Apogee Ensemble TB 

Superior Sound Quality. Powerful Plugin Performance. Lowest Latency.

Ensemble Thunderbolt™ is the best sounding all-in-one audio recording interface for Mac. With ultra-low latency performance, comprehensive studio functionality and legendary Apogee quality, Ensemble is the ideal choice to meet the diverse demands of the professional home or commercial studio. Ensemble features premium Apogee AD/DA conversion, 8 Advanced Stepped Gain™ mic preamps, monitor controller functionality including talkback, front panel Guitar I/O, two headphone outputs and digital connectivity for a total of 30 x 34 I/O.

Ensemble Thunderbolt Highlights

• 8 Mic preamps with up to 75 dB of gain and Advanced Stepped Gain circuit
• Legendary Apogee AD/DA conversion
• Thunderbolt connectivity for ultra-low latency (1.1ms round trip with Logic Pro X)
• Front panel Guitar I/O with Class A JFET inputs, dual mode re-amp outputs
• Talkback functionality with built-in mic and control button
• 2 PurePower headphone outputs
• 10 separately assignable analog inputs
• 16 analog outputs of premium Apogee conversion
• Core Audio optimized DMA engine frees up Mac CPU for plugins and software instruments
• Apogee Control software offers highly customizable workflow and Essentials Control Strip window
• Compatible with Apogee Control hardware remote studio controller
• Connect two Ensembles to your Mac and double your analog inputs and outputs
• Connect any Apogee Element series interface to Ensemble for additional Ensemble quality inputs and outputs

The Best of Apogee.
The Power of Thunderbolt.

Blending the best of Apogee’s acclaimed innovations with groundbreaking new features and the power of Thunderbolt technology, the completely redesigned Ensemble sets a new standard for personal studio interfaces.

Great-sounding plugins for Ensemble
that work the way you want to

Apogee FX Rack Plugins are made with the same quest for quality and obsessive attention to detail as Apogee hardware products. Thanks to Apogee’s unique DualPath DSP-Native technology,  Apogee FX Rack plugins can run both on the hardware DSP in Ensemble Thunderbolt and Element Series interfaces and as native plugins on your Mac. Apogee’s DualPath technology opens up a variety of popular, simplified workflows, always with the lowest latency. No other system offers this level of flexibility and sound quality.

Featuring DualPath monitoring, available exclusively
with Ensemble and Element Series interfaces

True Thunderbolt Performance

Ensemble delivers the full potential of Thunderbolt 2 performance with the lowest latency, unmatched CPU efficiency, 2 ports for expanding your system and a revolutionary 32-bit playback signal path.

The Lowest Latency of any Audio Interface

Ensemble’s proprietary Thunderbolt driver has been written from the ground up for Mac OS X Mavericks, resulting in unmatched performance and efficiency. Latency has been reduced to an astounding 1.1ms round-trip*, allowing you to monitor through your DAW, plug-ins included, simplifying your workflow and leveraging the power of your Mac. Even when your session’s DSP demands require a higher buffer setting, Ensemble’s ultra-low latency means no longer having to choose between power and speed.

To accommodate different workflow preferences, Ensemble features optional direct hardware monitoring through Apogee’s Control Software with 0.6ms of latency.

* Logic Pro X at 96kHz / 32 buffer setting

A Difference You Will Hear

Apogee is an award-winning industry leader in digital recording technology with over 25 years of experience. Preferred by recording pros around the world, Apogee products like Duet, Quartet, the original Ensemble and Symphony I/O have been instrumental in creating countless GRAMMY® and OSCAR® winning recordings and have set the industry standard in professional recording for over two decades. Ensemble is built solidly on this reputation.

From the mic preamps to the AD/DA converters and the clocking, Ensemble is best-in-class and cutting-edge Apogee technology. With components carefully selected in critical listening tests and a highly efficient circuit design, Ensemble was built by Apogee engineers to make a difference you can hear.

Measurably Superior A/D Conversion

Ensemble’s analog-to-digital conversion stage has been upgraded from previous generations of Apogee products such as Duet and Quartet to provide greater dynamic range, lower distortion and an almost non-existent noise level.

Dynamically Optimized Mic Preamps

Ensemble’s 8 uniquely designed mic preamps feature Apogee’s Advanced Stepped Gain Architecture™, in which the circuit is dynamically optimized to provide superior bandwidth, ultra low noise and nonexistent distortion across the unprecedented gain range of 0-75 dB. Whether recording powerful drums, dynamic vocals or delicate strings, your recordings retain the full impact, intricate detail and lifelike dimension of the original performance.

ESS Sabre32 DAC Technology

ESS Sabre32 32-bit Hyperstream DAC with Time Domain Jitter Eliminator offers unequalled dynamic range, ultra low distortion, and unmatched audio clarity free from input jitter.

Custom Power Regulation for Ultra-Low Noise Performance

Ensemble’s mic pre, A/D and D/A circuitry are powered by discrete, Apogee-designed power regulators for ultra-low noise not obtainable with off-the-shelf components. This design was first implemented in Apogee’s flagship Symphony I/O’s 3-Stage Cascaded power supply.

