Apollo x4
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Apollo x4
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J. Egge
Meets all expectations, and considering what's here, is a solid value
Yes, it's expensive compared to other interfaces, but if you're buying a UA interface, hopefully you already understand why. You really can't replicate what's being offered here in one ecosystem. The plugins are unbeatable, and the latency is nearly nonexistent. With everything you're getting considered, I actually feel like it's a great value.
I initially bought an Apollo Twin X duo, which was great, but quickly realized I really needed more DSP power for what I'm doing. Rather than buy a Satellite that would have ended up with a total price tag equal to the x4, I realized that just getting the x4 was the smart way to go. Having two more Unison pres is handy.
If working within the Apollo ecosystem, if you ever have a need for more than two ins, the x4 is the way to go. With an x4 and an x8 rack, you can have enough XLR ins and pres to mic a full drum kit, and have the nice control unit in front of you. The scalability and consistency in sound and full use of plugins on all channels is excellent.
I've only got a dozen or so plugins, but every one of them is fantastic, and having my computer only have to worry about what my DAW is doing, not running a bunch of plugins, is really nice, plus the UAD plugins are outstanding and I like working in one ecosystem for that as much as possible. Considering how much it would cost me to get the kind of production value with hardware that I can get out of these units and a few hundred in plugins, I feel the whole system is a great value. I could never afford these hardware units, and I can get drums that sound as huge and powerful as my favorite albums. I never dreamed I'd have the ability to get sound this good at home for what these have cost.
You can absolutely spend 10% of the cost of this unit and get recording into a computer, but you're buying the ecosystem here, and the x4 is a very solid starting point to dive in. Enough mic pres just in this unit to do a live recording of acoustic instruments and room mics, or live recordings of multiple instruments, or even just the convenience of leaving your favorite setups and favorite mics hooked up without having to re-do your studio setup every time by running new cables and setting up different plugins is worth it. The time saved in having channels and mics already staged lets me get into playing and focusing on making music with a minimum of effort.
E. Gilmore
Perfection!!!
I work with Mike Stern for 6 years now, both as his bass player and his recording sessions guy. Everything you ever dreamed of is in that box, the plugins are top notch, The preamps are as clear as a bell.
This is the real deal, and this is as good as it gets.
I. Rosenberg
Great but perhaps not great value
I needed a 4 input audio interface to record and produce my own songs but was hesitant to get UAD because (1) I have a very fast Mac so figured I don't need the outboard DSP, (2) I already have a bunch of plugins that get the job done (Fabfilter, Waves, etc), (3) UAD is expensive relative to other interfaces that have similar sound quality, and (4) I didn't have any burning desire to have vintage pre-amp or compressor plugins that are 95% of the way there in terms of realism vs 80% or whatever available elsewhere (I'd rather spend my energy making great arrangements and musical ideas but maybe I'm just not deep enough down the gear rabbit hole yet).
I first purchased the Audient id44 which is actually an outstanding value vs the higher priced Apollo. I think the id44 input / output sound quality is just as good (maybe even better? I didn't A/B closely but this was a cursory impression) and it's well-built and has independent knobs for each channel vs the one-knob design of the x4. However, I found that I was missing the ability to hear my vocals with compression and reverb in my headphone mix with low latency in complicated mixes where the buffer size is higher. Headphone mix reverb can be achieved through an aux track in the DAW with predelay set to minimum, blended with the direct signal, but I found it difficult to hear my own vocals in the headphone mix on it without compression on the direct signal because I have a big dynamic range and even when I cranked the headphone volume knob, I couldn't quite hear myself.
So I took the plunge and paid significantly more for the Apollo x4. They are both great interfaces but I love the fact that I can just set my session to 1024 buffer size, have heavy compression and reverb in my headphone mix (not printed) and have no latency as I sing into the session. It's just easy and I can easily hear myself as loud as I want relative to the mix as I'm tracking vocals. The included plugins are good - I don't have a discerning enough ear to care much about the character of the 1176 / LA2A / vintage EQ emulation vs just throwing FabFilter Pro C / Pro-Q / CLA Vocals / CLA-2A on it. But the plugins are nice.
