276°
Posted 20 hours ago

Apogee Duet 3 USB-C 2x4 Audio Interface with DSP

£324.5£649.00Clearance
ZTS2023's avatar
Shared by
ZTS2023
Joined in 2023
82
63

About this deal

Also disappointing is Apogees silly decision to remove the assignable function buttons from the interface (for mute, dim, mono etc). These were really handy, and I used then all the time on the Duet 2. There are basically no controls on the Duet 3 besides gain/level adjustment.

The substantial and satisfyingly weighty dial in the centre is both a switch and an encoder, controlling input levels, output levels and switching between them when pressed down. There are 2 assignable touch sensitive buttons to the left and right above the dial, which can be assigned in the Maestro software to very useful functions for recording and mixing. Since this is OSX only the only way to use it on a windows program is by using it through Parallels Desktop or VM Fusionware and run Windows on top of OSX with the Apogee running as default audio under WMD drivers. Inputs: USB (also 2 channels of XLR or ¼" mic, line or instrument for recording). Plays any audio that comes out of your Mac: iTunes, YouTube, Pure Music, Internet radio, Logic Pro, ProTools& etc.

Key Features

You may have noticed we haven’t yet mentioned the Duet in this section at all. It’s not that the Duet 3’s bundled software is bad, it’s just that it comes with relatively little in this area, especially compared to the Apollo’s gigantic offering of emulations alongside the LUNA DAW. Musicians work at night, and recording engineers work in concert halls or studios. The OLED display is optimum for this and is equally bright from any angle. It won't be as visible in daylight; that's not the careful listening environment in which the Duet 2 is designed to flourish. The set also provides users with access to three of Apogee’s renowned plug-ins: Pultec EQP-1A & MEQ-5 — the only Pultec plugins officially licensed and endorsed by Pulse Techniques — and Clearmountain’s Spaces, Bob Clearmountain’s signature reverb. A copy of Ableton Live Lite is included, too, along with Melodyne 5 Essentials and a free one-month SoundGym membership. Get the most out of your Duet 3 with the all-new Apogee Control 2 software. You’ll get total control of all Duet functions and features, including in the Symphony ECS channel strip running on the hardware DSP. Control 2 also ensures that Apogee support and engineering reacts to any future update of your MacOS and Windows system. BeautifulInsideandOut

Recommended apps: Logic, GarageBand, MainStage, Final Cut, Pro Tools, Ableton Live, Digital Performer, Studio One, Cubase, and Nuendo USB Audio Interface ขนาด 2-in/4-out แบบพกพาเอาไว้สำหรับควบคุมการบันทึกเสียง ระดับ Studio มืออาชีพ ด้วยความละเอียดสูงถึง 24-bit/192kHz โดยสามารถใช้ควบคุมได้ทั้ง Mac และ iPad ที่สร้างขึ้นมาสำหรับนักดนตรี รวมไปถึงโปรดิวเซอร์ที่ต้องการคุณภาพเสียงที่ดีที่สุดThe input gain never drops to off or mute, only to very low. If you want to fade to silence, you do that elsewhere. Then open Main Stage and select the Apogee Duet as the interface, choose input 1 as your in, and out 1 as your output (switch to mono). By very popular demand Duet 2 includes 4 analog outputs. Stereo headphones or left & right mono speaker outs can be assigned in pairs to output 1-2 or 3-4 or the low latency mixer and each can be placed in stereo, mono, muted or dimmed modes.

If you want to learn more about why sample rate and resolution are so important in digital audio, make sure you read What Sample Rate You Should Use? (+Myths & Misconceptions)) Software Nobody knows how to make a great-sounding converter better than Apogee, and the hits prove it. Decades ago their equipment was very expensive, but today, this same technology is what's inside this little Apogee Duet 2. We all can buy professional studio-level equipment for less than most of the audiophile drivel out there that costs so much more and sounds so much worse.The Output tab displays the pre D-A conversion levels of each of the four software outputs and allows you to select those (1-2, 3-4 or Mixer) being sent to the loudspeakers and the headphones. Here you can also Dim, Sum to Mono or Mute either of the physical outputs. These functions, plus Clear Meters (which removes any Over indicator) and Headphone Source selection (toggled between the three software outputs), can be individually assigned to the two touch-pads via the Device Setting tab. You tap the knob to select which level you are going to change: Input 1, Input 2, Speaker or Headphone. Having said this, the Babyface interface offers other features that might be worth the price difference. It features more simultaneous inputs as well as no breakout cable. On the other hand, the Apogee Duet 3 has a simpler and streamlined design that makes it more intuitive to use.

The software makes it easy to assign the Mac's level controls to control the headphone levels instead of the speakers' output levels. This goes into your smallest travel bag, your laptop case or your work pouch. The idea of having a device that could accompany you without any hindrance and attend to all your primary recording requirements giving you a unique incomparable quality is something special, and Apogee Duet makes it a reality for me.

Videos

I also feel that the minimalism of the Duet’s physical design undermines its intuitiveness in some small ways. For example, the purple LEDs around the wheel do double duty, showing you which parameter is currently assigned to the wheel and flashing if something is muted, and this can make it hard to see what’s going on at a glance. There are some important settings that are visible in Apogee Control 2 but not at all on the unit itself, yet conversely there’s no visual indication of controller assignment within Apogee Control 2. In use, this means it’s quite often necessary both to glance at the unit itself and to tab away from your DAW to Apogee Control, which doesn’t always make for a seamless user experience. The Duet 3 also has an unwelcome tendency to spit out thumps and splats when you shut down the computer. Use it on my Mac Book pro as my interface when I travel. And more importantly to interface rental amps with efx via Apple Main Stage 2. More on that below... Each channel boasts latency-free processing, including a 3-band EQ, low-cut filter, reverb, and echo

Asda Great Deal

Free UK shipping. 15 day free returns.
Community Updates
*So you can easily identify outgoing links on our site, we've marked them with an "*" symbol. Links on our site are monetised, but this never affects which deals get posted. Find more info in our FAQs and About Us page.
New Comment