Apogee Duet 2..

Question

Level 1

55 points

Apogee Duet 2..

Duet2
2 IN x 4 OUT USB audio interface for Mac

Advanced new features. Better performance.
Better sound quality.

Apogee's Duet is the most respected portable audio interface ever. Along with receiving many industry awards, Duet has also been instrumental in the creation of numerous GRAMMY winning records. While others have been trying to emulate its sound quality, ease of use and innovative design, we have been busy making an even better Duet. Duet 2 builds on the incredible success of its predecessor by incorporating customer feedback, adding advanced new features and delivering even better sound quality than the original.

Turn your Mac into a professional recording studio
Duet 2 is the best solution for capturing your music to your Mac. With Duet 2, make studio quality recordings of vocals, guitars, bass, keyboards, drums, and anything musical. And because Duet 2 is portable you can take it anywhere your creativity takes you. When it's time to mix, Duet 2's output quality lets you hear your recordings with incredible detail and dimension allowing you to put the finishing touches on your musical project like a pro. Duet 2 sounds so amazing you won’t want to listen to your iTunes library without it.

MSRP $595

MacBook Air 11.6, Mac OS X (10.6.7), iPad, iPhone 4, iMac Intel Core2Duo

Posted on Mar 30, 2011 2:30 PM

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Answer 1

Darrell Diaz Author

Level 1

55 points

Mar 30, 2011 2:32 PM in response to Darrell Diaz

On another note, I've been a forum member here forever. Not sure why I had to create a new profile today in able to log in. Now my post count is reset to 1.

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Answer 2

de palm

Level 1

65 points

Mar 30, 2011 10:46 PM in response to Darrell Diaz

Why change from Firewire to USB?

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Answer 3

Mar 31, 2011 2:08 AM in response to de palm

de palm wrote:
Why change from Firewire to USB?

Hi,

here we go:

1. Firewire is fading out
2. FW controller are too expensive, adding latency
3. Just compare these numbers:

Duet I

32 buffer @ 96kHz = 4.6 ms
64 buffer @ 44.1kHz = 7.23 ms

Duet II

32 buffer @ 96kHz = 3.6 ms
64 buffer @ 44.1kHz = 5.8 ms

All numbers from the Apogee website, no, I am not working for Apogee...

You will be still able to use your FW connector for external HDs...:o)

Best,
21th

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Answer 4

Pancenter

Level 6

14,782 points

Mar 31, 2011 3:19 AM in response to 21th Century

21th Century wrote:

de palm wrote:
Why change from Firewire to USB?

Hi,

here we go:

1. Firewire is fading out
2. FW controller are too expensive, adding latency
3. Just compare these numbers:

Duet I

32 buffer @ 96kHz = 4.6 ms
64 buffer @ 44.1kHz = 7.23 ms

Duet II

32 buffer @ 96kHz = 3.6 ms
64 buffer @ 44.1kHz = 5.8 ms

All numbers from the Apogee website, no, I am not working for Apogee...

So, USB doesn't have the built in (Apple) safety buffer that Firewire does, that explains the lower latency.

What they didn't post is the increased CPU cycles used by USB... also, people are already having problems with USB power saving "features" that are not user adjustable.

But wait, there's more... USB may be fine for 2 or 4 inputs... has any one tried running 12-16 live inputs using USB?

pancenter-

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Answer 5

Pancenter

Level 6

14,782 points

Mar 31, 2011 3:38 AM in response to Pancenter

p.s. just to add, it's not the firewire controller that adds latency... it's the safety buffer that Apple uses. Firewire on a PC does not use a safety buffer and would match or possibly better the USB numbers you've posted.

pancenter-

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Answer 6

Mar 31, 2011 5:12 AM in response to Pancenter

I'm looking forward to the first reviews. No actual release date set? Just sometime in April...

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Answer 7

Mar 31, 2011 5:42 AM in response to Pancenter

Pancenter wrote:
p.s. just to add, it's not the firewire controller that adds latency... it's the safety buffer that Apple uses. Firewire on a PC does not use a safety buffer and would match or possibly better the USB numbers you've posted.

pancenter-

Not totally true: The (commonly used) FW controller chip adds latency (around 1 ms).

Best,
21th

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Answer 8

Mar 31, 2011 6:11 AM in response to Pancenter

Pancenter wrote:

What they didn't post is the increased CPU cycles used by USB... also, people are already having problems with USB power saving "features" that are not user adjustable.

But wait, there's more... USB may be fine for 2 or 4 inputs... has any one tried running 12-16 live inputs using USB?

pancenter-

So, how much of your cpu do you think the driver will eat? 0,5%? I don't think it's a problem if you're not on a g4. ˘–)
And I don't think the duet2 has got that many inputs. So where's your problem? I've got an RME Babyface which also is usb2...works perfectly.

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Answer 9

Pancenter

Level 6

14,782 points

Mar 31, 2011 11:03 AM in response to slidersson

slidersson wrote:

So, how much of your cpu do you think the driver will eat? 0,5%? I don't think it's a problem if you're not on a g4. ˘–)
And I don't think the duet2 has got that many inputs. So where's your problem? I've got an RME Babyface which also is usb2...works perfectly.

Really wasn't speaking about the Duet but rather the difference between Firewire and USB. USB has been known to break down under load as USB transfer is controlled by the CPU, Firewire, less so.

What this means is that a CPU heavy project, effects, VI....etc, can affect USB performance.

This other question to ask is the difference in signal noise ratio between the two formats, especially when using Phantom power. I don't see that spec listed on the apogee site.

pancenter-

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Answer 10

Pancenter

Level 6

14,782 points

Mar 31, 2011 12:10 PM in response to Pancenter

That said, it is a nice looking unit.

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Answer 11

Darrell Diaz Author

Level 1

55 points

Apr 1, 2011 9:24 AM in response to Pancenter

Pretty sure I'll upgrade. My Duet works great on the iMac in the studio, but the new one would be cool on my MacBook Air.

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Answer 12

aperch

Level 1

15 points

Apr 1, 2011 9:41 AM in response to Darrell Diaz

I've been wanting to buy a duet for a couple of years now, and i recently decided to bite the bullet on the $500 price. Do you think now that the duet 2 is being released the price of the original will go down? I don't really care about any of the new features so spending $600 doesn't make sense for me.

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Answer 13

Apr 1, 2011 10:18 AM in response to Darrell Diaz

Anyone know if this can be used in an aggregate device? One big failing of the mk 1 was that they never got that to work . .

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Answer 14

Pancenter

Level 6

14,782 points

Apr 1, 2011 10:34 AM in response to aperch

Would be difficult for me to think about purchasing a Duet when something like the "Focusrite Saffire Pro 40" is available for the same price as the original Duet. Comes with 8 mic preamps + ADAT I/O (16 inputs) + s/pdif.

pancenter-

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Answer 15

Apr 1, 2011 11:00 AM in response to aperch

There will be many perfectly working Duets on ebay later this month - like mine. I'm hoping to get $300...maybe even close to $400?

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