Having the four inputs is great because I can plug my Korg Kronos in (two inputs), a guitar, and a mic and not have to keep patching cables in and out. And I can sing and record the keyboard audio at the same time. Not a need-to-have of course - there are workarounds you can do - but this is pretty seamless. The hardware feels super well made, the software works well, the audio quality is great. I personally haven't yet used the UAD plugins much within the session yet and mostly am just using them for headphone monitoring or printing a pre-amp / light compressor vocal chain to the track from the console. The reason is I'm on a laptop and I like to move around, edit in bed, on the couch, outside, etc and it's annoying to have to have the device attached for the UAD plugins to work in a session.
Another minor nice benefit of the x4 is because the physical knob positions are digital (lights indicate where the knob is turned), you can save the configuration in the Console if you want to record at the same levels later and recall it easily vs the Audient where the physical pre-amp knobs are traditional knobs so aren't saveable from the Audient console app.
You definitely can't go wrong with the Apollo x4 if you have the cash but it may be overkill for some and it's definitely a bit of an unnecessary luxury. You can make great music on a much cheaper piece of gear and cheaper plugins, particularly if you have a modern computer that has horsepower - but I do find this device gets rid of some friction and just works seamlessly which is nice.
I haven't tried Luna so won't opine but from what I've seen, I can't imagine it will be a fruitful endeavor for UA.
One minor gripe - I wish the console app let you automatically output the stereo 1/2 from Logic into a virtual channel so it could be adjusted up and down in both the headphone mix and studio monitor mix. You can't adjust the level of the DAW output specifically unless you set up a virtual channel to stereo outs 7/8 or 9/10, which is a fine workaround but then if you are working away from the Apollo, there is no 7/8 or 9/10 in the Macbook Speaker I/O so I don't hear an output when I unplug and i have to reroute everything to Stereo 1/2 when away from the Apollo. Maybe there's a better way to handle this but I've definitely had a few little hiccups like this that are sometimes fixable if you search around but there's a little bit of a learning curve.
J. Okonji
Power House
Just an add up from my previous review.. this Apollo x4 is a power house, you know what I meant' if you're a sound engineer and understand how to use... but don't say I didn't warn you, Universal Audio are waiting to shave your account with does powerful Plugins too. I don't blame them anyway' cause they know we still gonna make them powerful music too.
I don't mind to be an ambassador, Am impressed with this device...Ka-ching
J. Brown
Amazing quality
The best audio interface I have ever used. The sound quality is superior as well as ease during tracking due to low latency. I have tons of fun in the studio with UA gear. Good times.
J. Doctor
Apollo X4
This is best desktop unit available on the market hands down, the two headphones output and talk back feature makes it a complete portable studio, the clarity of the mic pres and ease of operations with software makes uad the best.
A. Kieper
Perfect for me
I got the Apollo X4 as an upgrade from a Scarlett 2i2, and it's a massive upgrade. The mic pres sound clean and clear, the x4 has a reasonable amount of i/o, more than enough for a home studio, and the capability to use UAD plugins and LUNA made the X4 a no brainer for me. No regrets. Highly recommended
V. Shcherbin
UAD X4
A great option after the APOLLO TWIN X, more inputs for voice and instruments, more DSP, and as always great sound! Together with the OCTO Satellite, the capabilities have increased many times.
P. Nikpour
Amazing gear
This is the 3rd Generation of the Apollo devices and I literally feel the warmth and the wideness of the sound.thanks to UA team for having our back for decades.
J. Okonji
Powerful Interface... But expensive Plugins
Am not into reviewing product, however I will say that the Apollo x4 is a nice device, I like the design and looks, it has this attractive looks on my home studio, Apollo x4 is good for people who has less power cpu computer, cause it has good built-in DSP, but the downside why I gave the Apollo x4... A 4star is because the device only comes with 13 power plugins... you will have to do community fund raising, add your family inheritance, and if you are married to a rich spouse' oh boy, you will have to empty your joint account to buy all this expensive plugins from UAD, can you imagine that, apart from the expensive plugins the machine is on point. And I don't mind to an ambassador for UAD cause am impressed with this device.
E. Cruz
x4, are you serious?
I was reluctant to switch over to UA for a couple reasons. One being that I didn't own any of their interfaces which meant I couldn't use their plugins. Like many others last year I had to adapt and diversify in order to keep bringing in the monies. So I caved and purchased the Apollo Solo becoming an instant fan, not only of the hardware and it's sound but also of all the available plugins. It completely changed my workflow. It allowed me to ditch another interface and outboard gear, which is huge because I do a lot of traveling for additional work. Naturally, I needed to upgrade in order to fully command the plethora of available plugins. Here is where the x4 comes in, with its great sound, available i/o, additional DSP, and more importantly, its portability. Seriously, thanks UA.
