I've been using a duet for almost 5 years now and love the sound. As I need to upgrade my I/O count, I was thinking about an Element 46 to be aggreagated to the Duet in order to have a total of 6 analog in and 8 analog outs. BTW I realised that the Element outs are actually 2 pairs of stereou headphone outs, so would it be possible to hook these up to an external effects unit? My guess is it would not be ideal in terms of impedance matching.

In my little home studio do I need a mixer or monitor controller when my Focal Alpha 50 monitors don't have a volume control or is the Element software volume-fader "secure enough" ... ?

The volume fader is secure enough. And you can use your volume keys on your Mac keyboard to remote your Element. Or if you need a real knob, you can add the Apogee Control hardware remote.

So just to clarify ..... The Element won't work with MacOS 10.9.5 at all then?

Hi,

Just wanted to chime in to say that I've had apogee products for a long time and the current Apogee Element 46 that I have is among the best of them all, specially in regards to sound quality and low latency, only comparable to RME quality.

I think that you can have one of these products for 20 years and it will still work as the first day.

Just in case anyone is considering one of these.

I own and Element 46 - nice unit, have commented on it in another thread. Thumbs up from me.

Meanwhile had to pick up your comment about Apogee products lasting. Just gave away an original (silver) Apogee Duet firewire unit to a friend who had an older Mac - and a couple of firewire ports to spare...

Darned thing still works, can still get the drivers, still sounds good (for its generation), and it's back in service for a few more years (until friends Mac dies, which is hopefully unlikely).

Hi, anyone knows what Thunderbolt version Element uses? How future safe is it now that Apple announces changes to the Arm processors?

Element Series use Thunderbolt 2. It's fully compatible with Thunderbolt 3 when using the Apple Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) to Thunderbolt 2 Adapter.
I'm pretty sure Apple will keep Thunderbolt technology inside the Mac even with ARM processors. Thunderbolt is an important part of the actual Apple Eco System for Pro Applications.

Thanks! It feels a bit risky to invest in digital platforms theese days when they seem so tied up in standards and formats that gets replaced. And the ensemble and element does not seem upgradable.

Yeah, but what else are you gonna do? Especially since COVID, it's go digital or bust really for a lot of industries. Things always change, but to the most part manufacturers don't want to alienate the base and lose customers and business.

PS Thunderbolt 3 is backwards compatible all the way to Firewire!.

You are right, and good to know about the thunderbolt bw compatibility! It has to be said that companies have different approaches though. Metric Halo for instance seems so have a very good record for keeping products alive and current. -not saying Apogee do not.

Can we get the rack functionality on the outputs of the sound card, in order to use the eq for correcting room or Headphones, this would be awesome please!!!!

Have you tried Sonarworks?
LOL I already asked you the same exact question on the other thread.

hahaha yeah Im trying to make my voice heard by someone at Apogee

The Apogee FX Rack is only available for the inputs.

I know but it would be awesome to have the functionality in the outputs, as MOTU offers in their lineup.

Been using an Element 88, great over all.

A few things that bug me...

• Should be an option to load a preset on boot/login/connect/launch of control software.
• The Soft Limit and Phantom Power buttons move around depending if you are using inst/mic/line. Would be best to label phantom separately, like a red button, and keep buttons in the same positions.
• Unit/software does not handle sleep well. Upon waking, software level meters are frozen.
• Rack ears are tossed into the box, loose. They cause blemishes on the Element. I had this happen with two Element 88 units.
• Rack ears take a bit to install with proper alignment. No keying or any other help is provided to install the ears evenly on both sides. Seems cheap but reminds me of 1980-something when you needed some skills to use stuff.

I've been using Element 88 over a year now and seeing different things than you do:

• The Soft Limit and Phantom Power buttons move around depending if you are using inst/mic/line. Would be best to label phantom separately, like a red button, and keep buttons in the same positions.
The buttons are all in the same place.
--> 48v disappears from the channel strip when Analog Level is set to +4, -10, or INST. This makes sense because why would you want to send phantom power if it ain't mic?
--> G (group) disappears when Analog Level is set to +4 or -10. This is a-ok. Do I need it? Probs not.

• Unit/software does not handle sleep well. Upon waking, software level meters are frozen.
--> I don't seem to experience this.

• Rack ears are tossed into the box, loose. They cause blemishes on the Element. I had this happen with two Element 88 units.
--> Something definitely went wrong here. My rack ears came in a smaller box next to the foam that kept E88 in place.

• Rack ears take a bit to install with proper alignment. No keying or any other help is provided to install the ears evenly on both sides.
--> I agree that it's a bit cludgy

I been using the Element 24 for couple of years now. It's proved quite functional with nice sound quality (both AD/DA and headphone out). I'm tempted to upgrade to the new Symphony Desktop if the sound quality is improved further - especially on headphone amplifier for headphones such as the Sennheiser HD650, and the DA stage. I find the Element lacks a bit of oomph/bass weight with the HD650.
Still a shame the FX plugins can only be applied on inputs only - even for the Symphony

Please Apogee if you're reading this - make it happen. One reason stopping me from buying the Symphony Desktop...

Hi, maybe this is answered somewhere, but If I connect an external preamp with its own converters via smux/adat optical, will I still be able to use the direct monitoring in Logic Pro?

>> Can we get the rack functionality on the outputs of the sound card, in order to use the eq for correcting room or Headphones, this would be awesome please!!!!

This will never happy, they don't have it for their Symphony desktop either. Apogee are good with hardware but fall very short when it comes to software. Also the Element is discontinued, and software support is dropped.

Where did you read this?

It’s my understanding that apogee is going to continue software updates but i could be wrong

Yes, it would seem strange to abandon the Element series now. Big Sur, and Silicon machines coming out. I find loose claims like the ones above disturbing and destructive. (not aimed at you littledoodler)

Here's from Apogee site. Maybe a bit slow, but no sign of discontinued support...:

Apple Silicon Compatibility: Work in progress
Compatibility with the Apple Silicon platform requires rewriting of large portions of Apogee’s code base and control applications, which will take significant time.

When complete, it will result in:

Full integration with Apple core audio controls, such as volume adjustments from the Apple keyboard
Integration with Apple’s creative audio suite apps such as Logic & Garageband
Device Control: ability to adjust Apogee preamp controls & features from within Logic or Garageband
Direct button for low-latency monitoring on compatible products
Re-written controller software for seamless access to all features and settings of the Apogee interface
Apogee is dedicated to making all our current products fully compatible with the new Apple Silicon Macs and are excited about the capabilities of this new platform.