Universal Audio Apollo X16 Review

[Harmonie]

pro gears never use fancy chips, this is es9018 i guess

This is 9038pro.(if I'm not mistaken)

Very good point and why is that pro gear is using rather older generation chips and despite that have very good specs ?

 

[Harmonie]

Rack mounting and power brick? What?
Where to put the power brick?

As someone who works in the AV industry, I can assure you that this is incredibly commonplace. The power bricks usually get mounted to the side of the rack using cable ties or hook & loop strips.

At least it's not a WALL power brick - that, would be rather an issue.

 

[Tks]

More channels, and more ADC's. Always nice to see. Though that I/O and software (also AP, stop playing games, make your own damn 64-bit app already, many companies are dropping 32-bit support in many arenas, let alone not having a 64-bit version of software).

Would have hoped it would best the RME Pro-FS at this price. But then again, it does come with 16 freaking channels which is sick.

 

[Blumlein 88]

More channels, and more ADC's. Always nice to see. Though that I/O and software (also AP, stop playing games, make your own damn 64-bit app already, many companies are dropping 32-bit support in many arenas, let alone not having a 64-bit version of software).

Would have hoped it would best the RME Pro-FS at this price. But then again, it does come with 16 freaking channels which is sick.

In some circles 16 channels is enough to properly record the drummer's efforts.

 

[rajapruk]

I want this.
I need this.

 

[dfuller]

Would have hoped it would best the RME Pro-FS at this price. But then again, it does come with 16 freaking channels which is sick.

You're spending far less per-channel for this than the Pro FS. The Pro FS has (at most) 4 analog outputs (if you include headphone outs) and 2 analog inputs - figure that's $500 per channel of outputs and $1000 per channel of inputs. In contrast... The x16 has no less than 16 ins and 16 outs at $3500. So, on a per-channel basis, the Apollo is quite a bit cheaper, and puts up roughly equivalent performance.

 

[Siwel]

No technical commentary from me but I enjoy seeing UA's products on the market and expect good performance from their designs given the heritage of the company. That they exist at all given the lackluster treatment the original UA (in the form of UREI) got after they were acquired by Harman is something of a treat.

I'm not surprised that this device measures well. Their pro audio engineering heritage is beyond reproach. It's always a pleasure to be reminded that they bear something of a family relationship to many pro audio analog classics like the LA4, 1176, and others but have moved the brand on from those days.

If you don't know, "Universal Audio" was the original working name of UREI which was acquired by Harman in the distant past (around 982-83 IIRC).

 

[dinglehoser]

Their SINAD (Seasonal INgestion of Aromatic Delicacies) rating is around 150dB (delicious Bites)

Though, for those of us with nightshade allergies, the output is likely to be highly distorted ...

 

[dfuller]

Yes, Apple cables are a rip-off, but I see that even the cheapest TB cables at Amazon UK are around £20 for 2 metres. Perhaps they just can't be made below a certain price?

They're active cables, that's why they're expensive.

 

[dinglehoser]

Just curious...in an audiophile or home theater setting how would one utilize all of those channels? What’s the implementation?

The beautiful thing about a pro audio interface like this is its near complete flexibility. For example, you can arbitrarily route any number of inputs, irrespective of whether they're digital or analog, to any number of digital or analog outputs and vice versa; you can use the device as a clock master or slave it to some other thing that isn't as flexible (e.g., an AVR). I have a MOTU Ultralite that serves as a 2.1 DAC and input ADC for my miniDSP SHD Studio-based music setup. At the same time, it's also a mixer/passthrough for my AVR. Net sum is that my music setup runs completely independently of the AVR, while the AVR can use the much better amplification of the music setup for its front two main channels.

