Apogee Element 24 has virtualized the physical controls of an audio interface. The software application has versions that can run on a Mac, on the iOS or through Logic Pro Mixer.
Some will appreciate this new tech offering as it eliminates all the more physical heavy engineering tasks with a much simpler point and click technology which can accomplish tasks much faster in the digital world.
In size it is just about one half the size of a rack and it fits into a rack shelf. With its desktop design it has front facing 1/4 inch headphone outputs and two front combo TLS/XLR inputs. The XLS ports for analog outputs are housed in the back, as well as ports for Thunderbolt and for optical and Word Clock I/O. Another feature in the back of the unit is the DC power socket.
One must install Apogee’s Element Control software before using Element 24. Then you can manage things like input and output for lines and microphones, custom mixing for the headphones, gain and Phantom Power.
Just its analog inputs and output features alone will let you do all sorts of snazzy things such as monitor mixing with zero latency and integrating with external reverb effects.
The system has two-stage design: Low gain settings and a second stage for high gain via switching. Comparison with two other preamps with conversion differences enforced show that the Element 24 preamps were cleaner until conversion clipping (Screenshots provided).
Element 24 is similar to Apogee’s Duet, but although it has better portability the latter has physical controls and USB instead of Thunderbolt.
Apogee Element 24 comes with Element Control Remote which has USB features, added separately for those who might prefer hardware features over virtualization.
One does not need a Mac or iOS for control features. Word Clock allows you to integrate Element 24 with other applications.
Read more: Apogee Element 24 Review – A New Take on Interfacing
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