Apogee Symphony I/O

[Dan]

Shameless pimpage, because this is our site and I/we can:

http://lib.store.yahoo.net/lib/mercenary-audio/ApogeeSymIOItsHere.jpg
http://www.mercenary.com/apogee-symio.html

-Dan.

[Mixwell]

Dan, leave the shameless pimping to the sales staff will ya?
:D = me & bthead

[Aski]

Since we're already on topic...

Is this a Mac only box? (Im running a RME HDSP AES card in a PC)
Do you feel it is the best sounding Apogee converter (as they claim)?
Sonically, how does it stack up to the other high end converters Mercenary sells?

As always, thanks for the info.

[pauly]

i just hope i can use it with a symphony 32 pci-e card and the two rosettas i already own and dont need to upgrade to the 64

[pauly]

Since we're already on topic...

Is this a Mac only box?


just a guess, yes :( sorry

[Aski]

My hope was that the AES output could connect to my RME card and they could talk to one and other. I believe that would work... someone stop me if I'm mistaken...

[The MexICAN]

I believe that would work for any converter as long as you have the right cables.

[pauly]

My hope was that the AES output could connect to my RME card and they could talk to one and other. I believe that would work... someone stop me if I'm mistaken...

that might work, where's the boys mercenary they'll know for sure.

[pauly]

I believe that would work for any converter as long as you have the right cables.

and i should read before i post:confused:

[Mixwell]

that might work, where's the boys mercenary they'll know for sure.

Confirmed.

Aski simply needs the right AES/EBU DSUBS for his RME card - and you can indeed use the Symphony I/O in stand alone without issue. He would buy a Symphony I/O frame with the two 8X8 Analog and AES I/O cards and set the unit into Stand Alone mode where Analog Inputs route to AES outputs and reversely AES inputs routes to Analog outputs.

[Halfway Competent]

Looks like an interesting box... It's pretty, for sure.

Apogee's website says it replaces the Rosetta 800, and the AD and DA16X units. At a minimum, this thing costs $3650, more than any of those three! If I bought it for use with, say, my PTLE system, I would be using the analog-to-ADAT cards... it would be a standalone converter with computer interface capabilities (Symphony) that I could never use (I use Windows). Looks like PTHD connectivity is also standard, which I would potentially use in the future.

I dunno about Apogee's marketing with this guy... Seems the computer interface portion should be an add-on card, as well, like it is with the other converters. That'd make it cheaper for those who don't need that capability.

[The MexICAN]

I'm blind to a lot of things so I could have missed this, but it looks like PT HD capabilities is Mac only.

http://apogeedigital.com/products/symphony-io-compatibility.php?mode=protools

Just spoke to Mixwell. Seems it will hookup to any HD rig just no control over it with Maestro.

[Dan]

I dunno about Apogee's marketing with this guy... Seems the computer interface portion should be an add-on card, as well, like it is with the other converters. That'd make it cheaper for those who don't need that capability.

It depends on where they're trying to go with it. If they want to more directly target Avid converters, then having HD compatibility come standard would, I think, be a plus.

Regarding the pricing, if you add an X-HD card to a Rosetta 800, you're up over $3200, which is pretty close to the price of the Symphony I/O with the 8Analog+AES card.

Where it really seems to be a bargain compared to their current offerings is stacked up against an AD-16X & DA-16X w/ HD cards. That'll run you $7350 vs $5685 for the SymIO.

Granted, if you're a PTHD user, it's still more than a $4000 Digi 192, but there's a lot less of a difference now than there was a week ago.

-Dan.

[Mixwell]

I'm blind to a lot of things so I could have missed this, but it looks like PT HD capabilities is Mac only.

http://apogeedigital.com/products/symphony-io-compatibility.php?mode=protools

Just spoke to Mixwell. Seems it will hookup to any HD rig just no control over it with Maestro.

That's right Alex,

It seems [from Apogee's own words] You'll be able to control Maestro Parameters through the PC32 Connection to the HD card.

Its also clear there are like ten ways to control the software and configuration for the unit; leaving everyone with a way to utilize the features.

Surely they are much more "mac OS centered" but hey; such is life.

I'll have to ask Apogee more about this; as it seems a little unclear, but that's what I got out of the text.

PT|HD connection is definitely not limited to Mac OS, that's for sure.

I think a number of other benefits might be easy to overlook as well.

For instance,

IF you have a Mac Computer, and WANT to use PT LE.

You can use the Symphony I/O in a couple cool ways. The first is obvious as an 8X8 Optical ADA. Picture this;

You are using PT LE with this Apogee converter, and having to run your buffers higher with a large multi-track session.

Now we all know PT LE has no facility to monitor the optical ports with a built in near zero DSP mixer. Well, here you have it with Maestro. Simply connect the unit to your Computer via USB and route the inputs to the outputs and now your problem is solved.

Another important thing to note; is that this thing is said to be able to achieve 16 Channels of 44.1-96K capable throughput over USB for Core Audio Apps. Does anyone else claim that? Nope.

[phrenology]

But how does it soooooound?

