Apogee Duet 2

NOTE: This post will be updated as new information arrives. 

Earlier this year Apogee eliminated their Firewire Duet from their line up. This is a tactical move for Apogee, to take advantage of Apple's recent Firmware update that increases the speed of USB2. Though we are talking milliseconds here, USB2 is now faster than Firewire. 

Apple also introduced  Thunderbolt© (TB) a very fast PCIe connection (twice as fast as Firewire), and begins Apples slow phase out of its once darling Firewire connection.  Thus seeing the writing on the wall, Apogee dropped the Duet (firewire) like a hot potato.    

Apogee now  has two USB interfaces the Apogee One, and the Duet2. Now the question on the minds of confused consumers is: What should I get?  Well that would be difficult to answer, but I believe the Apogee One will either get a small upgrade, or get dropped.  

The Apogee ONE was always priced as a good quality budget minded device, next to it's higher quality Firewire Duet sister.   The Apogee One at $250, sits near the middle of the $100 to $300 preamp/interface combo Pack. And at $500 and $600, the Duet and the Duet2,  both sit at the lower-middle tier of the $300 to $1000  preamp/interface combo group.                                                                   

The problem a lot of people had and have with the Apogee One, is that it can be a little noisy and not as refined as the Duet1. The ONE has  always been a good budget minded device.  When you take the time to read the the on-line literature regarding the ONE it says, "ONE features a world-class microphone preamp... Based on the award winning mic preamps in Apogee's Ensemble and Duet" The key word here is BASED. The Apogee One components are indeed different, and its price reflects that.

The talk from the hep kids on the streets, is that Apogee is developing a new device that will take advantage of Apple's new Thunderbolt© wire connection. This will in effect, make such a new Apogee device an external PCI sound card.

Though Duet1 is a fine device, and in some aspects Duet 2 is an upgrade, depending where you are coming from. The one problem that I and others had with the Duet1, was a headphone "Latency issues" that did pop up from time to time- but was always fixable. 

With Mac's Firmware update for USB2, speeds were greatly improved, so apogee is able to take advantage of that. 

Here are some (roundtrip) latency numbers:
FW duet

32 buffer @ 96kkHz = 4.6 ms

64 buffer @ 44.1kHz = 7.23 ms

USB2 duet

32 buffer @ 96kkHz = 3.6 ms

64 buffer @ 44.1kHz = 5.3 ms
(To take advantage of this you need to have a Mac with Core 2 Duo or later, and current Firmware and OS updates. If not you'll be getting around 8.7 ms.)

A Thunderbolt duet would conceivably be:
32 @ 96HZ = 1 ms -or something like that.

The D2 converters are on par with Apogee's Rosetta, this is an upgrade from D1, the preamps are improved also. The D2 sounds cleaner and more transparent than the D1.

You may need to use the external power supply when using power-hungry condenser mics. This tells me that the power supply will be a must in any at home home setup, and while on the road. If find this true with any USB interface, and you will get an improved dynamic range when using an external power supply with USB or Firewire devices. (Some folks are reporting a small hum for their D2 power supply units)

The new Maestro2 program that controls the Duet2, is a big improvement and adds more functionality and is easier to use.

Over all the D2 is a noticeable improvement from the D1, it has a pristine/clean sound over that of the D1, and this can be a problem for some people. Espeicly if your recording environment is less than perfect. 

The strength/problem with getting the best hi-end mics and pres ad/da convertors is that it will always magnify any flaws in the source - thereby making it harder to mask any weakness in the performance /audio chain. So in some cases, an inferior/more colored signal chain may suit a particular source better than a 100% pristine clean front end/signal path like the D2.
Clean audio isn't always best. Hence the need or love for vintage audio gear.

Digital is best at capturing the sound without color/distortion - pure sound is akin to "lifeless" "digital" "boring" in some cases. To best maximize the benefits of the Duet2 add a tube mic or a Golden Age Pre 73 preamp and you'll be rocking it.

No doubt there are better convertors and pres than Apogee, however, if you compare the price to quality ratio, Apogee seems to be a real winner here, especially for a bare bones VO set up.


UPDATE:


I know these two videos have nothing to do with VO, but they do show off the Duet 2's clarity and bigger soundstage.

This first video compares the Duet 2 with the $1800 Apogee Rosetta 800: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1gYvvAI_NA

Next the Duet 1 vs. Duet 2-- Bounce between the examples for a good side by side: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3gyqiwxJY4w

To be fair, do not read the following until you've heard the two videos for yourself, I do not want to color your judgment.::  


[ From the first note I heard a more open sound. For some people that don't have great treatment or isolation, this may not be a good thing when recording, but for mixing it is a must.]

