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Looking to change my audio interface...

smallstonefan

By smallstonefan
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smallstonefan

smallstonefan

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Hi all,

I've been a longtime UAD fan and Apollo user. I currently have an Apollo x8 and two satellites (quad and octo). I just built a monster DAW only to find out that UAD - even though they use Thunderbolt 3 which is backwards compatible from Thunderbolt 4, doesn't actually work on Thunderbolt 4. Considering it's almost impossible to get a high end motherboard with TB3 - this is a REAL problem.

I have some expensive paperweights! While I like UAD products, their support has gone downhill (still waiting for someone to respond on this and I wrote them middle of last week). They have never done a good job with their Windows support and this is just one example. I've also invested in a lot of outboard gear for tracking - so the unison stuff isn't important to me.

I'm looking to replace my x8 with an RME UFX III and my satellites with UAD USB versions so I can still offload some processing to the DSP (even though the native versions make that less necessary). 

Just wondering if any of you have made a similar move? I'm new to RME as well and would love to hear experiences related to their interfaces.

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Bapu

Bapu

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My RME's were great. Just not the right amount of line outs vs. Apollo. Fortunately, my ASUS i9-10900K mobo uses an ASUS  addon TB3 card. The mobo is Win 11 compatible. So my Win 11 upgrade will be painless when I do it. Seems like I finally did something right.

Edited by Bapu
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smallstonefan

smallstonefan

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58 minutes ago, Bapu said:

My RME's were great. Just not the right about of line outs vs. Apollo. Fortunately, my ASUS i9-10900K mobo uses an ASUS  addon TB3 card. The mobo is Win 11 compatible. So my Win 11 upgrade will be painless when I do it. Seems like I finally did something right.

Nice! It's frustrating to upgrade one thing only to find out that obsoletes another. I hear very good things about RME keeping their drivers updated and also keeping backwards compatibility. I just ordered it and I hope to have it hooked up and tested later this week...

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Grem

Grem

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RME. Great products. The drivers are the envy of all audio interfaces. Rock solid. They just work. All the time.

I regret selling my Fireface 400 when I got my Apollo.

Like you I have a USB Satellite, and have added a Octo PCIe card along with it.

I am still eyeing RME products. There maybe one in my future.

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Bapu

Bapu

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On 12/18/2023 at 10:33 AM, smallstonefan said:

Hi all,

I've been a longtime UAD fan and Apollo user. I currently have an Apollo x8 and two satellites (quad and octo). I just built a monster DAW only to find out that UAD - even though they use Thunderbolt 3 which is backwards compatible from Thunderbolt 4, doesn't actually work on Thunderbolt 4. Considering it's almost impossible to get a high end motherboard with TB3 - this is a REAL problem.

I have some expensive paperweights! While I like UAD products, their support has gone downhill (still waiting for someone to respond on this and I wrote them middle of last week). They have never done a good job with their Windows support and this is just one example. I've also invested in a lot of outboard gear for tracking - so the unison stuff isn't important to me.

I'm looking to replace my x8 with an RME UFX III and my satellites with UAD USB versions so I can still offload some processing to the DSP (even though the native versions make that less necessary). 

Just wondering if any of you have made a similar move? I'm new to RME as well and would love to hear experiences related to their interfaces.

I wonder if @Jim Roseberry has anything to say about TB3 interfaces under Win 11?

 

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HOOK

HOOK

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On 12/18/2023 at 12:33 PM, smallstonefan said:

Thunderbolt 3 which is backwards compatible from Thunderbolt 4, doesn't actually work on Thunderbolt 4. Considering it's almost impossible to get a high end motherboard with TB3 - this is a REAL problem.

I built my system knowing I'd add a Thunderboltex4 card to run the UAD stuff with Thunderbolt 3.  I could never get the UAD stuff to work perfectly so returned it.  Swapped out for Lynx Aurora and I'm rock solid on Win 11.

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Gswitz

Gswitz

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I have a rme ucx. I've lusted for other newer interfaces but have never bought one because I just never have a need for more than 24 tracks at 44.1 which is what I can do  locking an old Tascam to the spidf.

Honestly, I rarely need more than the 16 the ucx does. 

It was a surprisingly good purchase for me. 

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Jim Roseberry

Jim Roseberry

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11 hours ago, Bapu said:

I wonder if @Jim Roseberry has anything to say about TB3 interfaces under Win 11?

 

FWIW, I've never encountered a scenario where I couldn't get a Thunderbolt-3 audio interface functioning with a Thunderbolt-4 controller.

