Is Universal Audio Apollo Twin X Gen 2 really a “disappointing” update to the audio interface range?Twin X DUO Essentials+ €1,319 / £1,135 / $1,199
Twin X DUO Studio+ €1,649 / £1,1420 / $1,499
Twin X QUAD Essentials+ €1,649 / £1,420 / $1,499
Twin X QUAD Studio+ €1,979 / £1,705 / $1,799
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Universal Audio’s Apollo series has become a benchmark in the audio interface world, thanks to a combination of top-spec audio converters, innovative modelling preamps, and flexible on-board digital signal processing (DSP), all backed by a large library of excellent plugins. But with manufacturers such as Antelope Audio, Heritage Audio, Apogee and others increasingly encroaching on UA’s skilfully-manicured lawn, Apollo’s unique selling points no longer look so unique.

READ MORE: “Ultimately, the product is the experience the music maker has when they’re manifesting their creativity”: Bill Putnam Jr on Universal Audio Apollo Constellations

Many producers expected, therefore, that with its newly released Gen 2 Apollos, UA would throw down the gauntlet to competitors; that it’d turn all of those Apollo goodies up to 11 – ramping up the processing power, for example, or moving to 32-bit converters. But UA seemingly favoured evolution over revolution. Judging by some of the online reactions, this disappoints a lot of current and potential Apollo users.
I grabbed a new Apollo Twin X Duo to discover if such disappointment is warranted.

