In advertisements, apogee claims a full analogtoanalog roundtrip ad16x, symphony, logic, symphony, da16x takes 1. Dan lavry s designs have a very strong engineering emphasis, building on his considerable experience of designing cuttingedge digital equipment for the instrumentation, medical and telecoms industries. Coming from musical families and frequenting live performances of all kinds of music, the husband and wife team of daniel lavry, electronics engineer cum designer, and priscilla lavry, ceo, has run the company since 1993. Apogee symphony io mk ii thunderbolt getting started.
Why i sold my symphony and replaced it with an rme madi. So if the duet is two steps down from apogee s best, i wouldnt expect it to equal or top the lavry. Apollo 8 tb vs apogee symphony mk2 i am trying to get a feel for the discernable audio differences from any folks who have used both. The apogee shares quite a bit of parts selection with the lavry da10 i used to own, and not surprisingly it is fairly similar soundwise. Symphony io mk ii multichannel audio interface apogee. My lavry ad10 is a big enough improvement that i know what im missing so im on a quest to upgrade. The difference between rmes top converters and lavry are subtle but enough to know i dont want ff800 in. Lavry engineering are very highly regarded american manufacturers of digital audio converters. Jul 25, 2014 the apogee digital symphony converter is one of the only pro level multichannel converter that offers the customization, monitor control and headphone amps, highquality preamps, and incredible. And, the symphony pcie driver design provides and elegant and rock solid connection capable of delivering incredibly low latency. I think the aurora 16 is the best all round but haven never compared. Jan, 2015 apogee users have eagerly been awaiting the new thunderbolt 2 ensemble.
The lavry and 16x are at least at a minimum equal, the lavry being more accurate overall imo, where the apogee is a bit more vibey and imo the 16x still benefits from clocking off the lavry. Once youve installed the symphony pci card or cards in your computer, the x symphony cards in your converters, and apogee s supplied driver software on your computer, its time to wire everything up. If you are looking for any specific driver that is not listed above, then you can request it through the comment box below do not request driver from the contact page or else it will be ignored. Macbook pro and apogee symphony system apple community. The apogee symphony io mkii thunderbolt is the most powerful multichannel audio interface for thunderboltbased mac workstations. Opening hours monday friday 10am 6pm how to find us.
Apogee psx100 vs lavry blue i am using a psx100 and find the high end of vocals sounds fizzy almost distorted and broken up a touch sibilance mostly it seems better at 88 or 96 but taxes the computer more than mine can handle g4 with 002. I had the aurora here for a few days alongside my apogee 16xs,digi 192 and lavry s just last weekeverything clocked to lavry my fav clock. If youre using the 16x why not consider getting a lavry blue with 2xda and 2xad. As long as the card is placed in a treaty environment, and broadcast on the monitor speakers to choose.
Its meant to represent lavrys entry level, which is probably best suited to most inhome read. The difference between rmes top converters and lavry are subtle but enough to know i dont want ff800 in my chain no more and can live with the qss no problemo. Apogee is competitive with lavry blue, lynx aurora, rme. Improving playback quality is the main reason to consider buying a standalone d. Unlike those found in the ensemble thunderbolt and other lowlier apogee interfaces, the symphony ios preamps apparently use fully differential op. Symphony s highperformance driver allows logic to run with a core audio buffer size of 32 samples on my mac pro without dropouts. Apogee claim that their new interface is the result of 25 years of research into digital audio so we have high expectations for it. Near zero latency built upon the pcie protocol, thunderbolt technology is as fast as any pcie card such as the apogee symphony 64 pcie.
It is not at all transparent, but does add a really pleasing thickness to material, and softens the highs, to my ears. Theres not likely to be a scientific comparison between the sound of the motu avb and the symphony, because those capable of such a comparison are unlikely to be susceptible or concerned with this type of misinformation and such comparisons are rare. The one that ive used just had converters in it rather than the option mic pre or sample rate converters. Rme vs apogee converters archive sawstudio sac user. With 64 ways of getting audio in and out of your computer in the pristine apogee fashion, the new ensemble is positioned to be the current must have interface for professional and project studios alike. Its unique in that you can mix and match different modules of converters and otherwise. Overview introduction symphony io mk ii is a multichannel audio interface featuring apogee s newest flagship adda conversion, modular io up to 32 inputs and outputs, intuitive touchscreen display and optional worldclass microphone preamps. If you are looking for the original stock firmware, then head over to the symphony stock firmware page. Stan klyne, who built my reference preamplifier, is one of these types of folks.
