User reviews: Apogee Electronics Duet 2

10/31/11

Kierkes's review

Apogee's famous audio interface, the Apogee Duet, has just recently received an overhaul, and the overhaul is fantastic. Apogee is known in the industry for fantastic analog to digital or digital to analog conversion; in fact, they are considered the best in the business. Compared to the original Duet, the Duet 2 has some changes that many owners have been jonesing for for quite some time, and for some, the improvements are only incremental and not worth it. Find out which one you are! The nice thing is that it has two more outputs than the original Duet, which makes it much more useful all in all. It still is not terribly good at dealing with outboard gear though.

Utilization

The Duet 2 is just as simple to use as the original Apogee Duet. The interface is incredibly simple, as Apogee makes using the preamp headphone monitor levels very easy to access for the end user. The manual is incredibly concise, but the truth is, the device is just so simple to use that most people should not at all have a hard time getting into learning how to use the Duet 2 at all. And for beginners, I could not think of an easier interface to start on.

Getting Started

Everything that the Duet 2 is is fantastic. The preamps are absolutely pristine and offer an absurd amount of gain. Ribbons can be run through this thing without having to kill the knobs or the levels. What is more amazing is that these preamps are part of the interface, and that the interface's converters are so good that they appear completely seamless. The sound is completely professional, and you can get it well before you hit the 4 digit prices with the Duet 2.

Overall Opinion

If you are doing most of your work inside the box, this is pretty much the quintessentially perfect interface for you. There really is nothing much more to say. The Duet 2 is perfect for what it tries to be.

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09/21/11

ericthegreat's review

Characteristics

The apogee Electronics Duet 2 is a very compact device, very modern and up to date. It can fit anywhere and you can take it anywhere.I didn’t use this with anything except for Logic so I am not sure how it works with other software’s. But its perfect with logic and Logic is perfect for it. it’s a perfect fit. The Drivers are very stable. When you use the Apogee electronics Duet 2 you will be surprised how good it works with your software and how it just syncs its self up.

Utilization

You're gonna hear things in your music that you never paid attention to before. Its preamps are currently driving a Royer 101 for me and my results are astounding. I'll sum it up like this... We're in a bad economy where companies are struggling to stay afloat. Music gear is a luxury and not a necessity when it comes to family needs, etc. So in order for companies to stay afloat they have to introduce gear that exceeds the expectations of those with champagne taste on a beer budget. I've heard the shootouts on Myteks, Prisms, Lavry's, etc. and this 600 dollar interface can stand toe to toe with them. You will NOT be disappointing in sound quality... This unit will be honest, and you will make mixes (with the right ears), that compete with the radio all day. Don't be swayed by a higher dollar item... If your music and talent is good, get this little guy and get off the pot. You will finally have no more excuses to make a pro album. Hell, the guy from Gorillaz made the last album with an Ipad.... So it's on you!

Getting Started

Easy to get started up and running , you wont even need the manual.

Overall Opinion

Overall, Being a proud owner of the original Duet, I saw the upgrade as an Ipod Touch version of the original. (come on, it looks like an Apple product.) I actually did A/B the two just to see what the differences were and my conclusions were that this interface was not a slight step up. It has been revered, via the tech support guy at Apogee no less, as a Rosetta 200 mobile.

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08/29/11

moosers's review

Characteristics

The Apogee Electronics Duet 2 is a latest audio interface from Apogee, widely considered one of the best in the business when it comes to anything to do with analog to digital and digital to analog conversion. There are some changes here when you compare this to the original Duet, all of which make it a more useful device. The Duet 2 is great for home studio owners who are looking for a simple but very high quality audio interface to use with their DAW. The Duet 2 comes with software to set up everything with and a digital interface directly on it for controlling it. It's got two inputs and four outputs in the breakout cable, which is different from the original Duet in that you've got two more outputs, although still not ideal for using any outboard gear. It's got the same converter and preamps as the Apogee Ensemble as far as I know...

Utilization

Using and setting up the Apogee Electronics Duet 2 isn't difficult, as the software it comes with makes it easy to route and control everything inside the box. The digital interface on the actual device is easy to use as you can scroll through different screens to controls your preamp, headphone, and monitors levels. There's not too much to get acquainted with here as I think users will be able to get used to it rather quickly, although the manual might be a good idea for beginners.

Getting Started

The sound of the Apogee Electronics Duet 2 is quite stellar and is everything you would expect from Apogee. The conversion quality is top rate and the preamps sound pretty darn good to me although I haven't had a chance to shoot them out with other audio interfaces' preamps. The sound is by far the best thing about the Apogee as it gives you a pro's sound in a small box for a fraction of the price of other pro interfaces and converters.

