Symphony Control App only available in Thunderbolt Audio Interface mode. Firmware update not required. However, in cases where the same manufacturer makes both DAW and interface, it can be possible to integrate the two much more closely. Avid’s Hybrid Engine, for example, automatically switches between DSP and native versions of a plug‑in depending on whether it is in a live input monitoring path or not, and UA’s LUNA has similar capabilities. You can also control the ECS channel strip on the hardware, that's the DSP version that can be used for the print and monitor effects options in the forthcoming software release. Nailed it? Record directly to your DAW through Symphony Desktop Hardware DSP. With Print mode active you can commit and record Apogee FX Plugins directly from the hardware DSP in Symphony Desktop to the corresponding channel in your DAW. Apogee FX plugins run natively in any DAW. Just instantiate the plugin you want on the channel you are recording to and adjust your buffer for the best latency performance.

Like every flagship product we’ve introduced, Symphony I/O Mk II benefits from on-going expertise that constitutes the Apogee Engineering Advantage, once again pushing forward the state-of-the-art. Advantages: Simplest way to get a sound and not print FX in your recording Commit and Print While you RecordWhereas the Duet 3’s DSP is limited to a simple but effective channel strip which can be placed only in the record path, the Symphony Desktop’s implementation is vastly more ambitious, both in its scope and its flexibility. Apogee have coded an entire suite of plug‑ins, both in all the usual native formats and as DSP processes that can run within the Symphony Desktop’s own mixer. On top of this, they’ve developed something called Apogee Channel FX. This looks to the host program like a conventional native plug‑in, but is in fact a specially designed ‘container’ plug‑in that can communicate with the Symphony Desktop. The idea is to allow the creation of a single chain of processes that is simultaneously accessible from the DAW, from Apogee Control 2 and from the front panel of the Symphony Desktop. Included ECS Channel Strip plug-in works in tandem with the microphone preamp emulations, arming you with a range of sonic colors To conclude, the Apogee Symphony Desktop is a very nice piece of equipment in terms of its features, and above all its sound, delivering clarity and depth to anything you put through it. Symphony ECS Channel Strip plugin running in the Apogee Channel FX (ACFX) plugin wrapper, and fully controllable from:

Apogee FX Plugins and Symphony Desktop offer a variety of FX recording workflows that let you choose the best path for your creativity. When you are recording, you want inspiring sound quality, ease-of-use and ultra low latency. With Symphony Desktop you have options that fit the way you flow. Go Native Symphony Desktop houses the same converter technology under the hood that you’d find inside the Symphony I/O. Apogee converters are known for their accuracy and clarity, allowing you to capture all the subtle details of a performance in digital format without imparting any audible distortion or noise artifacts associated with lower quality converters.The second thing that I like about the Symphony desktop is the TFT screen, the touch screen interface and the large rotary encoder worked really well, so you've got a touch and twist type thing where you touch the interface and then make the adjustment on the hardware itself. A/D CONVERSION – Like Symphony I/O Mk II, Symphony Desktop’s analog-to-digital converter stage features ultra-low distortion, high-slew rate, fully differential analog op-amps plus a cutting edge A/D converter in a performance-enhancing dual-sum configuration. Create with the confidence that every nuance of your analog input is faithfully reproduced in the digital domain.