With 2 in and 4 out, this USB Audio Interface has 2 mic preamps in this little device by Apogee, it is called the Duet 2. I have not been using the Duet 2 that long (less than 1 year). But my time with it has been really good. It comes with Maestro 2 which is a software. The special thing about this interface is that its just plug and play. There were no issues with installing it, with me being a musician and songwriter I needed to have something that I could easily just plug in and it work right away. UTILIZATION The sound is really good, and the unit is very easy to use. This unit does have phantom power and it is Bus Powered. The audio output types are 2 TRS, 1 ¼ headphone jack. If you have a bunch of different audio you need to get into your computer at the same time or you want it to be hooked up at the same time then this interface is not for you. It is a simple interface and it works just like that, simple! It is on the higher priced side of interfaces for such a small unit though. GETTING STARTED The 2 mic preamps are really good. and they can capture some great sound from your source or instrument in stereo. With this interface it all depends on which Mac you will be using with it. If your computer does not have the requirements with the OS then you will have major driver issues with this interface. OVERALL OPINION This interface is small but powerful, you can pack it with you and take it anywhere you need it to go which is a huge plus for my setup which I try to keep pretty small. The display on the front of the Duet 2 doesn’t really have too much just some LED’s that let you see the input and output levels of what you have going through it. The quality of the Duet 2 is great, and it is small. If you can overlook the price you will be 100 percent happy with this purchase.
The Apogee Duet is an extremely famous interface. Unlike many interfaces that I enjoy reviewing, the Duet is famous not because of how much you get or the money. Two mic and two line inputs is hardly a sizable amount for what you are paying for this. No. It is famous because of its sheer pristine quality. With preamps offering 75 dB of gain or so each, you really cannot go wrong. The singular knob on the Apogee Duet is also midi assignable, so you can use it to control parameters in your favorite digital audio workstation. It is important to note that not only is this interface powered by firewire, it is also Mac only, so sorry to those of you who own windows pc's (I'm in that category, but when you work with audio, you tend to have a lot of friends who own Macs). UTILIZATION The beautiful Duet has very bright LEDs on the surface to indicate parameters. What is so special about the utilization of the Apogee Duet is the fact that it has only one knob, that you push to switch between the current parameters you are messing with. You switch between input gain 1, input gain 2, output from software, output from the hardware for monitoring, and the midi assignable function. What I find odd about the Duet is the situation with phantom power. I am not quite sure what drives it, but there does not seem to be any parameter assignable to it, and yet I know people who have used it for condensers. I for one have only used the Apogee Duet with dynamics, and I find that they give adequate gain for just about any dynamic out there. GETTING STARTED It is as simple as plug and play. The manual is simple to use and everything about the Duet is elegant and simple. OVERALL OPINION I find the Duet to now be a steal when you consider that the Duet 2 is out on the market now, taking up the new sales segment. It is a fantastic deal, very elegant, and the quality is top notch.
