On previous Apollos, most multitrack sessions would require you to combine Unison preamps on some mics with outboard preamps on the others. Previous Apollos have provided a maximum of four Unison–capable preamps, but as its name suggests, the 8p doubles this total, potentially making the technology much more useful. Of particular note is the fullest implementation yet of Universal Audio’s Unison preamp modelling technology. Like its predecessors, the Apollo 8p offers plenty of processing horsepower, with four SHARC DSP chips under the bonnet, and a pretty comprehensive array of analogue and digital I/O. Suffice it to say that the audio quality is impeccable, hardware metering is clear and detailed, and that UA’s DSP platform is proven, reliable and works well. No surprise, then, that although the ‘classic’ Firewire version of the Apollo is still available, a rejig of UA’s product line has now brought us a new Thunderbolt–only rackmounting model.Īs you’d expect, the Apollo 8p has much in common with its siblings, so I won’t dwell here on the qualities that it shares with products we’ve already reviewed. However, last year saw the launch of the Thunderbolt–only Apollo Twin desktop interface, and more recently came the announcement that Apple are dropping native Mac OS Firewire driver support in El Capitan and future operating systems.

When Universal Audio introduced their Apollo line of combined audio interfaces and DSP accelerators back in 2012, the default mode of connection was by Firewire, with Thunderbolt support available through an optional add–on card. UA’s new Apollo 8p boasts eight channels of the company’s Unison–powered preamps.

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