| MIX VERDICT: UNIVERSAL AUDIO APOLLO X8 GEN 2 |
| THE TAKEAWAY: “The sound high quality is superb, and just about each characteristic you would possibly want for recording and mixing is offered and intelligently carried out.” |
| COMPANY: Common Audio • www.uaudio.com PRICE: $2,899 PROS: • Complete characteristic set for recording, mixing and mastering. • Improved audio specs. • Apollo Monitor Correction integrates Sonarworks expertise. • Assistive Auto Achieve speeds workflow. • Bass Administration permits simple integration of subwoofers. • Plug-in bundle upgrades out there that supply glorious worth. • New end, knobs and buttons. CONS: • Apollo Monitor Correction requires a further cost. • Thunderbolt 3 cable not included. • Not all Unison plug-ins work with Assistive Auto Achieve. |
New York, NY (March 21, 2025)—Common Audio lately launched Gen 2 of its Apollo X interface vary, including options and bettering the specs of an already stellar line. Like Gen 1, the Gen 2 lineup options Thunderbolt 3 connectivity and helps as much as 24-bit, 192 kHz decision. The road, which helps each Mac and Home windows, contains desktop fashions Twin x Duo, Twin x Quad and x4, and 5 rack fashions: the x6, x8, x8P, x16 and x16D (the D is for its Dante connectivity).
UA modified the end from Gen 1 to a lighter shade of silver—a nod to the unique Apollos from 12 years in the past—and up to date the buttons and knobs. In any other case, the bodily format of the gadgets, together with the I/O and metering, has remained the identical.
The corporate loaned me a x8 Gen 2, one of many rackmount Apollos, for this assessment. Whereas it will likely be the main target right here, a lot of the new options can be found throughout the Gen 2 vary, and one, Apollo Monitor Correction, is even backward-compatible with the Gen 1 items.
The interface connects to your laptop utilizing a Thunderbolt 3 cable. Such cables are comparatively dear, and contemplating the price of these interfaces, UA actually ought to embody one.
Like its Gen 2 siblings, the x8 helps 24-bit, 192 kHz decision. Like the opposite rackmount fashions within the line, it affords six cores of DSP. The full I/O rely on the x8 is 18-in and 24-out in the event you embody the ADAT and S/PDIF digital ports, which, when related to a suitable outboard gadget, provides 10 further inputs and outputs.
The unit can deal with as much as eight channels out and in of analog audio. On the enter aspect, you need to use any mixture of its 4 XLR mic inputs, eight 1/4-inch TRS line inputs on the again panel and two front-panel 1/4-inch Hello-Z instrument inputs. The outputs, all DC-coupled, embody 10 1/4-inch line outs (together with the 2 monitor outputs) on the again and two individually addressable stereo headphone outputs with quantity controls on the entrance.
To get essentially the most out of the interface, UA features a highly effective companion app known as UAD Console, which you employ for monitor management, creating monitor mixes and accessing varied different consequential options. Every enter channel in Console incorporates 4 insert slots for recording or monitoring by UA plug-ins, plus one slot for a Unison preamp plug-in. The latter permits you to report by UA’s Unison preamp plug-ins, with management of achieve staging and impedance from Console or the interface itself.
Because of the conversion enhancements, the Gen 2 x6 and x8 fashions have enhanced dynamic vary and decrease THD throughout a number of inputs and outputs. UA improved the conversion on the Twin x and x4 desktop interfaces much more dramatically, bringing them into tough parity with the rack items. Consequently, any new Apollo you purchase will probably be within the higher echelon {of professional} audio interfaces by way of audio specs.
SONAR READINGS
Probably the most buzz-worthy addition to Apollo x Gen 2 is Sonarworks integration. Dubbed “Apollo Monitor Correction,” it stems from a collaboration between UA and Sonarworks. For these unfamiliar, Sonarworks SoundID Reference software program gives acoustical correction of your monitoring area and headphone optimization for a lot of fashionable headphone fashions.
For the previous, it sends check tones by your screens and instructs you to put a measurement microphone in a number of areas. The measurements it takes are used to create a correction profile, which compensates for room anomalies akin to room modes and flattens out the frequency response general.
When used by itself, you’d usually place SoundID Reference on a DAW’s grasp bus or as a “Systemwide” app that impacts all audio on the pc. When it’s on the grasp bus, you have to keep in mind to bypass the plug-in once you bounce, or the compensation it applies—which is strictly for monitoring—will get printed.
