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Symphony may look like your average PCI-Express card that flawlessly carries 32 channels of digital I/O each for massive native systems up of up to 192 simultaneous channels, but they're really... uh, wait, that's exactly what they are. Nicely done.
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We know what you're thinking. "Hey, I have this massive stack of killer Apogee converters laying around, and no way to get all these channels in and out of my Mac! Woe is me!" Cheer up, little pup, for Symphony makes your interfacing dream a reality.
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Whoo! That Ensemble is one fine-looking piece of gear. It's as if someone made a professional FireWire interface specifically for the Mac! Oh, that's what they did? Nicely done, again!
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Here's some of Maestro's control panels for Ensemble. Maestro is also used as the software connection between Symphony and your Apogee converters. And it rocks! Really.
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Working in Logic? Apogee's newest interface tools are the logical choice for your Mac. See how we worked the word "logic" in there twice? That's why they pay us the big bucks.
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You know that moment when you walk into a studio for the first time and start scanning the gear in the racks? While it's always impressive to see a bunch of rare and vintage processors and mic preamps, it's probably the most comforting moment when you glance at the familiar brushed silver faceplates of Apogee gear. It's usually a great sign that the studoi cares about getting great sound quality in the most crucial point: the ins, outs and arounds of their DAW system.
For this month's GC Pro spotlight, we're going to take a look at two of Apogee's newest solutions for interfacing with computers: Symphony and Ensemble. If you're a PC user, you may want to go browse through some other areas of this site for awhile, since both Symphony and Ensemble are designed specifically for the Mac.
Symphony: What Could You Do with 96 Channels of I/O?
Apogee's Symphony is a multi-channel PCI Express card that's controlled by Apogee’s Maestro software (more on that in a moment). Each card features 32 channels of digital I/O, and if you have room in your G5, you can install three cards. Yup, do the math, and that's 192 simultaneous channels (96 in, 96 out), making Symphony the champion in interfacing solutions for native workstations.
With support for sample rates up to 192 kHz, Symphony can be used as a digital router or patch-bay when connected to external converters or other digital outboard equipment. Software drivers for Symphony feature extensive routing capabilities and very low latency performance. At the end of the day, Symphony provides very high channel, high quality native recording, and is an excellent I/O companion to Apogee's renowned converters.
Emsemble: Apogee and Apple's Love Child
One look at Ensemble, and the first thing a person familiar with Apogee's products might think is, "Where's the purple?" Ensemble was actually designed incoordination with Apple, and bears the distinctive Apple industrial design of brshed aluminum that will look great in your Mac-based studio.
Ensemble features 36 channels of simultaneous audio, including 8 channels of Apogee’s legendary A/D and D/A conversion, 4 transparent, digitally controlled 75db mic preamps, 8 channels of ADAT I/O, 2 channels of S/PDIF coax and optical I/O, and FireWire connectivity to and from the computer. Ensemble also includes premium Apogee technologies such as “SoftLimit”, “UV22HR”, and “Intelliclock”. In other words, it's the whole Apogee experience, in a cool-looking and relatively inexpensive package.
It's Logical...
If you're a Logic user, the Ensemble is a no-brainer. It's the first and only multi-channel audio interface that is fully integrated into Logic Pro. With Ensemble, everything from mic pre and output gain to sample and bit rate selection are controllable from within Logic’s Apogee Control Panel.
Cue Up the Maestro
Symphony, Ensemble, and other Apogee goodies make use of their innovative Maestro software interface to Mac OS X applications (OS 10.4 and above). Maestro is capable of controlling Apogee hardware I/O connected to the computer via FireWire, PCI-Express (a la Symphony), or both at the same time.
Maestro features multiple low latency mixers, hardware control panels, an input/output routing matrix that is compatible with Rosetta 800, Rosetta 200, AD-16X and DA-16X and a universal control platform for using Apogee hardware in combination with Ensemble.
Maestro at a glance:
• Control panel for Ensemble, Rosetta 800, Rosetta 200, AD-16X and DA-16X.
• 2 Low latency mixers per connected device
• Complete I/O routing matrix
• Mic preamp controls for Ensemble
• Output/headphone gain controls for Ensemble
GC Pro Loves Us Some Apogee
GC Pro's Account Managers are Apogee evangelists, and we can arrange for a demo of Symphony or Ensemble at your leisure. Contact one of us today and ask us to put a little Apogee in your life!
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