Apogee Duet, professional two-channel firewire audio interface for the Mac - Page 18

jeronimo · 24th October 2007, 06:58 PM

yes, but for the price of the upgraded unit you can buy 3 duets and still have some change back...

David Robinson · 24th October 2007, 10:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by macleodgrant

i did a shootout on the DA between the motu & apogee in the same logic session, 2 different tracks with same audio going to separate outs

i know max said there's no benefit sonically of having balanced outs but in my system where everything is balanced, i got a ground loop that i had to track down. i went balanced so i didn't have to worry about stuff like that. i know the power usage would be higher but could this not be an option that could be turned on or off as required to limit power usage when balanced isn't required?

interestingly, the ground loop didn't affect the headphone outs

one more question, would muting the main outs lessen the power usage when not required and just using the headphone outs?

hi,
yes, if using both h/p, and line outs, the level will drop.
impedance increase, always happens when outputs are from the same amp.
so, you should hear an increase with one of them unplugged physically.
don't think the switching should matter.
also, when using the internal monitoring, things get a little more strained sounding.

DR9.

David Robinson · 24th October 2007, 10:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Matt Fudge

Really? Are you saying you prefer the sound of your Duet over your Rosetta? or the Rosetta is still the best? Thanks for the info BTW too!

hi matt, no problem.

my ros200 IS better.
but it's rigged and older system, piggybacked onto another i/o.
the duet is simpler to rig up.
the sound at normal levels is comparable, but the ros200 will do better under stress.
the thing is, you can rely on apogee to deliver a good balance in sound, no matter which unit is used. that's pro for you.
i've used most apogee i/o's since 1993, and the sound quality has always been consistantly pro.

DR9.

chk027 · 24th October 2007, 11:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sounden

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...

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

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

That clip is in my Itunes, and it pops up from time to time......its a cool clip and good sound, do you have a full song version......that intro is nice!

Matt Fudge · 24th October 2007, 11:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by David Robinson

hi matt, no problem.

my ros200 IS better.
but it's rigged and older system, piggybacked onto another i/o.
the duet is simpler to rig up.
the sound at normal levels is comparable, but the ros200 will do better under stress.
the thing is, you can rely on apogee to deliver a good balance in sound, no matter which unit is used. that's pro for you.
i've used most apogee i/o's since 1993, and the sound quality has always been consistantly pro.

DR9.

Thanks David, I understand what you're saying completely and thought that was the meaning of your original response. Still sounds like a great overall product, glad to hear yours is working out well for you.

Vocalvoodoo · 25th October 2007, 06:54 AM

I've got to say, I'm quite impressed with the Duet. I've been using it since Friday, and man does the D/A sound good. Especially compared to the MBox2. It really does sound like a sheet has been lifted off my monitors. With my last 2 sets of monitors, BM5a's and Sky System Ones, the highs always seemed non-existant to me. Not the case anymore. Also, it always seemed like the MBox2 was dirty sounding and everything was kind of mashed together rather then each track having it's own space.

I was using an RME ADI-2 months back with the MBox2, and to my ears the Duet it MUCH clearer than it also. I personally didn't hear a huge difference between the MBox and RME though. Although that could just be me.

As for the front end, talking about super silent! I have a group of guys that come and record a podcast at my studio every couple of weeks or so. I usually just run their 4 sm58s into a craptastic Alesis board, an run that out in mono to the Mbox2 line ins. Even though the mic pres are the cheapos from the Alesis board, I couldn't believe how the noise floor seemed to disappear running into the Duet line ins. I'm used to this hiss in the background while recording them, but with the Duet, it seemed to be almost gone. I guess the Mbox was adding a bunch 'o' crap to the signal. The whole time they were recording, I was in disbelief at how much better they sounded. But in all fairness, a part of that may be due to switching to an iMac from a PC. The PC was pretty quiet, but the Mac is damn near silent. (they record in the same room as the computer.)

