Apogee Ensemble Firewire Audio Interface For Mac

Apogee Ensemble Thunderbolt Audio Interface With 8 mic preamps, front-panel guitar inputs with inserts, built-in talkback, monitor control and much more, the Ensemble is the heart of your Mac studio. Rate and review this product.

The Ensemble Thunderbolt isn’t just an update — Apogee have completely redesigned it, and the results are impressive.

Apogee have been close partners with Apple for many years now, and their original Firewire Ensemble has become a firm favourite with Mac users seeking excellent audio quality and plenty of I/O in a compact device. In recent years, however, Apple computers have been shedding Firewire ports, leaving Ensemble users dependent on Thunderbolt-to-Firewire adaptors. With that in mind, Apogee have now joined the ranks of manufacturers offering native Thunderbolt connection.

Though Apogee have stuck with the Ensemble name, the new Ensemble Thunderbolt is a very different animal from its forebear, not least in appearance. Gone is the brushed-metal ’70s hi-fi look, in favour of a very smart matt black design that incorporates twin high-resolution colour displays. In a development which will delight those who prefer to interact with their equipment through physical controls rather than software utilities, the original’s Input and Output encoders are joined by no fewer than 14 illuminated buttons, plus dedicated rotary controllers for the two front-panel headphone sockets.

On the subject of Thunderbolt, the new Ensemble is not actually supplied with a Thunderbolt cable, despite its £2000$2500 price tag, so you’ll need to provide your own.

Blurred Line Inputs

Superficially, the new Ensemble offers a similar range of I/O to the earlier Firewire Ensemble, but dig deeper and you’ll find some significant changes. For one thing, although the Ensemble Thunderbolt retains its antecedent’s word clock and coaxial S/PDIF input and output, it adds a second optical input and output, permitting up to 16 channels of 24-bit digital audio to be piped in and out at base sample rates.

The Firewire Ensemble had eight analogue inputs and outputs; four of the former were switchable between mic preamps and high-impedance inputs for direct injection of electric guitars, while the other four were line inputs on TRS quarter-inch jacks. Things are arranged somewhat differently on its Thunderbolt descendant. There are now 10 analogue inputs and 10 line-level outputs, and eight of the inputs have mic preamps on XLR. The first four of these also have the high-impedance option (implemented this time through combi XLR/jacks rather than on independent sockets), but there are also two new inputs and outputs located on the front panel specifically for recording and re-amping guitars.

This arrangement ups the total I/O count, and gives you a possible total of six high-impedance inputs, should you ever encounter six guitarists who wish to DI their instruments simultaneously. It also makes possible the Ensemble Thunderbolt’s unique and very effective re-amping provision, as described in the ‘Panel Games’ box. However, there is a down side, and the cloud behind this particular silver lining concerns the line-level I/O. There’s no longer space on the back panel for eight full-sized output jacks, so they have been shunted onto a D-Sub connector, with only the main Monitor 1/2 available on quarter-inch sockets. And on the input side, although the first eight inputs are all capable of accepting line-level signals (and offer switchable +4 or -10 sensitivity options), they will only do so on XLRs. I asked Apogee why they’d implemented things this way, and they explained that they feel that some compromise on audio quality is entailed in employing the same jack socket for both high-impedance and balanced line inputs.

This is understandable, but it certainly had me scrabbling around at the bottom of the cable drawer, and the fact that the XLR connectors are shared with the mic preamps means that it’s possible to accidentally apply 48V phantom power to a line source if you fail to switch the input out of microphone mode. Apogee’s design does, however, bypass the mic preamp completely when one of the line input modes is selected, which is a welcome improvement over most cheaper interfaces. And if your own cable trawl draws a blank, all is not quite lost, for the Ensemble Thunderbolt retains its predecessor’s insert points on the first pair of analogue inputs. There are separate, balanced quarter-inch jacks for send and return, so you can plumb a line-level source into the insert return using a conventional cable.

