Apollo x8
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Apollo x8
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C. Bevins
Like having new ears!
My trusty old 003 finally kicked the bucket, and the new Apollo X series came along just in time. Wow! I knew it would be better, but I'm stunned! 10 stars! Seriously, the audio quality is exceptional, and so is the stability and workflow of the UAD platform. I didn't realize how much I would enjoy tracking through UAD plugins, but I love that part of it about as much as I love the sound quality of the box itself. Lovely work, UA!
C. Prey
Not from this planet
I have never seen a piece of audio gear that was so sophisticated as the Apollo x8. That doesn't mean it's complicated - contrary, everything works so flawless that you can only guess about the designers effort on usability and clarity - for the hardware and the console app as well (that includes the new surround monitoring features and the integration of the Twin - it's so easy). What really surprised me was the improvement on the D/A converters. Those of the Twin MKII were already great - but the Apollo x8 is on another level. Monitoring the same song, switching to the x8 suddenly revealed details i didn't know of before. Awesome. I'm not paid for this, but i must say - i've never felt better with any other hardware or interface especially. There has never been a point of feeling lost or like the developers won't care (hello RME). The UAD support is as excellent as the hardware - many, many thanks.
C. Prey
Not from this planet
I have never seen a piece of audio gear that was so sophisticated as the Apollo x8. That doesn't mean it's complicated - contrary, everything works so flawless that you can only guess about the designers effort on usability and clarity - for the hardware and the console app as well (that includes the new surround monitoring features and the integration of the Twin - it's so easy). What really surprised me was the improvement on the D/A converters. Those of the Twin MKII were already great - but the Apollo x8 is on another level. Monitoring the same song, switching to the x8 suddenly revealed details i didn't know of before. Awesome. I'm not paid for this, but i must say - i've never felt better with any other hardware or interface especially. There has never been a point of feeling lost or like the developers won't care (hello RME). The UAD support is as excellent as the hardware - many, many thanks.
C. Hoffman
The Cornerstone of My Studio
The Apollo x8 is a perfect solution for most small studios like mine. Low latency, hexacore processing, zero-latency monitoring, four mic pres and eight line inputs. There's enough DSP to apply processing on the way in when recording small bands. It's the new cornerstone of my studio.
G. Galanis
good become better
i was a happy owner of a Apollo 8 (blackface), now i am even more happier owner of an Apollo x8, great sounding welcome all new futures and surround monitoring!
S. Chatwood
Solid unit for low latency recording.
Much has been said already about these units and the improved converters so I'd like to add that having the benefit of low latency is one of the best features. Knowing that your session musicians can have the best monitoring situation puts your mind at rest. The ability to have a convolution reverb or the new 480L that won't hiccup when the buffers are low is great.
CONS
I wish the unit itself had a LCD for monitor level for consistent volumes. That ring thing is not pro. The console software might benefit from a larger monitor knob with level more visible or even presets. This will save SOME people having to buy a Cranesong or Grace Design.
R. Beld
Killer combo with new Macmini 2018
Two weeks ago we switched to a new system in our studio; a Apollo X8 and a new Macmini 2018. What a killer combo in Logic Pro X. Couldn't be happier!
P. HYUNWOO
i love it!!!
very nice converter better than my apollo twin! love you UA!!
J. Loach
Enjoying the Apollo x8
So far so good! Upgraded from old UAD-1 cards and a Fireface 800. The sound is noticeably clearer, and the increased processing capacity and quality of the new plugins is much appreciated. A few hiccups trying to get the Thunderbolt 3 port on the Lenovo Thinkpad T580 going. Had to update drivers and make a couple of BIOS setting changes. Now perfect. Running Cubase 10 and Wavelab 8 on Windows 10 with no troubles at all.
J. Henderson
Unstable
Experiencing much higher than expected latency. Processing power is a joke for the UA plugins. Totoally regret purchasing.
M. Marton
I Couldn't Be Happier
Coming from a silver face Apollo as my first introduction to UA, I was pretty happy with it but realized that if I was going to upgrade, now would be the time to get the most value for it moving to the X series. That said, the new X8 is such a noticeable leap in sound quality and clocking it's not funny. I truly enjoy every time I go to record through it now. Not that I didn't before but I sure wasn't smiling this much. Mixes are better sooner, recordings sound tighter and now that it's a hexacore, I don't even think about how many plugins I'm using. Really, really a huge step up from where I was.
N. de Leon
UA Apollo X8 is awesome and powerful.
