Apogee duet: Anyone try it yet?

Has anyone here tried the Apogee duet?

I might be doing more live recording for some venues around here to make some extra cash. I would need to seriously lighten my rig up to make it more portable and that means moving to a laptop and some kind of audio interface.

I was wondering if anyone has any experience with the Duet since it seems simple and fairly *cheap*.

Does it only run on Apple software? I can only find information about it's usage with apple.

If anyone else can point me to something better for the money that would be fine too. I need 2 xlr inputs with 48v phantom and it has to run on windows, preferably ASIO drivers. 24/44.1k is all I need.

AND.. It has to be something professional, no M-box stuff.

:thumb:

yep.

Luvvit.

Keef

doesnt run on windows

*awsome* mic pres though

hmm no Windows support? A deal killer.

Bummer.

Any other suggestions?

how about the Mini-DAC from Apogee bring that along with a half rack size stereo DIY mic pre like two green pres and your done. the Mini-DAC is windows friendly

Doesn't run on windows...wtf kind of weirdness is that?

hmm i would need the mini-me as well to be able to do what I wanted to do. I'm trying to be a minimalist as possible so I would prefer that preamps would be included..

Rochey my friend, care to elaborate on the mic pres? i assume they use TI parts from your response?

i would think that apogee would offer at least minimal windows support..

edit

Apple blows as much as windows, just in completely different ways.

[quote author="Ptownkid"]Apple blows as much as windows, just in completely different ways.[/quote]

Which is why we should leave the computers for internet and recording to analog tape :twisted:

maybe if it wasn't so expensive and time consuming to use tape..

I've never had a BSOD or other failure with windows. I had a motherboard die and 2 powersupplies die but never a windows issue. I've personally seen 2 mac OS corruptions and one of those corrupted a harddrive losing 3 months worth of work..

BUT.. I know of many folks who do stupid stuff with their windows boxes and screw them up.

The big difference is that Apple doesn't allow you to change anything that would normally render your computer useless including installing upgrades that aren't "approved" whereas windows does.. So naturally more folks monkey around with their windows boxes, install cheap crap cards with poor drivers and thus more people complain about windows crashing.

So the answer is don't let idiots use windows.. That's what macs are for.. :green:

edit

If you need to move to a laptop anyway, why not try the Mac? There are loads of options in the laptop arena, from relatively inexpensive to very, very powerful.

Apple Logic Pro is the most amazing bundle of audio software you can get for $500. Truly impressive.

And, as mentioned by others, IMHO the Duet rocks.

$1K for the Duet and Logic, plus $1K and up for the Mac laptop of your choice = one powerful and flexible music production system.

or I could use the duet (500$) with Reaper (I own) and a laptop (I own) if only it supported windows ASIO.

BTW, I made the move to Reaper over Nuendo/Cubase because it not only trumps them in workflow, the price, 295$ for a commercial license beats everything else out there. Apparently there is a Mac port of Reaper about to be released.. try it and I think you might forget about Logic.

I wouldn't want to spend 1k on a laptop that would only be used for periodic live recording when I have a windows laptop that I already own and would work perfectly.

Call me old fashioned or foolish but until they at least have Duet ASIO drivers for windows I will not purchase anything Apogee on principle alone.

I was really digging the Duet, it honestly would be perfect for what I need and the price is pretty good for what you get.

I guess I am just bitter that they intend to force users into purchasing expensive gear they don't need in order to use their nifty gadget. The whole partnership thing reeks.

Hey Svart,
If you are thinking about bringing along a pair of pres, I'd incredibily, strongly recommend the Mytek Stereo 192k or Stereo96k. We ran a shootout at a local studio between: Mytek, Apogee AD16, Digi192, SSL Alpha Link, and the Mytek blew the others out of the sky. The difference was so clear, it was scary. The studio owner placed an order immediatelly after. He purchased the 8x192 and also the stereo guys. I've been loving it ever since.
Don't have any experience with the Mini-me, but Keith may have.

take care
Gil

[quote author="pucho812"][quote author="Ptownkid"]Apple blows as much as windows, just in completely different ways.[/quote]

Which is why we should leave the computers for internet and recording to analog tape :twisted:[/quote]

God, i wish, but I don't have that kind of cash.