Look After You Leap

The level of control over the inputs that is available from the front panel is vastly improved over the Firewire Ensemble, as is the amount of visual feedback available. The colour display on the left normally shows small but detailed vertical bar-graph meters for all 10 inputs, with the upper third or so depicting configuration parameters for whichever input is ‘in focus’ at the time. Turning the Input encoder adjusts the gain, if it’s set to mic or instrument mode, while pushing the encoder switches focus to the next input. Each input also has its own dedicated select button; pressing and holding this brings up the complete list of parameters that can be adjusted for that input, including input type, polarity, phantom power, high-pass filtering and so on. All in all, it’s a very neat and intuitive system, and pretty comprehensive — there’s very little that requires a visit to the software control panel.

Most of the Ensemble Thunderbolt’s I/O is found at the rear of the unit, which was obviously quite a logistical challenge, hence the inclusion of a D-sub port for the majority of the analogue outputs.The four buttons to the right of the Output knob, meanwhile, are labelled Assignable, though actually assigning roles to them is something that does have to be done within Apogee’s Maestro utility. The range of available options is broad, and almost all of them are potentially useful. For example, they can dim or mute main or headphone outputs, collapse them to mono, clear the meters, switch the mode of the guitar outputs (see box) and engage alternate monitoring paths. They can also be used to engage a talkback facility, which makes use either of mic input 8 or of a small microphone built into the front panel (which can be recorded, if you like its rather lo-fi sound). The talkback button can’t, however, be made to latch. A nice touch is that when you press one of the Assignable buttons, a message flashes up on the Output display telling you what it is you’ve just done.

The Output display itself has a stereo bar-graph for every output pair, topped off by information about clocking and sample rate. Whatever the four Assignable buttons are assigned to, pushing the Output encoder acts as a mute control, which is handy. And I should point out that although the Apogee’s displays are not the largest I’ve seen, the use of colour OLEDs means they are very clear, and legible from almost any angle.

Music, Maestro, Please

Everything that can be done from the front panel is also configurable in Apogee’s Maestro utility. This always mirrors the current state of the interface, and the last-used settings are remembered on power-up. However, it is not possible to store and recall Ensemble setups, as there are no Save or Load options in Maestro’s File menu. This is a shame; admittedly, once the Ensemble is plumbed into your studio, there are aspects of its configuration that are unlikely to change, but it would be very handy to be able to store things like gain settings, input names and cue-mix setups as starting points for different recording sessions.

The Maestro software’s mixer page.As well as various configuration options and input and output routing matrices, Maestro offers four low-latency cue mixers. Each makes available all of the interface’s audio inputs, along with a single stereo software return, and can be routed to any or all of the Ensemble’s output pairs. It’s an arrangement that is adequate for most real-world purposes, but it feels a little basic compared with what’s possible in current rivals from the likes of RME or MOTU. For example, there’s no way to link adjacent mixer channels so that they behave as a single stereo channel; nor is there any sort of EQ, dynamics processing, reverb or delay available; nor are there any visualisation tools such as phase meters. And with no facility to show/hide, re-size or re-order the channels, anyone working on a small screen will quickly tire of scrolling left and right to keep tabs on all their inputs. Given that Apogee have clearly put a lot of effort into the physical design of the Ensemble itself, I was also surprised at how unappealing — and, frankly, dated — the Maestro software looks. It’s clear enough, but is decked throughout in the utilitarian grey of some long-forgotten Apple control panel from an earlier version of Mac OS X.

I mentioned some of these points to Apogee, and they explained that they have been working towards eliminating the need for a control-panel utility. Apart from the cue mixers and the function of the assignable buttons, almost every Ensemble Thunderbolt parameter can be quickly and easily adjusted from the front panel; while Apogee believe that the unit’s excellent low-latency performance (see box) renders Maestro’s cue-mixing features redundant in most applications. Given that the Ensemble Thunderbolt can operate at latencies comparable with Pro Tools HDX, I think that’s fair enough, and I’m sure most of us would rather handle everything from our DAWs where possible. Logic users in particular might find themselves hardly needing Maestro, as Logic 10.10 builds in the ability to control Apogee interface parameters directly.

