Preamps: Zen Tour vs Apogee Quartet

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vesodoc
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Preamps: Zen Tour vs Apogee Quartet

Post by vesodoc » Sat Jul 23, 2016 6:17 pm

Hi, guys, hope you have a great weekend.
I'm wondering which one to buy - they're both the same price range and I couldn't find any head to head shootout.
So, please, share your experiences, if you have any and willing:

Zen Tour preamps vs Apogee Quartet preamps.
From what I've heard/ seen on the web so far, antelope preamps seem to be more pristine, colorless in a sense; while Apogee Quartet come with more character.
What about loudness ?

I'm inclined to get Zen Tour to use it for the clocking in it. I was thinking of getting together:
1 channel for my Tascam 2488 Neo,
1 channel for the Keyboard/ Guitar through Muse Research comp
1 channel for the midi (korg volca sounds)
1 channel for the drum machine

Would all they be synchronized on the Zen Tour while I'll record apps on other channels within Auria Pro ?
Or all this sounds stupid (crazy lame...) ?
Really
Thank you so much for reading and helping me out...
I'm a total amateur bass/ keyboard player, but I ain't quitting, creeping up on the steep learning curve.
Thanks

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Anthony Alves
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Re: Preamps: Zen Tour vs Apogee Quartet

Post by Anthony Alves » Sun Jul 24, 2016 6:38 am

Hi, I don!t own the Antelope Zen Tour but I do own thw Antelope Orion 32. I have owned Apogee n the past few years and I really was not impressed by the sound. It really sounded thin and my mixes never really came to life. Once I installed the Orion 32 in my studio all my recordings sound amazing. I feel Apogee has fallen off in the interface world and its sound is closer to a focusrite $150 interface. As well the Antelope line of nterfaces work very well with iOS devices and AuriaPro. Also looks like the Zen offers a ton of extras like FX,Verb,dig i/o and more. Thats my experience. Cheers.

vesodoc
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Re: Preamps: Zen Tour vs Apogee Quartet

Post by vesodoc » Sun Jul 24, 2016 11:00 am

Thank you.
Yeah, it seems like there are some promises for more and more freebies as plug ins. And it is cheaper.
I have been using Apogee Mic 96k, directly to ipad and it worked great. I use also Apogee Jam, so probably it would be redundant, if I get another Apogee interface...
Thanks a lot.

vesodoc
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Joined: Fri Apr 15, 2016 7:10 am

Re: Preamps: Zen Tour vs Apogee Quartet

Post by vesodoc » Sun Jul 24, 2016 11:02 am

Dear Anthony,

I've been reading your posts here in the forum. And I must say they helped a lot.
Could I ask you to share if you'd like, your signal path - preamps, compressors, limiters, mastering...
It would be really appreciated !
Thank you
Cheers

Strizbiz
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Re: Preamps: Zen Tour vs Apogee Quartet

Post by Strizbiz » Thu Jul 28, 2016 6:54 pm

I use the Apogee mic96k, Jam 96k and The Duet for Mac and IOS, The Duet sounds amazing imo, honestly when my musician and producer friends come over they always comment on how good it sounds. One of the main selling points for me was that fact that is works great with both Mac and Ipads, and I can plug my usb midi keyboard into it while using my Ipad and it charges the Ipad. For me the most important things were number one, the sound quality , number two, portability which is why I went with the Duet over the Quartet, and third, something that work seamlessly with my Mac, Ipad and Iphone.
IPad Air 2 128 gb Apogee Duet Ipad/Mac

pitzipado
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Re: Preamps: Zen Tour vs Apogee Quartet

Post by pitzipado » Fri Jul 29, 2016 1:52 pm

I am just about ready to adventure into the high-end fine gear market
and get the Antelope Zen Studio. Anybody out there using one with an iPad?
I got an Apogee One (iPad ver) 18 months ago and really like the sound but
I'm primarily interested in live recording- using the xair18 at present and it
works and sounds pretty darn good but I can't help but imagine a richer
clearer fuller magically transparent sound traveling through those top
line converters and into my productions. :mrgreen: I'm also thinking that the next level
quality preamps might make my present microphone collection sound
better than more expensive mics through the xair. Actually most of my
tracks are using sm57s & 58s and a few other hundred dollar mics some
of them going on 45 years old and still sounding great!
I suppose the thing to do is venture to the big city dealer some day
and try one out. I bet I'll like it and probably buy it if that happens I'll
report back
jp

Gary
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Re: Preamps: Zen Tour vs Apogee Quartet

Post by Gary » Tue Jul 11, 2017 12:01 pm

Can anyone confirm that Zen Tour works with iosAuria and ipad(s)? I'd prefer the Zen Tour over Apogee but Antelope couldn't say for sure if it will mesh ok with ios. Only that the original design isn't really for ios but rather pc or mac.

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