T. Nadile
I Broke it so soon.
Not here to bash this product or any Manufacturer, I really like the aesthetics of this Apollo x4. Seems to have a nice build, well it better! Emptied my Bank Account for it. I was a little disappointed that my 1/4” Roland Gold Tipped Cables has such difficulty being removed from the Combo Jacks. As I pull to remove the Cables it feels like it is stuck or won’t let go, I panicked and pulled with out the twist and Broke the internals of the Jack which then released. I immediately contacted UA Support and told them my situation, they were happy to help until they found out it wasn’t in Warranty. They gave me a link to a Authorized Electronics Repair shop and then pretty much were done with me. I Since got it repaired from them and they were very Nice. If you want your repair sooner than a Month that I was quoted you can pay a fee to get it expedited. Other than that I haven’t really noticed much of a improvement in sound from my $100 Interface I bought back in 2009. I will still use it and explore the free plug-ins, I can’t justify the cost of UA’s.
J. Montoya
Best audio interface!
Excellent interface for a home studio. It has everything you will need to begin in the UAD world. 4 unison preamps, 4 dsp chips, 2 headphone outputs. It sounds great. I am really happy that I got this.
Thanks UAD for creating amazing products!
.
So Quiet I Have To Check To See If It's On!
As a long time engineer, with a full blown pro tools studio, I've been through a lot of gear in my career. I own hardware versions of the 1176 and LA2A compressors, as well as the hardware for some of the plugins that UA sells. This unit is easy to set up, quiet, and the pre amps that come with it are great. The plugins load and work flawlessly. I especially like the 55 Deluxe guitar plugin. I own a 1954 Deluxe and I think I like the plugin better. Don't tell Keith Richards:). The apollo x4 integrated with my pro tools rig on my mac pro with ease and I was able to get to work in a few minutes. The apollo x4 is built with the quality that I used to wish for when I first started working in audio.
Thanks for building such a great unit!!!!
Allen
O. Levi
Love the sound! Love how it looks and feels!
Great sounds. after switching from Focuserite Clarret 8 pre i feel like i found a new home.
Thank you for this wonderful product!
T. Holmes
Confusing Setup
I run a 2018 Dell XPS15. On first install, the X4 output a ton of white noise, even after I performed the Windows optimization suggestions I found on the Apollo website. I had to do quite a bit of internet research and change pre-boot energy-usage configurations on my laptop to solve the issue. It sounds fine now, but my PC performance has definitely been affected, and I suspect I am still not getting optimal performance out of the interface. It would be nice if these processes were better documented or better yet, built into the installer.
f. ruddick
Apollo x 4 good little workhorse
Purchased this interface as portable second rig alternative to Burl with Octo satellites.
Nice form factor and enough interfacing for some tracking and enough DSP to manage a big enough session.
Headphone amp is solid, prefer that to the monitor outputs not totally in love with the Monitor output sound, mids don’t feel quite as open as I’m used to.
Shame can’t bypass the Preamps to use more high end preamp in tracking when available.
Overall good value and nice little interfacing unit
V. Jæger
Beautiful and powerful stuff
Excellent and easy interface. Sounds perfect. Two headphone outs and two instrument inputs make it easy to collaborate creativally with people without all the cable mess. The weakest link in the signal chain has to be somewhere else.
A. Wolfhagen
Excellent workflow, sound quality and design!
Bought the X4 as I needed a desktop interface with more than just 2 preamps.
The X4 was definitely the right choice, with 4 nice preamps, 2 HI-Z inputs and even 2 separate headphone outputs, and additional analog outputs. Good options for expansion, both with ADAT units or additional Apollo interfaces.
The Console application is very nice and so easy to use - which means a great deal to the general workflow when recording.
And of cause the plugins that comes along with the interface - they sound so good and the whole idea of being able to record with great sounding plugins, wether just for monitoring or also printing them, is really nice.
Why do something in the mix if you can fix it already when recording?
Best recommendations from me :-)
M. Riley
Love My Apollo x4!
I recently upgraded my home studio around the Apollo x4 and Console. I really love the functionality and simplicity of the Apollo and Console environment. The preamp emulations sound fantastic and have really simplified a lot of the signal chains I have used for years. I am using the Apollo x4 into Cakewalk and Reaper but I really want to go all in with LUNA. Is there going to be a PC/Windows version?