Symphony Desktop User’s Guide User’s Guide v1.
Apogee Symphony Desktop User’s Guide Contents Contents 2 Overview Introduction 4 4 Features 4 Navigating This User’s Guide 7 In the Box 8 System Requirements 8 Register your Product 8 Symphony Desktop Panel Tour 9 Getting Started Installing Apogee Desktop Software 10 10 macOS Installer 10 Windows 10 Installer 10 iPad Pro/iPhone 11 Connecting Symphony Desktop 12 AC Power 12 Connecting to a Mac or Windows computer 13 Connecting to an iPad Pro (USB-C) 13 Connecting to an iOS D
Apogee Symphony Desktop User’s Guide Tool Bar 34 System Settings Sidebar 34 Channel Section 35 General Settings 35 Analog IN Channels 1-2 36 Optical IN Channels 38 Playback Channels 38 Optical Output Channels 38 Mixer Section 39 Monitor/Output Section 40 Menu Bar Menus 41 Desktop Control Menu 41 File Menu 41 View Menu 42 Window Menu 42 Help Menu 42 Choose Your Symphony Desktop Workflows A Glossary of Important Workflow Concepts 43 43 Monitoring Workflows 46 Software Mon
Apogee Symphony Desktop User’s Guide Overview Introduction Put the Sound of a Symphony on Your Desktop Symphony Desktop for Mac, iPad Pro and Windows offers the legendary sound quality of Apogee’s flagship Symphony I/O Mk II into an elegant 10x10 audio interface that sits on your desk and fits in your bag. With Symphony Desktop, musicians and producers are empowered to record, overdub and mix with the music industry’s most respected AD/DA convertors and mic preamps.
Apogee Symphony Desktop User’s Guide Apogee Alloy Mic Preamp Emulation Apogee Alloy mic preamp emulation offers analog circuitry plus DSP processing to create the richest, most authentic audio modeling available in an audio interface. Critical aspects of the model such as input impedance, transient profile and distortion characteristics are first implemented in the analog domain, followed by precise and accurate refinement in DSP, for a hybrid result that’s greater than the sum of its parts.
Apogee Symphony Desktop User’s Guide Advanced Stepped Gain Mic Preamps At the core of the input stage, Symphony Desktop’s mic preamps offer up to 75dB of gain. The preamp design features Apogee’s unique Advanced Stepped Gain Architecture to ensure ultra-low noise and distortion regardless of the source, from pounding kick drum to delicate fingerpicking on an acoustic guitar.
Apogee Symphony Desktop User’s Guide Navigating This User’s Guide A computer-based audio production system built around the Symphony Desktop includes the following components: ● Symphony Desktop Hardware Interface ● Apogee Desktop Control software application ● Apogee Channel FX plus Apogee FX plugins ● Mac, Windows or iOS device plus a Digital audio workstation (DAW) software application ● Microphones and Instruments for recording plus speakers and headphones for listening This User’s Guide wil
Apogee Symphony Desktop User’s Guide In the Box ● ● ● ● ● ● Symphony Desktop Universal Power Supply with US (North America), UK, EU and SAA AC connector. USB-C > USB-C & USB-C > USB-A cables 1Gb USB thumb drive for Touch screen Control updates Quick Start Guide Warranty Booklet System Requirements ● ● ● ● macOS 10.
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Apogee Symphony Desktop User’s Guide Getting Started Installing Apogee Desktop Software To register your product and receive the Symphony Desktop Installer, learn the most up-to-date information on new releases, and view Interactive tutorials, click the link below. www.apogeedigital.com/support/symphonydesktop Once you’ve registered your Symphony Desktop, you’ll receive an email with links to Mac and Windows versions of the Symphony Desktop Installer download.
Apogee Symphony Desktop User’s Guide 3. Click Next through all steps, then click Finish at the final step. 4. You should restart your computer immediately. 5. The User’s Guides are installed on your computer’s desktop. iPad Pro/iPhone There is no software to be installed when using Symphony Desktop with an iPad Pro or other iOS device like your iPhone. All Desktop settings are accessed from the touch screen.