I finally upgraded my system from Digidesign to Apollo X8. I must say that this interface is a beast. like viagra!!!
r. todd
Just As Good As My Analog Gear
I just sold over $25,000 worth of high end analog equipment due to the fact the new apollo x series sounds just as good in many cases better than analig gear. The conversion is better than my symphony. The preamp modeling wigh subtle eq is almost identical as genuine analog pres. Bottom line no need for analog gear anymore! These are all you need to make professionally sounding records.
r. todd
Just As Good As My Analog Gear
I just sold over $25,000 worth of high end analog equipment due to the fact the new apollo x series sound just as good in many cases better. The onversion was better than my apogee symphony the preamp modeling is almost identical. Bottom line no need for analog gear anymore!
D. Craver
top shelf conversion
Just finished my first project start-to-finish on the x8, and i am blown away by how natural and rich everything sounds. coming from Twin MKII and black 8P previously. this new X series sounds astonishing. no weird mid-forward, top end smearing. I have been a big fan of the Apollo workflow for a few years now, but after working at a studio with Burl conversion I always felt like I was missing that sort of effortless quality that I got from the Burl. I can say my new x8 does conversion on the same level- there is no digital sound signature to this box, just wide open and smooth. I felt like a fanboy purchasing this just weeks after it came out, but I'm so happy to know that this unit has me covered for years to come and I won't need to restructure my studio workflow (and open a new credit line) to outfit to high end stand-alone convertors. Would love to see an update to Console that could maybe allow for room eq correction. thanks UA!
r. gonzalez bernal
3rd generation Apollo
Y esta es la tercera generación de Apollo Rack, fue a principios de 2013 cuando compre la primera generación me sorprendió por la calidad de los conversores, el tener DSP’S integrados, después a mediados de 2015 cambie a la segunda generación con mejoras en los conversores y también con la nueva versión de Console que presentaron antes del lanzamiento y de serie con Thunderbolt incluido y ahora he renovado con la tercera generación de Apollo, siguiendo con las mejoras en los conversores y previos de micro, el añadido de más DSP’S ( 6 Dsp’s ahora en todos los modelos ) puertos Thunderbolt 3 totalmente compatible con Thunderbolt 1 y 2 con los adaptadores de Apple lo tengo conectado a un Macpro de 2013 el cilindro y sin ningún problema lo único que echo en falta es una aplicación para iPad para poder controlar Console y todo con el mejor trato y servicio posventa de Masacoustics que siempre me han resuelto las dudas y aportado soluciones y con el mejor precio de Europa , gracias a Lluís Moreno y su equipo de lo mejor que ahí.
P. Barry
Apollo X launches
Big sound improvement on the old FireWire ensemble I used previously. Working with Twin gives loads of DSP!
M. Dannells
Huge Improvement over 1st Generation!
I just got an x8 to replace my original Silverface 1st generation Quad. Big difference! I'm running more than 20 of the most DSP hungry plugs (Oceanway Studio, 2 Fatsos, Manley VOXBOX, 6 Neve 88RS-Not the Legacy Version! Plus plenty more) on my 2015 iMac, and I'm at only around 75% usage. Maybe it's the new converters, or maybe the plug-ins are running more efficiently (probably both), but mixes have WAY more clarity and depth.
The only issue I've had so far is recalling my old console presets. It takes a pretty easy extra step or two, but the UAD Forum Team helped me figure it out. Very Impressed!
P. Jones
Very clean and detailed interface.
Earlier this month I gave a customer review of 3 stars because I wasn’t satisfied with how the bass sounded or the lack of bass compared to the Apollo Twin but after having the X8 for over a week I’m really starting to enjoy it much better and I think that the biggest thing for me to get used to was tuning my ears to how the X8 sounds. I’ve been so used to the Apollo Twin for so long that it took me a couple of days to get used to the X8 but now I’m really digging the X8. It has so much more clarity and depth than the Apollo Twin or the Apollo 8 duo. I would definitely recommend the X8, it is very much a step up from its predecessors.
H. Way
Simply the best!
I am really happy with this unit. I upgraded from the Apollo 8 MKII and right away I could here a big difference with the upgraded converters and clocking. It is still built on the sample quality as the previous MKII series but with exciting new features. I had to remix a project that I was working for the better. The xtra two core really do go a long way compared to the previous four cores. It’s also nice that it has the best spec’ and even better than some stand alone converters. I even compared the spec to the Apogee Ensemble Thunderbolt and the Element and it beats them hands down and don’t get me started on how they have the best plugins on the market. If you are in the market for a interface or just looking for something better this is the one.