Yes! The following products have been tested and are fully compatible with Pro Tools 11:
16x and Rosetta series users, please consult the Legacy Interface Release Notes.
Who Should Update
All Symphony I/O users (except those described below under Who Should Remain on Previous Releases) should update to this release.
Who Should Remain on Previous Releases
• With this release, Symphony I/O in Pro Tools audio interface mode emulates an HD I/O. The HD I/O requires Pro Tools v8.1 or greater. If running a version of Pro Tools earlier than 8.1, either update to 8.1 or remain on Symphony I/O Release 4.1.
Symphony I/O Release 4.8 New Features
Before you update
To update
After updating – After updating, verify the following settings;
! ! If interfaces are connected only to Port 1, set Source to Port 1: 32ch.
! ! If interfaces are connected to both Ports 1-2, set Source to Port 1-2: 64ch.
Known Issues
- Trash ANY older Symphony installer packages you may have on your computer (desktop, downloads folder, etc.) Old installers can mistakenly trigger “firmware mismatch” warnings.
- Download the latest Symphony installer package from our website:
http://www.apogeedigital.com/support/symphony-io
- Plug in the Symphony I/O via USB to your Mac. If your Mac has USB 3.0, you MUST use a USB hub (an Apple keyboard with USB ports would work too) to do the firmware update… the firmware update will not work on USB 3.0 ports, so a hub will bring it down to USB 2.0. Note- USB Audio will work fine on USB 3.0 ports.
- Power up the Symphony I/O.
- Launch the firmware updater app from the current installer package and update the firmware. Make sure the firmware successfully updates before proceeding to the next step.
- Once the firmware has successfully updated, run the Symphony software installer from installer package.
- Confirm that your Symphony I/O is in the correct audio mode by pushing in and holding on the right-side front-panel encoder and scrolling through the different modes and then pushing in on the encoder again to restart the unit in the selected mode.
- Restart the computer.
If you’re using Symphony I/O with Symphony64 PCIe or Symphony64 Thunderbridge:
Launch Audio MIDI Setup (Applications> Utilities> Audio MIDI Setup). We recommend using Audio MIDI Setup instead of System Preferences Sound.
Make sure that ‘Symphony64′ (PCIe or Thunderbridge) is selected in the left-side column. In the ‘Source’ menu on the right, choose the appropriate port selection depending on how many Symphony I/Os you have. If you have 1 unit, choose ‘Port 1: 32ch’… if you have 2 units, choose ‘Ports 1-2: 64Chs’. Quit Audio MIDI Setup and restart the computer.
Overview
It has come to our attention that Symphony 64 PCI cards within a small serial number range may have been programmed with an incorrect firmware version, which may result in the failure of the card. This Service Bulletin provides information on the detection and resolution of this issue.
Your Apogee representative will provide you with the specific serial numbers that have been delivered to you. If these cards are still in your stock, or the stock of dealers in your network, we strongly suggest that they be tested before delivery to the end-user.
Three Steps to Resolution
Apogee recommends that all Symphony 64 cards within the serial number range be tested in the manner described below (each step is described in greater detail later in this Tech Bulletin).
Regardless of the outcome, please report your results to your Apogee representative.
Items need to complete this step:
Items need to complete this step:
If a Symphony 64 card fails the Functional Test, please contact Apogee to arrange for the card to be replaced. Make sure to include the cardʼs serial number in your communication.
Yes! Symphony 64 PCIe is fully compatible with Mac OS X Mavericks (10.9). Please be sure to download and install the latest 10.9 compatible software package for Symphony from Apogee’s site.
Bus Error is a message that will appear in the Apogee Maestro 2 window under the System Status section. This is typically a communication issue between the connected device, and the Symphony64 or Symphony64|Thunderbridge.
This can be caused by several things:
A common cause for this is that the port setting in Audio MIDI Setup (Applications>Utilities) is set to Ports 1-2, when only one port is actually being used.
A bad PC32 cable (DigiLink)
If using a Symphony I/O, the AIM setting could be incorrectly set to “USB Audio”, “Standalone”, or “Pro Tools HD”, instead of the “Symphony” setting.
Connecting a single device to Port 2 (17-32), instead of Port 1 (1-32)
If only one device is connected and you are receiving the Bus Error message in the system status window in Maestro, please revert back to the Port 1 (32 channels) setting in Audio MIDI Setup. You may need to reboot your computer for the new setting to take place. Secondly, ensure by pressing and holding the right-hand encoder knob on the front panel of SymphonyIO, you are in fact in “Symphony” mode.
1) Loop Sync is not available when Symphony I/O is in Standalone or USB AIM.
2) When in Symphony AIM, if a legacy converter is connected to the other port on the Symphony64PCI or Thunderbridge card, Loop Sync will disappear.
If you need to change this setting, you will need to quit the Maestro software, then change your setup to avoid one of the conditions listed above. Reopen Maestro and the loop sync option will reappear.
Click here to download Symphony I/O Release 5
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Symphony Audio Interface Mode |
Requirements to connect Symphony I/O to Apogee Symphony 64 or Mobile PCI cards:
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Pro Tools HD Audio Interface Mode |
A Symphony I/O based Pro Tools system consists of two independent computer connections: audio (to a Pro Tools HD PCI card) and software control (via USB to an Intel Mac running Maestro 2). In the case where PCI cards are installed in a PowerPC Mac or Windows computer, it’s possible to run Maestro from a separate Intel Mac, such as Mac Mini or MacBook.