Apogee Symphony Desktop User’s Guide Connecting Symphony Desktop AC Power 1. Connect the supplied Universal power supply to your AC (wall) outlet. ● For Type A-compatible outlets (North America) - Flip down the connector blades. ● For Type C,G or I- compatible outlets (UK, EU & SAA) Slide the adaptor down over the closed connector blades. 2. IMPORTANT, READ CAREFULLY- Symphony Desktop’s DC connection includes a locking mechanism.
Apogee Symphony Desktop User’s Guide Connecting to a Mac or Windows computer Using one of the supplied cables (USB-C to USB-C or USB-C to USB-A), connect Symphony Desktop’s USB-C port to a USB port on your Mac or Windows computer. Be sure to use Symphony Desktop’s USB-C port, not the port labelled USB Host. Connecting to an iPad Pro (USB-C) Using the supplied USB-C to USB-C, connect Symphony Desktop’s USB-C port to the iPad Pro’s USB-C connector.
Apogee Symphony Desktop User’s Guide Update Touch Screen Control Please note - Before using Symphony Desktop, it’s necessary to update Touch Screen Control, using the supplied USB thumb drive. If you don’t have the supplied thumb drive, any USB thumb drive formatted in the FAT32 format will work. See below for formatting instructions on Mac & Windows. 1. Connect the supplied USB thumb drive to your computer. To connect to a USB-C port, use a USB-A to USB-C adapter. 2.
Apogee Symphony Desktop User’s Guide To use your own USB thumb drive, it must be formatted to the FAT32 file system. 1. On macOS: ● Connect your USB drive to your computer, then open Disk Utility from the Applications > Utilities folder. ● In the menu bar, select View > Show All Devices. ● In the left hand External column, click the USB thumb drive Root Device (i.e the volume representing the thumb drive that’s higher and to the left). ● In the upper Toolbar, click the Erase button.
Apogee Symphony Desktop User’s Guide Configure OS to use Symphony Desktop for Audio I/O macOS To choose Symphony Desktop as the audio interface for Mac applications that don’t have specific audio hardware preferences, such as Safari, Spotify, Voice Memos and others: 1. Open System Preferences by choosing Apple menu > System Preferences. 2. Click the Sound icon to open the Sound preferences panel. 3. Click the Output tab, then click on Symphony Desktop in the devices list. 4.
Apogee Symphony Desktop User’s Guide Apple iOS Apple iOS automatically chooses the most recently connected audio interface as the audio I/O device for all applications. Simply connect Symphony Desktop to your iOS device’s Lightning or USB-C port as described here.
Apogee Symphony Desktop User’s Guide Connecting Your Studio A wide range of devices, including dynamic & condenser microphones, electric instruments, speakers, headphones, and digital I/O expanders may be connected to Symphony Desktop. 1. Connect microphones and line level audio gear to the rear panel XLR inputs. ● Connect dynamic and condenser mics to XLR inputs, then set Analog Level to Mic from the touch screen (link) or Desktop Control (link).
Apogee Symphony Desktop User’s Guide 3. Connect consumer headphones, earbuds and balanced armature headphones (with comparatively low impedance and higher sensitivity) to the rear panel ⅛” headphone output. 4. Connect Main outputs 1-2 directly to active speakers. If your speakers are equipped with XLR inputs, use a ¼” TRS (tip-ring-sleeve) to XLR male adaptor cable. If using passive speakers, connect the Main outputs to the speaker’s amplifier inputs. 5.
Apogee Symphony Desktop User’s Guide 8. Connect audio gear equipped with optical outputs only (such as mic preamp expanders, CD players, and other hi-fi devices) to the rear panel Optical input. Thanks to transparent sample rate conversion on the optical input, there’s no need to clock one device to the other - both may remain set to Internal clock. ● Set Symphony Desktop Optical format to match that of the connected device from the touch screen (link) or Desktop Control (link). 9.
Apogee Symphony Desktop User’s Guide Standalone Operation Symphony Desktop may be used standalone (i.e not connected to a computer) with any digital audio device equipped with S/PDIF or ADAT/SMUX optical I/O. To configure for standalone operation, make the following settings from the touch screen: 1. Connect Symphony Desktop Optical output to the device’s Optical in; connect the device’s Optical out to Desktop’s Optical in (as shown in figure 9). 2.
