(Just launched) Apogee Duet 2 - Page 4

Hmmm i just checked the website, it doesnt seem to have a midi keyboard, how do you then use it with a midi keyboard or are there usb ones? Also I cant see if the volume of the outputs can be controlled. Greetings, Anouk,

They anouk

I believe Duet require mac system mac OS X version above 10.6.1 if I can still remember.

I had to bought a update software (~$25) in order to use it. U can only connect it with ur laptop through usb.

It has 4 outputs. One of mic, one for guitar. the other two it's balanced outputs which I am sure u can connect to midi keyboard if you use some interconnects. But u need to double check. And yes u can control both inputs and outputs volumes just by that "thing" on duet.

As far as OS X Lion is concerned, Apogee has stated that once Lion is released, they will have driver information ready. The June update probably won't work with Lion, but most likely they will have one ready this month that will.  The June release requires 10.6.4 and above.

--Eric

Edit: As to MIDI controllers, USB ones are widely available, and if you have an older controller that is of an older MIDI connection type, you can get USB to MIDI interfaces relatively cheap.

I am happy to say that with the new beta version of the Apogee Duet 2 driver for Mac OS X Lion, is quite stable with Lion.  Actually I am having less problems with the Duet 2 stability wise with the new beta driver than with the old Snow Leopard one.  However, my old copy of Logic 8 is not compatible with Lion.  I'm glad I finally upgraded to Logic Express 9 recently.

--Eric

I bought the first duet in order to get an all in one DAC/amp solution. However I was never fully pleased with sound, as I prefer more warmness and bass.Reading about the huge improvements in duet 2's headphone output I directly grabbed a unit thinking it would please all of my needs.

I am currently using the following cans:

AKG-Q701 

Sennheiser HD-650

Shure SRH440

In my opinion the Duet 2 is a huge improvement in sound clarity and detail. However I am still missing out on that warmness that I assume only a real headphone amp will ever bring.

Anyone with the duet 2 and the cans above who would recommend a descent headphone amp? 

I had K701 with the original duet and it was a poor match, even using basic amp with them. However, if you prefer more warmness and bass as you say, maybe you have the wrong headphones? What kind of music do you like?

I am very very happy with mine.  I have been using the Sony MDR-ZX1000 recently and it sounds amazing.  

Quote:

Originally Posted by Currawong 

I had K701 with the original duet and it was a poor match, even using basic amp with them. However, if you prefer more warmness and bass as you say, maybe you have the wrong headphones? What kind of music do you like?

You're probably right... but the same goes for the HD-650 which I previously used with Creative X-Fi on my old PC and they sounded great.

What cans are you guys using with your duet 2?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Adda 

It looks like FireWire is being abandoned, before USB 3.0 or Thunderbolt is ready to take over.

USB 3.0 is full duplex, Thunderbolt is a brand new interface, that seems to be designed to replace FireWire http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thunderbolt_%28interface%29

yep, for mac, firewire and usb 3.0 are imo dead in the water , thunderbolt pwns both of them in speed and flexibility. its more of a usb replacement than firewire as its a serial connection ie you can daisy chain it. waiting for my new mac mini and thunderbolt ssd
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Currawong 

I wonder how much the Duet 2 can be improved now it has the option of an external power supply.  That, with or without a USB isolator could make for a killer bang-for-the-buck DAC.

no market available usb isolator will work afaik, they are severely bandwidth limited, I dont know of any usb audio 2.0 capable part on the market as yet
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by tupac0306 

They anouk

 

I believe Duet require mac system mac OS X version above 10.6.1 if I can still remember.

I had to bought a update software (~$25) in order to use it. U can only connect it with ur laptop through usb.

 

It has 4 outputs. One of mic, one for guitar. the other two it's balanced outputs which I am sure u can connect to midi keyboard if you use some interconnects. But u need to double check. And yes u can control both inputs and outputs volumes just by that "thing" on duet.

 

hmmm balanced line level analogue through a usb midi connection?  depends on the keyboard i guess, but i dont know why you would want to, any keyboard that had such functionality would be of the workstation or entry level dj type performance/controller keyboards and the data could more readily be transmitted digitally over the usb connection and with higher quality, rather than going through DAC->ADC conversion for no reason
 

Not to change gears or anything, but what would be the Windows/PC equivalent of this thing? I've only ever read that the Duet is for Mac.. 

Yes, the Duet 2 is Mac only.  

I just came from APOGEE in Santa Monica... the mothership. I go back in 2 days in case any one has any questions.

