UAD Apollo

[davelee]

Thank you very much!

[joelmusic]

Thanks for this thread!

Yesterday morning I was just talking with a buddy about my 2408 and how I think it may be on it's last legs ... Apollo is exactly what I need. It gives me all the inputs and outputs of the 2408 MkIII and so much more. And it gets me into UAD, and UA preamps, all in one go. This is a really cool product.

Does the Apollo have 24 digital I/O? I am thinking of selling my Mac Pro, UAD2 & 2408 and buying an iMac (thunderbolt) and an Apollo - I thought it didn't have enough I/O though?

[FutureLegends]

Does the Apollo have 24 digital I/O? I am thinking of selling my Mac Pro, UAD2 & 2408 and buying an iMac (thunderbolt) and an Apollo - I thought it didn't have enough I/O though?

Why not check UA's webpage:
http://www.uaudio.com/interfaces/apollo.html

But no, it doesn't have 24 i/o. They say 18/24 but that includes S/PDIF and word clock etc, I believe... Check the specs on their webpage for complete breakdown on available i/o...

[sdemott]

I used one last week for 2 choral sessions for some video game soundtracks. The composer just got one and insisted we use it for the recording instead of my interface (but I used DP for tracking...not wanting to mess around with anything else).

It was very nice, but there was a very distinct & noticeable noise on the preamps, akin to cassette tape hiss. We tried a couple sets of mics to make sure...but no, it seemed to be the Apollo itself. Also, the master volume knob began making a scratchy sound after a few hours of use.

Not sure if this is indicative of the build quality overall or just a bad unit, but it was enough to make me wonder how well they'll hold up over time and heavy use.

I'm a pretty dedicated Metric-Halo guy anyway...so, even if it were perfect through those sessions, I doubt I'd be going to it. My MH gear has had near-zero latency effects for years.

[James Steele]

It was very nice, but there was a very distinct & noticeable noise on the preamps, akin to cassette tape hiss. We tried a couple sets of mics to make sure...but no, it seemed to be the Apollo itself. Also, the master volume knob began making a scratchy sound after a few hours of use.

Not sure if this is indicative of the build quality overall or just a bad unit, but it was enough to make me wonder how well they'll hold up over time and heavy use..

I'd been thinking of selling my HD192, 24 I/O, and Millennia HV-3C preamp to get into an Apollo, but sounds like letting go of the Millennia would be a mistake.

[sdemott]

I'd been thinking of selling my HD192, 24 I/O, and Millennia HV-3C preamp to get into an Apollo, but sounds like letting go of the Millennia would be a mistake.

From what I experienced, I would say so. As I said, I'm not sure if that's indicative of all the units. It certainly didn't instill me with a ton of confidence in them.

[sdfalk]

0 issues with mine ...
No tape hiss..

Having dealt with enough gear over
The years, (from many companies)
I can say with confidence , that ANY
Company (periodically) produces a
Lemon.
Not that I'm a complete believer in reviews,
But if you'll note the summary in this one,
it indicates an excellent build quality...
Having had a look at one from the inside
Out , (and knowing someone who builds
Gear to fairly high quality levels himself)
I'd tend to agree .



http://www.emusician.com/gear/0769/univ ... llo/149053

[kgdrum]

0 issues with mine ...
No tape hiss..

Having dealt with enough gear over
The years, (from many companies)
I can say with confidence , that ANY
Company (periodically) produces a
Lemon.
Not that I'm a complete believer in reviews,
But if you'll note the summary in this one,
it indicates an excellent build quality...
Having had a look at one from the inside
Out , (and knowing someone who builds
Gear to fairly high qualitie levels himself)
I'd tend to agree .



http://www.emusician.com/gear/0769/univ ... llo/149053

I would tend to agree,there are numerous user threads on GS with hundreds of posts,without any reports like this.
If the Apollo was a poorly built unit,there would be numerous threads on GS about build issues etc..... I haven't seen any, Gearslutz users in my experience enjoy slamming a shoddy product, it's a sport there, if there were known issues you'd see several threads about what pos the Apollo is, lol

This thread has been going on since last March it's about 180 pages,none of which I remember report this type of user experience.
http://www.gearslutz.com/board/so-much- ... eview.html

I think this is an isolated incident or something else is causing these issues.

[sdemott]

It could very well have been the specific unit. I will say that the front panel knobs (master volume & 2 headphone volumes) were a bit flimsy...I would not call them "high quality" by any stretch. It was a decent piece of gear, but it wasn't anything I would classify as super high-end. Not like an API, Neve, Millennia or Manley. This thing was not built to those specs.

I don't know the "why" - I just know what I experienced. This was a brand new unit. Maybe a week old. It would be really interesting to hear anyone who has a really new one to comment on what they find.

Was it just a lemon, did they move manufacturing & haven't worked out the bugs? Did they cut costs on manufacturing...who knows?

[bugscoe]

Is anyone using an Apollo with MOTU hardware? I've got a 1296, 2408mk3 and 2408. Looking to add an Apollo but unsure about all this would all work together.

Any feedback?

[sdfalk]

I purchased one from the day they shipped.
I certainly wasn't suggesting super high end , but
I never thought of them as flimsy either . As
I've said , I've seen the insides of the Unit , and
Along with someone who has a reasonable idea
What build quality is .. He appeared reasonably
Impressed.
As for Ua moving manufacturing, nope,

I am in touch with UA directly and the distributor, and
..
nope..unless they're fibbing