[quote author="Svart"]So the answer is don't let idiots use windows.. That's what macs are for.. :green:[/quote]

Guess I'm a big idiot then. :?
I'm sure many would agree.
I love OSX (tiger).
Never had an issue.
Save for the time I didn't properly insert the new ram chip in my ibook.
Barbershop screen!
As for customizing your mac...I've taken my laptop apart a few times to upgrade it.
Superdrive. Bigger hard drive.
So yeah. They're made for idiots who can't open a can of beans.
:roll:

think you missed the point. He was saying that you have to actually maintain a PC for it to run well.

The idiot thing was a crude joke of course but I do believe that Macs were definitely designed for people who either don't want/care to tweak the OS/hardware or don't know how. Macs were designed as an alternative to PCs but as time elapsed, Apple has moved towards marketing the Mac as something more "solid". They definitely don't out perform a properly configured PC (at least until they moved to Intel). Their "solid" nature is simply because Apple certifies all drivers and upgrades before they allow any manufacturer to market it as a "Mac/Apple" device. If PC manufacturers did the same then we would see the same "solid" performance out of PCs. Of course this is opposite of the whole concept of a PC and will never happen because of time, money and the PC parts market.

That being said, yes, I do believe that you have to keep a PC maintained for it to continue to work correctly.

My mother, for example, clicks YES on every single popup that she comes across on the internet. I have to periodically go through her computer and clean out all the viruses, malware, adware, trojans, etc just to get the thing running again. Once I do that the celeron2 500/128mb with an original win2k installation works fine again. It has never "crashed", only bogged down with crap TSRs and such.

As for me, I ran an original win2k installation since win2k came out. It never crashed, never bogged, never failed to work. I always cleaned out the registry and stopped useless services. Once this was done I never had any issues. I updated to WinXP due to some new programs only working in XP but I've not had a problem either.

So I think either way as long as it works for you then it is the right thing for you. I like tweaking and tinkering with low level hardware settings so I stay with windows. I like performance so I stay with AMD.. :green:

As a funny aside, I used to do computer tech support back in college, both mac and PC.

Customer: "my Windows PC is acting strange and won't dial out with the modem".

Me: "reboot it"

Customer: "that worked, thanks!"



OR......


Customer: "my Mac is acting strange and won't dial out with the modem".

Me: "reinstall the OS"

Customer; "that worked, thanks!"



Management dictated that it was much easier to fix mac issues by simply reinstalling the OS. It usually took less time too!

:green:

Hey all.


It's all cool.
I got the jist of the whole conversation but I've heard this whole argument SOO many times sometimes it still gets to me.
I shouldn't let it but it does.
(My first box was a IIc so I've heard it A LOT!)
Even the whole reboot re-install thing.
My experience has been the opposite....at least with OSX.
If a mac doesn't see somethin' I restart and it works.
(my sisters macbook goes from dead to desktop in about 7 seconds so this would be the faster solution.)
My old place of employment had a P.O.S. system that would tank every few months and they'd call in a "tech."
His job was to re-install whatever version of windows the machines were running on then reinstall the P.O.S. software.
My point is when it comes to trouble shooting it can go both ways.
I'm sure I can trouble shoot a Mac way faster than most folks who mainly use windows just as the opposite would be true and reinstalling the system is a quick fix on either side if you can't find the keys.
But in the end I agree with: "whatever works for you is best."
Though for me, the only way I'd run windows is within my OSX world through "parallels" or Clockwork Orange style...strapped into a chair with eyelid restraints.
:green: