Is this the best compromise between number of I/O and cost? I'm using an apollo 8 right now, and I was going to just get an apollo 16.. But for around the same price point I could get 32 I/O with this antelope, and some people are saying it even sounds better than the apollo.. Thoughts?

Hi Kyle, I have one and I really like it. Nice gear, nice price. Not as nice as my Fairlight SX-48 IO but then again, what is?

Ben Sneesby

It's what I intend to buy if I ultimately can't afford a Burl Mothership like I'm saving for. (We'll call it my back up plan.)

I found it to be nicer than the older Lynx Aurora units, though I have also read that it jumps in quality when you add in an external 10M clock.

But the price on that clock WOW

I've never had the Apollo, but I have the Antelope and it sounds good and has been nothing, but solid.

Another Antelope Orion user here. I have a hybrid setup with a mixer so the i/o is very nice. The sound is great, it has a wide stereo field and nice 3d depth to the Orion.

The clock on the Orion is great too, I clock other devices off of it and it has made those sound better as well.

It was down to this and the burl ms for me and after testing both I went with the Orion, as it was easier to add trannys with mic pres and comps as needed and keep the ad/da clean.

I plan to grab a 10m in 2014 just to get that extra out of it, when I heard this combo it was amazing.

Jim

I've been really happy with my Orion as well. It has a very clear and detailed sound. I really love the clarity of the upper mids.

Thanks guys. I think this unit is the way to go. I could sell the apollo and put it towards the Orion.

The good news about Orion 32 is that it sounds very good and delivers a high channel count. It's not a compromise but more like just...amazing at this price.

They hit the ground running with all the right digital I/O on board etc too.

War

so what is the best way ..and maybe the most affordable way to use it with Pro Tools...cos there is not a PT Card..

SSL Delta Link MADI HD ($2,499)

That's the best way to go I would think. That or if you bought the AVID HD MADI unit. Which is twice as much money for seemingly no good reason.

I'm running an Orion USB with PT10 Native.

Does anyone have any idea where this converter is in relation to the apollo? In terms of quality

Dang, better than the burl? How so?

I don't think he meant "better" just simpler and a whole lot less expensive.

I never said it was "better". I like both units very much. The burl has something that no other interface has in its sound, it is solid and warm and gooey.

I found myself making more corrections on certain styles of music that I was not doing with the Orion, where with the Rock stuff I could add an 1176/LA2A (I know the LA2A is tube), and other transformer devices in at tracking and mixing time, that let me get "that" sound.

For me it was easier as a whole to get the results I liked with the Orion. That is not knocking the burl MS at all, I really liked it a whole lot.

Thanks, but I would not exactly say it like that, but it is true, and not why I chose it at all.

I would say better but by how much is one of those things, that you would need to see for yourself. The Orion has been classed above most lower end "pro" models (where the apollo was classed) , and above some greats like the lynx interfaces, but just below the burl and JCF and other heavy hitters.

I will tell you though that support from Antelope has been top notch. I have asked a few questions on here about any minor issues I have had, and Marcel from Antelope has replied here on that thread, and had me fixed up in a short time. Sometimes without contacting support and others I had to contact support. All of my issues have been minor and easily fixable, but both Marcel and the actual Antelope support have been very responsive and a real class act, never acted like I was stupid or annoying or an idiot for asking for help or a question about an issue or possible issue.

Jim

Wow...really?! Interesting.

Yeah I was shocked too. I am a big analog and tape guy. I have an A827, and an MS-16, and I hoped that the burl would give me that same ooey gooey tape saturation and harmonic distortion that I love about tape (minus the tape, maintenance, and other negatives). The thing was it did that all too well. Recording/mixing a jazz quartet with it made me want to change some of the things the burl did to the sound. The orion did not "add" anything to the signal, what went in came out. I had less time correcting for lows, and adding back highs, but I needed more compression and added devices to warm things up, but only on certain things/types of music.

I felt the Orion was more versatile sound wise (less colored).

These are just my opinions, so don't take it as anything but my observations for the two weeks I had with both.

Jim

Cool. I don't want any coloration in my conversion, just as open, clear and honest as possible.

How well does the Orion play with pro tools? (Not hd)

The one thing I like about the apollo is how easy it is to set up a monitor feed and put reverb on there and all.

Thanks for sharing. I realized you didn't say better, I just couldn't imagine (before your post) hearing the Orion and the Burl back to back and not thinking that the Orion sounded like drywall. Very interesting...

They must have improved the units since all of the shootouts that went around pre release. At the time it sounded more or less like the Aurora. Sounds like its a step up.

To me it has more depth and width than a lynx. It has a little bit more clarity especially in the mids. The lows are a little soft by default, but they are very useable.

With the 10m the orion is on a whole other level and the issues I mention pretty much disappear. That is why I will add the 10m in 2014.

Jim

Absolutely LOVE mine. It's been rock solid since day one, not a bad thing to say about it.

I use mine with pro tools 10, non HD over MADI with an SSL MADI card on a mac os 10.8.3. No issues.

Jim

I agree the MS does some tape like transformer stuff but I also I find the burl has the option to get a bit thicker and gooier if you hit it harder.
[of course I'm not recording jazz but more indie rock type stuff etc.]
hitting it at moderate levels it sounds very open and a big solid low end.
[never had and problems with low end correction and adding highs back in] though.
but as always ymmv.

Yeah with rock the MS was perfect and did the job well and I had to change nothing. With the Orion, I just added some 1176s or LA2As an hit them hard to get close to the sound. That is why I chose the Orion, I felt it left more options to chose from for recording and mixing.

The MS was just so tape like, and my first love, but I have wide client base, so I can achieve that easier I felt with the Orion. It was not an easy choice.

Jim

The thing I notice sonically about the Orion 32 is that it sounds wide open top and bottom at the extremes...less "filtered" when switching back and forth to others in this price range (well, others that still only deliver half the channel count).

Orion32 has this far reaching sound, very good detail and depth that just makes it a great converter at any price.

The huge I/O channel count is a bonus.

If you want to monitor via a high end DA converter / monitor controller with its own conversion, it has sufficient digital I/O to allow this as well.

War

This has all the features I want. It's just a lot of $$$, plus you need 8 dSubs. Gotta save my nickels and dimes.

have you heard the apollo?

Sorry, I have not.

War