Image: Simon Vinall for MusicTech
What’s new in the Apollo Twin X hardware?
Like its predecessor, the Twin X Gen 2 connects to a computer via Thunderbolt 3 and is presented in a similar stylish, wedge-shaped desktop format.
The new unit’s top and rear panels are now a lighter shade of metallic grey, and the large central data wheel, used for controlling input gain and output levels, has been revised to have a firmer yet smoother turning action.
Button caps have been made less chunky, although they are only slightly smaller and retain the same sensible layout as on the previous version. These are used to select which preamp or output the data wheel is controlling. Depending on which is active, the remaining buttons provide direct access to preamp settings such as input type and phantom power, or monitor controls like muting, dimming and activating the built-in talkback mic.
The Gen 2 Twin X features updated converters to deliver small improvements to total harmonic distortion and noise performance on inputs and outputs, plus a 1dB extension to the dynamic range of outputs.
In practice, you have to listen quite closely to hear these improvements when comparing to a Gen 1 Twin X. It’s subtle, but the overall soundstage is a tiny bit crisper and clearer. When compared against similarly-priced interfaces with higher in/out counts (that is, interfaces where your money is paying for lots of inputs and outputs rather than high-end circuitry), the difference is distinct. You may think your Focusrite or Arturia interface sounds stellar but Twin X’s sonic accuracy is on another level.
Image: Simon Vinall for MusicTech
What can I plug into the new Apollo Twin X?
The Twin X provides two analogue input channels, with mic and line signals connected via rear-facing XLR/jack combi sockets. The first channel can also receive an instrument input via a convenient front-mounted jack socket.
UA’s Unison preamps are on both inputs. This design allows UAD-2 Unison plugins running within the interface to modify the analogue characteristics of the preamp while applying processing and modelling in the digital domain. This gives Twin X’s inputs a chameleon-like ability to accurately mimic the sound and characteristics of sought-after classic preamps, channel strips and guitar amps.
New to the Gen 2 hardware is an Auto-Gain system that sets the input gain for you based on the incoming signal, interacting with any Unison plugins you may be using. This is certainly handy but the biggest benefit – that is, effortlessly setting multiple input gains in a few seconds – is a bit lost with Twin X’s humble input count.
Also new to Twin X is the ability – previously only available on the rackmount Apollos – for line signals to bypass the preamps altogether by changing an option in the software mixer, giving a super-clean input path for outboard preamps and other sources.
A single optical input allows the connection of either S/PDIF or ADAT signals. S/PDIF mode gives an extra stereo input and has built-in sample rate conversion, negating the need to slave Twin X’s clock to the S/PDIF signal. ADAT mode gives up to eight inputs, dependent upon the sample rate.
Using these additional inputs requires an external converter, but there are options out there that cost less than stepping up to a larger Apollo. But, with no sample rate conversion in ADAT mode, the absence of an ADAT or wordclock output does mean having to slave Twin X to the potentially inferior clock of an external converter.
The four analogue line-outs and single, front-mounted headphone output are all individually addressable. The first pair of outputs is intended as the main monitor feed – this routing can be modified from within the UAD Console software. Also, a slightly hidden option in the software assigns the second pair of outputs as an alternate monitor feed.
Image: Simon Vinall for MusicTech
What versions of the Apollo Twin X are available?
The Apollo range is revered for the flexibility of its onboard DSP, which can run UAD-2 plugin effects and processors, and which powers the Unison preamps. Many of the plugins are modelled on classic hardware – preamps, EQs, compressors and such – so you can assemble some impressive recording chains to use during tracking.
What’s more, in this configuration, the processors are applied directly at the input stage, with near-zero latency, thereby ensuring accurate and special-sounding cue mixes for performers. There’s also the option to add reverbs and delays via auxiliary sends that, again, make for better headphone mixes.
All of this is managed via the UA Console mixer software, which follows a conventional analogue mixing desk layout and offers clear metering for, and control over, all of Apollo’s input and internal buses.
Hardware control is closely integrated with UA’s Luna DAW and, coupled with the UAD-2 library’s strong focus on modelled vintage hardware, this makes for a pleasing, analogue-like workflow and sound. Things are slightly less integrated when working with other DAWs, and so you have to switch between the Console mixer and your DAW during tracking, but this is standard practice with the vast majority of other audio interfaces.
What makes Apollo’s system particularly flexible is that there’s the option to exclude any input processing from the signal being sent to the DAW for recording (it remains on direct monitor feeds). This input conditioning can then be recreated when mixing using wrapped versions of the UAD-2 plugins, allowing you to continue to tweak and adjust that conditioning (or change it completely) all the way to mix-down time. As an extra bonus, with the wrapped plugins still running on the Apollo DSP, this doesn’t add extra strain on the host computer, making them useful for other mix processing too.
Image: Simon Vinall for MusicTech
I expected to see a boost to the DSP power in this new generation of Apollo hardware, especially because some of UAD’s recent plugins can gobble up more than their fair share of the available DSP. Unfortunately, this hasn’t happened, and the processors remain fundamentally unchanged.
The DUO version of Twin X, then, has enough power to run Unison plugins on both inputs, along with some input conditioning if needed. The QUAD, of course, supports more plugins and should be able to manage both input processing via Console and additional mix processing from the DAW without running out of steam.
It is a shame that UA didn’t take the opportunity to up the power of the DSP cores. I don’t think it’s a deal-breaker, though, as higher-powered DSP would have had an inevitable impact on pricing, and, in any event, even a small boost in processing power is better than no boost at all!
The hardware also comes with a bundle of UAD-2 plugins with which to start (or expand) your collection, and here you have a further choice. Essentials+ comes with over 20 plugins, while the Studio+ bundle takes this to over 50. Both bundles cover all the important plugin bases – delays, EQs, reverbs, compressors, etc. – and also include a selection of Unison channel strip and guitar amp emulations.
There is a fair bit of repetition within the bundles, especially when it comes to models of UA’s own hardware (1176’s, LA-2A’s, etc.), where there are older and newer models to choose from. Whilst this repetition can be confusing, the older models are always marked as ‘Legacy’ so it’s easy to know which you are using, and these are still perfectly usable.
Whether or not the Studio+ bundle is worth the extra outlay will depend very much on how you intend to use Apollo. Also, as a registered Apollo user, UA will regularly offer attractively-priced bundles and deals, so it may prove more cost-effective to opt for the basic Essentials+ pack and to buy any specific plugins that you need when those offers come along.
Image: Simon Vinall for MusicTech
What are the Sonarworks add-ons for the UA Apollo?
The Twin X hardware provides hands-on control over the most important aspects of your input and output settings, but accessing the full suite of Apollo features means loading up the UAD Console software. This has been given a significant update, with a refreshed look to bring it into line with UA’s Luna DAW, which integrates tightly with Apollo.
More excitingly, UA has teamed up with Sonarworks to bring monitor and headphone correction to the Apollo platform. This flattens-out any frequency colouration caused by your monitors and room, or by your headphones, so that what you hear is exactly what is there. Such accuracy is key to creating mixes that sound as impressive as they possibly can on any playback system.
Sonarworks’ SoundID Reference software is used to create monitor response profiles (a straightforward but lengthy process) and access 500+ headphone profiles. These profiles are then passed over to the Sonarworks Apollo add-on which applies the necessary correction curves using 24-band, minimum-phase EQ processors.
The Sonarworks components do require some outlay. The headphones-only version licence is €99, while headphones and stereo monitors cost €249. Additionally, if you wish to include one of Sonarworks’ measurement mics, whose specific response data can be accessed online by the SoundID Reference software, you’ll need to add an extra €50 to the cost (the system will work with any measurement mic for which you have the response data in a readable file format). In addition, you also need the Apollo Monitor Correction add-on from Sonarworks (yet another €50 on top).
Extra expense is never welcome, but on the plus side, this impressively effective system is available to all Apollo users by updating to the latest UAD Console software.
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Image: Simon Vinall for MusicTech
Should I buy the new Apollo Twin X?
The original Twin X shoehorned much of what makes Apollo so special into a package priced to compete with other interfaces that have similar audio performance specs. The inclusion of a whole pile of well-modelled processors and the flexible DSP system on which they run simply added to the attractiveness and value of the offering.
Owners of that original unit will gain only small benefits in updating to the matching Gen 2 version, although upgrading from a Gen 1 DUO to a Gen 2 QUAD for double the DSP power is certainly worth considering.
There’s a bigger leap in audio performance between the original ‘Black’ edition Twin and Twin MkII. It isn’t a stark difference, but it’s noticeable. And, again, if using a SOLO or DUO version of that original, upgrading to a Gen 2 Twin X QUAD will bring an unmissable boost to the number of UAD-2 plugins you can run.
Up to four Apollos of any generation can be connected to a single host computer, so existing Apollo users will benefit from additional I/O and DSP if adding a Gen 2 Twin X to their system. This is particularly true for users of rackmount Apollos because, with Twin X now matching the Gen 1 rackmount audio specs, it’s an excellent way to add a convenient desktop monitor controller to a rig whilst also upping its capabilities.
There was little to dislike about the Gen 1 Twin X, so it’s a challenge for the Gen 2 to be miles better. Nevertheless, in dozens of small ways it is better, and cements the Twin X’s place as the perfect gateway into the Apollo universe.

Key features

Thunderbolt 3 audio interface
Up to 192 kHz / 24-bit recording quality
2 (DUO) or 4 (QUAD) processor cores
2 analogue mic/line inputs with Unison preamps
1 front-mounted instrument input on channel 1
4 analogue line outputs plus stereo headphone output
Optical input supporting S/PDIF and ADAT
Built-in talkback mic
Sonarworks integration

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