As for the pres, I haven't spent much time with them yet.

So far so good though. I'm really happy with this purchase. And the integration with the computer is a great bonus. Anyway, that is my initial impression of the Duet.

Max · 25th October 2007, 07:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by David Robinson

hi,
yes, if using both h/p, and line outs, the level will drop.
impedance increase, always happens when outputs are from the same amp.
so, you should hear an increase with one of them unplugged physically.
don't think the switching should matter.
also, when using the internal monitoring, things get a little more strained sounding.

DR9.

This is absolutely not the case with Duet. Duet has separate, load specific drivers for each output. There will never be a level drop.

macleodgrant · 25th October 2007, 10:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Max

This is absolutely not the case with Duet. Duet has separate, load specific drivers for each output. There will never be a level drop.

so max, will the power usage be less if you mute the main outs while only using the headphone outs?

chk027 · 25th October 2007, 10:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vocalvoodoo

I've got to say, I'm quite impressed with the Duet. I've been using it since Friday, and man does the D/A sound good. Especially compared to the MBox2. It really does sound like a sheet has been lifted off my monitors. With my last 2 sets of monitors, BM5a's and Sky System Ones, the highs always seemed non-existant to me. Not the case anymore. Also, it always seemed like the MBox2 was dirty sounding and everything was kind of mashed together rather then each track having it's own space.

I was using an RME ADI-2 months back with the MBox2, and to my ears the Duet it MUCH clearer than it also. I personally didn't hear a huge difference between the MBox and RME though. Although that could just be me.

As for the front end, talking about super silent! I have a group of guys that come and record a podcast at my studio every couple of weeks or so. I usually just run their 4 sm58s into a craptastic Alesis board, an run that out in mono to the Mbox2 line ins. Even though the mic pres are the cheapos from the Alesis board, I couldn't believe how the noise floor seemed to disappear running into the Duet line ins. I'm used to this hiss in the background while recording them, but with the Duet, it seemed to be almost gone. I guess the Mbox was adding a bunch 'o' crap to the signal. The whole time they were recording, I was in disbelief at how much better they sounded. But in all fairness, a part of that may be due to switching to an iMac from a PC. The PC was pretty quiet, but the Mac is damn near silent. (they record in the same room as the computer.)

As for the pres, I haven't spent much time with them yet.

So far so good though. I'm really happy with this purchase. And the integration with the computer is a great bonus. Anyway, that is my initial impression of the Duet.

Thanks for the review Brutha, I'm just waiting for the delivery guy. But to be honest I been pretty patient......no big deal for now.....So far alot of positive reviews, keep um coming....

Max · 25th October 2007, 10:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by macleodgrant

so max, will the power usage be less if you mute the main outs while only using the headphone outs?

No.

Schmacko · 25th October 2007, 11:20 PM

So, Max, at the very least what's the driver situation going to be regarding both Duet and Ensemble once Leopard is released tomorrow?

Funkster · 26th October 2007, 07:01 AM

Hey all!

I don't understand all the aggregate stuff, and I think this will work but wanted to see if anyone could confirm.

I have a uln2 and wanted to add a DUET for a couple extra pres. Can I use both at the same time in logic 7. also, would it matter if i use the firewire port on the back of the uln2 or would i need to use the seperate firewire port on the front of the G5?

can't wait to pull the trigger!

thank you!

Max · 26th October 2007, 05:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Schmacko

So, Max, at the very least what's the driver situation going to be regarding both Duet and Ensemble once Leopard is released tomorrow?

Stay tuned to our website for compatibility info on all Apogee products.

plexus · 27th October 2007, 02:03 AM

Just installed Leopard on my intel imac and connected the Duet works: it shows up in the sound system pref pane. i have not tried to install Maestro and I wont try it until Apogee says it works.

It is working with Logic 8 and a USB M-Audio Keystation 49e.