What have I done?

The iPad as a recording device??

A few weeks ago, there was a discussion on one of the VO boards in regards to the iPad, as a portable recording device. There were a great deal of opinions, but they all seemed too eager to spend money on things they don't really need.  I say this because, many of whom don't even have a proper demo yet, let alone the need to record on the road.  Here is what I had to say about that:

There is no doubt that the iPad will someday become the electronic equivalent of the Chevy big/small block engine, that faithfully powers most everything from boats to saw mills. The key word here is, SOMEDAY. For as wonderful and amazing as Apple products are, the company is notorious for taking 2 or 3 generations to get a product completely dialed in. And the third party component manufactures know this.


I'll also say, that our own good judgement is often trumped by our need to have the latest and greatest gadget. Do we not remember the rush to adopt the iPod or iPhone as a portable recording device just months ago? I do. I though it was silly then, and I think that it is silly now. How portable do we need to be? 


Sure the iPad is sleek and powerful. But at the moment, I consider it a toy, a novelty, a convenience device to have at you side while on the couch to distract you from the boring reality show on the TV, as you post your latest thoughts on Facebook, or to check your emails for the fifteenth time, in as many minuets, for auditions. Yes, the device is a wonder, but I wonder, do we really need another device?


If you already have a laptop, you already have a great portable device to record and send your auditions on, whether it be Mac or PC. 

For the Laptop owner, your "on-the-road-rig" can be a small and simple as an Apogee Duet or Duet 2 (for the Mac) or Mic Port Pro, or your favorite interface,  along with your  Microphone.  The thing is, keep it simple. The more stuff you need to rely on, the more the chances are you will have something that will fail. 

There are several companies that are developing interfaces for the iPad, my money is on Apogee -though I believe the Apogee "Mic" will be a swing on miss, simply because it will limit the user  to a single microphone choice. Apogee is already working on a interface for the new Thunderbolt wire connection, that will replace Firewire on most every computer in the near future. When a Thunderbolt port is incorporated into the iPad we will know we have arrived.


Bottom line is, you can have all the latest and greatest 'Stuff', but the fact remains "most in VO" have a hard enough time getting good audio from their home. So how can you truly be expected to get good audio on the road? 

Well, one needs to first learn how to use what they have and prefect the techniques of making good audio while recordings at home. All the slick gadgets, and  great sounding equipment in the world, is not going to make you sound any better, because great sounding crappola is still crappola. 

So once you learn what is needed and how to get good audio in your home studio, you can then take it on the road. 

My advice, use the tried and true like a laptop computer. Let the early adaptors spend their money, and stumble around in the dark. Once the bugs are all worked out of these new devices, the on line posts will read, "Have you tried this? This is the greatest thing ever." 

Not, "How do I make this thing work?" 

Oh, and for you Mac enthusiast, the Macbook Air is the best possible world between the iPad and a Macbook Pro. Though personally, I would rather have the MacBook Pro. 

Howdy Folks!

Well, here it is, my first headlong dive into the Blogosphereteria.

"To all who come to this happy place: Welcome. The Voice Over Audio Blog is your blog....."  Oh wait.. that's the Disneyland dedication... (head smack)  Silly me. 

This should be more like it-

There is nothing more confusing than entering into field, such as Voice Over, and find yourself thrown headlong into a technology that you know very little, if any anything about.  Even those folks that come from radio, I find are full of misunderstandings and preconceived notions, as to what it takes to make a good audio recording. And what to do with it, once they get it. 

Here, I hope to present my years particle use, insights and understanding of audio recording, my knowledge of Voice Over studio design, along with bringing much of the confusing information together from other sources, and lay them out in simple, digestible and understandable chunks (with gravy).  Along some good old fashioned entertainment, and commentary when I can find it or muster it up. 

I will try to focus a great deal on acoustics, the most important and most confusing sciences of them all- in regards to recording.  I'll just point out that even NASA had a difficult time of interpreting information from a test that they had conducted almost twenty years ago.  So it's easy to understand that some Studio engineers don't understand how complex it really is, and how often they hand out poor, yet well intentioned advice.   Though I know many studio owners and engineers   that do hand out great information, but there is very little chance that you will ever meet these folks, because their studios are far too expensive for VO to be recorded in.

So, sit back and relax, and don't afraid to ask questions if you don't understand something.  I'm hear to help, and I don't bite. 

Be well, and enjoy,

Mike Sommer