# Apollo Audio Interface



## nik (Nov 23, 2017)

Hey guys,

one very good producer recommended the Apollo 8 Audio Interface to me. Hey said the Pre Amps are awsome and he uses only the built in pre amps to record guitars and Vocals. He even produced a No.1 Hit in Austria using this gear, which impressed me a lot. So i am really thinkin of getting it( despite the high pirce) but i am a little bit lost with all the different versions. I hope that u guys can bring a little of light in in this scenerio and help me with the desicion. Some questions and infos:

1) I got an Steinberg Ur824 in the moment and mostly do orchestral stuff but as a guitar player i also do some records which i want to have great quality
2) I discovered some latency problems when recording with headphones or playin guitar in Cubase with the monitoring button on.
3) When i have to many Orchestral Sample Instruments i get Cracking at a buffer size of 512 samples. Maybe its just because of my I 5 Processor?
4) Should i go for the Apollo 8 Duo or Quad?
5) Whats the difference between Apollo 8 Quad And Apollo 8P?
6)Will my overall Sound and Latency improve ?
7)When buyin the Apollo now there comes this Satellite device with it. Whats up with that? What is the usage of that?

i know these are a lot of questions, but any help i is very appreciated. Thanks guys
best 
Nik


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## Jeremy Spencer (Nov 23, 2017)

IMO, the Apollo 8 is overkill for your intended use. I would look at an Apollo Twin (there are a few different models), they are also superior quality and about 1/3 the price as the Apollo 8.


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## synthpunk (Nov 23, 2017)

The preamps in the Apollo are good, made very good by the UAD Unison (SSL, API, & Neve) preamp plugins. The Apollo is a bit of a swiss army knife as well, good converters, 4 XLR in, 8 Line I/O, good clock, Digital I/O, etc. If you do not need all those extra's go with the Apollo Twin.

The main appeal to the UAD stuff though are the plugins! There is a great Black Friday deal on the bundles right now where you get a free plugin, so for instance the buy 3 for $399 bundle you get 4 for $399, that $100 a plugin.



Wolfie2112 said:


> IMO, the Apollo 8 is overkill for your intended use. I would look at an Apollo Twin (there are a few different models), they are also superior quality and about 1/3 the price as the Apollo 8.


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## Nmargiotta (Nov 23, 2017)

4) Should i go for the Apollo 8 Duo or Quad? *Unless you are planning on using a ton of UAD plugs the Duo will suffice, especially if your using unison plugs or hitting things as they come in real time instead of as inserts while your mixing.One thing to consider is as UA is revamping a lot of the plugins Neve 1073, SSL E/G and many others, they do use much more of your UAD processing power.*
5) Whats the difference between Apollo 8 Quad And Apollo 8P?
*One is first gen (silver face) the other is 2nd gen (black face). I have a 1st gen and like it a lot however if I were to buy one now I’d go 8p. The converters are upgraded and I believe they upgraded the headphone converters as well. The Apollo 8 Quad has TERRIBLE headphone converters, they sound horrific. *
6)Will my overall Sound and Latency improve ? If *your mixing with monitors you will notice a difference, the are good quality converters, if you are processing hardware inserts you will also benefit. I personally really like the built in mic pres and I use them heavily even though I own other much more expensive pres. if your currently tracking with plug-ins you will really notice the latency difference by utilize the sub 5ms real-time processing the Apollo has. *
7)When buyin the Apollo now there comes this Satellite device with it. Whats up with that? What is the usage of that? *The satellite gives you additional UAD processing, it can turn an Apollo quad into an octo. Or a duo into a quad or 6 core setup. If your planning on leaning on the UAD pluggins during your mixing you will love the satalite. Also it’s a portable way of using the UAD plugs. The UAD stuff requires you to have UA hardware in order to open and run the plugs on a session. *
*
one last thing, if you go with an older 1st gen make sure it has thunderbolt and not FireWire. The FireWire is the worst, if your computer goes to sleep you have to reset the Apollo. *


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## nik (Nov 23, 2017)

Wolfie2112 said:


> IMO, the Apollo 8 is overkill for your intended use. I would look at an Apollo Twin (there are a few different models), they are also superior quality and about 1/3 the price as the Apollo 8.


thanks a lot for the answer, could u specify why it is an overkill?


