Apogee BOOM 2x2 USB-C Audio Interface Reviews
Apogee has set the world standard for conversion quality since hitting the market in 1985. Now, with the introduction of the BOOM USB-C Audio Interface, Apogee offers otherworldly conversion quality at a lower price than ever before. This 2-in/2-out interface lets you connect a mic, instrument, or stereo source before using the hardware DSP-powered Symphony ECS Channel Strip to enhance your signal with EQ, compression, and drive. And BOOM does all of that at the input stage with zero latency — a major plus for everyone. Under the hood, BOOM also has a loopback feature for livestreamers. The interface is highly compact and has a steel chassis to handle a life of mobile recording. If you want to capture your audio with pristine clarity, you owe it to yourself to use the remarkable Apogee BOOM.
Earn $13 back in Bonus Bucks† OR pay $11/month with 24 month financing*
$13 Earn $13.00 back in Bonus Bucks† on this purchase when you use your Sweetwater Credit Card without financing. Select your offer in checkout. Terms
As low as $11/month
with 24 month financing*
See all payment options
Customer Reviews
Customer Added Media
This product doesn't have any review media yet!
Share Your Thoughts
Help other music gear aficionados by sharing your opinions of gear you've purchased.
Questions about the BoomUSB?
Or call us at (800) 222-4700
Sweetwater's Sales Engineers are regarded as the most experienced and knowledgeable professionals in the music industry, with extensive music backgrounds and intense training on the latest products and technologies. They are available to offer you personalized product advice any time you need it.
Highest Rated Reviews
Pro sound.
Aside from the noted design quirks, this interface fits my own personal use case perfectly. I travel for work 6 months a year. I only record guitar and sometimes vocals, and I only use headphones. I've owned Apollo Twin, Twin X, and Arrow interfaces, as well as Audient and Scarlett. My main interface at my home studio in an Apogee Ensemble. The Apogee Boom sounds the best out of all of them, even the Ensemble, most likely due to the fact that it's a much newer design than the Ensemble. The features are somewhat limited, but I believe Apogee set out (and succeeded) in providing their world renowned conversion and sound quality in a small affordable interface. If you're a solo musician like myself and mainly record one thing at a time, I don't think you can find better sound quality in a portable bus powered package than this. Another thing worth mentioning is the headphone amp is phenomenal sounding. I use a set of Audeze LCD-2 Closed Backs, which need a more stout amp than you'd normally find on a small interface, and i was blown away when I first plugged them into the Boom vs my UAD Arrow that I'd been using for the last year and a half. It seriously sounded like a different set of headphones. The headphone DAC is worth the price of admission in itself. If your goal is industry quality sound, you simply can not do better than this even at three times the price.
Absolutely stellar sound
This Apogee BOOM, just like the DUETS I used over many years, is just head and shoulders above the competition. I tried another highly rated brand of interfaces and it sounded like someone threw a towel over the speakers. This unit rather came through with highly present rich clear sound with deep bass. And recording with it picked up nuances of modulated reverb tails that made my guitar just sound beautiful. Apogee finally broke into the affordability range and did it with stellar results.
Lost the plot
Apogee was once a great company and maybe at the high end they still are, but this product is a PITA to use. I have pretty extensive experience with audio engineering but stopped doing it regularly. . I bought this because I had been happy with the apogee duet but got fed up with the latency and the slow updates from Apogee. I this for about a year, for podcasting, meetings, and hobbyist type recordings of guitar and bass and vocals until I finally got fed up with it.
It's unpleasant to use. The single knob controller isn't clear--sometimes it mutes everything and it's not clear when. The headphone jack is in the back,which is ok in itself but plugging in the phones kills the monitors, so you will often be plugging and unplugging the phones. Most of its capabilities are accessed through software, so you have to have the apogee control program running in addition to whatever program you are processing audio through. 48 volt power for mics, for example, is turned on via the software program.Its really hard to figure out signal routing--the software is confusing and counterintuitive. The preloaded software, the Bob Clearmountain channel, sounds good and works well although it's ugly and unappealing, and you will always be switching back and forth between your DAW and the apogee software. The apogee software is glitchy sometimes my Mac loses the interface--you have to reboot the computer to re-establish the connection. Apogee requires you login and identify your self for software updates, and last time I updated I had to download the package which showed up as the update for the symphony. Just sloppy.
I eventually bought a UA Volt, which is cheaper, sounds great, and has clear and useful features. like separate monitor and headphone control knobs, and a "direct" button that lets you monitor directly as you record, without adding latency by going through the DAW. It has a somewhat silly "vintage" button that adds "analog warmth." It has an on/off switch, and you don't have to reboot every time. It comes with a "connect' program that registers the software and updates the firmware--none of the multistage process Apogee makes you go though.
sounds good, annoying features, poor softwa implemtation
The pros: Excellent sound
The Cons
Headphone jack is on the back of the unit--Why?
Having headphones plugged in mutes the monitors, no way to change this. Why?
48 v power must be turned on and off via the apogee control software
Apogee control sometimes inexplicably opens a program called "Apogee messenger," no idea what that is or does. It's running now but has no interface or windows
I've been having some odd sudden computer shutdowns while using it--may be be related to the Boom, but I tried to find out if I had the latest software and there is no way to tell what version of the software/firmware you are using, and there is no "check for updates" feature.
Instead you have to go to the website and give them you name and email; and decline to have offers sent your way, and then it sends you--eventually, a link. The resulting download takes a while, and you have to run it to check what version you are using. It does not tell you--instead in reinstalls everything and you need to reboot.
If you unplug the Boom and plug it back in the mac won't recognize it--you need to reboot
It's overall just OK and the software implementation gives a bad feeling