Ill probably use the burl for the most part on material that i mix. Ensemble thunderbolt is the best sounding allinone audio recording interface for mac. Later, apogee s complete conversion systems pushed the envelope of digital audio quality and established apogee as. Nov, 2014 in its range i have not compared with the apogee symphony, the lynx hilo, or lavry blue, but i think its more so a matter of taste than performance. Page 23 symphony64 pci card users guide apogee electronics blue led master flashing card is slave, clock is card is master, clock undefined correctly configured is correctly configured white led flashing card is master, card is slave, symphony driver not clock page 24 midi setup. Comparing ff800 to the adi8 qss, there was enough difference to sell them and buy two adi8 qss. I opened up the box from apogee containing the symphony io and remember thinking, well, this is it. Aug 24, 2016 the new apogee symphony io km2 thunderbolt audio interface doesnt just look, sound and feel great, its highly configurable and definitely high quality too. Lavry engineerings blue converter is a unique conversion system for analog to digital and digital to analog. Apogee symphony io is a multichannel thunderbolt and avid pro tools hd.
Modular audio recording interface with thunderbolt 2 module slots for optional input output modules, 1 module slot for optional system expansion eg protools hd, dual multifunction encoder, intuitive user interface with touch display, 1. Head office 5 focal point, lacerta court, letchworth sg6 1fj. Shootout between the new qes labs pad2 le and the lavry m. The symphony mkiis preamp controls as they appear in logic pro x. If youve ever worked with a pro tools system, wiring up a symphony system is pretty much the same, and very easy to do. Apogee symphony io mk ii thunderbolt getting started with.
But the only way to be sure is to try side by side. This is where the point of diminishing returns occurs every penny of better sound costs an additional ten bucks. I can say this about apogee symphony and lynx products compared to most consumer end product, so if the prism is better, it must be damned good. Apogee symphony io mkii thunderbolt audio interface 32x32.
Lavry blue mytek stereo96 and 196 prism lyra2, titan, or orpheus im looking to start with 2 channels of ad and four channels of da. With the flexibility of up to 64 channels of input and output, the symphony 64 pcie card doubles the amount of io previously available on one symphony card. More than the latest highend product from apogee, symphony io is the completion of the symphony system and the platform for apogee development and technology for years to come. Take a look at the ftt noise spectrum from the da11 especially in the 1khz to 4khz band. Symphony io mk ii is the culmination of this 30 year commitment and raises the bar on all apogee products before it with even better audio clarity and sonic transparency. Symphony ii was a good deal higher than the m4 and costs thousands, not hundreds.
Dac is small, and as it is capable of running on batteries it is an excellent choice for location work. Designed for the home or professional studio running logic pro x or any other native based daw, this system offers your choice of 4 different base io configurations with the option to expand up to 32. Apogee convertors are known for their more or less coloured sound, whereas lavry is known for its stunning transparency. I have yet to have any issues with the macpro version of their intel driver for the symphony card, and that driver is only about 2 months old and is the only version ever released for it. For me, i would actually much rather have a dedicated pt hd port than the thru port.
If your search produces too many results, use the and function to focus your search by putting a plussymbol in front of one of the terms e. Ill take an aes out and run it through my symphony io mk i into the computer. I can tell you this about apogee, when they release a driver, it is solid as a rock. Apogee electronics corporation has updated the symphony pci driver with two new features, vbus and performance tuning. That time end of 2008 there were still driver issues both mac and pc but the damn thing sounded so. Choosing the right converter for your studio vintage king blog. Discussion in converters interfaces started by audiokid, mar 15, 2011. Even while playing back 32 tracks and recording an additional 24. The pairing of symphonys superior driver performance and the. Apogee have chosen to do the device aggregation in the driver rather than via core audio so that the multielement system appears as one audio device to your mac, simplifying routing between the two interfaces.
The lavry ad122 96mkiii converts analog signals to a true 24bit digital audio data stream. With the flexibility of up to 64 channels of input and output symphony 64 doubles the amount of io previously available on one symphony card. This kind of performance is certainly part of the picture as to why the lavry sounds as well as it does. Ensemble thunderbolt audio interface apogee electronics. I know its more money, but if you were adding the symphony.
