Apogee Symphony I/O MkII Thunderbolt + Pro Tools HD Interface (8×8 MP + 16×16 SE)

The Symphony I/O Mk II from Apogee Electronics is an advanced, flexible multichannel audio interface featuring the newest flagship AD/DA conversion, modular I/O (up to 32 inputs and outputs), and an intuitive touchscreen display. The chassis provides two I/O Module slots for a variety of digital audio conversion options that form the interface side of the Symphony I/O Mk II. The front-panel touch screen offers convenient access to nearly every setting including sample rate, clock source, headphone and speaker output levels, meters for all I/O and section navigation, as well as input levels, digital I/O, and configuration settings.

The rear panel provides access to the two I/O Module slots that are capable of a combined thirty-two channels of input and output, while the two Thunderbolt connectors ensure compatibility with newer Mac computers. Also included are wordclock I/O connectors and termination, an option-card slot, and a quiet digitally controlled fan to keep everything running cool.

The Symphony I/O Mk II features a single ultrahigh-fidelity DAC and headphone amplifier with Apogee’s Constant Current Drive technology, which was first introduced in the Apogee Groove. The headphone amplifier dynamically compensates for the nonlinearities of any connected headphones, providing massive power while maintaining extremely low distortion and linear frequency response.

The optional five I/O Modules allow the user to choose from standard configurations, or customize the following—channel count, analog to digital input, digital to analog output, microphone preamps (requires an analog card), and digital I/O.

Connect to Pro Tools HD with the Apogee Electronics Symphony I/O MK II Pro Tools Card, an interface option card that connects to your Pro Tools hardware allowing you to share up to 32 bidirectional channels at 96 kHz or 16 bidirectional channels at 192 kHz across postproduction, broadcast, live sound, or recording studio networks.

The system can be configured with a number of custom options ranging from 8-32 analog I/O channels. The Pro Tools card can be upgraded with Audinate’s Dante Brooklyn (sold separately), a versatile and full-featured solution that delivers multichannel Dante audio networking to your Pro Tools / Symphony setup. The optional Dante card allows up to 32 channels with Pro Tools and redundant Dante connectivity to be fitted into a single two-space rack device, providing the smallest footprint available with this feature set.

The Apogee Electronics Connect 8×8 MP is an expansion I/O module offering high-performance A/D and D/A conversion, eight high-gain mic preamps, and eight channels of analog and digital I/O for producers and engineers using Symphony I/O Mk II Thunderbolt or Dante chassis in personal, project, and commercial studios.

By utilizing Apogee’s Advanced Stepped Gain Architecture, the Connect 8×8 MP delivers up to 72 dB of gain in 1 dB increments while maintaining ultralow noise, virtually nonexistent distortion, and noiseless gain adjustment.

Its analog I/O includes eight channels of balanced inputs and outputs on DB25 connectors. Additional DB25, TOSLINK optical, and RCA coaxial jacks provide connectivity for AES/EBU, ADAT, and S/PDIF digital inputs and outputs. The Connect 8×8 MP is easily installed in a Symphony I/O Mk II Thunderbolt or Dante chassis.

Audio professionals looking for the very best converters will appreciate the updated Apogee Electronics 16×16 SE Module, a sixteen-channel analog input and sixteen-channel analog output module for the Symphony I/O Mk II. The module occupies one of the two slots available on the chassis. Additionally, two-channel coaxial S/PDIF input and output is also provided. The A/D circuit has been refined to offer a streamlined circuit design, resulting in the most transparent signal path to the A/D stage possible.

The D/A section has been optimized with a more powerful and robust output driver that is capable of driving virtually any input without a decrease in performance, regardless of the load presented by the connected gear. The analog inputs and outputs are offered on DB-25 connectors and require optional breakout cables, available in various configurations to suit individual requirements.