David Robinson · 27th October 2007, 08:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Max

This is absolutely not the case with Duet. Duet has separate, load specific drivers for each output. There will never be a level drop.

sorry, max. my error.
(your the boss.)

but the sound quality did change.......

DR9.

fredrik@mi7 · 27th October 2007, 08:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by plexus

Just installed Leopard on my intel imac and connected the Duet works: it shows up in the sound system pref pane. i have not tried to install Maestro and I wont try it until Apogee says it works.

Here we go: Apogee Electronics: Leopard Compatibility

robindore · 27th October 2007, 06:11 PM

Hello All,

Indeed, we posted Leopard-compatible Duet software last night once Leopard itself was released to the public. Check out our Leopard Compatibility page to learn all the details and link to the download.

www.apogeedigital.com/leopard

Apogee Tech Support will be in today (Saturday, October 27th) and tomorrow from 9am to 5 pm Pacific time if you have any questions.

Roger

Roger Robindore
Apogee Electronics

d2ba · 27th October 2007, 08:04 PM

The Duet has problems on this model on the FW400 bus.
It disapears randomly, if you connect a HD to the FW800 both devices disapear after about 10 minutes.
Im starting to suspect it is an Apple problem on all the imac models that have 1 x FW Bus and 1 x FW800 port with self powered FW devices
Unfortunatly here is proof that the FW800 and FW400 are a shared bus
Block Diagram of the iMacs internals: iMac Developer Note

Seems that you need to use a powered hub to get thr Duet to work on imacs that have a a FW800 and FW400 bus
By reading thread below and plugging my Lacie D2 into FW800 port than Duet into back of Lacie on its FW400 port all good so far

Dave

Update
Apple - Support - Discussions - Firewire Issue ...

After some experimentation I have managed to get my Fireface 800 working perfectly. It seems there is a problem with the iMac connecting directly to certain Firewire devices (apparently Apple know that this is a problem and are presumably working on a fix). It is easy to get round the problem by using an external harddrive to act as a hub (I use a Lacie Firewire Drive). Providing your harddrive has two firewire ports on the back you can get the harddrive to mount and then plug the Fireface 800 into the back on the other port. Bizarrely -- but more importantly if you are a musician -- the fireface cranks up and everything now works fine. I have tested playing all sorts of sounds out of the iMac - Music/DVD/Logic and it all works perfectly. I presume there is a fault in the driver or something on the iMac - but for now at least we can get on writing music until a fix is released...

YUGA · 27th October 2007, 09:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by d2ba

Unfortunatly here is proof that the FW800 and FW400 are a shared bus
Block Diagram of the iMacs internals: iMac Developer Note

AFAIK, FF400 and FF800 buses share the same bus on all Macs including Mac Pros.

jeronimo · 27th October 2007, 10:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by YUGA

AFAIK, FF400 and FF800 buses share the same bus on all Macs including Mac Pros.

I read something about the new hi end iMacs having 2 busses...

can anyone confirm this?

SoundEng1 · 27th October 2007, 10:32 PM

Hello Group

Question
I Have a Macbook with a firewire drive hooked up to it, does the the duet come off the firewire drive or does it have to be connected to the computer?

Thanks.

lovespirals · 27th October 2007, 10:46 PM

i hook mine up through the firewire drive, not directly to the computer. the duet receives power and works fine. i've wondered too: would it work better (ie: greater stability, etc.) if it were plugged into the computer directly. i haven't yet found anything from apogee that answers this.

dkatz42 · 28th October 2007, 06:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lovespirals

i hook mine up through the firewire drive, not directly to the computer. the duet receives power and works fine. i've wondered too: would it work better (ie: greater stability, etc.) if it were plugged into the computer directly. i haven't yet found anything from apogee that answers this.

Shouldn't matter. If it does matter, something's breaking the FW spec.

MrModern · 29th October 2007, 06:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by macleodgrant

when using the volume knob, the standard translucent volume control appears on screen!

