Apogee One
Hardware USB audio interface for Apple Macintosh
Price: £187.20
Welcome to the AudioBeef review of Apogee ONE — a pocket-sized audio interface for Apple Macintosh with microphone and guitar inputs, plus a built-in microphone.
The Apogee ONE audio interface is a device that lets you get audio in and out of your computer for professional applications. This product is for Mac only, and it shows — it is designed to complement Apple design, and it looks impressive.
How exactly does ONE work? It interfaces with your computer via a USB connection, and has a breakout cable which is where the audio is channeled. On the breakout cable are an XLR microphone input and a TRS 1/4″ input. The lack of a second TRS input suggests that this product is designed for use with guitars, as most other sources, such as a DJ deck, require a stereo pair. The microphone input has phantom power, enabling one to work with condenser microphones. The main output on ONE is found at the foot of the device – a 1/8″ inch stereo mini-jack. An inbuilt microphone on the unit’s face is visible as a small dot, enabling one to record in better quality than one could by talking into a Mac’s microphone.
After installing the proprietary Maestro software, ONE’s core features are accessed via the the large, silver encoder knob. These features are illustrated on the unit’s face as icons with selector LEDs for “microphone input gain”, “internal microphone input gain”, “instrument input gain” and “output gain”. To select different features, one pushes the encoder knob until it clicks, to which the selected feature briefly fades into view on the Mac screen as an icon with volume bar underneath. The system works well – it’s quick, painless and clear.
Now – onto Apogee ONE’s microphone preamp, which is based on the award-winning mic preamps in Apogee’s Ensemble and Duet audio interfaces. These preamps have a reputation for sounding good at a low price, considering that Apogee’s high-end products boast some of the most acclaimed preamps in the world. Apogee is a brand synonymous with high-quality audio, and it delivers on ONE’s preamp — it sounds clean and crisp — one could never tell that a recording through a good condenser microphone and the Apogee ONE was done on such a budget interface.
Is ONE the one?
The Apogee ONE is designed as a highly portable mess-free solution to producing music, suited to producers who are always moving around that need to be able to record and produce anywhere at any time. It is also aimed at producers who don’t want to spend a lot of money but need a solution to recording vocals and bass/guitar.
Several potential features on ONE have been sacrificed to keep the unit as portable as possible. For example, ONE lacks stereo inputs, preventing the user out-of-the-box from recording sources such as DJ mixers, hardware samplers and CD players. Also, ONE has a single output, preventing the user from using headphones and speakers simultaneously. Finally, ONE doesn’t have a TRS headphone output, disabling the use of select high-quality headphones.
The Apogee ONE is a feature rich device in a small space. The following should be considered when choosing to buy the Apogee ONE: the bigger the device, the higher the cost and more potential for features; the smaller the device, the more portability, less price and less features. Apogee make the world’s best audio interfaces, and already manufacture larger, feature-rich high-quality devices, and so the ONE has been created with ultimate portability in mind. Within this portable framework, Apogee has done its best at stuffing in as many features as possible; you can get audio in and out of your computer, which means you can record vocals or guitar, and listen back on your speakers. The bonus microphone built into the device is a clever, welcome addition – the quality is high for such a small thing, and it’s able to fool people into thinking it’s a “real microphone”.
As a portable music-production and recording device then, ONE is a product to be proud of — a trick up the sleeve of a savvy music producer; or a get-out-of-jail card when all your other gear blows up and you need to get a guitar part down quick.
Geek Stats
44.1/48kHz
24-bit
4″ W x 6.3″ L x 1.5″ H