The Apollo series requires certain BIOS tweaks.  If these aren't in-place... the Apollo won't work and/or you'll hear glitches in audio.

 

There's not much difference between Thunderbolt-3 and Thunderbolt-4.   

All current Thunderbolt audio interfaces are Thunderbolt-3.

There's little difference between Win10 and Win11.

Myself and many clients use Thunderbolt-3 audio interfaces under Win11 (and Win10).

 

I used an Apollo 8 and Satellite for a while (both connected via Thunderbolt).

I moved on for a couple of reasons:

  • The Apollo's DI's imparted a "tubby" quality to the lower mids with DI guitars (using amp-sim plugins)
  • The Apollo's round-trip latency (even though it's Thunderbolt) is about the same as a good USB-2 audio interface

Basic function of the Apollo/Satellite was always solid.  I wanted to push the low RTL envelope... and that's not Apollo's forte'.

 

After the Apollo/Satellite, I migrated to using a combination of RME Fireface UFX+ and Presonus Quantum.

  • UFX+ was used as the primary audio interface
  • Quantum was used when I wanted super low round-trip latency

 

I currently use an Antelope Orion Studio Synergy Core as my main DAW's audio interface (connected via Thunderbolt-4).

Absolutely love it.  To me, it's the best of all facets.

  • Can achieve sub 1ms round-trip latency (with a fast/well-configured machine)
  • Converters, DI's, Preamps sound better (to my ears) than the Apollo and UFX+
  • Rock-solid performance

For secondary machines, I use a Presonus Quantum (connected via Thunderbolt-4)

  • Can achieve 1ms round-trip latency (96k using a 32-sample ASIO buffer size)
  • Converters, DI's, Preamps sound good for the cost
  • Rock-solid performance
Edited by Jim Roseberry
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Bapu

Bapu

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On 12/18/2023 at 10:33 AM, smallstonefan said:

Hi all,

I've been a longtime UAD fan and Apollo user. I currently have an Apollo x8 and two satellites (quad and octo). I just built a monster DAW only to find out that UAD - even though they use Thunderbolt 3 which is backwards compatible from Thunderbolt 4, doesn't actually work on Thunderbolt 4. Considering it's almost impossible to get a high end motherboard with TB3 - this is a REAL problem.

I have some expensive paperweights! While I like UAD products, their support has gone downhill (still waiting for someone to respond on this and I wrote them middle of last week). They have never done a good job with their Windows support and this is just one example. I've also invested in a lot of outboard gear for tracking - so the unison stuff isn't important to me.

I'm looking to replace my x8 with an RME UFX III and my satellites with UAD USB versions so I can still offload some processing to the DSP (even though the native versions make that less necessary). 

Just wondering if any of you have made a similar move? I'm new to RME as well and would love to hear experiences related to their interfaces.

 

12 minutes ago, Jim Roseberry said:

 

FWIW, I've never encountered a scenario where I couldn't get a Thunderbolt-3 audio interface functioning with a Thunderbolt-4 controller.

The Apollo series requires certain BIOS tweaks.  If these aren't in-place... the Apollo won't work and/or you'll hear glitches in audio.

 

@smallstonefan See Jim's partial reply I quoted.

 

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smallstonefan

smallstonefan

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So this got interesting. Turns out MSI had an error in their marketing stating that my motherboard had thunderbolt when it does not. Pair that with the usb c connectors and thunderbolt options in the bios and you get a week of headaches. 
 

still, I hooked up the RME UFX III and I like the converters over the Apollo. The bass is more defined as are details like reverb tails. I decided to keep the RME and sell the Apollo rather than rebuild with a new motherboard. I’m switching to a pair of Octo USB satellites for the UAD plugins. I might miss the dsp for auto tune on the Apollo but I’m hoping RME latency is as low as people say. 

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Jim Roseberry

Jim Roseberry

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19 hours ago, Gswitz said:

@Jim Roseberry

https://craiganderton.org/transient-tamer-diy-project/

I use one of these cables when recording direct and I think it really helps. 

Just sharing to be friendly... not trying to hijack the thread. 

Last in-person GearFest at Sweetwater (prior to Covid), I was talking to Craig Anterton about this circuit.

It was in some of the newer Les Paul guitars... the "Modern" version I believe (which had DIP switches)

 

I really miss being about to meet/talk with folks like Craig, Roger Linn, etc.

GearFest was similar to NAMM... but a lot closer.

The All-Star concerts each night were also spectacular.

You could watch the likes of Steve Vai, Jordan Rudess, Steve Stevens, Adrian Belew, Dweezil Zappa, Andy Timmons, etc.

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