 

[Xyrium]

It is a shame Thunderbolt gets painted as a Apple/Mac thing. The one sentence summary is that that its is a couple of lanes of PCI with all the neat smarts invented for Firewire for connectivity (hot reconnection, reconfiguration, clock management, isochronous guarantees etc). There is nothing all that is specifically Apple about it. It isn't hard to find PCs that have Thunderbolt, but it is impossible to find a Mac without.
In terms of utility in building anything slightly complex it beats USB totally. It is just that most consumer level users will never need its capabilities.
The level of backward compatibility possible is remarkable as well. I have an ancient Apogee Duet - the original 400Mb/s Firewire version I use now as a desktop DAC. It lives on the end of a Thunderbolt-2 to Firewire converter, which itself lives on the end of a Thunderbolt-3 to Thunderbolt-2 converter, and despite deprecation of support by Apogee, the entire thing works perfectly in Catalina.
Providing access via a PCI lane does raise interesting security issues, so it is perhaps not all roses. USB devices can't initiate transfers into your machine.

Agreed, especially since I moved away from Mac when they put a PC inside (Intel) their stuff over 10 years ago. That said, with so many people doing the same thing, the Windows-based stuff may actually be more prevalent in home studios due to the equal performance, and far lower costs involved (non-proprietary). Therefore, all of these cables are fairly ubiquitous now, non-Apple branded. I stayed away from UA for that same reason (they were geared towards Macs from what I recall), and went with RME. However, this is a darned sweet looking and performing unit!

Thanks to whomever sent it in, and to Amir for the review!

 

[AnalogSteph]

We're at the limits of the AP's hardware here. Apparently you'd need to enable "high performance mode". Otherwise something around 120 dB of SINAD (depending on level) is all you ever get.

 

[mocenigo]

It's a shame FW always cost more than USB as it was better in so many ways. I fear that TB might also remain a niche interface, despite being an Intel (not Apple) innovation. The price of TB peripherals is so high that few bother with it, and USB 3 is fast enough for most. Does anyone know if licensing alone is responsible for the high prices?

Thunderbolt is an effort led by intel but apple has made significant contributions to the specification. So it is not "only" a intel thing.

 

[Ron Texas]

True pro quality recording gear, at a price. Thank you @amirm

 

[MakeMineVinyl]

If you don't know, "Universal Audio" was the original working name of UREI which was acquired by Harman in the distant past (around 982-83 IIRC).

United Recording Electronics Inc.
Back in the past, I liked repairing the Teletronix LA-2As, (Teletronix was bought by UREI) and even worked on a couple of the original Teletronix LA-2s. Classic stuff. UREI did a re-release of the LA-2A around this time, mostly staying true to the original circuit.

 

[AudioSceptic]

Thunderbolt is an effort led by intel but apple has made significant contributions to the specification. So it is not "only" a intel thing.

Agreed. I was trying to make the point that there's no reason to see it as an "Apple thing", as FW was. Apple has, of course, been keen to incorporate TB as soon as it could. What we need now are sensibly priced external TB drives.

 

[AudioSceptic]

They're active cables, that's why they're expensive.

Thanks. I've found that out since. I'm not clear whether USB-C cables are the same as passive TB ones (if there is such a thing).

 

[dfuller]

Thanks. I've found that out since. I'm not clear whether USB-C cables are the same as passive TB ones (if there is such a thing).

They're not. TB cables are always active, AFAIK. USB-C is a port/connector design, and Thunderbolt 3 just so happens to use a USB-C port and connector. Previous generations used mini DisplayPort.

 

[Dave Tremblay]

Thanks. I've found that out since. I'm not clear whether USB-C cables are the same as passive TB ones (if there is such a thing).

USB-C is a mess... There are multiple ratings of cables that all use the same connector, but not compatible. Thunderbolt cables need to be designed for the higher bandwidth and certified. There are cheaper options than Apple though. I use some Belkin TB3 cables.

 

[mocenigo]

USB-C is a mess... There are multiple ratings of cables that all use the same connector, but not compatible. Thunderbolt cables need to be designed for the higher bandwidth and certified. There are cheaper options than Apple though. I use some Belkin TB3 cables.

I had a Belkin and a Lenovo TB3 cable fail. The Apple cables did not. (I am not saying that Apple always does it better – I had once a laptop where the power controller daughter board was replaced once with the battery it killed, before that just the battery because they did not understand what it was, and then not one, not two, but THREE motherboard replacements and two keyboard replacements – on ONE SINGLE DAMN LAPTOP, so yeah, when they suck they really do excel at sucking as well.)