Apogee Duet, professional two-channel firewire audio interface for the Mac

[dsound]

Originally Posted by DarkEcho

Can the Duet be used with outboard gear? say us laptop users only have the Duet and want to get a hardware compressor, can the Duet make it work well?

Yes it will. Since there are 2 line in plugs, you can run an outboard comp, eq or pre with the Duet.

[Surreal]

OMU how will the duet fit into your rig?

when you say mobility, do you mean gigging or just recording?

i can't seem to let the dream die...(i have a FF800 and need a mobile piece.)

[chk027]

Originally Posted by Nutkin

Hi OMU,

What sounds better about the Duet to me, in relation to the ADI-2, is greater resolution of fine details, more precise stereo imaging and greater separation of individual instruments in a mix. I think the Duet has a slightly more controlled ('tighter') bass as well.

In case you are wondering, this opinion based on monitoring with a pair of Genelec 8030s. For comparison, the ADI-2 is lightpiped directly to the Macs optical digital outs.

I don't really record using mics (mainly just synths) so I can't really say anything about the pre's, though I am wondering about building a summing box to input into the Duet so I guess the pre's could be useful for gain makeup if I do that . . .

Rob

So what you are really saying, is that this thing called a Duet really DOES exist?

Keep the reviews flowing, post some clips, are you using logic? A/B some more gear next to it if you can, oh I guess you can't if you don't mic...

Thanks for the post,

[jslevin]

Originally Posted by SteveE9C6

Well Jay... My comments and views are not biased by Mac vs PC.

I certainly did not intend to stir up the same old tired Mac-vs-Pc argument.

And yet you did. The idea that this is a Mac vs. PC thing is coming entirely from your head, not mine. I'm not saying what people should buy, I'm just saying what products will appeal to similar types of consumers. You seem to be taking this personally, like it's a judgment on your character for using a PC. But my comments weren't about you, they were about the market in general.

I've owned, used, recommended and supported both platforms for many, many years.

They were simply observations which I still believe to be true. Obviously, I'm not a big time studio owner such as you. I'm just a hobbyist with a nice home studio. I'm not at all concerned with the brand of tool I use as long as it works. Obviously, the most important tool is our own ears.

I am so not big-time in any way, and I didn't bring up any of that stuff. I'm happy to be judged here only by what I post, not by any resume. In fact, my experience in the technology field is far more significant than my production experience, for this topic.

You make quite broad, sweeping generalizations about a large number of folks. Your statements really come off as quite condenscending which really puzzles me.

They might "come off" that way to someone who's feeling insecure or attacked, but again, my comments were not about you, they were about the market in general. Sorry if I didn't make that clear.

The buying patterns of Mac users are quite obvious and very well known -- and manufacturing decisions are all about generalizations. Look where the Apple Stores are built, almost entirely in very affluent areas. Look at their whole high-style approach. They try to appeal more to people who feel that if they pay more, they must be getting more. This isn't about "better," it's about consumer behavior.

I'm sure you'd find that Apogee products are also more appealing to consumers who buy very high-end, customized PCs as well, but of course that too is a very small subset of the overall market.

JSL

[DarkEcho]

do the line-in's not pass through the preamp?

[obscure object]

I believe the line ins go directly to A/D bypassing the preamps.

[sounden]

I just unpacked my Duet serial# 617 :)

Ill come back later with impressions.

//S

[Realtugs]

Congrats!

[Matt Fudge]

Exciting stuff! Can't wait to hear your impressions of it, be intersted in hearing some recordings with the preamp.

[SebCarr]

For anyone in the UK who's after one, Turnkey (Charing Cross Road, London) had them in stock when i popped in this evening.

I'll be picking one up soon i reckon :)

[Vocalvoodoo]

That's awesome, sounden! Can't wait to hear some samples. I also can't wait for mine to arrive!

[sounden]

Ok, so here it goes

First impressions very good, solid unit with a nice touch of quality.
The break out part was not that impressive, but hey its doing its job.

And I actually did not thought this was "made in USA", so that was a
nice surprise.

No problem during installation om my MacPro with logic pro 8.

Had some crackles and snaps during playback, so I rebooted an
extra time and it went away(?).

Maestro software seems stable so far, easy to understand.

I did some quick recordings, Im so tired right now so I dont think
I can make some real good judgements at this moment.

Vocals was made by U87 straight into the box and I applied a telephone
effect. Im a bad singer so don´t blame me. haha

guitar and bass right into the Duet via instrument input.

Listen to the sample yourself..

When I get my acoustic guitar back I can record some more samples.

Anyway!

For the $$ you cant go wrong with this ;)

Good Job, Apogee!

[chk027]

Originally Posted by sounden

Ok, so here it goes


Good Job, Apogee!

Thank You 3x's,

That is a pretty good sound, IMO.
It sounded pretty damn good.