So how does this equate to claimed digitally controlled analog output of the Duet? Seems like it is the Macs output that is being controlled and maybe even in the digital domain. Curious.

macleodgrant · 29th October 2007, 03:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrModern

So how does this equate to claimed digitally controlled analog output of the Duet? Seems like it is the Macs output that is being controlled and maybe even in the digital domain. Curious.

you can choose whether the mac's volume control controls the duet's volume. but apogee's volume control also appears on the screen like the apple controls which is a nice touch

sounden · 29th October 2007, 04:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chk027

That clip is in my Itunes, and it pops up from time to time......its a cool clip and good sound, do you have a full song version......that intro is nice!

Hehe, thats cool ! :)
I dont have a full song of it because this was dedicated for
tryin the Duet out. If inspiration makes it to me I might be able to finish this
tune off later on!

I´ll let you know ..

//S

Soundone · 31st October 2007, 09:59 PM

Anyone have any actual latency figures for the Duet?

Sample rate / bit depth / buffer size / round-trip latency in ms

Very much interested in how the Duet performs with Ableton Live and Logic!

dantheman65 · 1st November 2007, 06:24 AM

Hey guys, new slut here.

Somebody mentioned that you can use this as a reamping device? Is this true? I'd be very surprised if it was but It'd be great if someone could check if the outputs are switchable.

Considering a logic system but still trying to decide on the interface. 2 outs kinda sucks.

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24th October 2007, 06:58 PM	#511
jeronimo Lives for gear Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Salvador, BA - Brazil Posts: 2,541	yes, but for the price of the upgraded unit you can buy 3 duets and still have some change back... __________________ Think Diferente! www.verticeestudio.com http://www.myspace.com/jelmet

25th October 2007, 06:54 AM	#516
Vocalvoodoo Gear addict Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: St. Louis, MO Posts: 446	I've got to say, I'm quite impressed with the Duet. I've been using it since Friday, and man does the D/A sound good. Especially compared to the MBox2. It really does sound like a sheet has been lifted off my monitors. With my last 2 sets of monitors, BM5a's and Sky System Ones, the highs always seemed non-existant to me. Not the case anymore. Also, it always seemed like the MBox2 was dirty sounding and everything was kind of mashed together rather then each track having it's own space. I was using an RME ADI-2 months back with the MBox2, and to my ears the Duet it MUCH clearer than it also. I personally didn't hear a huge difference between the MBox and RME though. Although that could just be me. As for the front end, talking about super silent! I have a group of guys that come and record a podcast at my studio every couple of weeks or so. I usually just run their 4 sm58s into a craptastic Alesis board, an run that out in mono to the Mbox2 line ins. Even though the mic pres are the cheapos from the Alesis board, I couldn't believe how the noise floor seemed to disappear running into the Duet line ins. I'm used to this hiss in the background while recording them, but with the Duet, it seemed to be almost gone. I guess the Mbox was adding a bunch 'o' crap to the signal. The whole time they were recording, I was in disbelief at how much better they sounded. But in all fairness, a part of that may be due to switching to an iMac from a PC. The PC was pretty quiet, but the Mac is damn near silent. (they record in the same room as the computer.) As for the pres, I haven't spent much time with them yet. So far so good though. I'm really happy with this purchase. And the integration with the computer is a great bonus. Anyway, that is my initial impression of the Duet. __________________ Josh Mahler Vocalvoodoo Productions/Josh Mahler VO www.vocalvoodoo.com

26th October 2007, 07:01 AM	#522
Funkster Gear maniac Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Nashville, TN Posts: 185	help please Hey all! I don't understand all the aggregate stuff, and I think this will work but wanted to see if anyone could confirm. I have a uln2 and wanted to add a DUET for a couple extra pres. Can I use both at the same time in logic 7. also, would it matter if i use the firewire port on the back of the uln2 or would i need to use the seperate firewire port on the front of the G5? can't wait to pull the trigger! thank you!