Apogee Symphony Desktop User’s Guide TFT Touch Screen Control The immersive Touch Screen Control and responsive Control knob gives you total control over all aspects of Symphony Desktop, from input and output levels, mic preamp emulation, Direct monitoring mixers and routing. Navigating the Touch screen Interface The touch screen interface consists of three primary views - Input/Output, Mixer, and System Settings, accessible by tapping the icons indicated below.
Apogee Symphony Desktop User’s Guide I/O View Input 1 Overview Input 1 Settings 2. In the upper right hand corner of the touch screen, the hardware sample rate and current USB connection status are displayed. The Mixer view provides access to Symphony Desktop’s two Direct monitoring mixers. 1. Tap the Mixer icon repeatedly to toggle between the two Direct mixers. You can also swipe L<>R between the mixers. 2.
Apogee Symphony Desktop User’s Guide The System Settings views provide complete I/O routing plus system level settings. ● Swipe left <> right to navigate through the 3 System Settings views. All I/O, Mixer and System Settings views are described in greater detail below.
Apogee Symphony Desktop User’s Guide I/O Views Input 1-2 Overview The Input 1-2 Overview has 3 different presentations, based on the Preamp setting: SD-MP, AP-66 and AP-57. 1. Input Gain - tap to set the gain of the preamp with the Control knob, when Analog Level is set to Mic or Instrument. Gain Control is hidden when Analog Level is set to +4dBu or -10 dBV line input. 2. Digital meter - displays the digital level after A/D conversion 3.
Apogee Symphony Desktop User’s Guide Input 1-2 Settings 1. Analog Level - choose the analog reference level for Analog inputs 1-2. ● Choose Mic when connecting microphones or direct boxes to the XLR input. ● Choose Inst when connecting a guitar, keyboard, or any high impedance (Hi-Z) instrument to the 1/4” input (balanced TRS or unbalanced TS). ● Choose +4dBu when connecting “pro” gear with a nominal +4 dBu output level (such as an external mic pre, compressor, or EQ) to the XLR input.
Apogee Symphony Desktop User’s Guide Main Out Overview 1. Level - set the level of Main outputs 1-2; 2. Source Meter - displays the digital level of the Main output source, before D/A conversion; 3. Main Out parameters: ● Mute - mute the Main outputs 1-2. ● Dim - dim (reduce) the Main output 1-2 level by 15 dB. ● Sum to Mono - sum to mono the Main outputs. Main Out Settings 1.
Apogee Symphony Desktop User’s Guide Headphone Out 1-2 Overview 1. Level - displays the level of the headphone output: ● HP1 = front panel output. ● HP2 = rear panel output. 2. Source Meter - displays the digital level of the HP output source, before D/A conversion. 3. Main Out parameters: ● Mute - mute the Main outputs 1-2. ● Dim - dim (reduce) the Main output 1-2 level by 15 dB. ● Sum to Mono - sum to mono the Main outputs. Headphone Out 1-2 Settings 1.
Apogee Symphony Desktop User’s Guide Mixer Views Mixer Overview 1. Tap the Mixer icon repeatedly to toggle between the two Direct mixers. You can also swipe L<>R between the mixers. 2. Tap repeatedly or swipe to toggle between Analog IN Channel settings views. 3. Tap repeatedly or swipe to toggle between Optical IN Channel settings views. 4. Tap repeatedly or swipe to toggle between Playback Channel settings views. 5. Tap to display the Mixer Master settings view.
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Apogee Symphony Desktop User’s Guide Input meter (mono or stereo) - displays the digital signal level of the channel. The Analog IN channel levels are post A/D conversion. Stereo Link - tap to toggle the channel between mono and stereo. Playback channels are always stereo linked, so no button appears. Channel fader - Set the level of the channel signal in the Mixer Master stereo output.
Apogee Symphony Desktop User’s Guide Page 2 1. Optical Meters - tap to show or hide Optical I/O level meters on the I/O View. 2. Optical Format - tap to set the Optical I/O digital format: ● S/PDIF - 2 channel format at sample rates of 44.1-96kHz. ● ADAT - 8 channel format at sample rates of 44.1-48 kHz. ● SMUX - 4 channel format at sample rates of 88.2-96kHz. 3. Controller - set the behavior of the top panel Control knob when tapped: ● None - nothing happens when tapping the Control knob.
