Apogee is recognized by the professional audio industry as an innovator that sets the sound-quality standard in digital recording. Symphony I/O Mk II and Ensemble Thunderbolt are Apogee’s most recent flagship products. The essentials of excellent audio recording technology that make Ensemble Thunderbolt superior are embodied in the new and affordable Element series.
From the AD & DA conversion circuitry to the mic preamps and the clocking, each Element is designed to deliver legendary Apogee sound quality. An essential part of bringing this sound quality to and from any Mac computer is the interface connectivity. The Element series uses Apogee’s rock solid Thunderbolt driver for 1.41ms round-trip latency when using Logic Pro X. As an added element, the series also features Apogee Groove’s headphone output technology. This design dynamically optimizes sound quality for a wide variety of headphones, regardless of their impedance.
Apogee is also regarded as the company that revolutionized the audio interface user experience. Products like Duet and Ensemble Firewire created new categories in the home studio recording market and have been often imitated by other manufacturers seeking to capitalize on Apogee’s design success. Element evolves Apogee’s user interface approach again by offering broader more customizable options that extend beyond the physical hardware. The highly configurable Element Control software for Mac lets users set up workflows that meet their needs and the Element Control for iOS App lets them control the Elements remotely over WiFi. Logic Pro X users can adjust Element I/O settings directly from their Logic Channel strips. And for those wanting more traditional desktop control, there’s the optional Apogee Control hardware, featuring a Duet like form-factor with 8 assignable buttons and a master control knob.
“The Element Series delivers incredible performance at outstanding prices,” says Betty Bennett, Co-Founder and CEO of Apogee. “The streamlined physical hardware takes a very direct approach, allowing us to maximize the components that are most important to sound quality. In addition, the Element Control ecosystem takes the audio interface user experience a step forward while giving customers more options. We feel the Element Series is transformative and we know our customers will be amazed by the quality and delighted with the value.”
The new family of Thunderbolt audio interfaces for Mac includes the Element 24 ($595 USD) with 10 inputs and 12 outputs; the medium sized Element 46 ($895 USD), featuring 12 inputs and 14 outputs; and the larger Element 88 model ($1495 USD) with 16 inputs and 16 outputs. All the Element interfaces can be combined to create larger number of channels - any two Element audio I/O boxes can be directly connected to Thunderbolt ports on the computer. The sound quality is equal to the renowned Apogee Ensemble Thunderbolt with AD/DA conversion for recording up to 192kHz/24-bit.
All Element Series interfaces feature high-quality mic preamps with selectable 48V phantom power and have single port Thunderbolt connectivity to Macs for ultra-low latency performance - typically 1.41ms round-trip at 96kHz with a 32 buffer setting. The new Element Control Software for Mac provides all control of hardware parameters including input gain, output level and low latency monitoring, while the new Element Control Mobile App provides wireless remote control of hardware via iPhone, iPad or iPod touch.
The Apogee Control Hardware Remote ($195 USD) will be available November 2016, when Apogee will be shipping the Element 24 model. All other Element Series interfaces are shipping now.
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