Soft Limit for protection from digital overs

An Apogee technology first introduced in 1992 on Apogee’s AD-500 converter, Soft Limit can be heard on countless platinum selling records around the world. Once a technology exclusively reserved for Apogee’s most advanced audio converters, Soft Limit is included in Ensemble and can be enabled in Apogee Control software or from the front panel.

This superior FET-based analog design prevents the digital clipping that causes distortion by instantaneously rounding off transient peaks before they hit the analog-to-digital converter. Soft Limit allows several more decibels of apparent level to be recorded while subtly providing an analog tape-like warmth to the sound.

System Requirements

Mac OS:
Computer: Thunderbolt-equipped Mac (iMac, Macbook Pro, Macbook Air, Mac Pro)
Memory: 4 GB RAM minimum, 8 GB recommended
OS: 10.9.3 or greater
Connection: Any available Thunderbolt port on a Mac

Compatible Software:

Any Mac Core Audio compatible application
Recommended apps: Logic Pro, Pro Tools, GarageBand, MainStage, Final Cut, Ableton Live, Digital Performer, Studio One, Cubase, and Nuendo

In the box:

Ensemble
3-pin IEC power cable
Rubber feet
Quick Start Guide
Warranty Booklet

Features:

Thunderbolt 2 Mac audio interface
Analog-to-digital conversion (ADC) for recording up to 24-bit/192kHz
Proprietary Thunderbolt audio driver and ESS Sabre32 DAC offer full 32-bit playback
Groundbreaking low latency performance
Core Audio-optimized hardware engine frees your Mac CPU
2 high-resolution OLED displays show levels and settings
Input select buttons and controller knob for convenient selection of parameters and settings
4 assignable buttons to control:
Talkback mic (built-in or external)
Output settings such as speaker set selection, mute, dim, sum to mono Complete input/output control with Apogee Control software
Works with Pro Tools, Logic, Ableton and any Core Audio compliant app on Mac
Designed in California – Assembled in the U.S.A.

General Info:

Dimensions: 19” X 12.125” X 1.73”
Weight: 11.15 lbs.
AC IN 100-240V, 50-60 HZ, 65W MAX

Analog Inputs:

4 Combi mic/line/instrument inputs
2 1/4″ balanced analog inserts
4 XLR mic/line inputs
2 1/4″ hi-z guitar/instrument inputs with Class-A JFET input stage

Digital Inputs:

Optical IN: Supports ADAT, SMUX & S/PDIF
ADAT: 16 channels 44.1-48 kHz on 2 Toslink connectors
SMUX: 8 channels 88.2-96 kHz on 2 Toslink connectors
S/PDIF: 4 channels, up to 96 kHz on 2 Toslink connectors
Coax IN: 2 channels of S/PDIF, up to 192 kHz on 1 RCA connector
Word clock input on BNC connector

Built-in Microphone:

Mono omnidirectional condensor capsule on front panel

Mic Preamps:

8 Mic preamps
Gain: Up to 75 dB and advanced stepped gain circuit design
Selectable 48v phantom power, hi-pass filter, Soft Limit ̈ and polarity invert
EIN: 129dB (un-weighted) @ 60dB, 150Ohm input
Max input level: +20dBu
Input impedance: 3K Ohm
Hi-Z: Max input level 14 dBu
Input impedance: >2MOhm

Analog Outputs:

2 1/4″ balanced monitor outputs
8 balanced outputs on 1 DSUB 25-pin connector
2 independent 1/4″ stereo headphone outputs
2 1/4″ dual-mode guitar/instrument outputs

Digital Outputs:

Optical OUT: Supports ADAT, SMUX & S/PDIF
ADAT: 16 channels 44.1-48 kHz on 2 Toslink connectors
SMUX: 8 channels 88.2-96 kHz on 2 Toslink connectors
S/PDIF: 4 channels, up to 96 kHz on 2 Toslink connectors
Coax OUT: 2 channels of S/PDIF, up to 192 kHz on 1 RCA connector
Word clock output on BNC connector

A/D conversion:

Max input level (+4dBu ref/Mic): +20dBu
Max input level (-10dBV ref): +6dBV
Input impedance: 5KOhm
Freq resp 10 Hz -20Khz: > +/-0.2dB (@44.1Khz)
Rel. THD + N: -110dB (@ 96Khz)
Dyn. Range: 119dB (A-weighted)

D/A conversion:

Max output level (+4dBu ref): +20dBu
Max output level (-10dBV ref): +6dBV
Line output impedance: 90 Ohm
Freq resp 10Hz -20 Khz: > +/- 0.05dB (@44.1Khz)
Rel. THD+N : -114dB (@96Khz)
Dyn Range: 123dB (A-weighted)
Front panel Guitar Output: impedance balanced/max level 14 dBu
Headphone Max output level: 19dBu
Headphone Rel THD + N into 600 Ohm: -109dB
Headphone Dyn Range: 120dB (A-weighted)