Apogee Symphony Desktop User’s Guide Page 3 1. Sleep Timer - tap to set the time that, if untouched, the touch screen enters sleep mode. 2. Display Brightness - set the brightness of the touch screen. 3. Sample Rate ● When Symphony Desktop is connected to a computer or iPad, the sample rate is a read-only indicator of the current sample rate. ● When Symphony Desktop is not connected, i.e. in Standalone mode, tap to set the system sample rate. 4. Update - Check and update Touch Screen Control. 5.
Apogee Symphony Desktop User’s Guide Apogee Desktop Control Software The Apogee Desktop Control application provides access to all settings, including System setup, direct monitor mixing, hardware DSP and Monitor controller functionality. Primary Window All features and settings of the Symphony Desktop interface can be controlled from the Primary window.
Apogee Symphony Desktop User’s Guide Tool Bar 1. 2. 3. 4. Show/hide System Settings sidebar Clear Meters Mute Outputs Open the Hover Help window System Settings Sidebar Provides System-wide settings that apply to your recording system as a whole. 1. System Status Display - Displays the status of the connected hardware. ● Green - System is ready: Hardware is connected and recognized, and the digital clock is locked to the Clock Source. ● Red - System not ready.
Apogee Symphony Desktop User’s Guide ● ADAT/SMUX: Optical I/O is formatted in the ADAT/SMUX format, which offers 8 channels 44.1/48kHz sample rate and 4 channels at 88.2/96kHz. 9. Mixer View - Show/hide the Direct mixers in the Primary window. 10. Channel FX Recall Preference - When a DAW session is opened which contains linked Channel FX plugins, this setting determines which Channel FX - the Direct Mixer plugin or the DAW plugin - overwrites the other.
3. 4. 5. 6. Apogee Symphony Desktop User’s Guide Channel Icon - Displays the channel type. Analog IN icons display the input type selected from the Analog Level drop-down. Input Channel Level Meter - displays the digital signal level of the channel. The Analog IN channel levels are post A/D conversion. Print FX On/Off - Toggle on/off Apogee Channel FX plugins on the Print signal path. Load Print FX - Load and modify Apogee Channel FX plugins on the Print signal path.
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Apogee Symphony Desktop User’s Guide Optical IN Channels 11. Optical IN channels represent digital inputs from external digital audio devices like standalone mic preamp expanders, digitally connected synths, and others. ● Optical inputs are routed to software (DAW) inputs 3-10, depending on the Optical Format setting; ● Optical inputs are routed to direct monitoring Mixers 1 & 2; ● Optical inputs may be routed to Optical and Monitor outputs for Standalone operation. Playback Channels 1.
Apogee Symphony Desktop User’s Guide Mixer Section The mixer section provides two independent mixers for blending Analog, Optical and Playback inputs. ● Route mixer outputs to Main and headphone outputs for low latency direct monitoring while recording; ● Route mixer outputs directly to audio software inputs; ● Route mixer outputs to Optical for standalone mixing. 1. Mixer View - toggle the faders, pan controls and Mute/Solo buttons between two independent mixers, Mixer 1 and Mixer 2. 2.
Apogee Symphony Desktop User’s Guide Monitor/Output Section In the Monitor/Output Section, select the signals to be routed to the Main and Headphone outputs, then control their volume. Output Level Meters display the presence of signal at the outputs, useful as a diagnostic tool. 1. Output Level Meters - Displays the level of the HP1, HP2 or Main outputs’ digital source. The following settings are available for the Main, HP1 and HP2 outputs: 2.
Apogee Symphony Desktop User’s Guide Menu Bar Menus Desktop Control Menu About Symphony Desktop Control - Choose this menu item to display version information for all hardware connected and software elements installed on your Mac.
Apogee Symphony Desktop User’s Guide View Menu System Settings - Choose this menu item to open the System Settings sidebar Enter Full Screen - Choose this menu item to expand Element Control to fill the display screen. Window Menu Selecting an item in the Window Menu switches to a view of that selection. Help Menu Use the Search Field to search for a specific menu item. Symphony Desktop Support Online - Select this menu item to be taken to the Apogee website’s Support page for Symphony Desktop.
