Antelope Audio's latest Thunderbolt interface offers a considerable amount of bang for a very reasonable amount of buck.

High-quality audio interfaces with built-in DSP are becoming increasingly popular and, alongside products such as Universal Audio's Apollo range or the Pro Tools HDX system, Antelope Audio have become one of the prominent players in this marketplace. The most recent addition to their product range is the Orion Studio Synergy Core, so if you have the budget, is Antelope's latest take on a multi-channel audio interface with DSP a worthwhile investment?

Core Tour

Sam Inglis reviewed Antelope Audio's Orion 32+ Gen 3 device in the SOS September 2019 issue, and the Synergy Core shares some of that feature set (including Antelope's excellent clocking technology). However, I suspect the balance of features here — and in particular the inclusion of 12 high-quality preamps — may give the Synergy Core a more obvious appeal for many potential purchasers. The Synergy Core supports both Thunderbolt 3 (and is backwards compatible with Thunderbolt 2 via a suitable adaptor) and USB 2, with the former giving 32 audio channels to/from the computer and the latter 24. Aside from the 12 preamp inputs, you also get twin headphone outputs (on the front panel), 16 line outputs (on two DB25 connectors at the rear), two pairs of unbalanced monitor outputs, S/PDIF and ADAT (twin ports for both in and out) connectivity, two insert points and, on the front panel again, two outputs dedicated to re-amping. There is also a talkback microphone integrated into the front panel.

As elsewhere in the Antelope Audio range, the audio connectivity and AD/DA conversion comes with top-notch specifications. For example, the dynamic range of the mic preamps is stated as -121dB while the A–D and D–A converters offer 124dB and 128dB respectively. If those few extra dB are required, rather neatly, you can bypass the preamps using a 'direct' option. The four front–panel preamps have Hi-Z input switching, while mic level, line level and phantom power options are supported on all 12 analogue inputs.

In terms of the DSP power, the Synergy Core combines two of AA's proprietary Field Programmable Gate Array chips and six ARM-based DSP processors. With 32 audio channels, and eight effects slots on each channel, you could imagine a mega-tracking session featuring 256 effects instances. In practice, there are some limitations and you can only initiate limited numbers of some plug-ins. For example, you can only operate four guitar amp models at any one time and 16 instances of some compressors or EQs. I'm not sure exactly how the DSP resource allocation controls these various numbers, but it is obviously something to be aware of and it would be useful to see further technical information available to potential purchasers on AA's website or in the documentation.

The Synergy Core comes bundled with 50 effects from AA's range. These include some more generic offerings but also an impressive collection of 'vintage' emulations that pay homage to some obvious classic hardware. This includes a couple of nice preamp emulations, the Auraverb reverb and various compression, EQ and guitar/bass amp/cab modelling options. There are additional plug-ins you can purchase via AA's website but, for many routine tracking, mixing and even mastering tasks, there is plenty to work with here.

At the time of writing, AA also include two significant bonuses; the Auto-Tune Synergy plug-in (normally €249) and an Edge Solo modelling microphone (normally €499). Given that the former operates in real time via the Synergy Core's DSP, it can be used 'live' should your vocalist require a little confidence boost. The Edge Solo gives you access to AA's microphone modelling technology via analogue inputs 5 to 12 so you can emulate the sound of a list of classic microphones. I only had access to the interface itself for this review, but these two additions add considerable value.

The other key element of the package is the Control Panel software, and it is important to note that this is central to realising the potential provide by the impressive hardware features. As well as comprehensive metering, configuring of the plug-ins when recording, and options to configure up to four different monitor mixes, it is also the key to routing your audio signals through the hardware/software platform via the Routing tab. The latter is impressively flexible but do expect a bit of an initial learning curve. The concept is not unlike that of a physical patchbay — however, despite the useful colour coding, and the option to add labels, it is still sometimes difficult to visualise quite what is connected to what. Thankfully, if you have a number of (perhaps complex) routing configurations for different tasks, these can be stored as presets. Indeed, the hardware itself can hold up to five presets for instant recall if you do want to use the unit 'on location' without a computer.

One additional item that I did have access to for the review is the AFX2DAW plug-in (an additional purchase at €195). When tracking, the Control Panel's Effects tab provides all the effects configuration options you need. However, the AFX2DAW plug-in provides you with easy access to the Synergy Core's DSP/plug-in power directly from within your DAW while mixing. On my Thunderbolt 2-equipped Mac (I had to use Apple's adaptor to connect to the Synergy Core's Thunderbolt 3 port), this worked very well but, as noted below, there are some limitations to be aware of.

Antelope have hit a genuine sweet spot with the Synergy Core's hardware feature list, which could give it very broad appeal.

Hard Core

So, with an impressive feature set, how is the Orion Studio Synergy Core in practice? The initial installation/activation process could be slicker but once you have the Antelope launcher app installed, it handles all the key steps for you. Once I'd established communication between computer and interface, everything ran smoothly but, over the couple of weeks of using the device, I did experience the occasional problem in initially getting the Synergy Core recognised by my computer. Some restarting generally resolved things, so it was irritating rather than show stopping.