The Church Mics In Action

The review Ensemble arrived at SOS Towers just in time to be thrown in at the deep end, recording a complicated live show in a chapel that has no fixed sound system. I hooked it into the insert points on the mixer using TRS-TS cables and a Creamware A16 Ultra A-D converter, and rigged some extra mics of my own which went straight into the Ensemble’s own preamps. Recording into Pro Tools HD11, I encountered no problems whatsoever (apart from discovering that you can’t plumb a line input in on a quarter-inch jack, as already mentioned). The audio quality was excellent, the Maestro cue mixers made it straightforward to route everything I wanted to hear to the headphones, and it proved totally stable under Mac OS 10.9.4 with my ‘early 2014’ MacBook Air.

Further tests confirmed my positive impressions of the Ensemble’s audio quality, and I was particularly taken with its versatile input options. As well as the unique re-amping arrangements (see box), the mic preamps are worthy of note; not only do they sound impeccable, but unlike nearly all built-in interface preamps, they offer up to 75dB gain, with phantom power switchable on a per-input basis.

There is stiff competition in this area of the market, and the Ensemble Thunderbolt currently has a somewhat higher street price than rivals such as the Antelope Zen Studio, RME Fireface UFX and Universal Audio Apollo. While it doesn’t have the latter’s ability to host DSP plug-ins, however, it does have some compelling advantages of its own. The versatile front-panel controls and high-quality displays make it a pleasure to use, and its dedicated re-amping facilities will make it especially tempting to guitarists. It’s a shame that, like most Apogee products, it’s not supported on Windows computers, but the flip side of Apogee’s close relationship with Apple is evident in its fine low-latency performance on Mac OS and ever-closer integration into Logic Pro. The Ensemble Thunderbolt is a first-rate piece of kit, and although it’s not cheap, it’s an investment that few will regret.

Panel Games

The Ensemble Thunderbolt’s most noteworthy innovation compared with the original Ensemble — and, indeed, with all other audio interfaces that I know of — concerns the two front-panel guitar inputs. Each of these has a dedicated quarter-inch output socket, which can be switched to emit either the direct signal from its associated input, or a software return from your DAW. If you choose the former option, a small tickbox in the Apogee Maestro configuration software offers the choice of mirroring the input at unity gain.

This is an absolutely superb idea, which makes all sorts of re-amping scenarios child’s play to set up. For example, let’s suppose you want to record a clean DI’d signal alongside the miked output of a guitar amplifier. Simple: plug your instrument into one of the guitar inputs, set its output to mirror that input at unity gain, and connect said output to your amp. You can then apply as much preamp gain as you need to get the DI’d signal into your DAW at a healthy level, without changing the level of the signal going to the amp. Brilliant. And it doesn’t stop there. For instance, you could treat the outputs of these guitar inputs as dedicated effects loops, allowing you to record wet and dry signals to separate tracks. Or you could use them to route software instruments and the like into guitar pedals, without any of the usual worries about gain and impedance matching.

To test how accurately the guitar output reproduces its input, I plugged a guitar into the first input, set its output to unity gain and cabled it into the second guitar input. Then I recorded some guitar on both inputs simultaneously. When I played the two files back with polarity reversed on one, the nulling was not absolute, but gave more than 40dB attenuation, suggesting that any differences are unlikely to be significant in practice.

