Apogee ONE
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Apogee Duet and Quartet audio interfaces for Mac and iOS
Apogee's Duet (US$495) and Quartet ($1395) are the respective steps up from Apogee's ONE, a single input interface with a built-in condenser mic. You can check out the review of the ONE here, but suffice to say it's a high-quality interface for those looking for a compact and portable recording solution. With Apogee's premium reputation and price, I wanted to put the Duet and Quartet through a real-world recording environment test, with people who really know what to expect when it comes to recording audio. To help me do this I enlisted the help of three professionals who work in the music business day-in and day-out. Jonathan McMillan, a Canadian born, London-based mix and mastering engineer based at Blue Pro Mastering. Matt Weeks, London-based session musician and producer at WeeksWeeksWeeks. And finally, Paul Evans, a London-based session drummer, producer and programmer. With these three guys, there are years of professional recording experience in hand. The four of us spent the morning at Smokehouse Studios to see just what the Duet and Quartet have to offer. Hardware Where the ONE is a sturdy and solid piece of kit, there's no doubt that the Duet and Quartet take things to the next level. Both interfaces look and feel professional and premium. Where the ONE is made from plastic, the Duet and Quartet are encased in aluminum akin to Apple's Mac lineup. Via breakout cable, the Duet has 2 inputs (XLR and 1/4") and left and right (1/4") outputs. The inputs operate at 24-bit/192kHz recording. There's also a headphones output directly on the Duet interface, totaling 4 outputs with independent speaker and headphone outs. This multitude of outputs can be controlled and customized in Apogee's Maestro App. For example, a drummer could send himself a click track while sending the backing track to the front-of-house. All the spec details on the Duet can be found on Apogee's website, here. The Quartet has 4 inputs ((XLR and 1/4") and an additional 8 channels of digital input via optical connection (ADAT/SMUX), if you have an additional analog-to-digital converter kicking around. The Quartet has 6 balanced (1/4" TRS) outputs, which means you could hook up three different stereo monitor sets. All the spec details on the Quartet can be found at Apogee's website, here. Both interfaces have MIDI input via USB -- which the ONE missed out on -- high resolution OLED displays, assignable touch pads to speed up your workflow, and USB 2.0 connectivity, which Apogee says provides more than enough bandwidth to handle the talk between interface and Mac. Both interfaces use Apgoee's ESS Sabre32 32-bit Hyperstream DAC with Time Domain Jitter Eliminator technology, which Apogee says "offers unequalled dynamic range, ultra low distortion, and unmatched audio clarity free from input jitter." You can learn more about the technology here Finally, as with the ONE, both interfaces are iOS compatible, bringing Apogee's high-fidelity recording to the world of iOS. Both interfaces come with the required connectors and adaptors to connect to older and newer iPads and iPhones. Performance The goal of our test was to see how well the preamps and converters of the Duet and Quartet faired against a reference benchmark, which was Smokehouse Studio's Cadac E-Type console preamp running into a Radar iZ Corp. We ran the Duet and Quartet directly into Macs and the Cadac preamp went into the Radar converter. We recorded a vocal and guitar take through each of the interfaces using a Nuemann u47 for the vocal and a Nuemann u87 on the acoustic guitar. We then listened to and compared the results through the studio's monitors. At times it felt like we were splitting hairs, but we could all agree on the following conclusions: We found that while the Duet held up well as a 2-input interface in its price range, the Quartet produced noticeably better results. We found the Quartet had a clearer and more detailed quality than the Duet. Of course, the Quartet is more than double the price of the Duet, so in some respects that makes sense. However, we were disappointed to find that the Duet wasn't simply a 2-input version of what the Quartet has to offer. That being said, in no way did the Duet produce a sub-par sound. It's just that the Quartet had more to offer when it came to audio fidelity. As expected, against the studio's Radar converters and Cadac preamps, the Quartet didn't quite match up. However, there was discussion at length as to just how much of a difference there was and the different kinds of sounds that were produced. Naturally, the Cadac and Radar are world-class hardware, where as, as Apogee states, the Quartet is a class-leading product. Conclusion There's no doubt that the Duet and Quartet are fantastic recording interfaces that work seamlessly with OS X (and iOS). Both Matt and Paul said they'd happily use either on a recording project, where as Jonathan was a little more picky. However, out of the two we all agreed that we'd go for the Quartet on a project if we had the choice. If you're in the market for a 2-input interface, the Duet is a fantastic sounding and beautiful looking interface that produces high-quality results. It's super easy to use and has a wonderful on-board control and metering system. For those looking for two extra inputs and three stereo outputs for monitoring, the Quartet is steep in price, but worth every penny. We were truly impressed by the sound produced by the preamps and converters found in the Quartet. Coupled with the enhanced on-board control and metering option, the Quartet is a stand out interface. Honestly, you could get more inputs for less, but you'd likely struggle to match the quality the Quartet offers.
