Apogee have released a major update to their Symphony Desktop USB audio interface. The February 2022 update (or version 1.2 Part II, to give it its full name) incorporates an update to the Apogee Control software, to version 2, plus a firmware update that allows a number of the bundled plug-ins to run on the Symphony Desktop's DSP chips, for zero-latency processing while tracking.
Apogee's Opto-3A, ModEQ and ModComp can now be hosted on the interface itself — and, thanks to the firmware and Apogee Control updates, even controlled using the Symphony Desktop's colour touchscreen. The native (CPU-hosted) plug-ins will still be available even without the interface connected, but when you're hooked up to Apogee's DSP, you can take advantage of their innovative DualPath technology. This lets you load up a plug-in on the Symphony Desktop for latency-free monitoring, and then when you're done recording, you can transfer the plug-in, including all its settings, to your DAW. So, DualPath gives you all the benefits of recording with processing 'baked in', but with the flexibility to change that processing come mixdown time.
The native versions of Apogee's effects are sold separately, but the DSP versions are bundled free with the Symphony Desktop. We'll be reviewing Apogee's premium desktop interface in an upcoming issue of Sound On Sound.
