Universal Audio Apollo x8 Gen 2 raises the bar — a little bitEssentials+: £2,750 / €3,189 / $2,899
Studio+: £3,035 / €3,519 / $3,199
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Universal Audio is a fierce champion of the analogue sound and workflows on which its history and reputation are built while also embracing modern digital systems.

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

Key to this balancing act is the Apollo range of audio interfaces with its ability to build input channels from accurate models of the most revered microphone preamps and outboard processors in existence. Add in exceptional audio fidelity and it’s clear to see why Apollo enjoys such popularity in project and professional studios alike.
But in deciding to overhaul the Apollo range to Generation 2 status, UA’s designers had to find a way to make improvements to something that’s already close to perfect. We’ve seen how this panned out for the new Apollo Twin X, so let’s now see what’s changed further up the range with the x8 Gen 2.
Image: Press
What’s new, and what’s the same, with the x8?
The new x8 has a slightly lighter finish to its face plate, and a new design for button caps and rotary encoders, although the layout of the panel remains unchanged. This all looks smart, but there’s insufficient contrast between labels and panel, making them hard to read under imperfect lighting or viewing angles. Also, despite being described as having an improved feel, the encoders’ clicking detents feel excessively resistive, closer to a rotary switch.
The x8 connects to a computer via Thunderbolt 3 and so has plenty of bandwidth to handle its 18 inputs and 24 outputs. These break down as eight analogue inputs, ten analogue line outs (two of which are dedicated monitor outs), two front-mounted headphone outs, eight channels of ADAT digital I/O, plus stereo S/PDIF digital I/O with built-in sample rate conversion. Wordclock input and output ensure smooth integration into any existing digital hook-up as master or slave.
The first four of x8’s analogue inputs feature UA’s innovative Unison preamps. These provide a clean, detailed input path if used as-is, but come into their own when used in conjunction with UAD-2 Unison plugins, loaded via the Console mixer software. These mimic classic console preamps, as well as guitar and bass amps, by modifying the response of the analogue preamp whilst also applying digital modelling. This straddling of analogue and digital makes for exceptionally accurate emulations of the hardware.
Image: Press
Unison inputs can operate in mic or line mode, with dedicated rear-panel XLR and jack connectors, respectively. The first two inputs can also handle high-impedance instrument inputs via jack sockets around the front. Choosing the active source is just a case of hitting a button on the unit or in the Console software. This arrangement is perfect, allowing x8 to be fully integrated into the studio patching without limiting connection options.
The remaining four analogue input channels are line only with no Unison support but, like all input channels, can host regular UAD-2 plugins if you wish to apply input conditioning.
Apollo rackmount units have always matched or bettered the audio performance specs of similarly-priced offerings from the likes of Apogee and RME. The Gen 2 rackmounts bring improvements to these specs, raising performance to the level of the flagship Apollo x16. Line and instrument inputs have lower distortion and noise than previously, as have analogue outs. Outputs benefit from an improved, impressive 130 dB of dynamic range.
In practice, these specs manifest as staggeringly accurate audio capture and reproduction, revealing remarkable dynamic depth and spectral detail, and that delivers an exquisite sound stage in which each source is positioned with pinpoint accuracy.
Console. Image: Press
What’s new in Console?
Preamps can be configured via the front panel, where you’ll also find monitor controls for dim, mute, switching to alternate monitors, and activating the built-in talkback mic. Also, meters can switch between showing input and output levels of all analogue channels.
For more detailed configuration and metering, one has to turn to the UA Console software. This too has received an update, and this new version is available to all Apollo users. A refreshed appearance brings Console into line with UA’s Luna DAW, and you can now save and recall up to 128 plugin ‘scenes’, making it easier to manage plugins and settings loaded into the mixer.
When hooked up to a Gen 2 Apollo, Console also provides buttons for triggering the new hardware’s Auto-Gain feature, which monitors an incoming signal and sets an appropriate gain level. Such systems are always helpful, but with just four preamps to manage it’s not as useful here as on interfaces that feature more preamps.
Most importantly, the updated Console now offers built-in monitor and headphone correction powered by Sonarworks’ SoundID. SoundID Reference software is used to download pre-measured response curves for a large selection of headphones or, in conjunction with a supported measurement mic, to measure the response of your monitors and studio. This data is then passed over to the SoundID Apollo Add-On that applies a correction curve via a 24-band EQ running on a small sliver of the hardware’s on-board processing power.
Knowing that ‘what you hear is what you get’ is essential for creating perfectly-balanced mixes, though that knowledge comes at a price. The Sonarworks license and Apollo add-on for just headphone correction are €149, adding stereo speakers brings this to €299, and correction for a multi-channel setup is a hefty €559. If you want a Sonarworks measurement mic on top of this then you can add a further €50.
Apollo Monitor Correction by Sonarworks. Image: Press
How powerful is the Apollo x8 DSP, and what plugins are included?
The absence of an upgrade to Apollo’s DSP chips has caused consternation online, but I’m actually glad that UA stuck with the existing chips. I would not want to pay the premium for upgraded onboard processing power when native power is so abundant and cheap by comparison. Those who are willing to pay for additional DSP oomph can easily add UAD-2 Satellites (or more Apollos) to their rig, after all.
Not that I think many will need this with x8, because its HEXA Core chip is impressively muscular. It provides ample power to host Unison plugins in all four preamps while leaving plenty in store for channel inserts and auxiliary effects (Apollo’s Aux channels make it simple to add reverb etc. to cue mixes). DSP can be used directly in the DAW too, thanks to all UAD-2 plugins coming with ‘wrapped’ versions for VST, AU and AAX – x8 can cope with a large number of these as well.
Just like the Twin X, there’s a choice of two plugin packs. Essentials+ is much the same as previous bundled Apollo packages, consisting of over 20 of UA’s most popular and useful plugins. For an extra £285, the Studio+ option provides over 50 plugins, which is fair value but a considerable add-on to the hardware price. Full package listings are on the x8 product page.
Auto-Gain. Image: Press