Did you do anything when mixing? if so what?

Thanks Great post.

[Matt Fudge]

Thanks for the info, the tune you posted sounds nice, makes me think it may actually live up to the quality they're claiming. Congrats on getting one of the first ones too.

[truth123123]

hard to judge vocals because you applied that telephone effect but other then that guitar and bass sounds great.....whats that sound that starts at like 6secs?

do you have any other mics you can test the pres with something cheaper then the u87?

[Vocalvoodoo]

Originally Posted by sounden

And I actually did not thought this was "made in USA", so that was a
nice surprise.

So it's made in the US? That's good to hear that it's not a Chinese made unit. People on another forum were speculating that it was a watered down Apogee unit made in China.

Thanks fot the audio sample!

[barryjohns]

When is it being released?

[sounden]

Did you do anything when mixing? if so what?

I did some standard cuts and boosts, added effects on the vocals.
Had two guitars in delay-designer and the 909 hihats.
Platinum compressor on the bass and SilverVerb on one guitar i think.
Some automized volumes and effects on the guitar.

Thats about it...

.....whats that sound that starts at like 6secs?

ah, its a plug-in distorted lined guitar with delay-designer (Im totaly digg this plugin) with automized volume and pan.

do you have any other mics you can test the pres with something cheaper then the u87?

Im going away this weekend to record vocals, I could probably try my friends Studio Projects B1.

I think I will have some more time this to test it more accousticly...

//S

[champ]

i got this idea in my head

i'm using a RME FireFace 800 but i dont use al the i/o
so i could get a DUET which has anough i/o for me at this moment (im also moving so i could use the extra cash)

can some of you convince me that this is a good thing to do or maybe even the worse thing

i compared the ff800 and the ensemble and the ensemble did sound a little better
but then again that was tested in a store with lots of people talking

hope somebody can help me with this dilemma :)

grtz

Eric

[sounden]

Originally Posted by champ

i'm using a RME FireFace 800 but i dont use al the i/o
so i could get a DUET which has anough i/o for me at this moment

This is exactly what I´ve done, I sold my FF800 and bought this Duet.
When I got rid of my TAC mixer I did not see the need of that many I/O´s
anymore.

//S

[champ]

Originally Posted by sounden

This is exactly what I´ve done, I sold my FF800 and bought this Duet.
When I got rid of my TAC mixer I did not see the need of that many I/O´s
anymore.

//S

ok nice

what are the up and downsides of the switch you made
or is it all good

[Egopanic]

@Sounden: Nice sound! Could you tell us what Mac model you`re running and give us some latency specs in Logic (or whatever else you use)? I would highly appreciate it...

General question: Doesn`t "digitally controlled analog" mean that sound quality decrases when turning down the volume knob? This would kind of suck, since I cannot make real level changes on my Dynaudio BM5A monitors (except for +4db and -10db)...

Edit: I`m also very worried about not having individual level controls for monitor and headphone outs. Imagine I turn the volume (when I`m listening through my AKG K141Studio headphones) to let`s say three quarters, then unmute the monitor outs and baaaang, ear damage! Hmmm, I`m starting to think it was a mistake to sell my Motu Ultralite...

[Realtugs]

Originally Posted by Egopanic

Doesn`t "digitally controlled analog" mean that sound quality decrases when turning down the volume knob?

Why?

[eliottjames]

Sweetwater is shipping today.

[pjo]

just got word that my Duet is shipping from Sweetwater, ahead of schedule, after the delayed schedule. finally

[Vocalvoodoo]

That's awesome! I wonder if Mercenary will be shipping today. I not so patiently await for the email. :)

Originally Posted by pjo

just got word that my Duet is shipping from Sweetwater, ahead of schedule, after the delayed schedule. finally

[Egopanic]

Originally Posted by Realtugs

Why?

Because usually there is an op-amplifier after the D/A-converters, which brings the output to line-level. The inputs of active monitors are often designed to take 100% (full line-level) what comes out of the soundcard. Even if you have a -10db switch like I do on my BM5As (or something similar), you still need to turn down the soundcard`s volume-knob. And when you do that you also lower the dynamic range = lower bit-rates... That`s why a "real" analog volume-knob is needed in pro-apps.

[dkatz42]

Originally Posted by Egopanic

Doesn`t "digitally controlled analog" mean that sound quality decrases when turning down the volume knob?

No, it sounds quite the opposite--the DAC gets full resolution, and then a digitally-controlled VCA attenuates the output (in the analog domain.)

At least that's the way I read it...

[Fredrik]

Yes, the only thing it means is that the dial does not pass audio directly.

[Realtugs]

Originally Posted by dkatz42

No, it sounds quite the opposite--the DAC gets full resolution, and then a digitally-controlled VCA attenuates the output (in the analog domain.)

At least that's the way I read it...

Would be VERY surprised if this was NOT the case.