Overall Opinion

The Apogee Electronics Duet 2 is the perfect audio interface for the home studio owner who is doing most of their work inside the box. For producers working primarily in Logic, you can't find a better deal. If you need more inputs and outputs and are using Pro Tools primarily, it may not be your best bet, but for those looking for something with great converters and a few nice preamps, the Duet 2 is a can't miss. The price is great considering what you're getting. The Duet 2 is very popular for good reasons!

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08/05/11

yoTrakkz's review "great interface.."

Characteristics

The Apogee Electronics Duet 2 is a GREAT. I used this with my Macbook and Logic Pro 9. It has very low latency and works great with my software and operating system. This is a flawless audio interface that you must have for your Macbook’s. It connects right to your computer through usb connections. The manual for this product is very clear and easy to understand, you wont have any problems getting started using this interface. But if you don’t understand your recoding soft where and configuration you might have a hard time getting started. So make sure you keep your manual handy.

Utilization

The apogee Electronics Duet 2 is a very sleek device, very modern. It can fit anywhere and you can take it anywhere. The price is the downside to me though, I feel like 600 dollars for this was a little too high, when its competitors have audio interfaces at around 400 which are virtually the same thing. I didn’t use this with anything except for Logic so I am not sure how it works with other software’s. But its perfect with logic and Logic is perfect for it. it’s a perfect fit. The Drivers are very stable.

Getting Started

I used this Apogee to record vocals and instrumentals, along with drums and everything else. It records great, no glitches or lagging while recording. Take this everywhere with you , right along with your Macbook. You can record anywhere at a high quality. There are enough ins and outs to have several things recording together. The buffer is between 4 and 5ms which is great. Definitely give this apogee Duet 2 a try you wont be disappointed. I never used the original Duet, I purchased the Duet 2 right off the bat. I didn’t even know about the Duet until the second one came out.

Overall Opinion

I am very happy with my purchase and recommend this to everyone!

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07/19/11

synfactory's review "Amazing quality in a small package!"

Characteristics

Apogee Duet “2”, 2in x 4Out Usb Audio Interface for Mac.

24 Bit/192 KHZ

Maestro 2 Software

2 Mic/Instruments preamps, that can be phantom powered

Balanced Outputs

4 indipendents Outputs, speaker and headphone out

Breakout Cable

Full Color Oled Display

2m Usb Cable

Core Audio Compatible

Universal Power Supply Included (UK, EU an US)

Utilization

I’ve used this as my main home and portable Audio Interface for Logic Pro 9.

I have a Mac Pro 2.66 Quad Core with 8 GB of ram and a White Macbook with Intel Core 2 Duo Cpu with 4 GB of Ram.

The drivers and the Maestro software (to control and choose the device system settings and connections) are quite stable. However I found that with my Mac Pro, sometimes I have to reboot it to make it work. I’m sure this will be fixed soon, Apogee is a top notch manufacturer.

Latency at 32 and 64 buffer is between 4 and 5 ms

The 2 added touchpads are a great improvement. They are located on either side of the encoder knob, allow you to quickly access output functions such as “Mute Outputs”, “Dim Outputs”, “Sum to Mono” or “Toggle Headphone Source”. Each are assignable using a drop-down menu within Apogee’s new Maestro 2.

Getting Started

I had an original Apogee Duet, but upgraded for this for the USB connection and the added outputs.

I’ve used it in various circumstances.

I’ve recorded vocals and instruments.

I’ve reamped guitar tracks with an added Radial X-Amp (the outputs can assigned to be mono, stereo or in dimmed modes).

I’ve used it to send click tracks to my drummer, and I can say that this interface never disappointed me.

Pristine preamp quality (up to 75dB) , and the Apogee D/A and A/D converters are well known for their quality.

It also have a soft limit function (previously available only on advanced systems) that let you add several apparent decibels without clipping the signal, and giving it an analog like warmth.

The manual is really clear and precise

Overall Opinion

It can be a bit pricey, but if are on Mac and demand great quality in a small package, this is the only interface you will ever have to buy!

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Apogee Electronics Duet 2

Apogee Electronics Duet 2 user reviews ( 7/10) - 10 user reviews

Kierkes's review

ericthegreat's review

moosers's review

yoTrakkz's review "great interface.."

synfactory's review "Amazing quality in a small package!"

jesav's review ( translated ) Improve this translation " Ignore the opinion below ..."

roska's review ( translated ) Improve this translation " A small wonder"

cracken's review ( translated ) Improve this translation

Titi1506's review ( translated ) Improve this translation " Perfect for a mobile studio"

neuroblaste's review ( translated ) Improve this translation " Very good first impressions"