A converter, but many such boxes can be used for other duties too, meaning that they offer better value for money than it might at first appear. Vbus provides unlimited routing possibilities across multiple applications in any symphony equipped apple g5 or mac pro. In its range i have not compared with the apogee symphony, the lynx hilo, or lavry blue, but i think its more so a matter of taste than performance. Symphony s high performance driver is really only useful from an enduser perspective when used in conjunction with apple logic. I now have a custombuilt, rackmount, quadcore pc that is so dang quiet, i sold the isobox that used to house my mac pro. Studio pthd rig pro tools hd4 accel mac pro 8 core 16 thread magma chassis 24 ch apogee symphony io quad satellite fw pro tools hd 10, hd 12 studio one v3 pro osx 10. Dont forget also to check out apogees duet, quartet and ensemble series, the lynx hilo, mytek 8x192, metric halo interfaces and the external usbbased. The apogee symphony 64 pcie card for mac is the core of apogee s pro audio production symphony system. Then again, if you were selling the 16 to pay for the symphony, this doesnt work since youll be losing a lot of channels. Listening with the prism da is definitely a much more immersive experience than listening on the apogee symphony io ive used for years. An introduction to the symphony io system thank you for your purchase of symphony io, the latest.
Digital io, frontpanel touchscreen w tft display, multifunction control knob, headphone output, dynamic temperaturecontrolled fan, compatible with any core audio software, direct connect to thunderbolt mac, includes rack. The apogee digital symphony converter is one of the only pro. Consistently used for many of todays top recordings, the ad12296mkiii features 127 db dynamic range unweighted, providing optimum musical. Apogee rosetta 200 burl audio b2 bomber cranesong hedd digital audio denmark ax24 lavry ad12296mkiii lavry blue lynx aurora 16 metric halo motu traveller courtesy of rob cross our intern mytek digital 8. Oct 08, 2010 in october 2010 apogee is scheduled to release an update that will allow 4 symphony ios to connect to one symphony 64 pci card.
Apogee symphony io is a modular multichannel audio interface featuring premium adda conversion and worldclass microphone preamps. The apogee digital symphony converter is one of the only pro level multichannel converter that offers the customization, monitor control and. Nov 29, 2017 apogee electronics corporation has updated the symphony pci driver with two new features, vbus and performance tuning vbus provides unlimited routing possibilities across multiple applications in any symphony equipped apple g5 or mac pro. Note that the blue trace shows the noise at fullscale recordingindustry standard, i. Id like to know if anyone has any opinions on how rme ad converters stack up to real pro options, like ua 2192s and apogee converters, or even digidesign hd converters, etc. Apogee was founded in 1985 and initially made its name designing filters that solved many of the early problems associated with digital audio. The m4 scored well above the apogee and ensemble and apogee duets and slightly below the 1st gen symphony and rosetta. Apogees symphony interface has been thunderbolted, touchscreened and. I am aware that the conversion quality is supposed to have better numbers in the symphony. Lavry is wellknown in audio engineering circles around the world for its professional mastering and recording gear. Apogee electronics were founded in 1985, right at the dawn of the pro. This converter is part of lavrys black line, which lies below the gold highest end and blue intermediate lines.
Your current interface is not listed, but they do list the results of 100s of tests. You could also consider mytek, which for sure is another league than your rosetta. Uad, the higer end apogee, lavry my personal favorite, prism, etc. A complete symphony system packed with io and preamps. The core of the symphony system is the symphony 64 pcie card.
Download symphony usb drivers for all model tested driver. As long as the card is placed in a treaty environment, and broadcast on the monitor speakers to choose from, we get an audio record of the highest quality. With ultralow latency performance, comprehensive studio functionality and legendary apogee quality, ensemble is the ideal choice to meet the diverse demands of the professional home or commercial studio. Like the da10, it is a closer sounding dac to neutral than the other competitors here, lacking the. Apogee symphony io 8x8 audio interface the symphony io 8x8 empowers all that is apogee, from legendary quality, to ultralow latency and maximum performance. Apogee symphony io 8x8 audio interface musicians friend. Apogee packed 25 years of industryleading digital audio expertise into their amazingsounding symphony io interfaceconverter. Apogee digital mkii symphony 16x16 analog io apogee. Converters are definitely like monitors though everyone has a subjective opinion.