Latency

One claimed advantage of the Thunderbolt protocol is the ability to deliver very low latencies, and the Ensemble’s performance bears this claim out. At the lowest 32-sample buffer size, PreSonus’s Studio One reported the input and output latency as 80 and 78 samples respectively, and a loopback test confirmed that the reported latency was correct to within a couple of samples. At 44.1kHz, this equates to a round-trip latency of about 3.6 milliseconds, which is pretty impressive. I then experimented with switching to 192kHz, the highest supported sample rate; Studio One reported input and output latencies of 161 and 101 samples, giving a theoretical round-trip latency of only 1.4ms, but I couldn’t actually persuade it to adopt any sample rate other than 44.1kHz. However, Pro Tools 11 was happy to work at all the sample rates I tried.

Vital Statistics

• Thunderbolt audio interface.
• Compatible with: Mac OS 10.9.3 or later.
• Analogue inputs: two high-impedance guitar inputs, four combi mic/line/guitar inputs, four XLR mic/line inputs. Insert send/return on inputs 1/2.
• Line outputs: stereo monitor output on quarter-inch jacks plus eight line outputs on D-Sub.
• Other analogue outputs: two stereo headphone outputs and two guitar outputs for re-amping.
• Digital inputs: stereo coaxial S/PDIF, dual optical S/PDIF or ADAT.
• Digital outputs: stereo coaxial S/PDIF, dual optical S/PDIF or ADAT.
• Other I/O: built-in talkback mic, word clock in and out.

Pros

• Impeccable sound quality.
• Flexible complement of inputs and outputs.
• Neat front-panel design with good visual feedback.
• Excellent low-latency performance and comprehensive hands-on control means many users won’t need the bundled Maestro utility.
• Incorporates a clever guitar re-amping arrangement.

Cons

• All the line inputs are on XLRs, and most of the line outs on D-Sub.
• There’s no way to store and recall multiple configurations (except as part of Logic projects).
• Maestro software looks a little dated, and its low-latency cue mixing facilities lag behind the competition.
• No Thunderbolt cable supplied with unit.

Summary

Much more than just an update of Apogee’s earlier Firewire interface, the Ensemble Thunderbolt is a cutting-edge device offering first-rate audio quality, fine low-latency performance and a comprehensive feature set. Guitarists will love its built-in re-amping facilities.

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Apogee Electronics Corp +1 310 584 9394.

High-end digital converter manufacturers Apogee are Apple's audio partner of choice, and their latest Firewire interface is aimed squarely at Mac users with a taste for quality.

It's hard to believe that it's been over two years since Apogee first announced their new line of products aimed at desktop musicians and audio engineers. While Apogee were already well known in the industry and acclaimed for high-quality converters, master clocks, and the UV22 dithering algorithm, the company had arguably only dipped their toes into the world of computer-based recording, with products like MiniMe and various Firewire or Pro Tools expansion card options. This changed at the 2006 NAMM show, when Apogee announced Symphony, a PCI-based system for handling a large amount of I/O with low latency via the company's AD16X, DA16X and Rosetta-series converters, and Ensemble, Apogee's entry into the Firewire audio interface market.

We looked at Symphony in last September's SOS, and although it might seem a little late in the day to be looking at the Ensemble, Apogee have actually been consistently improving the product since its original release (which included beta drivers) last year. For example, they've released a firmware update that allows the Ensemble to work as a stand-alone converter when not attached to a computer. The Ensemble's drivers have also been regularly updated, with the current release from last December (on which this review is based) being fully compatible with both Leopard (Mac OS 10.5) and Tiger (10.4).

Think Apogee

The Ensemble is designed to work exclusively with Mac computers, and, as such, has a brushed-metal appearance that sits quite happily alongside a Mac Pro, Cinema Display, iMac, or MacBook Pro. The 1U enclosure is about the same size as an AD16X or DA16X converter, and although this is a really minor point, I wish Apogee had made the rack ears removable (as with other interfaces such as the RME Fireface 800 or Prism Orpheus). This would have made the unit look a little more at home on your desk, if it's not in a rack, and stop it from snagging on a bag when being packed up for mobile usage.

