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Mark Day « Simple, effective interface with professional results! »
Published on 03/15/11 at 10:11I needed something portable that yields high quality results. I use this mainly to do product demo videos. I wanted something that would mate perfectly with my MacBook Pro and Logic Pro 9 and the Apogee comes through with flying colors!
I use a 17" MacBook Pro with a 2.4 Core2Duo Intel CPU, 4 gigs of ram, a 500 gig 7200 rpm internal HDD and 750 gig external FW800 HDD for audio. My MBP runs Snow Leopard and Logic Pro 9.
The Duet features a firewire powered bus that is connected via a standard FW cable (2 FW cables included a regular 400 and a 400 to 800). It has a audio breakout cable snake that has two unbalanced instrument level IN's (1/4"), 2 XLR Balanced IN's and two 1/4" OUT's (RCA adapter incl. if you need it). The Mic IN's also have software assignable phantom power (48v).
The control functions are midi assignable.
The Duet has highly visible LED meters that monitor your choice of IN's or Out's. It features a large data wheel that controls the I/O. A push down click of the wheel chooses the functions...very simple.
UTILIZATION
When I bought the unit I downloaded the lastest drivers. They are very stable and feature very low latency. Included is Maestro, a slick little interface for the Duet when using any Mac OS X Core Audio application. Garageband, Logic, Logic Express and Final Cut Studio have a built in Duet control panel and support. I have not noticed any updates for the drivers.
You can only record 2 tracks at a time with the Duet, but plays back as many as your system can handle.
The Duet can record/playback at 24bit/96khz.
GETTING STARTED
The Duet only works with Apple so no PC support. The unit is very simple to use and setup and the manual is clear and concise. The folks at Apogee provide free online support chat if you run into any issues.
OVERALL OPINION
This is a simple to use, high quality interface. I was first hesitant at the price but now realize it is more than worth the money. It's physical size has to bearing on it's huge quality results...brillliant!
I was running a Digi003 and a rack of decent mic preamps. With the Duet I don't miss that at all.
The breakout cable seems a little flimsy, but I have had no issues with it, so the point is really moot anyway. You can buy upgraded breakout cables.
I am very pleased with this purchase.
I use a 17" MacBook Pro with a 2.4 Core2Duo Intel CPU, 4 gigs of ram, a 500 gig 7200 rpm internal HDD and 750 gig external FW800 HDD for audio. My MBP runs Snow Leopard and Logic Pro 9.
The Duet features a firewire powered bus that is connected via a standard FW cable (2 FW cables included a regular 400 and a 400 to 800). It has a audio breakout cable snake that has two unbalanced instrument level IN's (1/4"), 2 XLR Balanced IN's and two 1/4" OUT's (RCA adapter incl. if you need it). The Mic IN's also have software assignable phantom power (48v).
The control functions are midi assignable.
The Duet has highly visible LED meters that monitor your choice of IN's or Out's. It features a large data wheel that controls the I/O. A push down click of the wheel chooses the functions...very simple.
UTILIZATION
When I bought the unit I downloaded the lastest drivers. They are very stable and feature very low latency. Included is Maestro, a slick little interface for the Duet when using any Mac OS X Core Audio application. Garageband, Logic, Logic Express and Final Cut Studio have a built in Duet control panel and support. I have not noticed any updates for the drivers.
You can only record 2 tracks at a time with the Duet, but plays back as many as your system can handle.
The Duet can record/playback at 24bit/96khz.
GETTING STARTED
The Duet only works with Apple so no PC support. The unit is very simple to use and setup and the manual is clear and concise. The folks at Apogee provide free online support chat if you run into any issues.
OVERALL OPINION
This is a simple to use, high quality interface. I was first hesitant at the price but now realize it is more than worth the money. It's physical size has to bearing on it's huge quality results...brillliant!
I was running a Digi003 and a rack of decent mic preamps. With the Duet I don't miss that at all.
The breakout cable seems a little flimsy, but I have had no issues with it, so the point is really moot anyway. You can buy upgraded breakout cables.
I am very pleased with this purchase.