UAD Apollo Twin as DAC with stereo system?

[Blake Klondike]

Seeing folks here recommend a fair amount pro-audio gear as a solid DAC option for audiophile listening. Bought this because it has really super mic pre-amps for recording and very good VST plug-in emulations of Abbey Road compressors, EQ, tube pre-amps, etc. for recording, mixing and mastering. Any thoughts on strengths/limitations of this unit compared to dedicated home audio DACS?

https://www.uaudio.com/audio-interfaces/apollo-twin-usb.html

I don't like the headphone amp on it, which is odd considering it is designed for critical production listening, but has XLR outs for powered speakers and 1/4" line outs. Really interested to hear how you all think it would stack up-- Thanks!

 

[Blumlein 88]

The specifications in the manual are all very good. Not state of the art, but very good. Output impedance is 600 ohms which is a little high, but likely not an issue with most amps you might connect it too. I wouldn't use 50 foot cable running from it to the amp for that reason. Looks like the headphone section is low powered and made mainly for high impedance phones. So probably why it doesn't impress you.

I see it does both ADAT and Toslink which is nice. Many interfaces don't work with Toslink though it uses the same optical cable as ADAT. Optical SPDIF and ADAT are different digital formats. It has an output level of 7.8 volts so that is plenty.

Plus you can use the emulations for the sound of other gear if you like.

My guess it will sound excellent. I see no reason it wouldn't. Plus I think it is an attractive device, but that is all a matter of taste.

 

[Blumlein 88]

Oh, thought I'd mention, you could use REW to run some loopback tests of this device and get some idea if it meets specs. It probably does as UAD is a solid company.

 

[Blake Klondike]

I just wanted to take a moment to respond and thank you for your thoughts on the UAD Apollo-- I replaced my Oppo HA-2 with the Apollo and the difference was immediately obvious. Tremendous difference. I don't know how to test for the empirical differences, but the UAD is easily 200% better to my ears. Thanks again!

 

[Blake Klondike]

One quick question: Is there any reason why I would use Toslink vs. RCA out? I don;t believe my Cambridge Audio AM-10 has any digital ins. Why is the Toslink jack on there in the first place? Thanks!

 

[Blumlein 88]

One quick question: Is there any reason why I would use Toslink vs. RCA out? I don;t believe my Cambridge Audio AM-10 has any digital ins. Why is the Toslink jack on there in the first place? Thanks!

Glad the Apollo is working nice for you.

If I understand the question, the Apollo has an optical input. Any source with SPDIF Toslink would feed it. Sometimes gear has Toslink and not RCA. A sometimes situation is RCA can cause a ground loop between bits of gear while optical isolates that from happening. The other is you might use ADAT instead of Toslink. ADAT over the same connectors and optical cable uses a different format. It can carry up to 8 channels. I don't think the Apollo is set up to handle more than six channels, but you could send some channels from another device over ADAT for multiple channels.

So most of the time it won't matter to you. But if a device has Toslink or ADAT output you could make use of it. For instance I know some Sony bluray players also have network streaming capability built in. You could use that to stream audio, and output the signal over Toslink so the Apollo can provide higher quality sound.

 

[pkane]

Oh, thought I'd mention, you could use REW to run some loopback tests of this device and get some idea if it meets specs. It probably does as UAD is a solid company.

I actually have access to one of these units. I’ll see if I can get some basic measurements done, since I couldn’t find any published ones. I believe Mk2 version has improved specs, but Mk1 should be plenty good enough for DAC duty.

 

[Blake Klondike]

Glad the Apollo is working nice for you.

If I understand the question, the Apollo has an optical input. Any source with SPDIF Toslink would feed it. Sometimes gear has Toslink and not RCA. A sometimes situation is RCA can cause a ground loop between bits of gear while optical isolates that from happening. The other is you might use ADAT instead of Toslink. ADAT over the same connectors and optical cable uses a different format. It can carry up to 8 channels. I don't think the Apollo is set up to handle more than six channels, but you could send some channels from another device over ADAT for multiple channels.

So most of the time it won't matter to you. But if a device has Toslink or ADAT output you could make use of it. For instance I know some Sony bluray players also have network streaming capability built in. You could use that to stream audio, and output the signal over Toslink so the Apollo can provide higher quality sound.

Thanks for the helpful response. Now that you say it, I think they included Toslink so you can daisy chain the Apollo with another preamp to get more mic ins. The preamps on this unit are really super. I compared it with the UMC404 HD and the UAD killed it. 404 was solid but there was just no comparison. Electric bass direct into the Apollo sounds really exceptional.

 

[Blake Klondike]

I actually have access to one of these units. I’ll see if I can get some basic measurements done, since I couldn’t find any published ones. I believe Mk2 version has improved specs, but Mk1 should be plenty good enough for DAC duty.

That would be very cool, thanks! I would offer to send in my unit for review but I don't have a backup for my studio.

 

[pkane]

That would be very cool, thanks! I would offer to send in my unit for review but I don't have a backup for my studio.

Posted some measurements here, except this is for the thunderbolt version. DAC + ADC produce a low enough distortion of around -100dB SINAD, frequency and phase response are excellent, and jitter is low. I think this could easily work as a nice DAC in your system.

 

[Blake Klondike]

Thanks so much! I suppose it shouldn't be surprising, considering that transparency and accuracy are the goals on the production end of music, as much as the listening end. The pre-amps sound really good, but it is great to know the Apollo is pulling its weight in the DAC dept too.