I Really Wanted To Like Apollo… But Nevermind...

Dang, so I really thought I was going to like the Apollo... but I didn't at all! And the RME has pleasantly surprised me! In this video I go over the 3 reasons why I chose the RME Fireface UCX II after using the Apollo X4 for a couple of weeks, and other reasons that surprised me about the Fireface. When it comes to a classic Apollo X4 VS Fireface UCX II type of list, the big ticket items that swayed me was the 8 inputs vs 4 inputs, No Midi I/O on the Apollo, and the Apollo cannot run on a USB cable from my hub or my studio display! It needs its OWN port on my computer which, as you'll see in the video, are weirdly/dumbly important to me, haha.

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00:00 Where I'm Coming From
00:51 Reason 1
02:31 Reason 2
03:25 Reason 3
04:03 All The Other Bonus Of RME
06:34 The Prices!

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#audiointerface #universalaudio #RME

[HanHuman]

Got a UFX II with the remote a few weeks ago and this is the smoothest, most accurate, stable and flexible experience I could have dreamed of. And it will probably last decades. Absolutely worth it. BayFace Pro is also perfect for smaller budget.

[rupertrooksby]

Consider grabbing the ARC remote for your RME. You'll get the big knob, lots of monitor control options, but the quick switching of snapshots without going into Totalmix adds a nice amount of flexibility and ease of use.

[rishabhbose]

Babyface Pro FS user here. Love the RME sound. The only thing tempting about UA was their plugs but then now they have the Spark which enable to run their plugs natively.

[MyBichSustained]

The Apollo is about the plugins, for heavy use of plugins so it don't eat your computer up and it is glorious.

I got the Apollo 8 and for the cost it is a outstanding deal when you add the plugins at a fraction of the hardware that is being offered.

[MarkuxWoW]

I recently upgraded to a Neumann MT48 from an Apollo Solo. What a difference. I record voice over, not music and the €500 or so I sunk into different channel strips and plugins were just not getting used. CVOX and the Neve DFC Channel strips are exceptional plugins, but not really worth the cost of having to deal with Apollo interfaces.
I also found the interface to be unreliable, falling asleep on me a number of times and requiring me to restart my system, interrupting a session.
UA Console also switches off randomly at times and I've often started recording to find it not even on.
The UA sound and the hardware emulators are fine for a bit of fun, but I'm personally of the belief that, after listening to a ton of hardware/software comparisons, plugins are still not as good as the hardware and I think it's a disservice to claim so.
It's better than nothing, and the saturation can be nice, but the loss of clarity and detail is not suitable for modern voice overs that need to be clear. Maybe for audiobooks and audioguides? Not sure.

[secretfamilyrecipe]

Great comparison! I love my Apollo, tho the "no cables included" & no MIDI In were definitely head scratchers... Enjoyed learning about the RME and its capabilities, plus that lil screen looks amazing!

[lawrenceleo]

Thanks for pointing out no midi connections I assumed they would have it at that price point.
Resting the Apollo on top of the mailbox…..PRICELESS!!!! Peace and God Bless 🙏🏼

[kevinlong]

The Apollo ecosystem is a love/hate relationship. If you give into it, it's pretty amazing. But it costs a pretty penny. It's all about the DSP workflow, and their daw LUNA has really taken it to the next level where you track with DSP and it switches to native processing when the track is not armed. Yes, the drivers and install is a pain but it's solid as long as you are on mac. I work at Microsoft and use windows every day but not for my UAD system, I have a mac for that. I'll try an RME one day. Also interested in the Presonus Quantum series for going 100% native for tracking since it has the lowest latency of any interface.

[nachodiaz]

I don't use to agree so much on your takes on hardware gear, but this video I think it's super concise and dispells away some of the hype surroinding the apollo

[BirdYoumans]

I have two RME Digiface units that must be 15-20 or so years old. I use them with a Yamaha DM2000 board that I bought when they first came out so however long ago that is, is how long I've had the RME's. I love them!! Never a moments trouble ever with them or the Yamaha. They sound stunning together and latency is no issue whatsoever. Why do I still have them with all the modern stuff we have? I don't need interfaces with ipads etc so if it ain't broke, don't fix it not to mention I had a special computer built at that time around an i7 chip that was bleeding edge especially for recording and I upgraded to windows 10 and put an SSD drive in it when they came out, so it is still a smoking computer even now. I would challenge most anyone to hear the difference in an AB blind test with todays stuff. We reached a point of diminishing returns after the turn of the millennium, And I'm not sure the "improvements" are "hearable" in the first place and if they are, the minute they turn your song into an mp3, well you get the picture. But all that to say that the RME's in my book have no equal. At least not one that us mortal music practitioners' can afford lol! Even so they are a bit pricey now but If you can afford one, don't even think about it. Just get it.

[mattypaxton]

the last scene, where you leave the package on the USPS box 😅

[LaminarSound]

Plenty of people use and love Apollo so I wont hate on it, but after 6 years on gen 1 UFX, I went to an Apollo and kept it less than a year before I sold it. I was the same as you, I just couldnt vibe with it. It sounded good and I really do love UAD plugins. But they are by no means crucial to my workflow or mixes. I missed RME from day 1. Im not almost 2 years on my UCX II and boy oh boy I just love it. I will say this, the moment I ran audio through the UCX II I IMMEDIATELY noticed a significant improvement in clarity and depth in the music. Im talking music I know well. Apollo sounded good. UCX II sounds incredible.

[pidde]

I used RME for 15 years but switched to Apollo. I am very satisfied. No latency using the direct monitoring within the sound card.

[samplereplays]

I've just purchased a Fireface UCX II and love it. It's more solid and enables me to run Logic Pro without Rosetta. I still rely on UAD plugins so I'll be selling my Apollo x6 and replacing it with a Satellite accelerator, which at least has a smaller footprint and can be tucked away.

[velanche]

Just purchased a UCX II today. One of my DJs recommended it, and TBH I have watched this video and a few others since earlier this year to consider it. My studio desk also has MIDI gear, and I also have a turntable and CD player routing audio to my UAD Apollo Twin X, which is lacking in inputs and MIDI support. And hey, maybe that internal recorder can come in handy. Can't wait to get it, but looking at my brand new Digikakt 2 that's still boxed up and feeling lonely. Thanks again, man!

[GrantEllman]

great vid! one other plus of RME is the latency and stability is actually lower over USB 2 than apollo over thunderbolt. I can get a 4MS round trip latency at a 64 buffer monitoring through my daw with all the plugins i'd ever want and then I don't have to set up a separate mix in "console" software to get low latency. With the apollo youre looking at a 10-12ms round trip latency monitoring through the daw which is almost 3x as much.

[touchthatdial]

RME is great. But I think Ricky has misunderstood why people buy UAD and what they use it for. UAD is all about tracking acoustic instruments and guitars/basses. The UAD DSP-hosted plugins are dope, super low latency and phenomenally close to using actual hardware amps and channel strips. If you record a lot of vocals, guitars, drums etc UAD is a solid choice. If you’re mostly using synths/drum machines/samplers etc (either plugins or hardware or both) and rarely track vocals or instruments, UAD would be overkill and RME is a great choice. The other advantage of UAD is you get Luna with it which IMO is becoming a great alternative to ProTools.

[nightcitywanderer]

This is dope. I was wondering where my free Apollo I found sitting on top of a mailbox came from!

[PhillTHEMusic]

Good choice! I own Fireface UCX 2 about a year. Rock solid drivers, Totalmix features...you will be very pleased.

[christianneumann]

Thanks a lot for your very helpful informations. Could you please be so kind to tell me which screen you use in your studio?