I dropped off my Apogee Mini-DAC to have the volume potentiometer replaced (sounded scratchy). The word from the head techs is that USB 2.0 had hte drivers re-written in Apple 10.6 and now are no longer inferior to firewire.

I have a firewire Mini DAC.

I enjoy that it sounds amazing  (was better than original Duet) and that it can function as a stand alone piece.. so I can use it in so many ways.

1. As a headphone amp (transportable)

2. To add two more channels of output to my Macbook Pro as part of an "Aggregate device" in Midi so it effectively becomes a 4 channel sound card- I monitor my pre-mix dj'ing with macbookpro headphone out/TTVJ Millett Hybrid Portable/Ultrasone Edition 9.

3. It functions as a stand alone DAC being fed airtunes/airportexpress/wireworld Optical TOSLINK/apogee mini dac/Genelec s30d ribbon studio monitors (re-clocking the crummy jitter laden signal withs its asynchronous DAC) this adds another  zone of music to my home.

4. In my car it gets....   McIntosh API/iPad/Wadia 171i/Apogee Mini DAC/Nakamichi TP 1200MKII Special Shop Limited Edition remote headunit/ Remote Nakamichi Pre-amp in trunk with visco elastic and spring islolation/McIntosh MEN 452 5 way Electronics crossover/ McIntosh MEQ 4 channel 6 band parametric EQ/McIntosh MC4000M 6 channel 1000 watt and and MC440 6 channel 400 watt amp/ Jehnert.de door panels for Mercedes E500 w124 chassis.

5. Or in the car it gets- iPad/remote app/controls Macbookpro 15" music Library with 500 GB solid state drive/channel D Pure vinyl/ flac 24 bit 192 which controls itunes/Apogee Mini DAC 24 Bit 192khz in//Nakamichi TP 1200MKII Special Shop Limited Edition remote headunit/ Remote Nakamichi Pre-amp in trunk with visco elastic and spring islolation/McIntosh MEN 452 5 way Electronics crossover/ McIntosh MEQ 4 channel 6 band parametric EQ/McIntosh MC4000M 6 channel 1000 watt and and MC440 6 channel 400 watt amp/ Jehnert.de door panels for Mercedes E500 w124 chassis.

6. Or in the car - Airtunes from anyones ipod touch, ipad or iphone - Airport express- Hosa Optical converter optical to spdif coaxial/ Apogee Mini DAC spdif coax in//Nakamichi TP 1200MKII Special Shop Limited Edition remote headunit/ Remote Nakamichi Pre-amp in trunk with visco elastic and spring islolation/McIntosh MEN 452 5 way Electronics crossover/ McIntosh MEQ 4 channel 6 band parametric EQ/McIntosh MC4000M 6 channel 1000 watt and and MC440 6 channel 400 watt amp/ Jehnert.de door panels for Mercedes E500 w124 chassis.

And sometimes...

it is taken out of the car when I get to the ski house... and ..

256gb Solid state Red Wine audio Imod/wadia 171i/ apogee Mini-DAC/ Audio Research VT-100 MK2 tube amp/Magneplanar Tympani 1-d Loudspeakers.

I like that it works whether it is attached to a Mac or not. Apogee said to me yesterday the only step up sonically from the Mini DAC was the Symphony.

I would be curious to hear Headphone Addicts opinion of the Mini DAC vs the Duet 2 A/B'd  - I did an a/b of the mini DAC vs the Lavry -21 and found the Apogee Mini Dac won out. And I really thought the Lavry would win (plus the Lavry looks nicer- I wanted it to win...)..but the Mini DAC for me was the clear winner delivering a deeper more 3 D soundstage with my Magneplanar Tympani's- and a more cohesive midrange.

Interesting, especially as HeadphoneAddict has a Sigma 22 power supply for his MiniDAC. I'm tempted to get one out of pure curiosity still, even though I need more audio gear like I need a hole in the head. I did end up picking up a second-hand Metric Halo ULN-2 for cheap which sounds great, even if it is behind my Reference 1 in ultimate clarity.

The one downside to the Duet 2 in my opinion is the so-so quality of the breakout cable.  I get much more detail and dimensionality using the headphone out as a preamp out to my speaker setup, however, this causes some other issues (ground loop problems) with my speaker amp, caused by noise in the electrical ground channel.  I am waiting on a device to come in the mail to clean up the ground going into my power amp, as simply lifting the ground is not safe, and I will post more detailed comparisons with the Apogee ONE after that device arrives, sometime this weekend.  The Apogee ONE has the same problems with ground loops that the Duet 2 has and the external PS does not help with that issue on the Duet 2.  the line out has less ground loop hum, but it still has issues with it to a lesser extent, and also picks up on some RF noise when used in unbalanced mode.  My amp does not have balanced inputs, if it did, I would purchase the breakout box which is better shielded, and use XLR cables from the line outs.  Anyway, the cable I am using for the Line out connections isn't as detailed as the cable I use from the headphone jack to the RCA inputs on the amp, so that may be a factor, but the line out cables are quite thin (about the same as the XLR input cable going into the Apogee ONE), while the combination input jack wires are much thicker and sturdier.