Apogee ONE: An audio interface and microphone for Mac and iOS
Apogee's revamped ONE (US$349) is a 2 IN 2 OUT USB audio interface with a built-in microphone for Mac and now iOS, too. This means you can plug the interface into your Mac or straight into your iPhone or iPad (via Apple's newer Lightning connector or the legacy 30-pin dock connector) to record audio. The ONE's built-in microphone means that you can get to recording straight away, without the need for additional cables or mics. Apogee is a name synonymous with high quality mic preamps, AD/DA converters and clocking found in its high-end studio products, like the Symphony. These products are used by professional musicians and studio engineers around the world. Does the ONE live up to the renowned name and reputation of Apogee? Read on to find out. Hardware The revamped ONE (2013) replaces Apogee's first generation ONE (2009), which had just the single input and was not compatible with iOS devices. The original ONE was USB 1.1 compatible, Mac: bus powered, had a 24 bit, 44.1/48kHz sample rate and cost US$249. The new ONE beats its predecessor in all aspects, except price -- it'll cost you a $100 more. Aside from that, it offers low-latency USB 2 speeds, it's DC mains or battery powered (in addition to Mac: bus powering) and, finally, the new ONE has a 24 bit, up to 96kHz sample rate. The ONE is constructed with a die-cast aluminum body, which feels strong and sturdy. It's not heavy, and it's not particularly large (though taller than the original ONE), which is a good thing since it's intended to be extremely portable. The molded rubber base doesn't allow the ONE to go slipping off of surfaces either. There's just a single, large dial on the front of the ONE, which is used to operate all aspects of the device, though all operations can be carried out via Apogee's Maestro app for Mac and iOS, too. Above the dial is an LED input / output level meter and above that an LED input / output indicator (internal mic, external mic, instrument and volume). When using the ONE's built-in mic, it was particularly useful to have the level meter on the front of the device to reference input levels, instead of looking to my Mac or iOS device to see if things were peaking or too low. On the top of the device is a microphone / instrument input (expandable via breakout cable), a micro USB input (to connect to a Mac or iOS device) and a DC power input. All cables and the power supply are included with the ONE. The bottom side of the device has a 1/8" stereo output for headphones or powered speakers. The ONE's breakout cable gives you a 1/4″ instrument IN and an XLR IN. The devices allows you to have 2 simultaneous inputs: the instrument IN and the XLR mic IN or the built-in mic with the instrument IN. Of course, you can just use the ONE's built-in mic without the breakout cable attached. On the rear of the device is a battery compartment for two AA batteries, though these were not included. Powering the ONE with batteries eliminates the power supply from the mix when using the ONE with an iOS device, which dramatically adds to its practicality in a portable context. One glaring omission is MIDI input, especially for a device that's iOS compatible. With so many apps designed for MIDI use on iOS, it feels like the ONE's missing a trick. Performance on iOS Connecting the ONE to my iPad was just as easy as connecting it to my Mac. However, the first hurdle was power. iPads and iPhones won't power the ONE like a Mac does, so I opted to use the included power supply (though I could have gone for the battery option had I any to hand). On the plus side, using the power supply with the ONE meant that my iPad was charging instead of draining away. The next step was downloading Apogee's Maestro app, which is required for Mac as well. The app allows you to control all features of the ONE as well as improving latency issues. Once Maestro was installed, I launched GarageBand and got to adjusting settings. It took me a little while to get a good level because I was unfamiliar with the Maestro app. I found myself repeatedly switching between GarageBand and Maestro, trying to get a level that didn't peak, but wasn't too quiet. I found this process cumbersome, but once I was a bit more familiar with Maestro, things seemed to improve. That being said, The Maestro app does feel like a bit of a third wheel. The interface is akin to its desktop counterpart. Although that may be a comfort to those who've used it on the Mac, it doesn't feel at home on iOS. Buttons and sliders are small, for example, particularly on the iPhone. It's still workable, but a Maestro app designed solely with iOS users in mind would go a long way to improving the experience. Performance on OS X Really, there's not much to say here. If you've used an Apogee interface with a Mac, you know it's a solid combination. The ONE felt right at home with my Mac. I can't put my finger on it -- maybe it was simply familiarity -- but everything worked as you'd expect it to. The Maestro app is still required, but it does fit much better in place on OS X than iOS. Results Once I got to some recording, I was really surprised with the results. Using a Rode NT 2000, I found I was getting some fantastic results for the first time on my iPad. Similarly, things sounded great on OS X running Logic. But for me, the big surprise was actually the ONE's built-in microphone. It admirably handled whatever I threw at it. Once I realized how compelling the built-in mic was, the ONE began to make sense to me. You see, there are many external mics for iOS out there, but the ONE's mic in combination with Apogee-designed preamps and digital audio converters makes it a compelling package for recording audio on iOS (or Mac). You really can just plug in and record. There's no need for additional cables or mics. And you do get a fantastic sound out of it. Conclusion Plugging the ONE straight into my Mac and putting something down at a moments notice is a real plus, especially when the quality of the audio sounds this good. More so, for those moments where it's easier to grab your iPhone or iPad, the ONE produces the same results. The revamped ONE carries Apogee's name well. For its class, it's got stand-out preamps and converters and a built-in mic that really impresses, with expandability if you need it. And all of this in a highly compact and portable form factor. If you're looking for that kind of convenience, but without skimping on quality, the ONE is a solid choice.
