Universal Audio Apollo x4 Heritage Edition

I was sold on the UAD line for years, but only recently could I actually buy one the variants. I initially wanted to get a used UAD-1 or UAD-2 PCI Solo card, but as soon as the Apollo series was launched, I was drooling. I built a computer specifically for this device, picking a Gigabyte Gaming motherboard as that was the line that they claimed years ago was compatible. Since their information was outdated even then and motherboards continually are replaced with new ones, I went with the current Z270X Gaming 7 variant. This board also had Thunderbolt 3 onboard, so no need for an add-on.The unit needs some software, such as the UAD console, to be installed. It claims to support WDM, but in my experience, it's not what you would expect from such an expensive product by such a legendary company.On my first attempt to use it, I could here computer audio for half a second and then it would stop. In fact, if it was a Youtube video, the video would immediately hang after that half second of audio made it through. After troubleshooting, I realized that if you right-click on the volume control on the taskbar, then select "Sounds", then "Playback", I could disable the Apollo and reenable it and it would begin working uninterrupted, and the spinning Youtube video would instantly start playing again.This was very odd, but there is a drawback to this "work around", there is intermittent noise and any inputs on the Apollo are destroyed by far more noise. Basically, it's unusable to record if you do the disable/enable trick.That said, just turning it on and using Pro Tools, it works flawlessly. Essentially the WDM audio will not be available, but recording via the 2 inputs as well as the 8 ADAT lightpipe channels has none of the noise that occurs if you do the disable/enable trick.Support is a bit of a joke if you want to speak to a human. Their website states that it's 4 days a week from 9am to 1pm PST, but that's not true, it's only 11am to 1pm—only 2 hours for 4 days a week! The person I spoke with was friendly enough, but he didn't even own an Apollo device himself. I'm awaiting contact from support for more troubleshooting, but I've disabled all the BIOS settings requested, set my processor to a static speed, and everything under the sun that is suggested on forums, but nothing has worked.There are plenty of people complaining about Windows 10 support, so be aware of this.All that said, it's still work it for me. This unit gives the ability to record 10 channels of audio (using the ADAT input for 8), supports Unison for real-time emulation of some preamps like Avalon, gives easy control of input, monitor, and phone levels, and comes with some of the most iconic compressor/limiters. This is what I was after all along, the ability to emulate multiple LA-2As and 1176s, rather than pay $2000 to $4000 for a hardware unit for only one channel.I've since gone plugin crazy, thanks to the terrific holiday sales that were happening and acquired pretty much everything that I could want. Now, I can emulate awesome sounding bass and guitar amps, add some classic sounding reverbs, and even do some vocoding.All in all, I couldn't be happier with the performance, but I do have a huge point of contention with the poor Windows 10 support. Still, the pros outweigh the cons, and my mixes are exploding with quality that I never could achieve before with knock off plugins like Reaper has built in. There is such a massive difference, I can't ever go back.

I see a lot of complaints and issues when people buy the Apollo Twin X Duo thunderbolt version for their windows computer.(Device review at the bottom)First off I can not say this does or doesn’t work for Windows laptops.As far as desktops go, you need a motherboard that either allows thunderbolt 3 or 4 (not just USB-C). I have an Asus motherboard “PRIME Z490-A” which allowed me to buy a “Asus Thunderboltex 4” physical card upgrade to my system. Upon plugging it in to the motherboard properly and I turning it on in the motherboard bios this Apollo device worked perfectly fine without issues.In short, this works on windows desktops. I’ve recorded in Pro Tools, I’ve used this producing in FL. At this moment of review the device struggles to work with FL, but works fine when changing the device to asio4all and making the UAD the out and in. (Still wouldn’t record in FL that’s why I have Pro Tools)Make sure you have “Thunderbolt 3” and can transmit data back and fourth in that port before you purchase this for a windows only machine.————————DEVICE REVIEW:As far as the device review goes. Wow, I’m amazed at the quality. Build, software, and sound is insane hands down.The ability to add a touch of compression and De-Essers to your voice before touching the interface noise in a recording chain is next level for someone without the ability to have a huge physical outboard rack.For someone just getting into producing or recording, this is definitely a professional device. I would get a Focusrite starting out personally because of price, but the upgrade from that to this is a light year of difference in sound quality for the recordings and playback.Hopefully this helps someone out.Have a nice day!

Built like a tank, excellence in design, form and function.Easily connects to Mac Studio with the included Thunderbolt USB-C cable, supports Apple silicon.Online registration and software downloads take some time for setting it up.Universal Audio offers great support and online tutorials to get you up to speed and recording.It delivers as promised. UA is primo.

Very cool product! So convenient having an interface that allows you to use real time plug ins.

This interface is advertised as being Windows-compatible, but you will encounter a plethora of issues if you decide to take that at face value and make the mistake of trying to use this on a Windows computer. The problems with this device are present regardless of your computer hardware or your version of Windows. Worst of all is the constant distortion and crackling from the mic input. This is due to Universal Audio's failure to correctly support WDM audio; something that they have ignored for years. What's the point of a high-end interface if it distorts the clean signal it produces with its poorly written software implementation? You may be able to get an undistorted signal using workarounds that are prone to breaking such as ASIO rerouting, and a select few DAWs work, but the default case is a buzzing, crackling mess. The device also frequently fails to initialize correctly or just stops working altogether and needs to be rebooted to function again. UA still hasn't updated their Windows apps to support scaling either, so if you have a high-resolution display, you'll be treated to a blurry mess when you start up Console and other UA apps. Altogether an embarrassing performance for such an expensive product. There are interfaces a tenth of the price that provide a better overall experience. Save your money and look elsewhere.

Powerful sound, crisp image. Great combo with MacBook and Logic Pro.They didn't include thunderbolt cable with it so make sure to buy one separately.

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