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## nik (Nov 23, 2017)

synthpunk said:


> The preamps in the Apollo are good, made very good by the UAD Unison (SSL, API, & Neve) preamp plugins. The Apollo is a bit of a swiss army knife as well, good converters, 4 XLR in, 8 Line I/O, good clock, Digital I/O, etc. If you do not need all those extra's go with the Apollo Twin.
> 
> The main appeal to the UAD stuff though are the plugins! There is a great Black Friday deal on the bundles right now where you get a free plugin, so for instance the buy 3 for $399 bundle you get 4 for $399, that $100 a plugin.


thanks a lot!


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## burp182 (Nov 23, 2017)

I believe he meant that the increased I/O capabilities of the larger interface might be unnecessary for you in your situation. The circuitry is the same in all the UA interfaces, to the best of my knowledge.


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## nik (Nov 23, 2017)

Nmargiotta said:


> 4) Should i go for the Apollo 8 Duo or Quad? *Unless you are planning on using a ton of UAD plugs the Duo will suffice, especially if your using unison plugs or hitting things as they come in real time instead of as inserts while your mixing.One thing to consider is as UA is revamping a lot of the plugins Neve 1073, SSL E/G and many others, they do use much more of your UAD processing power.*
> 5) Whats the difference between Apollo 8 Quad And Apollo 8P?
> *One is first gen (silver face) the other is 2nd gen (black face). I have a 1st gen and like it a lot however if I were to buy one now I’d go 8p. The converters are upgraded and I believe they upgraded the headphone converters as well. The Apollo 8 Quad has TERRIBLE headphone converters, they sound horrific. *
> 6)Will my overall Sound and Latency improve ? If *your mixing with monitors you will notice a difference, the are good quality converters, if you are processing hardware inserts you will also benefit. I personally really like the built in mic pres and I use them heavily even though I own other much more expensive pres. if your currently tracking with plug-ins you will really notice the latency difference by utilize the sub 5ms real-time processing the Apollo has. *
> ...





Nmargiotta said:


> 4) Should i go for the Apollo 8 Duo or Quad? *Unless you are planning on using a ton of UAD plugs the Duo will suffice, especially if your using unison plugs or hitting things as they come in real time instead of as inserts while your mixing.One thing to consider is as UA is revamping a lot of the plugins Neve 1073, SSL E/G and many others, they do use much more of your UAD processing power.*
> 5) Whats the difference between Apollo 8 Quad And Apollo 8P?
> *One is first gen (silver face) the other is 2nd gen (black face). I have a 1st gen and like it a lot however if I were to buy one now I’d go 8p. The converters are upgraded and I believe they upgraded the headphone converters as well. The Apollo 8 Quad has TERRIBLE headphone converters, they sound horrific. *
> 6)Will my overall Sound and Latency improve ? If *your mixing with monitors you will notice a difference, the are good quality converters, if you are processing hardware inserts you will also benefit. I personally really like the built in mic pres and I use them heavily even though I own other much more expensive pres. if your currently tracking with plug-ins you will really notice the latency difference by utilize the sub 5ms real-time processing the Apollo has. *
> ...


Thanks a lot for the detailed answer. I just reaiized that the Apollo 8P is the same as the Apollo 8 with just 4 more Preamps- The silver Edition seems to be another thing.


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## nik (Nov 23, 2017)

burp182 said:


> I believe he meant that the increased I/O capabilities of the larger interface might be unnecessary for you in your situation. The circuitry is the same in all the UA interfaces, to the best of my knowledge.


So things like sound, latency, converters and preamps are the same with the twin?


