Apogee Big Ben Reviews

5.0/5.0 based on 6 customer reviews

Sweetwater Advice

Kenny Bergle

The difference between not clocking to the BigBen and clocking to the BigBen is NOT subtle. I always say to my customers 'If you don't think it improved your sound by $1495 worth, then send it back.' Never has anybody sent it back because it didn't sound way better than $1495 worth! Never! It's hard to get some people to pay $1495 for a piece of gear that doesn't really make a sound. But once they get it, they never want to part with it! If you are looking for a 'better' audio quality for your studio, before you upgrade your audio interface or digital recorder, get a BigBen and get ready for the real deal!

Paul Allen

To synchronize digital gear I always recommend BIG BEN from Apogee. Apogee has been making great clocks for their own units for years, so who better to make the industry standard for a master clock? This master clock solidifies a digital studio into a unified, jitter-free rig. My clients are astounded at the improved audio quality, and I often hear, 'I never knew my gear could sound so good.'

Arend Raby

When using multiple digital devices in your DAW environment, the Big Ben is a must. Apogee has gone to great lengths in power supply and clock design to make this the MOST stable master clock ever designed. Say goodbye to stereo imaging issues, clicks and pops, and listen to it. You won't believe you're listening to your gear.

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Customer Reviews

Samuel Rymer
from Tortola British Virgin Islands
May 12, 2010 Music Background:
Recording Engineer,Sound Engineer

Big Ben Is The Best Friend I Ever Had

What this thing does to an interface i cant even explain all i know i have no more clicks and pops no stop when am recording jitter is reduce and the sound quality is enhanced it also works great with hardware every thing is in sync and you hear stuff different and make better music get your self a big ben and you see why i said he is the best friend i ever had.

Cornelius Hill
from japan/harvey illinois
June 26, 2007 Music Background:
Pro Rapper,Producer,Engineer,and always Student

Apogee Is My Biggest Homey !!!!!

The Big Ben Is use to clock just about anything i get my hands on it gives you the confidence to buy products that you are not sure of cause they come with a word clock input!!!!!! i own a pair of Dynaudio Air 15 monitors and the fact that they have a word clock input on them and i clock my monitors (yeah that right) is great they already sound crazy good but with big ben its like woooooooooooooo baby
I also have Rosetta 800 and Ensmble needles to say those are clocked my tc eletronic voice pro yup clocked too ....Why do i say all this cause the big ben makes that much of a difference you will only be falling behind in this digital age if you dont buy one today

Frederick Russ
from Castle Rock, CO
January 28, 2007 Music Background:
Composer/Recording Engineer

Apogee Big Ben really works!

I've got an older Motu PCI-424 system on my Mac G5 with a Motu 2408 Mk II hooked up - plan to upgrade to Mk3 this year. Anyway, I had been looking at the Apogee Big Ben for some time and always put it off because of the price. I've also got two M-Audio ProFire LightBridges on two separate computers slaved to the Motu DAW.

I also upgraded to the JBL LSR4326 Monitors and AKG701 Pro Headphones first to see if I could get the system to sound better. It was then I identified that the Motu converters are okay but knew from working in an Apogee-based recording studio that a better sound can be achieved.

As soon as I hooked it up I was amazed. First off, there seemed to be more beef in the mids and the mud was gone! The high end harshness was also gone - replaced by sweetened rolled off highs that sound superb. The bass is more solid and accurate. And the imaging! No more wall of sound as everything has a more 3D spatial image (I mix orchestral stuff). The exciting thing is when I started recording acoustic guitar - I've never heard this system sound so sweet! The A/D conversion sounds like the big boys.

I recommend the Big Ben to anyone wanting to improve their studio sound.

Gary
from Dearborn, MI
July 25, 2006 Music Background:
Musician - Home Studio Owner

Studio Engine

The Big Ben is the engine that runs the show. I purchased the Big Ben because I was getting clicks in my recordings. The Big Ben told me that I had a clock termination problem in my RME card. It turned out to be a jumper on the RME card was incorrectly set. I never would have known that unless I purchased the Big Ben. The Big Ben has made everything sound better. It is hard to describe but it really is smoother and more pleasing. It opens up the sound somehow. The best purchase I have ever made.

Anonymous
January 2, 2006

Big Ben - On Time!

I am slowly migrating to a new studio set up and my Sales Eng. and I decided to add a Big Ben as the first piece of new gear. The difference it has made in the quality of my existing gear is hard to imagine. The harsh jitter went away, the stereo field opened up and the whole kit sounded "smoother". Inexpensive A/D converters are made to sound expensive - that's magic! Be sure to get 75 ohm terminating plugs for WC!

Anonymous
June 1, 2005

X Factor

Big Ben is like Windex for your DAW. It cleans the audio imaging field without leaving any residue. On something like Pro Tools HD with Rosettas or a 192, it will make some difference. In my case, it really opened up the stereo imaging of my recordings. Cymbals were sweeter, less harsh. Dense drum mixes were more articulate. Acoustics were less icepicky. And reverb tails appeared out of nowhere :-). On something like a Digi002, it really helped me capture the spaciousness of the Churches I've recorded in. Bigger improvement here, no doubt. And if you've got a bunch of digital devices to work with, this is really a great way to bypass their crappy clocks. In all, you should probably get good mics and pres and a good interface first. Then, when you realy wanna get that X Factor, the "Whats Next", the "Wow" factor (esp on classical and jazz), the Ben is the way to go.

inSync Review

Jeremy Wright
10-19-2009

Being a self labeled gearhead, it's not uncommon for me to add new pieces of gear to my collection every month or week depending on my current "need." After acquiring many different digital pieces in my arsenal I decided that my next piece to the puzzle would be Apogee's Big Ben master clock. Previously, I had been using my DAW as the master clock. This setup worked well without incident, until during one session I noticed a small amount of noise or jitter caused by clocking issues. Knowing that Apogee manufactured well respected A/D and D/A convertors, I felt intrigued by all of the positive reviews that their Big Ben was getting.

At first I was a little skeptical about how much improvement I would get out of a product that was simply a master clock, but when I brought it home, I realized that the Big Ben is actually much more. Not only is Big Ben a stable clock reference that has the ability to distribute clock to up to 10 devices at once, but it can also process external clocks and convert different clock formats from its versatile I/O (S/DIF, AES/EBU, ADAT, etc.)

Next, I dove into the manual to see what other aspects of the Big Ben that I could benefit from. Key features such as: the Direct Digital Synthesis (DDS), Adaptive Loop filtering and the "SureLock" dropout defense all seemed very useful tools that the Big Ben offered.

Another feature that I found simple and very useful was the front panel's digital display. Visual indication of over- and under-termination of each word clock out can eliminate a lot of of problems and save time troubleshooting.

Using the Big Ben as my master clock I have eliminated the previous issues that I had with jitter. I have yet to experience any dropout since the implementation of the Big Ben, and the improvement of overall sound is very noticeable to me and other gearheads that frequent my home studio. I'm extremely satisfied with the Big Ben and recommend it to anyone in need a a high-quality, versatile master clock.

Apogee Big Ben

192kHz Master Word Clock with Adaptive Loop Filtering, Format Conversion