--Owen

[Mixwell]

w/ the specifications they have presented -

And w/ my discussions with Apogee -

I'm going to make a very well educated guess that this ADA converter is easily a large and palpable percentage [eh - shall I use the term - "different"] to the previous converter options.

[Mixwell]

CHRIS answered my question about what Alex brought up -

http://www.gearslutz.com/board/so-much-gear-so-little-time/516639-new-apogee-symphony-i-o-qs.html#post5654894

[pauly]

so i started reading a thread on another forum about how this unit performs and the whole thing really irritated the shit out me. so please enlighten us on your experience with this unit.

is it really as good as radar? :D

[Mixwell]

so i started reading a thread on another forum about how this unit performs and the whole thing really irritated the shit out me. so please enlighten us on your experience with this unit.

is it really as good as radar? :D

The real truth is that this converter is the REAL deal.

Serious.

Everything I said on that forum is how I found the sound.

Try to ignore the nonsense.

[jeffreyjamesmusic]

so I'm confused.

can I get 18 ins, 18 outs (spidf) i/0 and 8preamps in some sort of configuration?
(with post-october modules)

don't laugh at me but.. the current cornerstone of the studio is a profire 2626. I want to move into using an actual stand alone converter. I will still be using the PF2626 pres for a while after the converter purchase (you know, economic recovery and such). I also have an api a2d. so to live the dream I would need this unit to:

- send it all down the pipe through usb
- take 8 analog ins
- have it's own 8 preamp'ed ins
- do 16 analog out (and 2 digital from the a2d)
- accept my spdif in
...giving me a total of 18 i/o

anyone know the round trip latency over usb? I'm on an imac so I can't pick up a symphony until I rob a bank and buy a 12-core mac pro.

[Mixwell]

Here is a helpful way at looking for a configuration that works for you

http://www.apogeedigital.com/products/symphony-io-configurations.php

[jeffreyjamesmusic]

Here is a helpful way at looking for a configuration that works for you

http://www.apogeedigital.com/products/symphony-io-configurations.php

i know i've seen the tool. it's still a bit confusing.

[bleen]

i know i've seen the tool. it's still a bit confusing.

That's what she said??:eek:

[Mixwell]

so I'm confused.

can I get 18 ins, 18 outs (spidf) i/0 and 8preamps in some sort of configuration?
(with post-october modules)

don't laugh at me but.. the current cornerstone of the studio is a profire 2626. I want to move into using an actual stand alone converter. I will still be using the PF2626 pres for a while after the converter purchase (you know, economic recovery and such). I also have an api a2d. so to live the dream I would need this unit to:

- send it all down the pipe through usb
- take 8 analog ins
- have it's own 8 preamp'ed ins
- do 16 analog out (and 2 digital from the a2d)
- accept my spdif in
...giving me a total of 18 i/o

anyone know the round trip latency over usb? I'm on an imac so I can't pick up a symphony until I rob a bank and buy a 12-core mac pro.

You will be able to run 16 channels of audio up to 96K with USB 2.0 on your IMAC when they release the software update. As to latency - it will be low - but not as low as Symphony 64 with a Mac Pro. M2 solves all latency problem with its mixer - so I see no reason for alarm. You need to populate the upper tier with the remote controlled 8 channel preamp, so that pretty much answers your question of channel count, unless you get the 16 channel AD module than you have those analog preamps feed the 1-8 channels of inputs and have an extra eight inputs with 9-16. Then you don't have any DACS. Personally - I would get two 8X8 modules w/ AES/EBU- which is 16 Channels of AD and 16 Channels of DA, with 16 Channels of AES/EBU inputs and 16 Channels of AES/EBU outputs to hang any AES/EBU box over the system. Of course - that will only work well when you use this system with Symphony 64 PCI-e [which is the BEST way to use it]. USB 2.0 is impressive - and will give you the ability to operate 16 channels up to 96K - but they have not released that feature yet - [USB audio] as it is only for control right now - and we are not yet sure how it will work entirely. The SPDIF I/O on the boards is user routable - but it routes from designated channels of ADA on the boards and not to/from the computer. I think a Symphony I/O with a 8 pre board and one 8X8 w/ AES would be the way.....

[Pato]

Im confused...

At the apogee site, they put the base module (8 analog I/O + 8 Optical I/O) under the 8 I/O configurations. Does this mean that you can only use 8 inputs and 8 outputs simultaneously? It looks like those cards should be able to manage 8 analog plus 8 digital at the same time... its confusing.

Anyone knows exacly what these babies do?

[Mixwell]

The Module's Digital I/O [AES/EBU or Lightplpe] can become ancillary I/O when the frame is connected to a Symphony 64 or PTHD core card.

[Pato]

ancillary?

what does it mean? (im sorry about the question, english is not my native language)

Translation reads auxiliary, secondary and stuff like that...

Does it mean i get 8 in combination? (for example, 5 analog and 3 digital inputs + 2 analog and 6 digital outputs?)

[Mixwell]

The Digital I/O [8 Channels] is ADDED to the I/O count ONTOP of the Analog I/O [8 Channels] With PTHD or Symphony 64.