Universal Audio Apollo 8 Quad Thunderbolt Interface

Apollo 8 is an elegant update to one of the world’s most popular professional audio interfaces — delivering enhanced sound with the tone, feel, and flow of analog recording. This 18 x 24 Thunderbolt 2 interface offers genuine UA analog design, and next-generation A/D and D/A conversion, putting class-leading audio quality in a sleek new package. Built on UA's 50 year legacy of analog design excellence, Apollo 8 also features powerful UAD-2 QUAD processing and four onboard Unison™ mic preamps, delivering sonic performance that surpasses anything in its class.

Key Features

• Next-generation Apollo A/D and D/A conversion for professional music production
• Onboard UAD-2 QUAD Core DSP allowing Realtime UAD Processing
• 4 Unison™-enabled mic preamps for tracking through preamp emulations from Neve, API, and Universal Audio*
• 18 x 24 Thunderbolt 2 audio interface for Mac with powerful Console 2.0 software control
• Cascade up to 4 Apollo interfaces and 6 UAD devices total over Thunderbolt (Mac)
• Convenient front panel monitoring functions including Alt Speakers, and assignable Dim or Mono
• Includes “Realtime Analog Classics Plus” plug-in bundle
• World class UA analog design, superior components, and premium build quality

World-Class Sound with Superior
Apollo A/D and D/A Conversion

The original Apollo, introduced in 2012, quickly became a gold standard among modern music producers and engineers — it now counts many of the world’s top artists as users. Apollo 8 improves upon the original Apollo’s sound quality with completely redesigned, class-leading A/D and D/A conversion — giving you increased dynamic range and even lower THD. Building upon a 50-year legacy of circuit design, UA engineers started with an obsessive audition of the latest converters, pairing them with completely redesigned analog circuitry. Confirmed by extensive double-blind listening tests, the end result is 3 dB better dynamic range on both A/D and D/A conversion versus the original Apollo, placing the Apollo 8 as the measurable class leader.

Realtime UAD Plug-In Processing for
Tracking, Mixing, and Mastering

Imagine having a classic analog studio, in single rack space. Apollo 8 lets you record through UAD Powered Plug-Ins — including vintage EQs, compressors, reverbs, tape machines and more — at near-zero latency, regardless of your audio software buffer size. With award-winning UAD plug-ins from Ampex, Lexicon, Neve, Manley, Roland, SSL, Studer, and more,* Apollo 8 serves up authentic analog tone and warmth.

The key to its analog sound is onboard UAD-2 QUAD DSP Processing, which powers the UAD plug-ins while reducing the strain on your host computer.

The UAD Powered Plug-In Library

Four Mic Preamps with Unison™ Technology

Apollo 8 comes equipped with four Unison-enabled mic preamps, letting you track projects with colorful mic preamp sounds from Neve, API, and Universal Audio. An Apollo breakthrough, Unison technology nails the tone of these sought-after tube and solid state mic preamps — including their impedance, gain stage “sweet spots,” and component-level circuit behaviors. The secret to Unison is its hardware-software integration between Apollo’s mic preamps and its onboard UAD-2 processing. Simply place a selected tube or solid state preamp plug-in on your desired mic input, and record in real time through stunning emulations like the bundled UA 610-B Tube Preamp plug-in, or the Neve 1073 and API 212L.

Impedance and Gain Matching

Improved Monitoring and Workflow Apollo 8 is further enhanced by adding Unison technology to its front-panel Hi-Z instrument inputs, giving you dead-on impedance and gain matching for new stompbox models like the Ibanez Tube Screamer TS808. Apollo 8 features a host of front-panel upgrades over the original Apollo, including Alt Speakers, Dim, and Mono functions as well as input and output metering capabilities.

Expand Your System

A Sleek New App Thanks to Apollo Expanded software, users of Thunderbolt-equipped Apollo Twin, Apollo 8, Apollo 8p, and Apollo 16 audio interfaces can combine up to four Apollos and six total UAD-2 devices — adding I/O and DSP as your studio grows. Apollo Expanded also provides seamless integration with previous generation Apollos over Thunderbolt. With Apollo 8’s Console 2.0 application — a complete re-imagining of Apollo’s original Console software — you can take advantage of over 25 new user-requested features such as Channel Strip presets, Drag & Drop functionality, dynamically resizable windows, and more.