The rear panel sports sockets for the Ensemble's eight analogue inputs and outputs, along with connections for ADAT and S/PDIF, word clock and Firewire.Photo: Mike CameronSpeaking of mobile usage, while the Ensemble has a built-in power supply with a standard IEC connection, last October Apogee introduced the Ensemble Mobile, which is functionally identical to the regular Ensemble in all respects, except that it lacks the built-in AC power supply. Instead, the Mobile features an XLR4 port so that it can easily be connected to a DC power source, and is conveniently supplied with an external AC to DC power supply having a regular IEC connection for when you're not in the field.

In terms of audio, the Ensemble has eight analogue inputs, and the first four can accept either a line- or mic-level signal, thanks to the built-in preamps. All four inputs have both XLR and high-Z (high impedance) TRS connectors, although the high-Z inputs for the first two channels are usefully located on the front of the Ensemble, which makes room for the additional send and return insert TRS connectors Apogee have provided for the first two channels on the back. The remaining four inputs (channels 5-8) support line-level signals via TRS connectors, and an additional eight TRS connectors provide eight analogue outputs.

For digital connectivity the Ensemble has input and output TOSlink optical connectors for either ADAT or S/PDIF input and output, in addition to regular coaxial S/PDIF, and there are also word-clock BNC connectors, along with a push switch so that the Ensemble can optionally self-terminate an incoming word-clock signal. Technically, the Ensemble can work at sample rates of up to 192kHz (and even offers hardware sample-rate conversion), but only the analogue and coaxial I/O are supported once you work with rates above 96kHz. S/MUX mode is supported for ADAT operation with the TOSlink connector, which can provide four ins and four outs at 88.2/96kHz.

A Clear Front

The front panel is clearly laid out and features 10 plasma-style meters. The first eight of these can show either the level of the analogue inputs or outputs, while the last two are labelled D1 and D2, and show the presence of signal in either the coaxial or optical digital I/O respectively. Two white LEDs to the right of the meters indicate whether the metering represents either the audio input or output of the interface, and it's also possible for the meters to be disabled if they should become distracting.

Also featured on the front panel are two rotary encoders, one for controlling input levels and the other for output, and each show level via a ring of bright white LEDs. The input encoder allows you to set the gain for the mic preamp on the currently selected input, and you can set the current input by pressing the input encoder, which toggles through a set of blue LEDs to the right that indicates the selected input. There's also a corresponding set of red LEDs to show whether phantom power is enabled on each of the four mic pres, although the power itself needs to be turned on or off remotely from the host computer.

The output encoder sets the level for the main output, and a really nice touch is that the Ensemble's software (see the 'Maestro' box) lets you configure whether the Main output is stereo, 5.1, or 7.1. For stereo, the output encoder controls the levels of the first two analogue outputs, whereas in 5.1 or 7.1 mode the encoder sets the level of either outputs 1-6 or 1-8 respectively. A 'line out' mode is also available, which effectively disables the main output volume functionality and makes the eight analogue outputs behave as independent line outputs.

There are also two quarter-inch headphone jacks on the front panel, and, as with the input encoder, pressing the output encoder allows you to set whether you're adjusting the level for the Main output, or one of the headphone outputs (as indicated by another set of blue LEDs). What's especially neat about the headphone outputs is that they're completely independent, both in terms of level and in terms of which pair of the Ensemble's outputs they are assigned. For example, headphone port one could be set to the output of analogue outs 1 and 2, while port two is set to 3 and 4. This makes it very easy to create headphone mixes without the need for any additional hardware.

Pressing and holding the output encoder for a few moments will mute the Main and headphone outputs, and the LED to represent whichever output was selected will start flashing to indicate the mute status. Pressing and holding the encoder again will release the mute.