Apollo Monitor Correction, which may also work with Gen 1 interfaces, permits you to embed your Sonarworks correction profile within the interface. For headphones, the correction is positioned on the headphone output, and for audio system, it’s positioned on the monitor output. Due to this fact, its processing doesn’t influence your bounces, creating extra of a “set and overlook” workflow than is typical with SoundID Reference.
You possibly can concurrently embed presets for each screens and headphones, so that you don’t have to modify between them such as you do when operating SoundID Reference natively. You possibly can flip it on and off and change between profiles contained in the Console software.
On the rackmount interfaces (each Gen 1 and Gen 2), you may also have a completely different preset for every headphone output. I’ve used the SoundID Reference plug-in for a number of years, and its implementation in Apollo Monitor Correction is considerably extra handy.
Nonetheless, a further buy is required. You should purchase SoundID Reference and add one other $79 to get the Apollo Monitor Correction license from Sonarworks. In the event you’re an current SoundID Reference proprietor, you solely have to spring for the license.
GAINING THE SYSTEM
One other helpful new Gen 2 characteristic known as Assistive Auto Achieve. Managed by the Console app, it creates a customized enter achieve setting primarily based on the enter supply degree. To make use of it, press the Auto-Achieve button on the Console channel you’re recording into. The Auto-Achieve floating window opens. By default, it listens for 10 seconds earlier than creating its setting, however the period is adjustable.
Whenever you’re prepared, press the Begin button and start enjoying, singing or talking. Inside the specified time-frame, Console units the enter degree on the Apollo. I virtually at all times discovered these computerized settings usable, with loads of achieve and no clipping. Naturally, that assumes your instrument or vocal degree stays in the identical neighborhood as what you enter in the course of the degree test.
Sonible prime:vocal — A Combine Actual-World Evaluation
Once I first realized about this characteristic, I assumed, “I can set my very own ranges; why do I would like that?” Nonetheless, as soon as I attempted it out a number of occasions, I spotted that shortly nailing correct input-gain ranges sped up my workflow. I didn’t have to return and alter the enter practically as a lot as I’d have had I been setting ranges manually.
Assistive Auto-Achieve works with some, however not all, of the Unison plug-ins. Presently, it’s solely suitable with Neve, SSL and API plug-ins.
MANAGING DOWN, GRAVY ON TOP
One other new characteristic is Bass Administration, which is designed to make integrating a subwoofer into your stereo or multichannel monitoring system simpler. It may be managed by the Monitor Controller window in Console. It’s additionally backward-compatible with Gen 1 interfaces.
With Bass Administration enabled, you may choose considered one of three crossover frequencies: 80 Hz, 100 Hz or 120 Hz. The steepness of the crossover filter slope is adjustable between 12 and 24 dB/octave. Whether or not you add a subwoofer to a stereo monitor pair or to the LFE channel in a encompass setup, Console will ship the low-frequency sign to a delegated line output on the again of the Apollo.
Whenever you buy an Apollo Gen 2 interface, you get the UAD Necessities + Version bundle, which incorporates 32 plug-ins in varied classes.
Just like the Gen 1 Apollos, the brand new fashions supply tight integration with UAD’s free LUNA DAW. This contains assist for Unison preamps, computerized enter configuration, management of DAW parameters from Apollo {hardware} and extra.
THE EXPERIENCE
For the previous two months, I’ve used the Apollo x8 Gen 2 as my major interface. I’m fairly impressed with its design and workflow. Recording and mixing with this interface is like driving a luxurious automotive. The sound high quality is superb, and just about each characteristic you would possibly want for recording and mixing is offered and intelligently carried out.
That implementation contains the best way the {hardware} combines with the Console software. Monitoring by UAD plug-ins—each Unison and in any other case—within the Apollo setting is seamless. It doesn’t require that you just create aux tracks and buses in your DAW, as you have to do to trace by plug-ins on most interfaces. Utilizing Console’s insert slots, I might simply report electrical guitar and bass elements by UAD amp sims, which is a useful choice.
Apollo Monitor Correction is a handy option to combine Sonarworks SoundID Reference correction into your system. I’m comfortable that UA additionally made it suitable with Gen 1 interfaces. Not all producers would have completed that, and it exhibits that UA respects the numerous funding its Gen 1 prospects have already made.
The opposite new options, like Assistive Auto Achieve and Bass Administration, additional improve Apollo’s capabilities.
I extremely advocate the x8 or any of the Gen 2 items. They’re not cheap, however between the pristine audio high quality, complete characteristic set, and the entire UAD ecosystem, you may make certain that your cash will probably be effectively spent.