Apogee Symphony Desktop - Pro Audio Interface with Touch-Screen Display, Headphone Amp with Phantom Power for Recording, Live-Stream & Podcast, works with Mac, PC, iPhone, and iPad

Product Information

Symphony Desktop’s digital-to-analog stage employs brand new technology to provide uncompromising Symphony DAC performance in a portable product, including a robust ultra-low distortion, high-current output driver. Regardless of downstream connections, Symphony Desktop provides a transparent, widescreen window into the sonic landscape of your mix. Mic Preamps - Superior performance Apogee is excited to announce the Release of software version 1.19 for Symphony Desktop, its flagship home studio audio interface. This release features the Apogee Control Software and the Apogee Channel FX Plugin which allows you to set up a hybrid DSP+Native workflow from your DAW using the DualPath Link mode. What’s Included in Release 1.19 mic preamps with Advanced Stepped Gain Architecture and up to 75dB of gain ensure clean, low-distortion results For the musician, producer, or engineer who demands excellence in a portable, expandable footprint, the Apogee Symphony Desktop promises to deliver. What Do I Get With The Apogee Symphony Desktop? However, in cases where the same manufacturer makes both DAW and interface, it can be possible to integrate the two much more closely. Avid’s Hybrid Engine, for example, automatically switches between DSP and native versions of a plug‑in depending on whether it is in a live input monitoring path or not, and UA’s LUNA has similar capabilities.

Sound On Sound have recently reviewed the Apogee Symphony Desktop for their May 2022 issue, providing a thorough breakdown of its features and a glowing account of its "first-rate" touch screen interface which they note betters its closest rivals with ease. A/D CONVERSION – Like Symphony I/O Mk II, Symphony Desktop’s analog-to-digital converter stage features ultra-low distortion, high-slew rate, fully differential analog op-amps plus a cutting edge A/D converter in a performance-enhancing dual-sum configuration. Create with the confidence that every nuance of your analog input is faithfully reproduced in the digital domain. With Symphony Desktop, the Apogee Control Software and the Apogee Channel FX plugin, you can set up a variety of workflows that offer low-latency recording, maximum CPU efficiency, easy collaboration and the option to print or just monitor plugins in your projects. Plus, you can use Apogee plugins with or without Symphony Desktop connected to your computer. DSP + Native Plugins for Hybrid Recording You’d expect an interface costing this much to sound good, and the Symphony Desktop has impeccable audio credentials. The preamps offer 75dB of digitally controlled gain with a highly impressive EIN figure of -129dB unweighted. A-weighted dynamic range on the inputs and outputs is 123 and 129dB respectively, while Apogee’s “zero Ohm” headphone outputs also promise —and deliver — excellent quality. This level of audio performance is still relatively unusual in a desktop interface, but the Symphony Desktop really does come within spitting distance of Apogee’s flagship modular Symphony I/O" Symphony Control App only available in Thunderbolt Audio Interface mode. Firmware update not required.

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Included ECS Channel Strip plug-in works in tandem with the microphone preamp emulations, arming you with a range of sonic colors The Apogee Alloy Mic Preamp (AMP) emulation offers analog circuitry plus DSP processing to create the richest, most authentic audio modelling available in an audio interface. Critical aspects of the model such as input impedance, transient profile and distortion characteristics are first implemented in the analog domain, followed by precise and accurate refinement in DSP, for a hybrid result that’s greater than the sum of its parts. British Solid State - Class A console sound The third thing that I really like about the Apogee Symphony Desktop is the sound, it's clean, it's transparent and it imparts absolutely nothing especially when you use the built in Symphony desktop, mic pre, which is the unmodeled option. The unit does come with a Neve style pre and also a tube style pre, but for me, the whole point of the unit is it's unparalleled quality. So the sound quality is excellent and using the built in SD, mic pre really does the business for me. The Apogee Symphony Desktop is a desktop audio interface for Windows, Mac, or iPad Pro that brings the company’s Symphony converter technology into a sleek textured aluminium desktop-style enclosure. It’s operated via a TFT touchscreen interface in concert with a large rotary knob, giving the user intuitive “point-and-turn” control of all parameters.