--Eric

Quote:

Originally Posted by Golden Ears 

I just came from APOGEE in Santa Monica... the mothership. I go back in 2 days in case any one has any questions.

 

I dropped off my Apogee Mini-DAC to have the volume potentiometer replaced (sounded scratchy). The word from the head techs is that USB 2.0 had hte drivers re-written in Apple 10.6 and now are no longer inferior to firewire.

 

I have a firewire Mini DAC.

 

I enjoy that it sounds amazing  (was better than original Duet) and that it can function as a stand alone piece.. so I can use it in so many ways.

 

1. As a headphone amp (transportable)

 

2. To add two more channels of output to my Macbook Pro as part of an "Aggregate device" in Midi so it effectively becomes a 4 channel sound card- I monitor my pre-mix dj'ing with macbookpro headphone out/TTVJ Millett Hybrid Portable/Ultrasone Edition 9.

 

3. It functions as a stand alone DAC being fed airtunes/airportexpress/wireworld Optical TOSLINK/apogee mini dac/Genelec s30d ribbon studio monitors (re-clocking the crummy jitter laden signal withs its asynchronous DAC) this adds another  zone of music to my home.

 

4. In my car it gets....   McIntosh API/iPad/Wadia 171i/Apogee Mini DAC/Nakamichi TP 1200MKII Special Shop Limited Edition remote headunit/ Remote Nakamichi Pre-amp in trunk with visco elastic and spring islolation/McIntosh MEN 452 5 way Electronics crossover/ McIntosh MEQ 4 channel 6 band parametric EQ/McIntosh MC4000M 6 channel 1000 watt and and MC440 6 channel 400 watt amp/ Jehnert.de door panels for Mercedes E500 w124 chassis.

 

5. Or in the car it gets- iPad/remote app/controls Macbookpro 15" music Library with 500 GB solid state drive/channel D Pure vinyl/ flac 24 bit 192 which controls itunes/Apogee Mini DAC 24 Bit 192khz in//Nakamichi TP 1200MKII Special Shop Limited Edition remote headunit/ Remote Nakamichi Pre-amp in trunk with visco elastic and spring islolation/McIntosh MEN 452 5 way Electronics crossover/ McIntosh MEQ 4 channel 6 band parametric EQ/McIntosh MC4000M 6 channel 1000 watt and and MC440 6 channel 400 watt amp/ Jehnert.de door panels for Mercedes E500 w124 chassis.

 

6. Or in the car - Airtunes from anyones ipod touch, ipad or iphone - Airport express- Hosa Optical converter optical to spdif coaxial/ Apogee Mini DAC spdif coax in//Nakamichi TP 1200MKII Special Shop Limited Edition remote headunit/ Remote Nakamichi Pre-amp in trunk with visco elastic and spring islolation/McIntosh MEN 452 5 way Electronics crossover/ McIntosh MEQ 4 channel 6 band parametric EQ/McIntosh MC4000M 6 channel 1000 watt and and MC440 6 channel 400 watt amp/ Jehnert.de door panels for Mercedes E500 w124 chassis.

 

And sometimes...

 

it is taken out of the car when I get to the ski house... and ..

 

256gb Solid state Red Wine audio Imod/wadia 171i/ apogee Mini-DAC/ Audio Research VT-100 MK2 tube amp/Magneplanar Tympani 1-d Loudspeakers.

 

I like that it works whether it is attached to a Mac or not. Apogee said to me yesterday the only step up sonically from the Mini DAC was the Symphony.

 

I would be curious to hear Headphone Addicts opinion of the Mini DAC vs the Duet 2 A/B'd  - I did an a/b of the mini DAC vs the Lavry -21 and found the Apogee Mini Dac won out. And I really thought the Lavry would win (plus the Lavry looks nicer- I wanted it to win...)..but the Mini DAC for me was the clear winner delivering a deeper more 3 D soundstage with my Magneplanar Tympani's- and a more cohesive midrange.

 

 

Did Apogee say the Mini-DAC was better as a DAC than the Duet 2?  I want the Symphony I/O, but it doesn't support DSD playback.