Universal Audio just keeps cranking it up higher and higher — much to the chagrin of their competitors! First there was the UAD card, followed by the UAD-2. Then there was an amazingly good idea: the Apollo, which combined a UAD-2 card with an audio interface featuring four mic preamps. Now there is the Apollo 16, the latest in Universal Audio’s upward spiral to audio supremacy.
The Apollo 16 is a FireWire 800 (or Thunderbolt when an optional I/O card is installed) audio interface that provides 16 reference-quality line inputs and outputs. A built-in UAD-2 QUAD processor runs the full library of UAD plug-ins, both in real time for sub-2ms tracking and in your DAW for mixing. Monitor outputs and a front-panel volume control are included for precision monitoring. There are also stereo AES/EBU I/O and word clock I/O. Resolutions up to 24-bit/192kHz are supported, and superior components and no-compromise analog circuits are used throughout.
So who’s it for? Anyone looking for stellar analog-to-digital and digital-to-analog conversion, who doesn’t need built-in preamps, but who needs lots of connectivity for use with external summing boxes and for inserting external hardware processors into a DAW mix. And if you need even more I/O, two Apollo 16s can be cascaded together via back-panel MADI connections. For more DSP horsepower, you can also combine the Apollo 16 with UAD-2 cards. (Imagine what you could do with two Apollo 16s and a couple of UAD-2 OCTO cards!)
The new Apollo 16 console software provides a redesigned Aux/Cue section, with four stereo cue mixes with assignable outputs. There is also virtual I/O for processing your virtual instruments with UAD plug-ins, plus transparent control over up to two Apollo 16s – the new console makes two Apollo 16s appear and function as a single unit.
For I/O-hungry pros and serious home/project users looking for maximum audio quality and maximum connectivity, at a reasonable price and with the added bonus of UAD-2 plug-in power, the Apollo 16 is a dream come true!
