Thoughts on the Apollo QUAD

[jauk]

ProPower-

Is your iMac a quad core? I see from your sig that it's Late 2013 27" imac 3.5GHz i7 16G 256SSD. Just curious.

Not crazy about fan noise. The machine will be in the control room (as it is now) and I have dealt with some fan noise all along, as sometimes recording will happen in there rather than the live room. If that could be reduced, that'd be a win.

What's it like to have the whole machine right there in front of you, without the ability to maybe tuck it away somewhere? I know quite a few people who have gone the iMac route. I'm not opposed. But I already have two monitors. But then again, not sure already having two monitors is enough of a reason to forgo this route.

So I see it all right now as:

1. mac mini/Apollo
2. mac mini/external TB chassis for PCIe card and run a UA card in it.
3. iMac/Saffire56 (or similar)
4. Build a windows box/Saffire56 (or similar)
5. mac mini/Saffire56 (or similar...not sure this would be an option)

Thanks again-

[YYR123]

Sounds about right

- yeah iMac is quad core

- does the mini have a FW connection ?

[jauk]

YYR123- Yes, the mac mini does have a fire wire port.

[propower]

For overall feature set if I were buying new today and Budget was $5K I would most likely choose the MacMini/Apollo route or try and get more data on the PT11/Lynx Aurora TB system.

If $$ were not the barrier - I still might get the above but would heavily consider the system I currently have.

I only really know the performance of the systems I have owned. Mine is working well enough for what I do. I am intrigued by Apollo but AFAK one can not return one of their systems so I still have never tried one. Overall buzz from many sources is very positive though.

Imac was never my first choice. Owned Mac towers since 1998. After my year with the mini - the nMP wasn't out yet and I wasn't going to buy old tech. I bought a 3.4GHz base 27" i5 imac from Apple just to try it (you get 2 weeks). It solved all my problems - was way quieter than my old mac pro - and had all the ports I needed. The Silenx fan I put in my AVID 16X16 that is 5 feet away is way louder than the imac. So far there is not much not to like about it. I custom configured one with a internal SSD and i7. If I were choosing today I would pop the extra $1000 and get a hex nMP. 50% more CPU and tons of thermal BW --

[jauk]

Processing....

I guess the last remaining question that lingers in my mind is how well the mini will do when mixing and not utilizing UAD plugs. I don't want to be tied to just them. Well that and fan noise, should it start to be taxed...Are these big enough factors that make a break a purchase?

[jauk]

This also has me a hair concerned regarding the Apollo (the more I look into it):

This is a cut/paste from a review:

No Routing, No AES, No MIDI, No Master, No Playback control. Only 2 Aux Buses, No Separate Monitoring.. And many-many other Problems... Only InputOutput interface, 4 pre's, and UAD Card...

Valid?

[Bill Denton]

Originally Posted by jauk

This also has me a hair concerned regarding the Apollo (the more I look into it):

This is a cut/paste from a review:

No Routing, No AES, No MIDI, No Master, No Playback control. Only 2 Aux Buses, No Separate Monitoring.. And many-many other Problems... Only InputOutput interface, 4 pre's, and UAD Card...
Valid?

Yes, you do see a lot of that from people who don't own the Apollo, and often don't own any interface at all.

But you don't see a lot of that from people who actually own an Apollo, are willing to RTFM, and who have a clue what they're doing.

In the realm of full disclosure, I don't own an Apollo, but then again you'll always find a lot of I read's in my posts about specific equipment I don't own. But if you follow this and other forums closely you'll soon learn whose opinions are worthwhile, and who's still trying to find the XLR's on an SSL 4000 ("inside" joke)...

And what do you mean by, "and UAD Card..."?

[YYR123]

Originally Posted by Bill Denton

and who's still trying to find the XLR's on an SSL 4000 ("inside" joke)...[/I]

So what's the deal? It's only DB25, or what?

[jauk]

Thanks Bill. Well said. Not sure about the ...and UAD card (it was a cut and paste from a review).

So would you be for the Apollo? Just trying to gather as much information as I can. What are you running?

Kind regards-

[Bill Denton]

Originally Posted by YYR123

So what's the deal? It's only DB25, or what?

Remember a certain gentlemen who tried to "hide" by using the initials of his studio instead of the name, which was his previous username...on another forum he asked about the XLR's and DB25's on an SSL 4000...I think the name of the connectors is "Elco"...