Should I upgrade my old Apollo?
UA’s updates are certainly enough to maintain Apollo’s position in the upper reaches of the audio interface market, but are they sufficient to justify upgrading from an earlier Apollo 8 or x8?
When compared to the Gen.1 x8, the changes are undeniably small, so there isn’t very much to be gained in return for a hefty investment. You could recoup some of the cost by selling your older unit, of course, but that means resisting the temptation of keeping it and doubling your DSP power and I/O count!
The step up from the original Apollo 8 Black (Thunderbolt 2) and Apollo 8 Silver (Firewire) is more significant. The Gen.2 HEXA Core DSP is 50% more powerful than the QUAD Core of those original units, and the increase in audio specs is larger too. That said, whilst the extra DSP will be obvious by dint of all the extra UAD2 plugins it can handle, you will have to listen very hard to hear the benefits of the improved audio specs.
Sonarworks Mic. Image: Austin Cannon
Consider also that the Firewire interface of the Silver Apollos is now obsolete. Users of such Apollos – those, at least, who have not added the Thunderbolt upgrade – may find themselves locked to old computer hardware by this, and may therefore find Gen.2 to be a good opportunity to refresh and modernise.
Given the fact that up to four Apollos of any generation can work in tandem I would expect that, ultimately, existing Apollo users will be more interested in Gen.2 as an expansion to their existing setups than as a replacement for an older Apollo.
How do you improve on near perfection?
The new x8 costs £500 more than the Gen 1 unit at launch – more if going for the Studio+ option. But with inflation biting across the board, it isn’t massively more expensive than its predecessor in real terms.
UA has delivered a boost in audio performance, subtle styling changes and an Auto-Gain feature, along with the opportunity to start or grow a UAD-2 plugin library. This isn’t really sufficient to justify upgrading from a first-gen x8, but does enhance its attractiveness to Apollo newcomers, and for those looking to add more ins/outs and DSP to an existing Apollo system.
It is undeniable that the Gen 2 updates haven’t broken any significant new ground for the Apollo range, but in reality there wasn’t much headroom for improvements. Incremental changes have certainly done no harm though – there’s no doubt that Apollo x8 remains one of the best-sounding, highest-specified and, ultimately, most impressive audio interfaces on the market.

Key features

Thunderbolt 3 audio interface
192 kHz / 24-bit maximum sample rate and bit depth
On-board HEXA Core signal processing (DSP)
4 mic inputs with Unison preamps
8 line inputs
2 instrument inputs
2 monitor line outs
8 additional line outs
2 independent headphone outs
ADAT I/O with S/MUX support for 8 channels at 96 kHz and below, and 4 channels at up-to 192 kHz
S/PDIF coaxial I/O with built in sample rate conversion
Wordclock I/O
Console-grade external PSU
Supports Sonarworks SoundID monitor and headphone calibration via Sonarworks Apollo Add-On

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