While this is a somewhat pedantic point in respect of what is a pretty well-designed front panel (especially the colour-coding of the LEDs), I really wish it was possible to configure the Main output encoder to mute on a simple press, rather than a simple press switching the selected output for level adjustment. Although this behaviour keeps consistency with the input encoder, I found the press-and-hold action for mute annoying, because I would use mute all the time, whereas selection of headphone outputs was something I rarely (if ever) needed to do. Some people might find the selection behaviour more useful (if they use headphones), but I wish Apogee would provide a quick mute option for those who might prefer it.

Maestro, If You Please..

Logic Pro includes an Apogee Control Panel where you can access and store the Ensemble's settings directly from your Logic Project.Photo: Mike CameronThe supplied Maestro software serves two purposes: firstly, to provide hardware mixing and routing capabilities so that hardware inputs can be routed directly to hardware outputs; and secondly, to allow you to access and configure all of the Ensemble's internal settings.

The mixing and routing aspects of Maestro were covered in the Symphony review, so it's worth referring to that article if you're unfamiliar with this functionality. One thing to bear in mind, though, is that while Symphony and the Ensemble both make use of the Maestro software, certain Symphony features, such as the V-Bus routing, are not available on the Ensemble. However, this isn't a big deal, since most native audio applications, such as Logic Pro 8 and Cubase/Nuendo 4.1, are now able to support this style of routing (where audio buses can be used as the inputs to audio tracks) without hardware assistance.

One routing improvement that's been made since our last review is that it's now possible to route one hardware input to multiple software inputs, and, similarly but perhaps more usefully, it's also now possible to route one software output to multiple hardware outputs. This is great if you want to create different headphone mixes, for example.

The Maestro Control window allows you to configure all aspects of the Ensemble's hardware setup, and this is where you have full control over the built-in preamps. Each preamp has a gain control, and a particularly useful feature is the ability to assign each preamp to one of two groups, enabling gain adjustments to be linked between preamps assigned to the same group. There are also phase-invert and 48v phantom power toggles, and you can also set whether to disable a preamp and use line level for an input instead.

Each input and output level can be set to use a +4 or -10dB line-level signal (instead of a preamp on the first four inputs) and Apogee also provide SoftLimit, an analogue limiter that allows an extra 4dB of headroom, which can be enabled on any of the eight analogue inputs.

Working With The Ensemble

To get started, simply install the Ensemble's software — although, as always, it's probably a good idea to make sure you download the latest version from Apogee's web site, rather than using any supplied versions. You can then plug the Ensemble into your Mac via one of the two Firewire ports found on the back panel. The second port is handy if you want to daisy chain other Firewire devices.

The Ensemble goes into standby mode when it's connected to a power source, and, perhaps unsurprisingly, pressing the power button on the front panel powers up the unit for operation. A status LED on the front of the Ensemble lights up in blue if the device is successfully connected to your computer, or green if it's working in stand-alone mode without a computer connection. The status LED also has the potential to illuminate in red if you're really unlucky, and this can happen if you plug the Ensemble into your computer and a successful connection can't be established. In this case your Mac will probably kernel panic and the Ensemble will go into stand-alone mode.

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I found that having a kernel panic when connecting the Ensemble was not a completely uncommon occurrence with my MacBook Pro running Mac OS 10.5.2, although I admittedly don't restart the computer that often and usually have quite a number of applications open. Apogee's helpful manual shows the Ensemble being connected to a Mac prior to being powered up, although it doesn't seem to explicitly warn against doing this the other way around, which is what I would normally do, as I'd leave the Ensemble in stand-alone mode when not connected. According to Apogee, the majority of Ensemble users don't experience this issue, but Apogee are aware of it and are working with Apple to find a resolution.

Once successfully connected, you can set the Ensemble to be the default audio input and output for your Mac in either Audio MIDI Setup or the Sound System Preferences Panel. When you adjust the volume using the Mac keyboard or the menu bar extra icon, you're then actually adjusting the Main volume on the Ensemble, and the Ensemble's output-level LED ring on the main output stays in sync with your Mac.

