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The former allows you to set up cue mixes and apply UAD plug-ins in real time to your input signals, with minimal latency, while the latter handles configuration functions such as buffer sizes, sample rates and plug-in activation. Once installed, its functionality is accessed through UA's now-familiar Console and UAD Meter & Control Panel utilities. Like the other Apollos, the Twin needs to be registered to a UA account before it can be used. In a unit costing over £700 $700 or more, this is disappointing. However, I can't let pass without comment the fact that no Thunderbolt cable is supplied. The supplied PSU is a black plastic affair which lets down the appearance of the system a bit, but at least attaches using a locking connector to prevent accidental disconnection. In theory, Thunderbolt can supply up to 9.9 Watts of bus power at up to 18V - considerably more than USB - but even this isn't enough to deliver the requisite level of audio performance, as the Apollo Twin requires its own DC power adaptor. Their published specifications more than bear out this claim: the dynamic range of both the mic inputs and line outputs, for example, is quoted at a most impressive 118dB. The Apollo Twin apparently uses the same circuitry as the original Apollo, and Universal Audio claim that this makes it the best-sounding desktop interface on the market. A single optical socket can be configured to accept a stereo S/PDIF input, or up to eight channels of 24-bit digital audio in ADAT format, depending on sample rate. The Monitor outs also feature digitally controlled analogue attenuation, allowing the monitor level to be adjusted without compromising audio resolution. These show up as independent outputs to your DAW software, as does the headphone output.
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ALL UNIVERSAL AUDIO PLUGINS SHOW UP PLUS
Said rear panel sports two combination jack/XLR sockets which can accept mic- or line-level signals, plus two pairs of TRS jacks providing Monitor and Line outputs. Apart from the headphone socket and a high-impedance jack input for connecting electric guitars, all the socketry resides on the back panel, while the top is dominated by a large, multi-function rotary controller with associated buttons and LED meters. In other respects, though, its basic design shares many ideas with those products. Compared with RME's Babyface or MOTU's Track 16, the Twin has the great advantage that all its I/O is built into the unit itself, rather than delegated to an awkward flying cable. Around six inches square, it's larger and heavier than most of the other desktop interfaces I've encountered, but still merits the tag 'portable'. Housed in a very smart metal case, the Apollo Twin has the look and feel of a quality product.
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While its rackmounting siblings can mate with the host computer using Firewire 800 or Thunderbolt, the Apollo Twin is Thunderbolt-only, and is currently compatible only with machines running Mac OS. The Apollo Twin is available in Solo or Duo configurations, the latter offering twice the DSP grunt of the former. As with the larger Apollo and Apollo 16, this makes it possible not only to use UA plug-ins at mixdown, but to employ them in the monitor or record path with very low latency. The latest addition to Universal Audio's growing Apollo family is a desktop audio interface which incorporates their UAD2 Powered Plug-ins platform. The Apollo Twin brings impressive sound quality and UA plug-ins to the desktop, along with unusually versatile mic preamps!