I couldn't find any latency data for the Synergy Core on AA's website but performing a simple loopback test gave some impressive figures. Tested via Thunderbolt, with an empty a 44.1kHz/24-bit project in Cubase Pro 10 at a 32–sample buffer size, I got a round-trip figure of just over 2ms, while at a more humane (for my slightly older iMac) 128 sample buffer size, the figure was 6.4ms. Via USB, I expect those numbers would be a little higher but, given all that built-in DSP power, and the ability to use the included plug-ins pretty much latency-free while tracking, round-trip latency is something the Synergy Core is designed to help you avoid in the first place. That said, these Thunderbolt-based figures are impressive anyway.

In all other aspects, the hardware is truly impressive. The device feels very well built and, whatever the technical specification of the preamps, subjectively, they sound excellent. The Hi-Z capability via the four front-panel inputs works very well indeed for DI'ed guitar/bass recording, and the headphone outputs provide plenty of level. With 12 analogue inputs, providing you kept your drum miking fairly simple, you could easily track a full four-piece band with vocals, or perhaps do a more complex drum recording setup. Add an extra eight analogue inputs by making use of the ADAT connectivity and you would have a system for all but the most complex of live band tracking tasks.

The inclusion of the dedicated re–amp outputs is a very welcome design choice. With suitable audio routing via the Control Panel, these can be plugged directly into your amp's inputs (and, with two re–amp outputs, dual–amp setups are also easy). The process is super-simple and works brilliantly.

Soft Core

While the Control Panel — and the Routing tab in particular — are perhaps not the prettiest software environments I've ever encountered, the actual plug-ins have a very attractive 'vintage hardware' vibe. Used in a tracking context, where you can configure effects chains (and create presets) for each of your input channels, operation is both familiar and straightforward. Space precludes a full discussion of individual plug-ins, but AA's website has a detailed list of what's included and the additional plug-ins available as extra purchases. Most importantly, what's here sounds very good indeed. There is a very genuine analogue feel. For example, when pushed hard, the compressors seem more forgiving. Equally, when you apply some low-end EQ, you get a very attractive warmth, while at the top-end you get sheen but without it ever getting brittle.

The selection of guitar amp and cabinet plug-ins cover the expected Fender, Marshall and Vox territory with suitable higher-gain and bass options also included, giving access to a wide range of tones. However, it is just amps and cabs; there are no effects included, stompbox or rack, and none of the amp models offer reverb. What is very useful, though, is the ease with which the routing options allow you to record both a processed and DI version of your performance for maximum flexibility at mix time.

Mix Power

Of course, for most potential purchasers, taking advantage of the DSP power and plug-in collection during tracking is only going to be half of the story; there is also the mix. It's at this stage that the AFX2DAW plug-in becomes an essential purchase as this then provides seamless access to the Synergy Core's processing grunt and impressive 'vintage analogue' plug-in collection directly from your DAW. An instance of AFX2DAW can be inserted like any other plug-in and then used to load any of your AFX plug-ins or to build a plug-in chain. All the routing required is handled by AFX2DAW and is totally transparent to the user. It is an instantly familiar process and, in my test system, seemed to work very smoothly.

There are, however, a few limitations to be aware of. First, AA's website suggests you are allowed a maximum of 16 instances of AFX2DAW in any one session and a maximum of four AFX effects within a single instance. In practice, I managed to load more instances of AXF2DAW into my test Cubase project and, in any individual instance, was able to load a maximum of eight AFX plug-ins (the website obviously needs updating to reflect more recent changes to the plug-in). However, you are subject to the same limits in terms of the total number of instances of specific plug-ins or plug-in types mentioned earlier.

The other current limitations are that AFX2DAW is Thunderbolt-only (there is no support via USB) and is not presently available for Windows. Thunderbolt is widely available and easily added to a modern computer, so the former is not such a big deal. However, the latter is perhaps more disappointing and will undoubtedly reduce the bang-for-the-buck that Windows users feel they might be getting from the Synergy Core. Plug-in instance limits aside, AFX2DAW works well on a Thunderbolt-equipped Mac, but Antelope perhaps still have work to do with this utility plug-in so that their products are equally attractive to Windows users.

Star Performer?

As per Sam Inglis' comments in the recent Orion 32+ Gen 3 review, Antelope's hardware is consistently impressive and offers excellent value for money. This is true here but, in my view, Antelope have hit a genuine sweet spot with the Synergy Core's hardware feature list which could give it very broad appeal. The 12 high-end preamps here would be more than enough for many project studios and can be suitably expanded to make full use of the 32-channel potential of the interface in a larger studio environment. Once you have mastered the Control Panel software, add in the impressive DSP and plug-in combination, and you have a very powerful platform for tracking high-quality multitrack recordings.

Via AFX2DAW, the potential is also clearly there to deliver the same powerful benefits to the mixing environment, and for Mac/Thunderbolt users much of that potential is already delivered upon. For Windows-based users however, the current lack of AFX2DAW support might be a significant factor in a potential purchase decision. Of course, if you are in the market for an interface that is intended to be the central audio hub of your studio system, in this price range, you really should find a retailer willing to let you try before you buy. The Orion Studio Synergy Core is an impressive package at an impressive price and should most certainly be part of that audition process alongside the obvious competition.