Like Symphony, the Ensemble is also supplied with Apogee's Maestro software, which is used to configure the onboard routing and settings. Although the Ensemble works with any Core Audio-compatible software on Mac OS X, Logic Pro users are especially lucky as Logic incorporates an Apogee Control Panel (accessible from the Options / Audio menu) that allows you to adjust the Ensemble's settings within the application. While this is functionally no different to using Maestro in conjunction with any audio application, the neat thing is that the settings for the Apogee Control Panel in Logic are stored with your Project. This means that you can easily recall whatever mic-pre settings you had for a given Project, by simply clicking the 'Recall Setup from Project' button in the Control Panel once you've loaded up a previous Project.

In terms of audio quality, you would expect the Ensemble to be of a high standard, and it certainly doesn't disappoint. Manmadhudu movie songs. If you're looking for some unquantifiable adjectives, I would say the converters maintain a good image, the bass frequencies sit well, and there's clarity in the high end. While the difference was admittedly subtle compared to my trusty Fireface 800, the Ensemble seemed to have a little more depth, with fractionally more space at the top.

The only real problem I encountered when testing the Ensemble was when I decided to see if the record offset latency was handled correctly. On connecting one of the Ensemble's analogue outputs to one of the analogue inputs and recording a test signal (a click), I noticed that the input signal would be placed as if it was recorded before it was technically played. Obviously, this is physically impossible, so I contacted Apogee's technical support to see what was going on. Apogee's Director of Technical Services, Roger Robindoré, replied that 'Apogee and Apple are aware of the issue, and have been working together to resolve it.'

The Highest Point?

The competition in the Firewire audio interface market is fierce these days, no matter what your budget, and the most obvious competition for the Ensemble is perhaps RME's Fireface 800, Metric Halo's Mobile I/O and Prism's Orpheus. The Fireface 800 is slightly cheaper, but offers 10 analogue inputs and outputs, along with a second ADAT input and output, while the Orpheus is basically Prism's answer to the Ensemble, but with a price tag equivalent to more than the costs of two Ensembles. Finally, Metric Halo's Mobile I/O 2882 is a bit cheaper, but is the oldest of the interfaces and doesn't support 176.4/192kHz sample rates. A version with onboard DSP effects is also available for roughly the same money.

One area where the Fireface and Orpheus have a distinct advantage over the Ensemble is that they also offer Windows support, which could be important if you run Windows on your Mac via Boot Camp, or have additional Windows-based computers to which you'd like to attach a Firewire audio interface on occasion. However, if you exclusively use Macs, this obviously won't be an issue.

A second point on which the Fireface and Orpheus score is that both offer a MIDI input and output port as well. Again, this might not be important to you, and Apogee's focus is clearly on providing best-in-class audio functionality; but it does seem a shame that for mobile use you may need to pack a MIDI interface alongside the Ensemble.

Ultimately, though, despite a few remaining driver issues, Apogee have done a great job with the Ensemble, incorporating high-quality audio components into a Firewire interface that's easy to use, integrates well with Mac OS X (and Logic Pro), and offers flexible routing via the Maestro software. Although there are cheaper alternatives, the Ensemble certainly isn't overpriced, and I think Apogee have found a comfortable price point for the features and level of quality being provided.

Pros

• Good-quality audio converters and preamps, as you would expect.
• Integrates perfectly with your Mac.
• Built-in monitoring capabilities that are surround capable.

Cons

• Not compatible with Windows, which could frustrate Boot Camp users, or indeed PC users.
• No built-in MIDI interface.
• Some driver issues persist.

Summary

The Ensemble brings Apogee's hardware and software technologies to an easy-to-use, high-quality Firewire audio interface. If its feature set is what you're looking for, Ensemble is an ideal centrepiece for any Mac-based desktop or mobile studio, especially if you're using Logic Pro.

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£1404 including VAT.

Sonic Distribution +44 (0)1582 470260.