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## Jeremy Spencer (Nov 23, 2017)

If you need 8 mic pre's/inputs, then by all means it's the way to go. But, it sounds like you are just recording some guitar and vocal tracks. If all you need is two inputs, the Twin is the way to go IMO. The Apollo 8 is very pricey if you're not going to take advantage of it's capabilities.

A store in my area has a great deal on right now, maybe you can get it in your area....

https://www.long-mcquade.com/?page=promo&PromosID=84


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## nik (Nov 23, 2017)

Wolfie2112 said:


> If you need 8 mic pre's/inputs, then by all means it's the way to go. But, it sounds like you are just recording some guitar and vocal tracks. If all you need is two inputs, the Twin is the way to go IMO. The Apollo 8 is very pricey if you're not going to take advantage of it's capabilities.
> 
> A store in my area has a great deal on right now, maybe you can get it in your area....
> 
> https://www.long-mcquade.com/?page=promo&PromosID=84


Thats really an awsome deal. The thing is it is too limited in line in and outputs. i need some more to connect my Kemper, 2nd Monitors etc. Also i saw i can get more free UAD PLugins plus the Satellite if i go for an Apollo8.....things are getting clearer now thanks a lot for your help and time guys!


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## Jeremy Spencer (Nov 23, 2017)

I see UAD also has deals if you buy the Apollo 8, check out the website. Regardless of what you choose, you'll have an awesome interface. Let us know what you get!


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## nik (Nov 23, 2017)

Wolfie2112 said:


> I see UAD also has deals if you buy the Apollo 8, check out the website. Regardless of what you choose, you'll have an awesome interface. Let us know what you get!


Yeah thanks , i will let u know! Take care


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## ptram (Feb 9, 2019)

Coming very late to this discussion, it might however be useful to say that UR824's preamps and converters are excellent. Preamps are clean and uncolored, and converters are based on some of the best chips, and have solid clocking. Sound quality doesn't seem very different from the Apollo (I say this without a side-by-side comparison, however).

Shame Steinberg seems to have abandoned it, with obsolete 32-bit software, since the hardware is still a good performer.

Paolo

EDIT: Steinberg has recently updated the driver and control software (now at v2.2), and it is now all 64 bit. Still not looking great, but up to date. I write about this release in my refreshed review of the UR824, that can be found at the link in my signature. My conclusion is that "this is an audio interface with no bells and whistles, but with a very high sound quality… after the introduction of the higher-class series inaugurated with the AXR4, Steinberg seems to want to make it the intermediate level of its catalog, still offering professional quality at a reasonable price".


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## ZenFaced (Feb 9, 2019)

I have an Apollo Twin with a Satellite for extra dsp. If you do analog recording I think the UAD interface is the best interface for home recording. You get many of the same benefits of a Pro Tools HDX system at a fraction of the cost. Low latency analog recording is fantastic and the UAD plugins are the best emulations of hardware IMHO. Plus the unison technology for the pre-amp is amazing - it affects the software plugin using the impedance of the signal on the way in which affects the color of the pre-gain signal like the original hardware. (Older silverface apollos don't have unison).

I can't say enough good things about UAD products. It has made my dream of having a professional recording studio in my home come true. And the Townsend microphone and plugin emulation is one of the best investments I ever made. My mic locker is awesome now because of that.


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## CoffeeLover (Feb 9, 2019)

other things worth mentioning:
if youre on PC you need a thunderbolt pcie card and they can be ordered from amazon 
unless you motherboard already has built in thunderbolt.
if youre only recording one or two instrument at a time then you only need Apollo Arrow or Twin
if you however plan to record multible instruments
or you got a guitar hardware like Bias or AxeFx or Kemper and 
you want to utilize the full power of them then id recommend apollo 6 or 8

and if you set yourself out to buy an apollo inteface of any kind and you miss out on apollo deals
i recomend you to wait to install it untill they announce the next deal
i ordered mine through thoman.de but it arrived two days after uad deals had been closed 
i waited for few more months untill their next deal.


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