User Manual

Apollo 8 Hardware Manual Interconnections 28
Interconnections
Installation Notes
• Apollo 8 may get hot during normal operation if it doesn’t receive adequate airflow
circulation around its chassis vents. For optimum results when mounting Apollo 8
in a rack, leaving at least one empty rack space above the unit to allow adequate
airflow for cooling is recommended.
• As with any sound system, the following steps are recommended to avoid audio
spikes in your speakers and headphones:
1. Apply power to the speakers last, after all other devices (including Apollo 8)
are powered on.
2. Turn off the speakers first, before all other devices (including Apollo 8) are
powered off.
3. Remove headphones from ears before powering Apollo 8 on or off.
Thunderbolt Connections
• Apollo 8 must be connected directly to a Thunderbolt port on the host computer.
The Apple Thunderbolt to FireWire Adapter cannot be used for the host computer
connection.
• Connect only one Apollo 8 Thunderbolt port to the host computer. Thunderbolt is
a bidirectional protocol.
• Apollo 8 cannot be bus powered via Thunderbolt. The included external power
supply must be used.
• Thunderbolt bus power is supplied to downstream (daisy-chained) peripheral
devices. Apollo 8 must be powered on for the daisy-chained peripheral to receive
Thunderbolt bus power.
About Thunderbolt 2
• Apollo 8 is a Thunderbolt 2 device. Thunderbolt 2 technology is designed for
backwards compatibility with Thunderbolt 1.
• Apollo 8 can be connected to Thunderbolt-equipped computers and other devices
that have Thunderbolt 1 ports or Thunderbolt 2 ports.
• Apollo 8 can be connected to compatible Thunderbolt 3 equipped computers with a
qualified Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt adapter. See help.uaudio.com for details.
Apollo Expanded
• When more I/O and/or DSP is needed, up to four Apollo interfaces can be
cascaded together via Thunderbolt in a multiple-unit configuration.
• For complete details about multi-unit cascading, refer to the Apollo Thunderbolt
Software Manual.