FireFace 800 -vs- Apogee Ensemble

[brianbfw]

Title basically says it all.

I already own the Apogee symphony system, so i'm a big apogee fan.

I need another audio interface.

Pelple have suggested the RME 800, but some have told me it has adds a color and is not truely transparent.

Anybody out there ever do a shootout to see what the like the best?

thanks

[Muzykant]

Try Lynx Aurora 8. Sounds amazing

[Rad]

Yo,

I'm with you on the Apogee symphony system. At the same time, I'd say that if I'd had to spend 2k on gear, I'd probably buy a Great River or an Avalon preamp for that money and use it with my existing interface. Sure, Ensemble sounds nice but my personal take is that it is not fully up to par with the competition in terms of price/performance ratio in that price range. Let's not forget that some of the true legends of the recording industry, like 1176 for example, sell for 2k. In fact, for 2k you can get an extremely good Avalon pre and just use it with whatever existing card you have. Not that I want to criticize Apogee in any way, but I think their chosen price point is wrong for this kind of device, which is not only not a boutique pre, but also made overseas in outsourced factories (again: not to say that outsoucing implies worse quality, but just to emphasize that the competitors' products in that price range are usually domestic-made).

[Max]

Yo,

I'm with you on the Apogee symphony system. At the same time, I'd say that if I'd had to spend 2k on gear, I'd probably buy a Great River or an Avalon preamp for that money and use it with my existing interface. Sure, Ensemble sounds nice but my personal take is that it is not fully up to par with the competition in terms of price/performance ratio in that price range. Let's not forget that some of the true legends of the recording industry, like 1176 for example, sell for 2k. In fact, for 2k you can get an extremely good Avalon pre and just use it with whatever existing card you have. Not that I want to criticize Apogee in any way, but I think their chosen price point is wrong for this kind of device, which is not only not a boutique pre, but also made overseas in outsourced factories (again: not to say that outsoucing implies worse quality, but just to emphasize that the competitors' products in that price range are usually domestic-made).

Ensemble is made in the USA, as are ALL Apogee products.

[Trent Thompson]

Are you looking to run lightpipe into your Ensemble? Are you looking for something w/ or w/out Pre's? I have some great ideas for you, but more details as to what you're looking for would be helpful.

[Rad]

Max,

Good to hear from someone directly from Apogee. I want to reemphasize that I have a lot of respect for Apogee products and my previous post was not intended as a critique. Rather, it was based on an experience which it may be useful for me to share with the rest of the forum.

In 2007, I personally saw an Apogee Ensemble unit in our local Guitar center demo room which carried a label saying either "assembled in China" or "Made in China". (The GC salesman is my friend and I was helping him unpack the unit.) I have remembered this precisely because I knew that all Apogee products are made in the US, and it came as a surprise to me. The manual to that demo unit also struck me as non-Apogee looking: not a real booklet, just a pair of sheets with (badly) printed instructions.

Unless Apogee has had some US components shipped to China for assembly, thus explaining the "Assembled in China" label, I am beginning to think that the unit I saw may have been fake. Unfortunately, cases of fake gear being sold in otherwise reputable stores are not so rare as they used to be and this could very well be it. For example, it is a known fact that the US market is flooded with fake Oktava mics sold by even some fairly well respected music chains. In any case, I have no other explanation for what I saw. If my information is incorrect, of course I apologize readily, I am just saying that I saw what I saw.

[blackietw]

Max,

Good to hear from someone directly from Apogee. I want to reemphasize that I have a lot of respect for Apogee products and my previous post was not intended as a critique. Rather, it was based on an experience which it may be useful for me to share with the rest of the forum.

In 2007, I personally saw an Apogee Ensemble unit in our local Guitar center demo room which carried a label saying either "assembled in China" or "Made in China". (The GC salesman is my friend and I was helping him unpack the unit.) I have remembered this precisely because I knew that all Apogee products are made in the US, and it came as a surprise to me. The manual to that demo unit also struck me as non-Apogee looking: not a real booklet, just a pair of sheets with (badly) printed instructions.

Unless Apogee has had some US components shipped to China for assembly, thus explaining the "Assembled in China" label, I am beginning to think that the unit I saw may have been fake. Unfortunately, cases of fake gear being sold in otherwise reputable stores are not so rare as they used to be and this could very well be it. For example, it is a known fact that the US market is flooded with fake Oktava mics sold by even some fairly well respected music chains. In any case, I have no other explanation for what I saw. If my information is incorrect, of course I apologize readily, I am just saying that I saw what I saw.


They all assembled in China...my Ensemble as well.