Apogee Symphony Desktop User’s Guide Choose Your Symphony Desktop Workflows In the previous sections of this User’s Guide, the individual components of Symphony Desktop have been described in detail. This section describes how these components work together to form a sophisticated and efficient audio production environment. All of us - producers, engineers and artists - have their preferences when recording and mixing, so Symphony Desktop offers a wide variety of compelling workflow options.
Apogee Symphony Desktop User’s Guide Thus, the Buffer setting is always a compromise between lower latency and more processing power. Monitoring - One of the fundamental workflow choices you’ll make is input monitoring - that is, how performers hear themselves while recording. Symphony Desktop offers two monitoring workflows, Software monitoring and Direct monitoring, which are described below in greater detail.
Apogee Symphony Desktop User’s Guide Monitor FX - in contrast to Print FX, Monitor FX are on channel playback, and are thus “non-destructive” - you can always change your mind. As you become more confident with plugin processing, you may choose to print some effects while monitoring through others.
Apogee Symphony Desktop User’s Guide Monitoring Workflows The two basic monitoring workflows, Software monitoring and Direct monitoring, are described below. Software Monitoring When your system is set up for Software monitoring, the audio that the performer hears is routed through the DAW, including plugins and mixers, and thus incurs the maximum latency of the system, as shown below. ● ● Pros - This is the simplest monitoring workflow, where most settings are made in the DAW window.
Apogee Symphony Desktop User’s Guide Direct Monitoring Direct Monitoring, aka Low Latency Mixing - When the processing demands of your session require a higher Buffer setting that causes disruptive latency, Direct monitoring lets performers hear themselves through a separate mixer running on hardware DSP and controlled in Desktop Control software. The Direct mixer avoids the latency-inducing round trip through the DAW.
Apogee Symphony Desktop User’s Guide Plugin Processing Workflows Symphony Desktop also includes flexible and powerful onboard DSP processing that supports a wide range of innovative workflows - 1) Apogee Alloy mic preamp emulation; 2) Print FX; 3) Monitor FX (DualPath Monitoring); and 4) Native operation. Plugin Processing workflows are independent of your monitoring workflow, with the exception of DualPath monitoring, which is Apogee’s revolutionary approach to Direct monitoring with plugins.
Apogee Symphony Desktop User’s Guide Print FX With Print FX, you can shape your sound as you record it using up to 6 Apogee FX EQ, compression and saturation plugins running on Symphony Desktop hardware DSP. Print FX processing may be applied to analog and optical inputs. Print FX plugins are inserted in the signal path before the direct monitoring mixer and the “send” to your DAW, as shown below.
Apogee Symphony Desktop User’s Guide Monitor FX & DualPath Monitoring With Monitor FX and DualPath monitoring, users experience workflow benefits that have previously only been available with Avid Pro Tools HD - 1) very low latency, even when the DAW IO Buffer size is high 2) simple, non-destructive plugin workflow - open a single plugin in your DAW that processes monitoring and playback 3) control from a single app window - your DAW.
Apogee Symphony Desktop User’s Guide Monitor FX & Software Monitoring If you’ve configured your system for Software monitoring, you can still benefit from Monitor FX, even when Symphony Desktop isn’t connected to your computer. Plugins opened in the Monitor FX tab in your DAW are powered natively by your computer’s CPU, so they work even when you’re using Built-In headphone outputs or other audio hardware.
Apogee Symphony Desktop User’s Guide Using the Apogee Channel FX Plugin The Apogee Channel FX plugin provides access to all Symphony Desktop DSP processing, and includes two unique capabilities to unlock the wide range of processing workflows: ● The Channel FX plugin can be opened both in the Desktop Control app (where plugins run on Apogee hardware DSP) and natively in your DAW (where the plugins run on your computer’s CPU).
Apogee Symphony Desktop User’s Guide To set up the Channel FX plugin, open it in your DAW and link it to a hardware input: 1. Match the Channel Link setting to the DAW Input dropdown list setting 2. Once linked, all Analog IN 1 hardware controls, including Analog Level, Gain, Input settings, Direct Mixer Channel fader and pan may be controlled from the Channel FX plugin. 3. Mic preamp emulation selection and settings may be made from the Preamp tab. 4.
