Recording - October 2013 - 26

B Y PA U L V N U K J R .

Apogee Symphony I/O 8x8 + 8MP
Apogee has long ago established itself & Symphony 64 | ThunderBridge
as a leader in analog-to-digital and digital-to-analog converters, with products
such as AD-16 and DA-16, Rosetta, Big
Ben digital clock, Ensemble, Mini-Me
and, more recently, the Quartet and the
Duet, ONE, Jam, and MiC—interfaces
large and small for Mac OS X and iOS.
We’ve reviewed many of these products,
most recently the Quartet (June 2013),
and have always come away impressed
with their sonics and flexibility.
Today we look at Apogee’s current
flagship, the expandable Symphony I/O
system. Note that its drivers and control
software only run on Apple Mac systems,
but in standalone mode it can be used
with Windows PCs.
Symphony in four movements
The Symphony I/O is designed for maximum flexibility and offers a lot of options;
here’s a (hopefully) simplified explanation
of how the lineup goes together.
When you buy a Symphony I/O, you
get the main enclosure (details below) with
one or two I/O Modules populating the
two slots on its rear panel. There are six
I/O Modules in all; you can buy the system
in one of four base “configurations”, and
can add other I/O Modules as desired.
The six I/O Module cards are:
1. 2x6 Analog + 8x8 Optical + AES I/O
(this card is in the Symphony I/O 2x6 configuration)
2. 8x8 Analog + 8x8 AES/Optical (this card
is in the Symphony I/O 8x8 configuration)
3. 16x16 Analog I/O (this card is in the
Symphony I/O 16x16 configuration)
4. 8 Mic Preamp (the Symphony I/O
8x8+8MP configuration comes with this and
#2 above)
5. 16 Analog IN + 16 Optical OUT (optional add-on, not sold with a base configuration)
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RECORDING October 2013

A modular audio interface system for the no-compromise studio

6. 16 Analog OUT + 16 Optical IN (optional add-on, not sold with a base configuration)
Check Apogee’s website for details and
to see which cards work best together.
Also, note that all Modules (except the 8
Mic Preamp) include stereo coaxial S/PDIF
I/O on RCA jacks.
For this review I was sent the Symphony
I/O 8x8+8MP configuration along with the
brand new Symphony 64 | ThunderBridge
interface for Macs with Thunderbolt ports.
Symphony and your computer
As noted, the drivers and other software
of this system only runs on Mac OS X.
Apogee recommends any Intel-based Mac
running OS 10.6.8, 10.7.4 or greater. The
Symphony I/O is compatible with any Mac
DAW or audio application that’s Core
Audio compliant as well as Avid Pro

Tools|HD. The Symphony connects to your
Mac via a Symphony 64 PCIe card (older
Mac Pro models), USB 2.0, or better still the
brand-new Symphony 64 | ThunderBridge
(see the sidebar). Apogee’s website details
how and when you can integrate it with
older Apogee systems.
The Symphony’s integration/operation
with your system can be in one of 4 modes:
1. Symphony: used with the PCIe card or
ThunderBridge
2. Pro Tools HD: makes use of its own proprietary built-in connector
3. USB: Sends audio over the USB 2.0 bus
4. Standalone: In this mode the Symphony
I/O becomes a multichannel A/D–D/A
converter; it can be integrated with a PCbased or non-computer-based setup.
The Symphony I/O is capable of
Sample Rates of 44.1 to 192 kHz (96
kHz max in USB mode) and capable of a
1.8 milliseconds of latency depending on
the connection mode and sample rate,
with USB being the most hamstrung.
Symphony I/O uses Apogee’s Maestro 2
control software, which gives you complete access to the system’s setup, configuration, routing, levels, controls, and
clock. When not in Symphony mode, the
Maestro 2 software requires a USB connection to your computer.
Elegance and simplicity of design
All Symphony models are housed in the
identical two-space, 19" aluminum-andsteel enclosure that comes with rack ears,
and with rubber feet for desktop positioning. It owes its good looks to its minimalist,
elegant faceplate: sandblasted aluminum,
with a large black plexiglass screen and a

Recording - October 2013

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