Problem getting the tone I want recording with Apollo interface

  • I recently 'upgraded' my interface for recording having gone from a Focusrite to an AU Apollo Arrow. However, I'm struggling to get the nice full sound I used to get through the Focusrite. I've tried balanced, unbalanced cables, each of the output jacks on the back of my Profiler - I even tried running the headphone jack into the Apollo. Nothing gets the sound I get through headphones or the interface I used to have. I've tried with no Unison preamps, tried all the different ones I have, changed the gain structure - but everything comes through as thin.

    Any suggestions or do I sell this Apollo off and get another Focusrite?

    PS - I've owned the Profiler now for a couple of years and love it. Just frustrated right now trying to do some recording.

  • Where you using a loopback feature on the Focusrite before that's not on the Apollo?

    No I wasn't.

    However, this problem is no longer an issue for me. For several reasons I was quite disappointed by the unit - so this morning I took it back and traded it in for a NI Audio 6 with S/PDIF and lots of inputs and outputs. Reviews on audio quality and usability have been good so we'll see shortly if this works better for my needs.

  • No I wasn't.

    However, this problem is no longer an issue for me. For several reasons I was quite disappointed by the unit - so this morning I took it back and traded it in for a NI Audio 6 with S/PDIF and lots of inputs and outputs. Reviews on audio quality and usability have been good so we'll see shortly if this works better for my needs.

    please write a short review of the NI with regard to the Kemper after you have used it for a while

  • it may be the apollo arrow’s headphone amp.. from when ive looked into apollo’s small desktop interfaces the arrow is out of date from my understanding, they have a unit referred to as the ‘Solo’ now (maybe thats what you meant)


    I was interested in the apollo solo so good to know if it under performed

  • Having recorded now with the Kemper through the NI Komplete Audio 6 - way, way, way better sound. I'm very happy now. 8)

    Not all perfect - there is no routing for the Komplete Audio, so I have to have the track active and with the monitoring engaged to hear the Kemper. There's no download app to 'manage' the interface. What you see is really what you get with this unit. But the recording with the two mics I have set up (ART T-4 Tube Mic and an AKG C1000s) sounds just fine - no real difference from the Arrow or the Focusrite Clarett I had before.

    But, on a Mac it's plug and play. Plug in mics, plug in the Kemper, fire up the DAW - redo a bunch of volume setting on the Kemper to work with the S/PDIF connection, and I'm recording.

    So - not perfect but for the price, it sounds perfectly fine and it has a ton of I/O (I'm running a Radial Reamp to put some of my effects pedals into a mix, which was impossible with the Arrow.

  • it may be the apollo arrow’s headphone amp.. from when ive looked into apollo’s small desktop interfaces the arrow is out of date from my understanding, they have a unit referred to as the ‘Solo’ now (maybe thats what you meant)


    I was interested in the apollo solo so good to know if it under performed

    It's not the headphone amp, monitoring through the monitors and the recorded sound was very poor sound. I tried every possible way of connecting the two that was available, varied the gain structure so many times, tried every possible pre-amp model I had plus no pre-amp model - all very bad.

  • One more update regarding where I went with this problem. I liked the I/O and basic sound of the NI Komplete Audio 6 - but was getting dropouts in the audio out.

    One more trip back to the store, returning the NI which I'd traded the Apollo for. Now I'm using the Antelope ZenGo which is USB 3.1 and has a S/PDIF connection. Works fantastically - really liking this interface.

  • Glad I skipped the Focusrite brand. May be good for podcasting but I ran across a few guitarist having problems with them. Glad you got it sorted out.

    Larry Mar @ Lonegun Studios. Neither one famous yet.