27th October 2007, 02:03 AM	#524
plexus Gear interested Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 16	Apogee Duet Working with Leopard (OS 10.5) Just installed Leopard on my intel imac and connected the Duet works: it shows up in the sound system pref pane. i have not tried to install Maestro and I wont try it until Apogee says it works. It is working with Logic 8 and a USB M-Audio Keystation 49e.

25th October 2007, 11:20 PM	#521
Schmacko Lives for gear Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 539	So, Max, at the very least what's the driver situation going to be regarding both Duet and Ensemble once Leopard is released tomorrow?

27th October 2007, 06:11 PM	#527
robindore Gear Head Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 30	Hello All, Indeed, we posted Leopard-compatible Duet software last night once Leopard itself was released to the public. Check out our Leopard Compatibility page to learn all the details and link to the download. www.apogeedigital.com/leopard Apogee Tech Support will be in today (Saturday, October 27th) and tomorrow from 9am to 5 pm Pacific time if you have any questions. Roger Roger Robindore Apogee Electronics

27th October 2007, 08:04 PM	#528
d2ba Gear interested Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 23	Duet Problems: imac 24" (white model) The Duet has problems on this model on the FW400 bus. It disapears randomly, if you connect a HD to the FW800 both devices disapear after about 10 minutes. Im starting to suspect it is an Apple problem on all the imac models that have 1 x FW Bus and 1 x FW800 port with self powered FW devices Unfortunatly here is proof that the FW800 and FW400 are a shared bus Block Diagram of the iMacs internals: iMac Developer Note Seems that you need to use a powered hub to get thr Duet to work on imacs that have a a FW800 and FW400 bus By reading thread below and plugging my Lacie D2 into FW800 port than Duet into back of Lacie on its FW400 port all good so far Dave Update Apple - Support - Discussions - Firewire Issue ... After some experimentation I have managed to get my Fireface 800 working perfectly. It seems there is a problem with the iMac connecting directly to certain Firewire devices (apparently Apple know that this is a problem and are presumably working on a fix). It is easy to get round the problem by using an external harddrive to act as a hub (I use a Lacie Firewire Drive). Providing your harddrive has two firewire ports on the back you can get the harddrive to mount and then plug the Fireface 800 into the back on the other port. Bizarrely -- but more importantly if you are a musician -- the fireface cranks up and everything now works fine. I have tested playing all sorts of sounds out of the iMac - Music/DVD/Logic and it all works perfectly. I presume there is a fault in the driver or something on the iMac - but for now at least we can get on writing music until a fix is released... Last edited by d2ba; 27th October 2007 at 08:38 PM.. Reason: Update

27th October 2007, 10:32 PM	#531
SoundEng1 Lives for gear Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: The Deep End Posts: 808	Hello Group Question I Have a Macbook with a firewire drive hooked up to it, does the the duet come off the firewire drive or does it have to be connected to the computer? Thanks.

27th October 2007, 10:46 PM	#532
lovespirals Gear interested Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 12	i hook mine up through the firewire drive, not directly to the computer. the duet receives power and works fine. i've wondered too: would it work better (ie: greater stability, etc.) if it were plugged into the computer directly. i haven't yet found anything from apogee that answers this.

31st October 2007, 09:59 PM	#537
Soundone Gear Head Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 44	Anyone have any actual latency figures for the Duet? Sample rate / bit depth / buffer size / round-trip latency in ms Very much interested in how the Duet performs with Ableton Live and Logic!

1st November 2007, 06:24 AM	#538
dantheman65 Gear nut Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Perth, Australia. Posts: 78	Hey guys, new slut here. Somebody mentioned that you can use this as a reamping device? Is this true? I'd be very surprised if it was but It'd be great if someone could check if the outputs are switchable. Considering a logic system but still trying to decide on the interface. 2 outs kinda sucks.