Apogee Duet 3 USB-C 2x4 Audio Interface with DSP

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Also disappointing is Apogees silly decision to remove the assignable function buttons from the interface (for mute, dim, mono etc). These were really handy, and I used then all the time on the Duet 2. There are basically no controls on the Duet 3 besides gain/level adjustment. I also feel that the minimalism of the Duet’s physical design undermines its intuitiveness in some small ways. For example, the purple LEDs around the wheel do double duty, showing you which parameter is currently assigned to the wheel and flashing if something is muted, and this can make it hard to see what’s going on at a glance. There are some important settings that are visible in Apogee Control 2 but not at all on the unit itself, yet conversely there’s no visual indication of controller assignment within Apogee Control 2. In use, this means it’s quite often necessary both to glance at the unit itself and to tab away from your DAW to Apogee Control, which doesn’t always make for a seamless user experience. The Duet 3 also has an unwelcome tendency to spit out thumps and splats when you shut down the computer.

From what I see, soft limit is more soft peak clipping than a gain reduction. It increases THD below 0 dBFS instead of reducing THD at analog levels above Full Scale.If you want to learn more about sample rate and bit depth, you can read our guide What Sample Rate Should You Use? (Myths and Misconceptions)) Software Duet’s 2 combination input connectors (XLR and 1/4”) allow you to connect microphones, guitars and keyboards or your favorite external mic preamps, compressors and EQs. 4 analog outputs – Apogee Duet sets the industry standard for portable professional audio recording on Mac and iPad. Made for the musician, producer and engineer that wants the ultimate sound quality and elegant simplicity, Duet features legendary Apogee AD/DA conversion, 2 world-class microphone preamps, USB MIDI I/O and ESS Sabre32 DAC technology. Home users typically will run the Speaker outputs to a low-level active crossover or power amplifier, and connect passive speakers to their power amplifier. The breakout cable seems a little flimsy, but I have had no issues with it, so the point is really moot anyway. You can buy upgraded breakout cables.

Duet 3 has an exceptionally detailed output sound with huge dynamic range, and two crystal clear sounding inputs. AD/DA conversion is absolutely the best I’ve heard among interfaces this size. Same goes for the zero Ohm headphone amplifier, which flattened my headphones’ frequency response and provided phenomenal clarity. The substantial and satisfyingly weighty dial in the centre is both a switch and an encoder, controlling input levels, output levels and switching between them when pressed down. There are 2 assignable touch sensitive buttons to the left and right above the dial, which can be assigned in the Maestro software to very useful functions for recording and mixing. There is no need to look at Duet 2 when setting levels. A display comes up on your Mac as you tap the knob to select what level you are going to control. Meters also come up in Maestro.AHA! Yes, the response really does fall off above above 96 kHz as expected, and yes, while I was too lazy to fire up an FFT, the Duet 2 most likely is generating some aliases for full-scale inputs above 96 kHz.