The Duet is a FireWire bus-powered portable 24-bit/96kHz interface consisting of two components: a gorgeous silver slab with a single knob and LED VU meters, and a breakout harness for the audio connections. A buddy of mine commented that the harness resembles a milking attachment for an audio cow — and y’know, it kind of does. That said, the cable has a multi-pin, VGA-like connector on the end you attach to the Duet, and fans out into six leads: the XLR inputs and 1/4" inputs, and 1/4" outputs. The headphone output is on the front edge of the Duet itself.
Incorporating the Duet into a studio rig is blissfully simple. It’s class-compliant under Mac OS 10.4.11 and 10.5 (Leopard), so no drivers are needed. The Maestro control panel launches as soon as the Duet is plugged in. Here, you can adjust output level, input gain (either separately or stereo linked), invert the phase of either input, and toggle phantom power for each mic input.
The level of product integration between the Duet and Apple’s software is both intentional and impresive. GarageBand, Logic, and Soundtrack Pro are all natively supported with their own Apogee preference panels for comprehensive control from within each application. Of course, you can use the Duet with any CoreAudio application on PowerPC (G4/G5) or Intel Macs — I had no issues pairing it with Ableton Live and tech editor Stephen Fortner loved it with MOTU Digital Performer — but at this time, Apogee has no plans for a PC-compatible version.
The Duet hardware itself includes some beautifully executed amenities. For example, the oversized single control knob is also a clickable button. Each click switches its mode between input 1 gain, then input 2, then listening volume. Pressing and holding the knob for a few seconds mutes the output entirely. Let me say this: In practice, the elegance is palpable.
What, no MIDI? That’s no big deal, given that most of the MacBook-toting mobile musicians at whom the Duet is aimed hook up their MIDI controllers via USB anyway. That the Duet has only one FireWire 400 port, though, can be a problem if you use an external FW hard drive for recording or as a home for the sample libraries your soft instruments play. If neither that drive nor your laptop has two FireWire ports, you can’t daisy-chain drive and Duet.
After spending a few minutes getting up to speed, you’re immediately confronted with the sound of the unit. More accurately, you’re not confronted — it’s extremely transparent. I evaluated the Duet using my M-Audio EX66 monitors and IE-40 ear buds, and worked on projects in Logic, GarageBand, and Ableton Live. In all cases, the audio was noise-free and the sound quality was stunning. I couldn’t detect any distortion or jitter, even at very low recording levels.
I also spent a lot of time alternating between my “live” sources: an Audio-Technica condenser mic, my Prophet ’08 synthesizer (reviewed Nov. ’07), and a few other synths. The built-in mic preamps are the same as on Apogee’s more expensive Ensemble interface, and have up to 75dB of gain. That’s more than you’ll ever need, even for ribbon mics, which are notoriously gain-hungry. These aren’t “color” pres — they add no appreciable coloration or noise in any gain range. What you put in is what gets recorded, period. Regarding latency, the toughest test is whether vocals “feel right” in headphones when you’re singing or speaking. Testing my own voice, I found the Duet to be quite comfortable.
All in all, the Duet is a winner from start to finish. The design is stunning. The hardware and software interfaces are extremely thoughtful and intuitive. The audio quality is absolutely top-notch. If you’ve been holding your breath for Apogee to deliver an affordable, portable Mac interface that cuts no corners, you can exhale. It’s here.
SPECS
Stereo, 24-bit/96kHz FireWire audio interface for Apple Macs.
PROS
Pristine audio. Bus-powered. Beautiful design and incredibly elegant interface. Seamless integration with Maestro control panel software.
CONS
No digital audio I/O. Single FireWire port means you’ll need two on another device to daisy-chain an external drive. Installer forces user to re-register for every machine.
$495
Apogee, www.apogeedigital.com