Explore how UA’s award-winning interface became the standard in the audio industry.
In the tradition of UA founder and audio pioneer Bill Putnam Sr., Apollo audio interfaces are as ubiquitous in professional studios around the world as the Teletronix LA-2A or 1176 compressors. Released in 2012, Apollo audio interfaces quickly became the centerpiece of professional studios and mobile rigs, as well as earning numerous industry awards from Sound on Sound, Future Music, and Electronic Musician — as well as the prestigious NAMM TEC Award for computer audio hardware five years running.
From Kendrick Lamar to Green Day, Ariana Grande to Tyler, the Creator, Post Malone, and Chris Stapleton, Apollo interfaces are used to create chart-topping, Grammy-winning albums year after year. But with so many interfaces on the market, why is Apollo considered “the pro’s choice?” Here, we’ll find out.
Just a few of the hit records made with Apollo interfaces, including Sabrina Carpenter, Peter Gabriel, Kendrick Lamar, Charli XCX, and Rolling Stones.
Apollo Gives You Class-Leading Sound Quality
Ultimately, you want the highest fidelity from your audio interface to hear every detail in your music — essential for professional recording or mixing.
Put simply, Apollo Interfaces sound better. From desktop Apollo Solo, which features the best A/D and D/A conversion of any bus‑powered audio interface, to the flagship Apollo x16 Gen 2, which sports the widest dynamic range (133 dB) and lowest THD+N (-129 dB) of any integrated audio interface, Apollo gives you true no‑compromise sound quality. Their elite‑class conversion delivers a spacious, organic sound that inspires hit recordings, year after year.
“Apollo’s converters reveal the most subtle details when I record.”
Derek “MixedByAli” Ali (Kendrick Lamar, Childish Gambino)
Get the Sound of Iconic Preamps with Unison™ Technology
Watch any veteran recording engineer in a pro studio, and you’ll likely see them selecting different classic mic preamps to accentuate the sounds of different sources.
Unison technology lets you do the same thing virtually, by reconfiguring your Apollo’s onboard preamp physical input impedance, gain staging response, and other parameters to match classic mic preamps from Neve, API, Helios, Manley, Avalon, SSL, and more. The secret is Unison’s hardware‑software integration between Apollo’s mic preamps and its onboard DSP Acceleration. Simply place a Unison preamp plug‑in on your mic input, and it physically reconfigures your preamp impedance — an exclusive feature found only on Apollo interfaces.
But how do these Unison preamp plug‑ins sound compared to the pricey, often unattainable, vintage hardware they emulate? Watch this video below and judge for yourself.
Read: How the Pros Choose Mic Preamps
Read: Top 5 Reasons Why Mic Preamps Matter
Recording in Realtime with Apollo’s UAD Console App
A distinguishing feature of the entire Apollos lineup is onboard DSP processing, which lets you monitor and record through UAD DSP plug‑ins in realtime with near‑zero latency — no matter what DAW you’re using or how many other plug‑ins you’re running at the time.
Apollos are available with a choice of SOLO, QUAD or HEXA Core DSP processing, which is unlocked through the UAD Console app that allows routing, monitoring and recording through UAD DSP plug‑ins much like a vintage analog console, so the inspiration never stops.
Apollo interfaces like the x4 bring world class sound and realtime UAD DSP plug‑in processing to your desktop.
“I had used Apollo before, but never with the UAD Console app,” says Grammy‑winning producer Jacknife Lee (U2, Snow Patrol). “But once I got going with UAD Console, I found it to be a very intuitive, almost invisible system even. Plus, there’s no front‑end latency, which is amazing. With Console, you can either monitor your recording with effects, or choose to commit to those sounds while recording — a tried‑and‑true practice of old‑school analog engineers and modern producers wanting to truly “capture the magic” and “print” sounds when tracking.
With Console, you can either monitor your recording with effects, or choose to commit to those sounds while recording — a tried-and-true practice of old-school analog engineers and modern producers wanting to truly “capture the magic” and “print” sounds when tracking.
“With Apollo and UAD plug‑ins, I pretty much commit to the sounds on everything, especially drums, bass, guitar and keys,” says Grammy‑winning producer Trevor Lawrence, Jr. (Eminem, Alicia Keys, Bruno Mars). “What you’re committing to is the sound that inspired the musical performance. Listening to it without that sound could completely alter the intent of the performer.”
Apollo: The Only Interface with Monitor Correction Built-In
Whether it’s a desktop or rackmount, all Gen 2 Apollos give you the most accurate playback of your recordings and mixes — even in headphones — thanks to Apollo Monitor Correction by Sonarworks.® Now, even the most challenging listening environments can yield truly professional results.
“With the addition of Sonarworks to Apollo, I get consistent studio‑level results anywhere in the world.”
Eric J (Flume, ODESZA)
Grow Your Studio with Apollo
Apollo interfaces let you easily combine up to four Apollos and six total UAD‑2 devices — adding fast, high‑bandwidth I/O and DSP as your studio grows. For example, say your studio has an Apollo x6 rackmount. You can seamlessly add an Apollo x4 as a desktop monitor control while still tapping its additional I/O and DSP power.
Or maybe you’re looking to “go big” and expand your studio with a large tracking room. Apollo x16 will give you tons of inputs and fit right into your current rig — whether it’s more Apollos, outboard preamps, or a vintage analog mixer. Plus, Apollo x16D is Dante‑ready, so you can easily build a multi‑room recording system over Ethernet, ideal for install, broadcast or educational facilities.
You can easily mix and match any Thunderbolt‑equipped Apollo to add inputs to your studio.
Take Your Productions from Studio to Stage
Thanks to its Dante compatibility, Apollo x16D lets you transport your UAD plug-in processing directly from the studio to your live setup. Easily connect up to four x16Ds for a whopping 64-channels to your front-of-house or monitor console and use UAD plug-ins live, in realtime over Dante. Plus, you can recall plug-in scenes via MIDI to animate your live show with pro studio sound.
As you can see, only Apollo Interfaces let you go from a tiny demo rig to a full‑on professional studio, and then take your productions on to the big stage.
Mix your shows with UAD plug-ins from Neve, Lexicon, Antares, and more in realtime using the Dante-equipped Apollo x16D.
Read: Dante for Dummies
See It In Action with Apollo Artist Sessions
Whether it’s legendary studios, historic buildings, or exotic locales, Apollo Artist Sessions showcase Apollo in a variety of genres with Grammy‑winning producers at the controls, like Jacknife Lee (U2, The Killers), Vance Powell (Jack White, The Dead Weather), Jacquire King (Kings of Leon, Tom Waits), Che Pope (Kanye West, Lauryn Hill).
Read More: How to Choose an Audio Interface
All trademarks property of their respective owners. Use of an artist name or likeness does not constitute an official endorsement of Universal Audio Inc. nor its products.
