50% More Power, Elite-class AD/DA, and More!
Place the Universal Audio Apollo x8 at the center of your studio, and it's guaranteed to turbocharge your productivity. Track and mix with 50% more processing power than previous Apollos, thanks to UA's powerful 6-core HEXA Core processor. Experience top-shelf sound quality, by way of the Apollo x8's upgraded elite-class AD/DA conversion and Dual Crystal clocking. Pro users will appreciate native 7.1 surround monitoring support, selectable +24dBu operation, built-in talkback, and more. Four Unison preamps allow you to track through models of the industry's most legendary hardware. Beyond that, you get sub-2ms latency and ample expandability, thanks to the Apollo x8's ultra-fast Thunderbolt 3 connectivity. Finally, the Apollo x8 boasts compatibility with UA’s LUNA software, giving you a tightly integrated recording, editing, and mixing environment, with full software-based control over your interface’s parameters, global console and tape emulations, and advanced real-time tracking. If there was ever a time to upgrade to the newest Apollo, now's the time!
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Track and mix with powerful HEXA Core processing
There are times when your computer doesn't have enough power and speed to run all the plug-ins your recording session requires. That's where UA's powerful 6-core HEXA Core processor comes in. This processor yields 50% more power than the previous generation. This means that you can track in real-time with Neve, Manley, or API channel strips, or run large UAD plug-in counts while mixing in your DAW. The engineers here at Sweetwater appreciate being able to inject guitars with the tube warmth of a Pultec EQ, add the musical limiting of an LA-2A to a vocal, and pump up drums with an 1176 or Fairchild 670 — all in real-time. It's the closest thing to having the real hardware.
Computer not included.
Elite-class AD/DA conversion offers ultra-pristine sound
Apollos have always sounded great, but the Apollo x8's AD/DA conversion takes it to the next level. When they were designing the latest generation of Apollos, UA engineers auditioned the latest leading-edge AD/DA technology, ultimately pairing elite-class 24-bit/192kHz converters with overhauled analog circuitry. The result is an ultra-pristine signal path with 129dB dynamic range and -128dB THD+N. Beyond that, Dual Crystal clocking supplies a low-jitter environment for pure, artifact-free recording and solid stereo imaging. Dive in, and you'll hear for it yourself — the Apollo x8's AD/DA rivals any high-end standalone converter on the market.
A bevy of pro-level features
You can find Apollos in professional studios worldwide. That said, users have been clamoring for certain pro-level features. Good news — Universal Audio has been listening! So what's new? First of all, the Apollo x8 includes 7.1 surround monitoring support, complete with speaker calibration and fold-down. This is great news for engineers working on audio and music for video games, film, television, and the web. Beyond that, the Apollo x8 was tailor-made for your analog console and other high-end gear, courtesy of its selectable +24dBu operation. Thanks to these and other great features, the Apollo x8 makes a great centerpiece for any studio.
Capture the sound of legendary preamps with Unison technology
The Apollo x8's Unison preamp technology goes so far beyond traditional software modeling and emulations that it's really in a category all its own. In essence, Unison is a bidirectional communication between the Apollo x8's mic preamp and a Unison-capable plug-in, such as the included 610-B plug-in that re-creates the sound of UA's classic 610 tube preamp.
The plug-in actually adjusts the preamp circuit itself, including parameters such as impedance, analog gain structure, and much more. When you adjust the Apollo x8's preamp gain knob and physical controls, the plug-in adjusts the preamp's behavior to match the target preamp. So you're not simply filtering your audio to approximate the character of a famous preamp — your microphone is now interacting with the Apollo x8's input the same way it would behave with the "modeled" preamplifier.
UAD plug-ins astounded the recording world with their incredible ability to sound like analog processors, eliminating the need for large racks of gear in the studio. Unison preamp technology will do the same thing for your mic inputs, eliminating the need to collect and maintain expensive hardware preamps just for sonic variety.
Thunderbolt: ultra-low latency and unrivaled bandwidth
Thunderbolt is one of the most important technologies to impact audio production in years, and UA was one of the first to adopt it. Thanks to its blazing-fast connectivity, Thunderbolt offers lower latency and greater stability than USB or FireWire, clocking in with the speed and ultra-fast performance of a PCI Express system. In fact, the Apollo x8's Thunderbolt 3 connection runs projects with high track counts at latencies of less than 2ms! On top of that, multiple Apollo interfaces can be networked over Thunderbolt to add fast, high-bandwidth I/O and DSP to your studio. You don't even need a brand-new computer — the Apollo x8's two built-in Thunderbolt 3 ports are backward-compatible with Thunderbolt 1 and 2 Macs (adapter sold separately).
