Apogee Symphony Studio

Designed with immersive audio in mind, the Symphony Studio is also a top‑class all‑round audio interface.

Apogee’s new Symphony Studio range of USB interfaces is aimed particularly towards immersive audio production duties. In that context, and like the Audient ORIA interface I wrote about in SOS July 2024, the headline specification that substantially defines each of the three Symphony Studio models is not so much their input count but their output count. To put some numbers on that, the three models in the range offer two inputs and 12 outputs (the 2x12), eight ins/eight outs (the 8x8), and eight ins/16 outs (the 8x16).

Now, you might wonder about how suitable the 8x8 model is for immersive duties, because with ‘only’ eight outputs the largest immersive monitor array the 8x8 can address would be, for example, 5.1.2 (left, centre, right, left surround, right surround, LFE, left height, right height). While perhaps being a viable initial route into the world of immersive monitoring, that falls short of the generally accepted Dolby Atmos bed minimum of 7.1.2. So the 8x8 Symphony Studio model feels like a kind of hybrid between an interface aimed squarely at the contemporary immersive world and a traditional one intended for more conventional recording and mix duties. In terms of retail price, the 2x12 is the entry‑level Symphony Studio model and its output count does place it firmly in the realm of immersive mix duties. The 12 outputs enable it to address what I’d consider the sweet spot of entry‑level immersive monitoring: 7.1.4. But with just two inputs, you’re only going to be tracking the odd overdub. At the other end of the Symphony Studio range, the 8x16 is not only able to address a full‑fat Dolby Atmos 9.1.6 monitoring system, but its eight inputs can potentially track a modest band. That 8x16 capability comes at a cost though, because it commands a significantly higher price than the 2x12 and 8x8.

Before I leave the I/O counts behind, something to consider, especially in regard to the 2x12 and 8x8 models, is that their I/O counts are absolute. Symphony Studio models offer no input or output expansion via, for example, ADAT or Dante. So if you were to settle on the 2x12 but then found you needed more inputs, or decided on the 8x8 and subsequently wanted to expand your immersive monitoring, you’d be out of luck.

Three Of A Kind

Beyond their I/O counts the three Symphony Studio models are functionally the same. I was loaned an 8x16 model for this review, but everything I’m about to write is equally appropriate to the 2x12 and 8x16. Symphony Studio models are all housed in the same 1U rackmount enclosure. The subtly profiled and classily finished aluminium front panel combines Apogee’s corporate purple with a gloss‑black centre section that houses an OLED display. Along with the display, the front panel is populated by eight buttons in two groups of four, and a rotary encoder/push button. Both sets of buttons switch the contents of the display and the action of the rotary encoder to offer the appropriate configuration functions. The left‑hand group of buttons provides input selection for level adjustment and configuration via the rotary encoder, enables input‑specific phantom power, and toggles the Apogee ‘Soft Limit’ function on and off. The right‑hand group of buttons provides access to basic monitor control functions (volume, mute, dim), headphone output selection and control, and a Home function that returns the menu to the top level. Finally on the right of the front panel are two headphone sockets (one 6.3mm and one 3.5mm) and a power switch.

Round the back things are surprisingly simple, with just eight XLR inputs, twin D‑Sub ports for the 16 outputs, and an IEC mains socket.

On the rear panel is a line of XLR input sockets that reflect the particular model’s input count. The input sockets are conventional XLRs, without combi instrument jack sockets, so if you want to connect a guitar, for example, some species of unbalanced jack to XLR conversion will be required — although at the kind of professional level a Symphony Studio is likely to find itself, I’d imagine a guitar preamp or at least a DI box will be available. Adjacent to the input XLRs are, depending on the particular Symphony Studio model, one or two DB25 D‑Sub output sockets for monitor connection. Each DB25 provides eight balanced outputs. D‑Sub sockets are reasonably common on pro hardware that’s intended for permanent rack installation, but they are less often seen on products, such as the Symphony Studio, that might find themselves in less permanent home or project studios. In a rack‑installed scenario, a D‑Sub socket will likely be connected to a patchbay of some description that offers signal access via jack or XLR, but in studios a rung or two down the professional hierarchy, connecting monitor cables terminated in XLR or TRS jack plugs demands some cumbersome D‑Sub to XLR or jack break‑out cables. An...