I have been asked to score a full length motion picture so I want to upgrade my studio.....finally, after procrastinating for over several years. So yesterday I pulled the trigger on a UA Apollo Quad. Long story short but when I got to the store...they only had an open box. They agreed to let me go try it and order a new one for me....great....off I go.
Right off the bat it crashed several times, froze PT and also said my FW800 buss had speed issues......HUH?
So I started fishing and found out my MacPro is not qualified/compatible. It is a 1.1model 2.66Ghz Quad. No good for Apollo. Bummed!
I gotta tell ya........coming from a 002R and 11R...... I heard stuff in that Apollo when it did work that was.......WOW!!!! Clarity, depth, space, definition. Even just with a drum loop. For a moment I thought an additional convolution reverb plug in was on this one drum loop I grabbed....only to realize it was musical stuff/audio info/reverb/depth......in that loop I never heard before. Amazing!!
But Apollo won't work with this computer.....so now what?
My other option....for several years.....has been that I have always wanted an Apogee Ensemble. But concerning me is that it is an old machine now having been out for a while with no significant upgrades etc.......and many say the Duet converters and clock is better....pre's too I think. I need 4 XLR mic pre's though. People told me to wait for NAMM and maybe an Ensemble2. No such luck. In the meantime RME had the Fireface UFX and then Apollo came out.
So what to do? I have never heard an Ensemble in my studio. Do you think it would have the same WOW factor as this Apollo? Should I just stay with my old MacPro and grab the Ensemble.......or do you think it worth the extra bones to try find a nice used 8-Core MacPro so I can use the Apollo? ( I have found a nice loaded with software MacPro 8-core for $1250. I can swing it but it will be tough for a while after that. It is a 3.1 model 2.8Ghz Dual Quad core.)
Thing is........I don't think my old MacPro is even qualified for Mountain Lion at this point. So maybe I am really looking at having to upgrade my computer soon anyway. For that matter......my MBP C2D is not compatible with Apollo either.....a model 3.1.
Right off the bat it crashed several times, froze PT and also said my FW800 buss had speed issues......HUH?
So I started fishing and found out my MacPro is not qualified/compatible. It is a 1.1model 2.66Ghz Quad. No good for Apollo. Bummed!
I gotta tell ya........coming from a 002R and 11R...... I heard stuff in that Apollo when it did work that was.......WOW!!!! Clarity, depth, space, definition. Even just with a drum loop. For a moment I thought an additional convolution reverb plug in was on this one drum loop I grabbed....only to realize it was musical stuff/audio info/reverb/depth......in that loop I never heard before. Amazing!!
But Apollo won't work with this computer.....so now what?
My other option....for several years.....has been that I have always wanted an Apogee Ensemble. But concerning me is that it is an old machine now having been out for a while with no significant upgrades etc.......and many say the Duet converters and clock is better....pre's too I think. I need 4 XLR mic pre's though. People told me to wait for NAMM and maybe an Ensemble2. No such luck. In the meantime RME had the Fireface UFX and then Apollo came out.
So what to do? I have never heard an Ensemble in my studio. Do you think it would have the same WOW factor as this Apollo? Should I just stay with my old MacPro and grab the Ensemble.......or do you think it worth the extra bones to try find a nice used 8-Core MacPro so I can use the Apollo? ( I have found a nice loaded with software MacPro 8-core for $1250. I can swing it but it will be tough for a while after that. It is a 3.1 model 2.8Ghz Dual Quad core.)
Thing is........I don't think my old MacPro is even qualified for Mountain Lion at this point. So maybe I am really looking at having to upgrade my computer soon anyway. For that matter......my MBP C2D is not compatible with Apollo either.....a model 3.1.