Sensational plug-in bundle included!
UAD Powered Plug-ins have earned their reputation for being some of the most accurate emulations of analog audio equipment ever created. The astonishing processing power of the UAD platform is what makes these plug-ins sound so great. You simply can't get the depth, color, and character these plug-ins have without devoting huge CPU resources to them. Best of all, Apollo x8 lets you record your audio through UAD plug-ins in real time with sub-2ms latency. You'll receive the Realtime Analog Classics Plus bundle, which includes:
- UA 610-B Tube Preamp and EQ
- Marshall Plexi Classic Amplifier
- Fairchild 670 (Legacy)
- Teletronix LA-2A Classic Leveling Amplifier (Legacy)
- 1176SE Classic Limiting Amplifiers (Legacy)
- 1176 LN Classic Limiting Amplifiers (Legacy)
- Pultec Pro Equalizers (Legacy)
- Ampeg SVT-VR Classic Bass Amp
- Precision Mix Rack Collection
- UA Precision Enhancer Hz
- Raw Distortion
- RealVerb Pro
Compatible with LUNA — UA’s complete music production environment with ultra-tight hardware/software integration
This Universal Audio Thunderbolt-equipped audio interface is compatible with UA’s free LUNA software. LUNA is a complete music production environment for tracking, editing, and mixing. And thanks to its ultra-tight hardware/software integration, you can take control of your interface’s monitoring, talkback, and headphone systems, track and overdub with UAD DSP-accelerated plug-ins in real time, and benefit from full software-based control over Apollo’s Unison mic preamps, all without leaving your production software. LUNA is the closest you’ll come to an analog workflow in the software realm. It delivers spot-on analog sound, along with the creative immediacy of real-time processing.
LUNA also includes Accelerated Realtime Monitoring, which supplies fast analog-style tracking and overdubbing using Apollo’s onboard DSP acceleration. Anyone who’s used a high-end DSP-assisted hardware/DAW recording system will appreciate the super-tight integration between LUNA and Universal Audio interfaces. LUNA also supplies you with unlimited track counts, contextual editing and browsing, UAD and AU plug-in compatibility, a session auto-save function, and AAF importing.
LUNA software comes with the Shape Creative Toolkit, a superb virtual instrument with modern and vintage keys, drums/percussion, guitar/bass, orchestral content, and real-time synthesis, plus the Oxide Tape Extension, a killer saturation effect, right out of the box. But to get the most out of this system, you’ll want UA’s LUNA Creator Bundle (sold separately). This bundle includes ultra-realistic Neve 80 Series console and Studer A800 multitrack tape extensions, plus two software instruments. The best part about LUNA extensions is that once you install them, their sound is baked right into LUNA’s mixer — no need to instantiate a bunch of plug-ins.
Note: The Universal Audio LUNA requires a Thunderbolt-equipped Apollo or Arrow interface. It’s also Mac only — Windows is not supported at the present time. Call your Sweetwater Sales Engineer for more details.
Universal Audio Apollo x8 Features:
- 18-in/24-out Thunderbolt 3 audio interface for Mac or PC, with onboard UAD-2 HEXA Core processing
- 6-core HEXA Core offers 50% more processing power than previous Apollos
- Upgraded elite-class AD/DA conversion supplies an ultra-pristine signal path with 129dB dynamic range and -118dB THD+N
- Dual Crystal clocking supplies a low-jitter environment for pure, artifact-free recording and solid stereo imaging
- 4 Unison preamps allow you to track through models of the industry's most legendary hardware
- 7.1 surround monitoring support for engineers working on video games, film, television, and the web
- Selectable +24dBu operation for easy integration with analog consoles and other high-end studio gear
- Integrated talkback for easy communication and slating takes
- Ultra-fast Thunderbolt 3 connectivity provides less than 2ms of latency and ample expandability
- Realtime Analog Classics Plus UAD plug-in bundle included featuring 16 amazing plug-in emulations
- Track and monitor through plug-ins with no latency
- Compatible with UA’s LUNA software for ultra-tight hardware/software integration
- Backward-compatible with Thunderbolt 1 and 2 Macs (adapter sold separately)
