Universal Audio Apollo 8 DUO

Full Description

World-Class Sound with Superior Apollo A/D and D/A Conversion

The original Apollo, introduced in 2012, quickly became a gold standard among modern music producers and engineers - it now counts many of the world's top artists as users. Apollo 8 improves upon the original Apollo's sound quality with completely redesigned, class-leading A/D and D/A conversion - giving you increased dynamic range and even lower THD.

Building upon a 50-year legacy of circuit design, UA engineers started with an obsessive audition of the latest converters, pairing them with completely redesigned analog circuitry. Confirmed by extensive double-blind listening tests, the end result is 3 dB better dynamic range on both A/D and D/A conversion versus the original Apollo, placing the Apollo 8 as the measurable class leader.

Realtime UAD Plug-In Processing for Tracking, Mixing and Mastering

Imagine having a classic analog studio, in single rack space. Apollo 8 lets you record through UAD Powered Plug-Ins - including vintage EQs, compressors, reverbs, tape machines and more - at near-zero latency, regardless of your audio software buffer size. With award-winning UAD plug-ins from Ampex, Lexicon, Neve, Manley, Roland, SSL, Studer, and more, Apollo 8 serves up authentic analog tone and warmth. The key to its analog sound is onboard UAD-2 DUO Core DSP Processing, which powers the UAD plug-ins while reducing the strain on your host computer.

Four Mic Preamps with Unison™ Technology

Apollo 8 comes equipped with four Unison-enabled mic preamps, letting you track projects with colorful mic preamp sounds from Neve, API, and Universal Audio. An Apollo breakthrough, Unison technology nails the tone of these sought-after tube and solid state mic preamps - including their impedance, gain stage ''sweet spots,'' and component-level circuit behaviors.

The secret to Unison is its hardware-software integration between Apollo's mic preamps and its onboard UAD-2 processing. Simply place a selected tube or solid state preamp plug-in on your desired mic input, and record in real time through stunning emulations like the bundled UA 610-B Tube Preamp plug-in, or the Neve 1073 and API 212L.

Realtime Analog Classics Plus Bundle

With the included Realtime Analog Classics Plus plug-in bundle, you get a whole host of professional-quality plug-ins, including legendary compressors such as the 1176SE/LN Limiting Amplifiers and Fairchild 670 Legacy, Softube's stunning Amp Room Half-Stack and Bass Amp Room 8x10 guitar and bass amp emulations, the flexible and natural-sounding RealVerb Pro reverb, UA's landmark 610-B Tube Preamp and EQ plug-in, and much more besides.

Features

Audio Interface

• 18 x 24 simultaneous input/output channels
• Now compatible with Windows 10
• Sample rates up to 192 kHz at 24-bit word length
• Two Thunderbolt 2 ports facilitates daisy-chaining of other Thunderbolt devices
• Cascade up to 4 Apollo interfaces and 6 UAD devices total over Thunderbolt (Mac)
• Four high-resolution, ultra-transparent, digitally-controlled analog mic preamps
• Unison™ technology for deep integration with UAD preamp and pedal plug-ins
• Switchable low cut filter, 48V phantom power, pad, polarity inversion, and stereo linking
• Digitally-controlled analog monitor outputs maintains highest fidelity
• Two stereo headphone outputs with independent mix buses
• Independent front panel volume controls for headphone outputs
• Front panel pre-fader metering of monitor bus levels
• S/PDIF outputs can be set to mirror the monitor outputs
• Up to two alternate stereo monitor outputs selectable via front panel or Console software
• Assignable front panel monitor function switch for alternate speakers, dim, & mono

UAD-2 Inside

• DUO Core DSP with two SHARC® processors
• Realtime UAD Processing on all analog and digital inputs via Console application
• Console Recall plug-in saves Console configurations inside DAW sessions for easy recall
• Same features and functionality as other UAD-2 devices when used with DAW
• Can be combined with other UAD-2 devices for increased mixing DSP
• Includes UAD Powered Plug-Ins ''Realtime Analog Classics Plus'' bundle
• Complete UAD plug-ins library is available at the UA online store

System Requirements

• Apple Mac computer with available Thunderbolt or Thunderbolt 2 port
• Mac OS X 10.8.5 Mountain Lion, 10.9.x Mavericks, or 10.10.x Yosemite
• 4 gigabytes available disk space
• Internet connection to download software and authorize UAD plug-ins
• Compatible VST, Audio Units, RTAS, or AAX 64 plug-in host DAW software
• Thunderbolt cable (sold separately)

Specifications

I/O Complement

• Microphone Inputs: 4
• High-Impedence (Hi-Z) Instrument Inputs: 2
• Analog Line Inputs: 8
• Analog Line Outputs: 8 (ten including monitor outputs)
• Analog Monitor Outputs: 2 (one stereo pair)
• Headphone Outputs: 2 Stereo
• ADAT: Up to eight channels via dual I/O ports with S/MUX
• S/PDIF: One stereo input, one stereo output
• Thunderbolt 2 ports: 2 (Thunderbolt 1 compatible)
• Word Clock: 1 input, 1 output

A/D - D/A Conversion

• Supported Sample Rates (kHz): 44.1, 48, 88.2, 96, 176.4, 192
• Bit Depth Per Sample: 24
• Simultaneous A/D conversion: 8 channels
• Simultaneous D/A conversion: 14 channels
• Analog Round-Trip Latency: 1.1 milliseconds @ 96 kHz sample rate
• Analog Round-Trip Latency with four serial UAD-2 plug-ins via Console application: 1.1 milliseconds @ 96 kHz sample rate

Electrical

• Power Supplies: External AC to DC Power Supply, Level V compliant
• AC Input Connector Type: IEC Male
• AC Requirements: 100V - 240V AC, 50 - 60 Hz
• DC Connector Type: XLR 4-Pin Locking Male (Neutrik P/N NC4MDM3-H)
• DC Requirements: 12 VDC, +/- 5
• Maximum Power Consumption: 50 Watts

Dimensions

• Width: 19''
• Height: 1.75'' (1U rack space)
• Depth, Chassis Only: 12.125''
• Depth, Including Knob & Jack Protrusions: 13.5''
• Shipping Box (Width x Depth x Height): 24'' x 17'' x 8''

Weight

• Shipping Weight (with box & accessories): 18 pounds (8.2 kg)
• Weight (bare unit): 9.1 pounds (4.1 kg)

Package Contents

• Apollo 8 DUO Audio Interface Unit
• External Power Supply
• AC Power Cable (IEC)
• Set of (4) Rack-Mount Screws
• Getting Started URL Card