I’m getting my first new computer in a million years, an iMac Pro, and I’m looking at the Apogee Element 24 to go along with it.
I like that it (1) uses Thunderbolt and (2) has XLR outs because I’d like to hook up the new Mac to my Dynaudio BM6a monitors.
I don’t like (1) that I need a Thunderbolt 2 to 3 adapter though and (2) no external volume controls in case I need to kill or adjust the output quickly because of some horrible feedback or something.
Does anyone have any experience with it? Do you have to adjust the output sound on the software or can I use the volume buttons and mute on the Mac keyboard to adjust/mute the output?
Is there anything else that uses Thunderbolt and has XLR outs in this price range? I don’t need a ton of inputs, just something simple that sounds good and is easy to use.
Oh wow, that looks fantastic. Addressed all of my concerns.
To be honest, these Dynaudios are my first pair of nice monitors and I wasn’t sure if there was audio quality loss using a TRS to XLR. Is it safe to assume there is no issue? If so, the UAD may be the perfect interface for me. I love that it’s bus powered.
Don’t know if you need analog inputs also but the RME ADI-2 looks great.
If you do need inputs they have the ADI-2 Pro.
RME obviously have a lot more in their product range also, and their drivers and software can’t be beat.
You can’t go wrong with any of their products
I think I’m sold on the UAD Arrow. It looks absolutely perfect for my needs. I’m pretty stoked actually, my first really nice setup. I’m going to offload a bit of other gear I have to streamline a bit and offset some of the outlay.
No issue. Balanced is balanced no matter if you use an XLR connector or a TRS jack. Just get the right cables.
The Arrow is really nice; I’m very happy with mine. The UAD plugins that run on the DSP chip inside the interface are pretty great as well. I originally got it primarily so that I could monitor my bass with zero latency while using amp simulation, but I found myself using their pre-amp, channel strip, and compressor models as well while recording synths.
One thing to keep in mind is that the Arrow does not come with a Thunderbolt 3 cable in the box. These can get rather expensive if you want a slightly longer one so it might make sense to figure out how long you want the cable to be and then shop around. You need a Thunderbolt 3 cable; a regular USB-C cable won’t work.