The triangular mirroring of information between Apogee Control 2, the Channel FX plug‑in and the touchscreen is generally excellent, but does fall down in one small respect. There are on‑screen buttons in Apogee Control that tell you whether Print FX and Monitor FX are switched on for each input, but nothing to tell you whether any plug‑ins are actually loaded. The only way to tell whether an input is being processed or not is to open the plug‑in window for that channel. Integrierte VST-Effekte: Eine herausragende Funktion des Symphony Desktop ist die Integration von VST-Effekten als DSP in der Software. Diese Funktion ermöglicht es, während der Aufnahme kreative Klangeffekte direkt in den Mix einzuführen, was die künstlerische Freiheit erheblich erweitert. Dies ist besonders wertvoll für Musiker und Produzenten, die nach einzigartigen Klanglandschaften suchen. The two combo inputs can be configured to bypass the pre for true line-in. This is a pro feature that often gets priced out- owners of external gear should like this. Both the mic amp selection, and the ECS strip can be controlled on the hardware running on the Symphony Desktop’s own DSP. The latter can then be printed using the “Print FX” button. The DSP mic pre is always printed. With Symphony Desktop you have a range of intuitive hardware and software control options. From the touch screen and control knob on the device, to the control app on your computer to the focused input and monitor control plugin for your DAW, you can easily access the settings you need to stay in your creative groove. Designed to redefine professional portable recording

Two paths are better than one

NOTE:When installing the the Symphony Mk II 3.10 driver you will be prompted to update firmware. This firmware update does not apply and should be ignored. Do NOT run the firmware updater if prompted. The full review of the Apogee Symphony Desktop can be found in the May 2022 issue of Sound On Sound, as well as here. Alloy Mic Preamp emulation employs analog circuitry and digital processing to give you ultra-authentic modeling The second thing that I like about the Symphony desktop is the TFT screen, the touch screen interface and the large rotary encoder worked really well, so you've got a touch and twist type thing where you touch the interface and then make the adjustment on the hardware itself. Registered office: V12 Retail Finance Limited, Yorke House, Arleston Way, Solihull, B90 4LH. Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

You can also control the ECS channel strip on the hardware, that's the DSP version that can be used for the print and monitor effects options in the forthcoming software release. Advantages: Simplest way to get a sound and not print FX in your recording Commit and Print While you RecordLike every flagship product we’ve introduced, Symphony I/O Mk II benefits from on-going expertise that constitutes the Apogee Engineering Advantage, once again pushing forward the state-of-the-art.

To fully test the Symphony Desktop sound I went to record a concert grand piano in a large space. I used to stereo pair of Line Audio omnis, placed 30 centimetres apart, around 40 centimetres out from the, curve the piano, at head height, looking into the frame. I wanted to get close enough to capture the intricacy of the piano, but far enough out just to catch a little bit of reverb. To conclude, the Apogee Symphony Desktop is a very nice piece of equipment in terms of its features, and above all its sound, delivering clarity and depth to anything you put through it. Similar to Symphony I/O MkII, Symphony Desktop’s analog-to-digital convertor stage features ultra-low distortion, high-slew rate, fully differential analog op-amps plus a cutting edge A/D convertor in a performance-enhancing dual-sum configuration. Create with the confidence that every nuance of your analog input is faithfully reproduced in the digital domain. D/A Conversion - A widescreen window into your mix Nailed it? Record directly to your DAW through Symphony Desktop Hardware DSP. With Print mode active you can commit and record Apogee FX Plugins directly from the hardware DSP in Symphony Desktop to the corresponding channel in your DAW.

Apogee Electronics – Professional Audio Interfaces, Microphones and Plugins for Mac, Windows and iOS AP-66 is based on the vintage Class A solid-state Neve 1066 preamp, and apes the original’s pleasing low-mid character and slight compression of higher frequency transients. The alternative AP-57 model is based on an Ampex 601 tube preamp from the 50s, and oozes with analogue warmth and saturation.