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Universal Audio Apollo x6 Heritage Edition

34

16 x 22 Thunderbolt 3 Audio Interface

  • Compatible with Thunderbolt 2 with optional Thunderbolt 2 to 3 adapter (not included)
  • Support of surround formats up to 7.1, with speaker calibration and downmix
  • Dual crystal clocking for low-jitter environment and clean, artifact-free recordings and stable stereo imaging
  • 6-Core SHARC DSP for internal UAD real-time processing
  • 2 Unison microphone preamplifiers
  • 2 Microphone inputs: XLR
  • 2 Hi-Z inputs: 6.3 mm jack
  • 6 Line inputs: 6.3 mm jack
  • 2 Monitor outputs: 6.3 mm jack
  • 6 Line outputs: 6.3 mm jack
  • S/PDIF coaxial input and output
  • 2 ADAT inputs and outputs
  • BNC Word clock input and output
  • 2 Stereo headphone ports: 6.3 mm jack
  • 2 Thunderbolt 3 ports
  • +48 V Phantom power
  • Pad
  • Low-cut
  • Phase reverse
  • Switch for monitor switchover
  • Function key can be assigned to Dim or Mono
  • LED Meter
  • Integrated talkback microphone
  • Support of surround formats up to 5.1, with speaker calibration and downmix
  • Dual crystal clocking for low-jitter environment and clean, artifact-free recordings and stable stereo imaging
  • For Mac/Windows
  • Up to 4 Apollos with Thunderbolt cascading connection
  • Design: 19" / 1U
  • Includes external power supply and software bundle Rackmount Heritage Edition & Realtime Analog Classics Plus
Available since December 2020
Item number 508056
Sales Unit 1 piece(s)
Recording / Playback Channels 16x22
Number of Mic Inputs 2
Number of Line Inputs 6
Number of Instrument Inputs 2
Number of Line Outputs 8
Headphone Outs 2
Phantom Power Yes
Number of S/PDIF Connectors 1
Number of ADAT Connectors 2
AES/EBU Connectors 0
Number of MADI Connectors 0
Ethernet 0
Other Connectors No
MIDI Connectors No
Word Clock 1xIn, 1xOut
Max. Samplerate 192 kHz
Max. Resolution in Bit 24 bit
Bus-Powered No
Incl. Power Supply Yes
Windows Thunderbolt driver Yes
Thunderbolt Version 3
Width in mm 483 mm
Depth in mm 308 mm
Height in mm 44 mm
£1,899
All prices incl. VAT
In stock
In stock

This product is in stock and can be shipped immediately.

Standard Delivery Times
Delivery free of charge expected between Wednesday, 20.11. and Thursday, 21.11.
1

Professional UAD rack interface

The Universal Audio Apollo x6 is an extremely versatile member of the esteemed Apollo line of audio interfaces. Set squarely at the heart of the series, this 16-in/22-out Thunderbolt interface, both Windows and Mac compatible, offers a selection of the best features of its siblings. Among others, the Apollo x6 is equipped with two Unison-enabled microphone preamps, elite-class 24-bit/96kHz converters with dual-crystal clocking technology and HEXA Core UAD processing, powered by six SHARC DSP chips, which allow multiple instances of the famed UAD plugins to run at zero CPU cost. Importantly, the Apollo x6 can be cascaded with other units, providing an excellent foundation for evolving professional studios. The "Real Time Analog Classics Plus" collection of Core UAD plugins as well as the Luna DAW software environment (Mac only) are included, providing immediate access to the privileged world of UAD-powered music production.

Analogue sound for a digital age

Core UAD plugins are renowned worldwide for their remarkable realism and pioneering technology. Unison technology allows the Apollo x6's two preamps to seamlessly blend into this environment by subtly modifying their dynamic response depending on which preamp emulation is being used, adding a further layer of realism when recording in real time through the legendary mic preamp emulations. The "Realtime Analog Classics Bundle" provides a wide selection of meticulously crafted classics, including the UA 610-B classic preamp, Marshall's Plexi Classic Amplifier, Ampeg's SVT-VR Classic Bass Amp, and a selection of popular dynamic processors and EQs such as the Teletronix LA-2A and the Pultec EQP-1A. Multiple instances of these plugins can be run latency-free and at zero CPU load via UA's "Console" software, during both the recording and the mixing phases of a project, in DAW environments such as Cubase, Logic, Live, and Pro Tools.

Universal Audio Apollo x6 Heritage Edition

Scalable up to 156 tracks

One of the x6's key features is its ability to cascade with other Apollo and Satellite units, supporting up to four Apollo interfaces and six units in total, thus greatly increasing the number of preamps and other available inputs and outputs (up to 156 in total), as well as Core UAD plugin instances. Up to four Apollo interfaces and two UAD2 Satellite "accelerator" units (which provide extra DSP power via Thunderbolt, PCIe, USB and FireWire) can be cascaded. Configurations are efficiently managed via UA's "Console" utility. A great variety of studio setups are possible depending on configuration, ranging from post-production, where few inputs and preamps are required, to full-fledged recording and mixing setups, complete with talkback mic, and all with "album-ready" Core UAD sound quality.

