Universal Audio Apollo x4 Gen 2 Studio+ Edition, 12 x 18 Thunderbolt 3 Interface, Four Unison Mic Preamps, Elite-Class Apollo X Gen 2 Converters, Monitor Calibration
Universal Audio
- 12 x 18 Thunderbolt 3 Interface: High-speed connection with 12 inputs and 18 outputs, including optical Toslink I/O (ADAT or S/PDIF).
- Four Unison™ Mic Preamps: Emulates the sound of legendary gear from Neve, API, Manley, and more for professional-grade tracking.
- QUAD Core DSP Processing: Record through UAD plug-ins in real-time with zero latency, powered by onboard QUAD Core DSP.
- Expanded I/O: Four mic preamps, two Hi-Z inputs, two 1/4" monitor outs, four line outs, and two headphone outputs.
Warranty: 1 Year — effortless warranty claims with UK-wide coverage. Learn more
Key specifications
- Connection
- Thunderbolt
Details
- Shipping Weight
- 2 Kg
- Shipping Dimensions
- 15.00 cm x 16.00 cm x 25.00 cm
- Interface Type
- 12 x 18 Thunderbolt 3
- DSP Processing
- QUAD Core DSP
- Unison™ Mic Preamps
- 4 Preamp inputs (emulation of Neve, API, Manley)
- Instrument Inputs
- 2 Hi-Z inputs
- Optical I/O
- Toslink (ADAT or S/PDIF)
- Monitor Outputs
- 2 x 1/4" TRS
- Line Outputs
- 4 x 1/4" TRS (ALT 1 / 2)
- Headphone Outputs
- 2 x 1/4" TRS
- Conversion Resolution
- 24-bit / 192 kHz
- Dynamic Range
- 129 dB
- Monitor Correction
- Powered by Sonarworks®
- Plug-In Support
- UAD Plug-ins (VST, AU, AAX)
- Included Plug-Ins
- LA-2A Legacy, Pultec EQs, Marshall Plexi, etc.
- DAW Compatibility
- LUNA, Logic Pro, Pro Tools, Ableton Live, Cubase
- Expansion
- Thunderbolt or Dante connections
- Power
- Thunderbolt Bus-Powered
- Weight
- 1.36 kg
4.510 reviews
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Theo B. Used for: 3–6 months
Pros
It sounds like the desk of somebody who knows what they are doing
Comment
Home studio in a spare bedroom, and the box it replaced was a decade old and had started to whine over the monitors whenever the laptop charged. That noise is gone entirely. What I did not expect was how much of the session now happens before the plugin chain. You set the preamp, pick an emulation on the input, and what lands on the track is finished. Fewer decisions later, less time staring at a mixer window. It is an obscene amount of money for a box that sits under a monitor, and I did wince at the total, but I would buy it again tomorrow!
Oscar D. Used for: More than a year
Pros
Still the best sounding thing I have plugged a guitar into
Cons
Console has to be running for the monitoring to behave
Comment
The DI on the front is the reason it stays on the desk. An amp sim through the Unison input feels like playing an amp rather than a plugin, and there is no lag to fight. I do wish the software would launch itself when the interface wakes up, though that is a small thing next to how the thing plays.
Florence O. Used for: 6–12 months
Pros
Two more preamps than I thought I needed, and now all four get used
Comment
Bought as an upgrade from a small desktop box when the podcast grew a third and a fourth chair. Everyone gets their own preamp and their own headphone mix out of the back, and the guests stopped talking over each other once they could hear themselves properly. The only thing I would change is the desk space it takes up. It is heavier than it looks, but that does at least mean it stays put when somebody tugs a cable.
Thomas B. Used for: Less than a month
Cons
The desktop footprint eats more of the desk than the photos suggest
Comment
Set it up on a Windows machine expecting the usual driver fight and there wasn't any, which was the pleasant surprise. What did catch me out is that the rear line outs are on TRS and my monitors are XLR, so there was an unplanned trip for cables before anything came out of the speakers. Gain on the front pair is plenty for a ribbon. Still working out what the Studio bundle actually includes though, the plugin list is enormous.
Charlie C. Used for: 6–12 months
Pros
Four preamps means the whole band gets tracked at once
Cons
You are buying into a plugin ecosystem and the good ones are extra
Comment
Replaced an ageing eight-in rack that had started to hiss on channel three, and the noise floor here is simply not audible with the gain wound right up on a quiet dynamic. The headphone output is loud enough to track a vocalist against a loud backing without asking them to shout. A single cable does audio, power and monitoring. The only grumble is the upsell, because the bundled plugins are good and the ones you actually want are not in the box.
Ivy S. Used for: 3–6 months
Comment
The reason for buying was the Unison preamps and they have earned it, because a cheap dynamic through the front input sounds like a much better microphone than it is. Round trip measured at 3.4 ms with a 64 sample buffer on an M2 mini, and it does not budge when the plugin count climbs. Four months in with no crashes.
Millie B. Used for: More than a year
Pros
Nothing has gone wrong with it, ever
Comment
Still the quietest thing in the room, and it has been switched on almost every day for a year
Jack N. Used for: More than a year
Pros
Unison preamps change what the microphone sounds like, not just how loud it is
Comment
Came from an interface that needed its own power brick and a hub, and this runs off the one Thunderbolt cable into the back of the Mac. Round trip at the smallest buffer sits at 2.1 ms in Logic, which is low enough that I stopped monitoring through the Console app and just play through the DAW. A year of sessions and the driver has never once needed a restart. The knobs have a proper detent and the front headphone amp will drive 250 ohm cans without running out of level.
Arthur P. Used for: 6–12 months
Comment
Four Unison pres on a desktop box was the whole reason for the switch, and tracking drums with a pair of overheads no longer means borrowing a rack off a mate. Eight months in and not one dropout!
Rosie A. Used for: Less than a month
Comment
Plugged into the MacBook, opened Logic, and was recording before the kettle had boiled. No driver disc, no restart, nothing to configure. The preamps sound expensive because they are!
