[kawaivpc1]

Have you guys listened to their Quartet DAC / Audio Interface?
I'm a musician. This seems to be perfect for my need.
I wonder if Apogee Quartet DAC / Audio interface is much better than Duet.

 

[Lavcat]

I received my Duet night before last.  So far I have not tried recording, but the Duet DAC is wonderful.  The built in headphone amp is OK, but no substitute for a real amp, at least driving Denon D7000.  I'm using my Crown D-75A as an amp and I can't go to bed.  Can't stop tapping my toes.
 
Nice that the Duet with the breakout box has balanced outputs and the Crown has balanced inputs.  My hands are sore from clapping.

 

[Lavcat]

  Have you guys listened to their Quartet DAC / Audio Interface?
I'm a musician. This seems to be perfect for my need.
I wonder if Apogee Quartet DAC / Audio interface is much better than Duet.

 
Unlike the higher end Apogee products I believe the Quartet has same specs per channel as the Duet.

 

[Skyfall]

Didn't know this thread ever exist here.
 
I am waiting for mine and curious if it is reasonable enough to replace my Hugo

 

[dip registered]

Just found this thread - I bought my original Duet back in 08 and have loved it ever since. I bought it because I was doing music production, but I no longer am. Great to know I can buy a dedicated headphone amp and use this as the DAC. This thing is still winning!
 
Awesome.
 
Does the new Duet models have a better DAC section than the original? And by how much?

 

[Skyfall]

I have the latest which works with IPad and IPhone. As far as the DAC goes the newer version is clearer and cleaner sounding overall, better mid range and a bit more detailed. The system is also more stable ,no hiccups or anything at all.

I compared Duet 2 with Hugo. Hugo has more better micro details and cleaner sounding. The highs are more extended and less warm. The Duet is warm and a bit darker in tonality but it has more punch in the bass and somehow it feels more spacious than Hugo.

I feel the Duet is more musical with its warmer tone and less detail oriented. It pairs with headphone a lot easier .

 

[dip registered]

Skyfall I beleive I read somewhere that you own a liquid carbon. Have you tried the DAC from duet into the LC? Do you suggest the pairing? I'm guessing it would be fine...
 
If you don't have a LC, I'm sorry, disregard this!

 

[Skyfall]

Yes I do have LC and it pairs really well with Duet. The amp does improve the SQ by a good margin. You will hear about 25% bigger sound stage, more depth and more impact on bass. The sound is much fuller than using the Duet alone and somehow you can hear the details much easier. This amp is really transparent so it doesn't alter the original source.

I confirm that Duet is much better than Nad 1050 as well.

I also have Yulong D200 on the way and will see how this compare to Duet.

 

[dip registered]

I'm assuming the NAD is a fairly good DAC? Just read up on it and it's ahead of a lot of others in its pricerange. I guess the apogee DAC is pretty good considering!

The guys on the LC forum are all recommending the mojo DAC with the LC, but I couldn't imagine the apogee being too far off. Or maybe the mojo is just insane.

Probably get both! Yulong 200 DAC should be pretty damn good too...

 

[Skyfall]

I left my opinions on the Nad 1050 threads. I thought it was good but definitely not an audiophile grade. The Duet sounds a lot closer to audiophile SQ what's missing is the top end clarity and details that Hugo has.

Mojo is closer to Hugo and I can see why it might be a good pairing with LC. But, what Mojo doesn't have is the balance out. DUET has XLR balance out that goes to LC. LC is A Full balance amplifier it sounds it's best when using balance mode in and out.

That's why Duet is way more flexible and it sounds more powerful than Mojo.

I had Hugo for a while before I decided to let it go so my ear had been very spoiled. I had my little doubts about D200 but hopfully I find what I'm looking for. We'll see.

 

[skhan007]

Resurrecting this old thread. It took a couple of days for me to get through 36 pages of posts!
 
I have had an Apogee Duet since about '07 or '08. I've primarily used it as a home recording/ studio device for microphones and instruments into Garageband. I'm new to the forum and just purchased a set of Sennheiser HD800's this week. I've started listening to my iTunes library (AAC and ALAC lossless) and using the Duet as a DAC and headphone amp. It does sound quite phenomenal. My set up is iMac-->Duet-->HD800's.
 
My plan is to take my laptop, Duet, and HD800's to the local hi-fi shop and: 1) Compare it to the Chord Mojo; 2) Try it through a tube amp. I'm really curious about the tube amp, as I'm interested to see how a good tube amp can complement (possibly) the already great sound I'm getting. 
 
Not sure if anybody else is out there and will comment on this thread, but the Apogee Duet is an excellent DAC and indeed rocks. 

 

[dip registered]

I for one would love to hear about your comparison to the mojo!

I still have a gen I original duet but since I upgraded to the new Mac OS (Sierra) it says it is unsupported. I have not tried it yet though.

 

[skhan007]

Yes, that's the plan. To A/B with the Mojo. I have heard the Mojo through my HD800's and thought it was great. Actually, really liked it and am considering buying it. Then, I realized that I have this awesome Apogee Duet (mine is also 1st gen.).
 
I'm running the latest OS (Sierra) and even though Apogee states it's not tested, it's working fine. I've used the Duet on both my iMac and Macbook Pro and it works just fine. 

 

[dip registered]

Great news on both counts - thanks for letting me know!!! Don't know why I hadn't tested it... I have a centrance m8 and I've been using that with my LCD XCs while working. But might give the duet a go again.

Glad I didn't sell the duet, I was thinking about it! Although maybe they do not plan to continue working on the updates with every new OS, so the possibility is there that it will stop working some day soon.

 

[skhan007]

Great news on both counts - thanks for letting me know!!! Don't know why I hadn't tested it... I have a centrance m8 and I've been using that with my LCD XCs while working. But might give the duet a go again.

Glad I didn't sell the duet, I was thinking about it! Although maybe they do not plan to continue working on the updates with every new OS, so the possibility is there that it will stop working some day soon.

I fear that may be the case. They may stop with our 1st Gen. in favor of supporting their current Duet 2. I must say, the Duet sounds amazing as a DAC. I knew for years how well it did with recording instruments, but listening with HD800s, I'm playing albums that I've known well from childhood and picking up on nuances I had never noticed. I know the gear heads will site some limitations with the 1st gen. Duet to having a sampling rate that is less than current production DAC's, but I'd love to hear these guys do a blinded test. You'd be hard pressed to notice. At least I would, and as a musician, I'd like to think I have a good ear for music!