New UA Apollo 2 models announced

[nst7]

http://www.uaudio.com/apollo

[YYR123]

noice,

8pre's on one of the models.....

next question is where do they come in on retail ? same $2600usd they have been? or more?

[mesaone]

The next generation Apollo interfaces feature all-new A/D and D/A conversion for extremely detailed and open sound — giving you measurably the lowest noise and highest dynamic range in their class.

Then how bout you put said measurements on the specs page, UA?

Originally Posted by YYR123

next question is where do they come in on retail ?

They're showing as $2000-$3000 on Sweetwater. No listing for the 16, but I think it may come in at $3300 - $3500 or so http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/Apollo8DBk ; http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/Apollo8QBk ; http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/Apollo8PBk

[Darryl Ramm]

Originally Posted by mesaone

Then how bout you put said measurements on the specs page, UA?

And how about detailed latency specs from all higher-end vendors, and even better some details/proof of how those latencies were actually measured (with Pro Tools).

[Darryl Ramm]

BTW specs on the UAD web page for the 8 claim...

Connector Type XLR Female, pin 2 positive (Combo XLR/TRS)
Phantom Power +48V (switchable per mic input)
Dynamic Range 120 dB (A–weighting)
Signal-to-Noise Ratio 120 dB (A–weighting)
Total Harmonic Distortion + Noise –110 dBFS
Common-Mode Rejection Ratio (CMRR) 73 dB (10’ cable)
Default Input Impedance 5.4K Ohms (variable via Unison plug-ins)
Gain Range +10 dB to +65 dB
Pad Attenuation 20 dB (switchable per input)
Maximum Input level +25 dBu (minimum gain, pad engaged)

[mesaone]

The latency they're quoting is analog round trip through UA console, 96 kHz conversion. They also have a listing for analog round trip through the console with 4 UAD plug-ins in series.

To their credit, that's specific - but it would be nice to have a measurement with Pro Tools in between the conversion stages.

The specs you just listed were for the analog I/O, nothing detailed about the dynamic range and noise during conversion, and nothing that shows how the conversion compares to the previous model.

[Darryl Ramm]

Oh and I was going to criticize their specs, vendor specs in general, that are not quite clear enough/impossible to directly compare to competitors, how to you compare a claim of lowest preamp noise in class with "120dB (A-Weighted)" to say Apogee Ensemble with "EIN: 129dB (un-weighted) @ 60dB, 150Ohm input". How about technically precise specs from all vendors and less dumb marketing specs... e.g. Noise measurements with, clearly stated bandwidths, input terminating impedance, etc.

I would like to see anybody making claims like lowest noise, lowest latency etc. doing so with their own and competitors gear on a test bench in a YouTube video or similar and technically solid explanation/demonstration of the measurements including calibration standards etc. that won't make all technical specs necessarily relevant to making a decision about what product is better for real world use but will substantiate at least the technical spec comparisons. It would be nice to see more product reviewers who actually understood this stuff and be able to measure it, even if often splitting hairs, sometime there are issues hiding below the surface (especially with crappy preamps).

[nst7]

In the FAQ, question 2 and 3 go into a little more detail, but maybe not enough:

http://www.uaudio.com/interfaces/apollo-8.html

[YYR123]

Originally Posted by mesaone

Then how bout you put said measurements on the specs page, UA?

Default answer from now on is....coming soon

[mesaone]

Originally Posted by nst7

In the FAQ, question 2 and 3 go into a little more detail, but maybe not enough:

http://www.uaudio.com/interfaces/apollo-8.html

It answers my question.

"More specifically, next-generation Apollo 8 and Apollo 8p specs are 3 dB better on A/D and D/A conversion versus the original Apollo"