed it down to ultralite mk3 and apogee duet.

so far i'm really set on the ultralite mk3 for all the extra features and versatility but i've read about the famous fabulous Apogee converters.

in your opinions, are the converters in the apogee a huge difference between ultralite mk3 or just somewhat better? has anyone done direct A/B testing with each?

thanks,
steve

[Dwetmaster]

They are both for different applications. If the Duet have enough I/O possibilities for you, It should be way ahead in terms of converter/clock quality.

But the ultralite have WAY MORE FEATURES. Cuemix FX and (If you use DP) it's plug and play and well integrated with DP.

I think it is an unfair comparison between the Ultralite and the Duet because it is comparing apples and oranges IMHO.

[frankmcma]

Go for the mk3. I got the Duet because people were raving about it. It's nice and very cool looking but for about the same price the mk3 is stacked with way more features.

I had the Duet for only a few days, plugged in one mic, and wanted to mix it out to both stereo channels. One mic out to left and right. The unit could not do it. I called tech support and they said each Mac program would have to directly support the Duet to allow this (huh?). I use many Mac programs and don't have time to look for "Duet support", not that many programs/developers aside from Logic are going to do special programming.

Duet tech support was gonna work on a solution and contact me back. They never did. I returned the unit and got the mk3. Was amazed at how much more features and options I got. It's got onboard effects, a really polished software interface and lots of options. Go with the mk3.

Frank

[BradLyons]

Dwet pretty much summed it up! The Duet sounds AMAZING and sonically, it's better than the Ultralitemk3. However the Ultralitemk3 has many more features than the Duet and well, it sounds quite good as well. Obviously what sticks out first is the ability to record (8) inputs at a time, the metering, the fact you can use it on both Windows AND Mac computers, the 1/2 rack form-factor and......it looks cool. Because this interface DOES have built-in DSP monitoring, it allows you to monitor on the hardware as opposed to through your software. So for the example above, this is why you can route an input directly to an output. That won't happen with the Duet because it must process sound through your DAW application first.

[therealbigd]

the ultralite sounds very good too, and if you're not planning on going mobile it might be the better one to get, just because it has more connectivity available.

The duet is your boy if you want to go mobile, and it's designed for Logic studio.

if you're just looking for your first interface, typed $600 into the search engine and saw what came up, the duet will have done but not for the reason as everything else. It's that price because it's compact and mobile. It's a totally different kettle of fish to the ultralite.

[stever11]

thanks for the good info guys.

a couple more questions, possible a different thread...

1. are the A/D D/A converters and the mic pre's in the ultralite the same as the traveler? what about the 896mk3, 828mk3, and 8pre?

2. it seems to me the traveler is like an ultralite on steroids. more preamps, 2 more XLR/1/4 inch inputs, much more connectivity/expandability. it seems like all these mk3's (traveler, ultralite, 896, 828) have the new DDS word clock. are they all the same word clock?

[1nput0utput]

thanks for the good info guys.

a couple more questions, possible a different thread...

1. are the A/D D/A converters and the mic pre's in the ultralite the same as the traveler? what about the 896mk3, 828mk3, and 8pre?

2. it seems to me the traveler is like an ultralite on steroids. more preamps, 2 more XLR/1/4 inch inputs, much more connectivity/expandability. it seems like all these mk3's (traveler, ultralite, 896, 828) have the new DDS word clock. are they all the same word clock?

I believe that the current line of MOTU FireWire audio interfaces share many of the same components: analog input stage, mic pre-amps, DDS clock etc. The differences that would help you choose the one you need are the audio I/O: If you need eight built-in mic pre-amps, get the 896mk3. If you need AES/EBU and S/PDIF, look at either the 896mk3 or the Traveler mk3. If you don't need optical I/O and you want something very portable, get the UltraLite mk3. Figure out how many analog inputs you need and which digital I/O you need, and that will tell you which interface is best for you.

[artfarm1]

Depends on what you're after..... I mean, ultimately, the little sound difference an audio quality isn't going to mean anything to anyone without great monitors in a near-perfect studio or room recording space....... or to mixes made into iPod material.

If you want to work without having to worry about computer driver problems slowing you down, and you need reliable equipment with many options open to you, go for the Ultralite mkIII.

It's better than my original Ultralite, and it also works beautifully with Logic Studio and all the Apple applications.

I actually tried a Mackie 400F for awhile, but the driver problems drove me insane.... I'd rather have gear that works and DOES sound great too....... the MOTU is really fine........ sure, a wonderful mic run through an Apogee is great (too)...... but if you're watching your dollars a little bit, it's not going to make or break your recordings...... the Ultralite will come through beautifully....... you can use some outboard preamps if you want to as well!!!!....... record a whole band....... have some effects for your singers or voice people to be happy with as their voice is going through the headphones.....

Many advantages to the Ultralite!

[reaverle]

I recently got the Duet and now returned it for the Ultralite. My config: MacBook Pro 2006, Logic Pro. The Duet has some issues (confirmed through various user reports) with the MacBook Pro. So your fans might go into vacuum cleaner mode as soon as you connect the Duet (that's what mine did) AND the TRS out jacks are NOT balanced. So might get into serious noise problems in a small studio environment (that's what I did).
The Ultralite behaves very neatly in these aspects.
It was already mentioned in this threat: only few of us who get an interface in this price range have a working environment where we might notice the undeniable sound differences between those two, so my recommendation goes clearly for the features and the stability of the motu product.
greetings, ric