Apogee Symphony Desktop User’s Guide Additional Workflows Mix Inputs Before Recording You can use the Symphony Desktop Mixer to mix hardware inputs and record the mixed output: 1) use two mics to capture an instrument and record a blend to one DAW track; 2) pan one input to the center of a stereo output for audio apps without panning functionality. In this workflow, Direct Mixer 1 is used to mix hardware inputs which are then routed to DAW channel inputs.
Apogee Symphony Desktop User’s Guide Configuring Your DAW Find below detailed information to configure Symphony Desktop with popular DAWs: ● Configure the DAW to use Symphony Desktop ● Configure the DAW for Direct or Software monitoring ● Access Symphony Desktop inputs & outputs in the DAW ● Additional DAW-specific notes Apple Logic Pro To configure Apple Logic Pro to use Symphony Desktop: 1. In the Logic Pro menu bar, choose Logic Pro > Preferences > Audio in the menu bar, then click the Device tab. 2.
Apogee Symphony Desktop User’s Guide 1. From the Logic Pro menu bar, choose Mix > I/O Labels. 2. Choose the Provided by Driver labels by clicking on the first label, dragging your mouse down until all Symphony Desktop labels are highlighted, then unclick. 3. Close the I/O labels window. 4. Select Symphony Desktop inputs and outputs in any Logic Pro Channel Strip.
Apogee Symphony Desktop User’s Guide Avid Pro Tools To configure Avid Pro Tools to use Symphony Desktop: 1. Open Pro Tools, then choose Setup > Playback Engine in the menu bar. 2. Set Playback Engine to Symphony Desktop. 3. Set H/W Buffer Size to 128 to start, adjust for lower latency or more plugin power. To configure Pro Tools for Direct or Software Monitoring Workflow: 1. In the Pro Tools menu bar, set Options > Low Latency Monitoring. ● Uncheck Low Latency Monitoring for Software monitoring.
Apogee Symphony Desktop User’s Guide 1. To use native reverb while Direct monitoring, choose Pro Tools > Preferences to open the Preferences window; click the Mixing tab, then check “Allow Sends to persist during LLM” under Setup. 2. When checked, Pro Tools channels behave in the following manner that’s crucial to the DualPath workflow and other operations of the Channel FX plugin. ● When Record or Input is activated on the channel, the plugin interface remains active including level meters.
Apogee Symphony Desktop User’s Guide Ableton Live To configure Ableton Live to use Symphony Desktop: 1. In the Live menu bar, choose Live > Preferences and click the Audio tab. 2. Mac - set Driver Type to CoreAudio; Windows - set Driver Type to Apogee ASIO Driver. 3. Set Audio Input Device and Audio Output Device to Symphony Desktop. 4. Set Buffer Size to 128 Samples to start, adjust for lower latency or more plugin power. To configure Ableton Live for Direct or Software Monitoring Workflow: 1.
Apogee Symphony Desktop User’s Guide To set channel Input & Output list labels: ● ● ● Choose Live > Preferences and click the Audio tab. Under Audio Device, click the Input Config and Output Config buttons. Activate inputs & outputs by clicking the numbered buttons. Once activated, enter your preferred label, i.e. Analog IN 1, Playback 1-2.
Apogee Symphony Desktop User’s Guide Troubleshooting For more information ● ● ● ● Apogee KnowledgeBase and FAQs Informational Videos Apogee Product Registration How to contact Apogee Technical Support Please visit: www.apogeedigital.
Apogee Symphony Desktop User’s Guide Specifications System Requirements Computer ● MacOS 10.
Apogee Symphony Desktop User’s Guide Warranty Information and Legal Notices APOGEE ELECTRONICS CORPORATION warrants this product to be free of defects in material and manufacture under normal use for a period of 12 months. The term of this warranty begins on the date of sale to the purchaser from an authorized Apogee dealer (proof of purchase in the form of a receipt may be required).
Apogee Symphony Desktop User’s Guide Interference-Causing Equipment Regulations. Cet appareil numérique de la classe B respecte toutes les exigences du Règlement sur le matérial brouilleur du Canada.