16 x 22 Thunderbolt 3 Audio Interface – detailed view

About Universal Audio

Few manufacturers can draw upon a wealth of audio engineering experience comparable to that of Universal Audio. The company's founding father Bill Putnam, along with his friend Les Paul, have an admirable reputation as trend-setting music producers and developers of legendary analogue studio technology. Putnam recorded Chuck Berry, Muddy Waters, and Sarah Vaughan, and was Duke Ellington's favourite sound engineer. He developed the famous 1176 Peak Limiter and distributed the Teletronix LA-2A level amplifier. This earned him a posthumous "Technical Grammy Award" in 2000. In 1999, Putnam's sons, Bill Putnam Jr. and James Putnam, re-founded Universal Audio, transferring their father's analogue vision and craftsmanship to the digital music world. Their product range includes audio interfaces, dedicated DSP farms, and a variety of plug-ins, as well as analogue hardware devices.

At the heart of the studio

The Apollo x6 boasts a sound quality and dynamic range that is difficult to rival. Its advanced monitoring section supports formats up to 5.1 (complete with individual speaker trim and fold-down mixes) and A/B monitoring configurations. It can also calibrate the system to a dB SPL reference level and align all the inputs and outputs to +24dBu when required. It is no surprise that the list of famous producers and musicians who use UAD products is endless. At the front end, one can choose from any number of iconic preamps from Neve to API, dynamics processors such as the Fairchild 670, and classic amp emulations – augmented by legacy reverbs, dynamics and effects units, and even precision channel strips for the mixing stage. To quote the manufacturer, what better way to "produce album-ready sounds in real time"?

Universal Audio Apollo x6 Heritage Edition
Universal Audio Apollo 16 x 22 Thunderbolt 3 Interface

Apollo Heritage Edition

The new Apollo Heritage Editions deliver a premium software suite of ten award-winning UAD plugins, including the full Collections of Teletronix, Pultec, Helios, and Universal Audio, as well as vintage gear like the V76 Preamp, Oxide Tape Recorder, and the Pure Plate Reverb, which will augment and update the already impressive Realtime Analog Classics Bundle to their latest and expanded versions. Thus the UA 1176, Teletronix LA-2A, Fairchild 670, Pultec EQP-1A, and the UA 610 Tube Preamp & EQ Collection are fully included. For those who already own one or more of the plugins of the Heritage Edition, there are plenty of alternates available on the website which can be chosen from instead during the registration process.

In the spotlight: SOLO, DUO, QUAD, HEXA, and OCTO

Each Apollo interface contains one or more SHARC DSP chips which run the Console mixing software as well as the Core UAD plugins. Depending on their complexity, plugins require varying degrees of computational resources, represented by a percentage of a DSP processing power (between one and sixty percent). A small percentage of DSP resources are also allocated to the internal operations of the interface, which include signal processing, routing and running the Console utility. The number of SHARC DSPs present in a Universal Audio device is in a SOLO device, two in a DUO, four in a QUAD, six in a HEXA, and eight in an OCTO device! The product name reveals the number of onboard SHARC DSPs: a single core in a SOLO device, two in a DUO, four in a QUAD, six in HEXA and eight in an OCTO core.

34 Customer ratings

4.8 / 5

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30 Reviews

K
Great interface, Awful Windows drivers (Pops & Crackles on audio playback)
KittyCatDance 13.12.2021
Even after following all the "windows compatibility guidelines" from Universal Audio and spending countless hours looking for solutions on YT and various discussion boards, it's still unusable for audio playback paired with a highly optimized, top notch mobile workstation (Dream Machines - X170KM-G, i9-10900K, RTX 3080, 128GB RAM, 5TB NVMe SSDs, 2x Thunderbolt 4 ports) that has zero issues with any other piece of hardware or software that I own.
Fortunately, it works a little better in ASIO mode, and the random pops & crackles are happening less within the DAW.

This isn't a new issue and UA claims that there are just a very little amount of their "Windows customers" that are dealing with this issue.
However, a simple google search reveals that there are a lot of people experiencing random artifacts on audio playback.
At the same time, a product in this price range should be plug and play, without a need for Windows users to do advanced system tweaks like disabling power management features and running their systems at maximum power consumption, even when not needed, just to have this interface running or partially running with their machines.

As my mobile workstation was delivered with a huge delay due to the "pandemic" situation, I couldn't test the compatibility for a little over 1 month, so it was too late to return it.
Hopefully, Universal Audio will release better Windows drivers at some point, but it seems that this is far from being important to them.

Otherwise, when paired with other systems, it is a really nice piece of hardware. At least according to the tech specs.
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M
good sound!
MrGu 04.06.2020
if you are windows user
you can reference my list
x299 designare 10g
intel i9-9980xe
64gb RAM

you need go to bios to setting, open your thunderblot Safety to select "no secret"
If there is "No Devices Found", you can take tb3's macbook , and first connection it, and after connection your PC, you will succeed

I don't know why... it's true...
becuase I spend many time to fuxk this...
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S
I just regret that I did have them earlier
Shawnce 10.10.2022
Very useful, reliable and great sound quality. I just can’t wait to buy another one.
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Great package
yen 06.10.2021
Together with Thomann's 3 year warranty, I can confidently use my new interface with no worries.

Thomann delivered the unit in nice and sturdy packaging.
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