Note:
Running Symphony I/O in Pro Tools HD mode on a PowerPC Mac requires an older firmware version. You can request this older firmware by emailing: betafeedback@apogeedigital.com. Only the 8×8, 16 Analog In/Digital Out, and 16 Digital In/Analog Out modules are compatible with versions of Pro Tools HD older than version 9. The 16×16 Analog In/Out and 2×6 modules are only compatible with Pro Tools HD versions 9 and above.
Requirements to connect Symphony I/O to Avid Pro Tools PCI Cards:
Requirements to run Apogee Maestro software, to control Symphony I/O via USB:
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USB Audio Interface Mode |
Requirements to connect Symphony I/O as a USB audio interface:
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Standalone Audio Interface Mode |
In Standalone audio interface mode, all audio connections are made using the standard analog and digital i/o found on the I/O Module(s). For software control, connects Symphony I/O’s USB port to a Mac.
Requirements to run Apogee Maestro software, to control Symphony I/O via USB:
Yes! Symphony I/O is fully compatible with Mac OS X Yosemite (10.10). Please be sure to download and install the latest 10.10 compatible software package for Symphony from Apogee’s site.
Click here to download the latest Symphony Installer package
To update
After updating – After updating, verify that the Symphony Source setting (found in the Maestro 2 > System Setup tab and Audio MIDI Setup) is set to the appropriate Port setting:
New Features – Legacy interfaces
Known issues – Legacy DA16X Interface
Using Legacy Apogee Interfaces with OS X Lion & Maestro 2
Legacy Interface Supported Combinations
See the Symphony 64 Userʼs Guide v1.1 for connection diagrams
1 to 4 Rosetta 800s
1 to 4 Rosetta 200s
1 AD16X (standard routing) 1 AD16X (advanced routing) 2 AD16X (standard routing) 2 AD16X (advanced routing)
1 DA16X (standard routing) 1 DA16X (advanced routing) 2 DA16X (standard routing) 2 DA16X (advanced routing)
1 AD16X (standard routing) + 1 DA16X (standard routing)
1 AD16X (standard) + 1 DA16X (standard) + 1 AD16X (standard) + 1 DA16X (standard) 1 AD16X (advanced routing) + 1 DA16X (advanced routing)
1 Rosetta 800 + 1 AD16X (standard routing) 1 Rosetta 800 + 1 AD16X (advanced routing) 1 Rosetta 800 + 1 DA16X (standard routing) 1 Rosetta 800 + 1 DA16X (advanced routing)
1 AD16X (standard routing) + 1 Rosetta 800 1 AD16X (advanced routing) + 1 Rosetta 800 1 DA16X (standard routing) + 1 Rosetta 800 1 DA16X (advanced routing) + 1 Rosetta 800
1 AD16X (standard routing) + 1 DA16X (standard routing) + 1 Rosetta 800
Before going through the setup steps, be sure to confirm that you have the matching software and firmware installed. Both units need to be on the firmware from the same installer release for them to sync properly. Connect both units to your Mac via USB (use a powered hub if your Mac has USB 3.0 ports), launch the Symphony I/O Firmware Updater from your Utilities folder and confirm that the firmware is up to date for each unit. Select ‘Symphony I/O 1‘ in the drop-down menu of the firmware updater app to check the 1st unit’s firmware versions. After confirming the firmware is up to date for the 1st unit, select ‘Symphony I/O 2‘ from the drop-down menu and confirm the firmware is up to date for the 2nd unit as well. When you’re finished, quit the firmware updater and follow the steps below.
To connect 2 Symphony I/Os to a Symphony64 Thunderbridge or PCIe card, follow the steps below in the exact order:
- Connect the Main Port of Unit A to Port 1 (chs 1-32) of the Thunderbridge, using a PC-32 Symphony cable.
- Connect the Main Port of Unit B to Port 2 (chs 33-64) of the Thunderbridge, using a PC-32 Symphony cable.
- Use 2 BNC cables to connect the Loop Sync output of Unit A to the Loop Sync input of Unit B and the Loop Sync output of Unit B to the Loop Sync input of Unit A. Make sure you’re using the LOOP SYNC jacks and not the Word Clock jacks.
- On Unit A, press in and hold on the front-panel right-side encoder knob until you come to the Audio Mode menu. Scroll until it says ‘Symphony‘ and then push in on the encoder knob again to restart the unit in Symphony mode. Do this to Unit B as well.
- Launch Apogee Maestro2 from your Applications folder, go to the ‘System Setup‘ tab and make sure the “USE LOOP SYNC” check-box is CHECKED. Quit Maestro.
- On your Mac, launch ‘Audio MIDI Setup’ (Applications> Utilities> ‘Audio MIDI Setup’). Make sure ‘Symphony64′ is highlighted on the left-side device column. On the right-side, set the ‘Source‘ to ‘Ports 1-2: Chs 1-64‘. Quit Audio MIDI Setup and restart the Mac.
- Once the Mac restarts, you need to wait until the units have finished configuring before launching Maestro or ANY other software. This can take a couple minutes. You’ll hear relays clicking back and forth and you’ll see the “!” icon on the front-panels appear and disappear. When this stops after a minute or so and both units are configured, Unit A should say ‘INT‘ and Unit B should say ‘LOOP‘.
- As soon as both units appear to be configured and Unit A says ‘INT‘ and Unit B says ‘LOOP‘, launch Maestro and confirm that both units show up as expected.
Several Apogee products have pop-up level indicator graphics that will appear on the desktop of your Mac when the input and output levels are adjusted from the device or from the Mac’s keyboard volume buttons.
If the pop-ups aren’t appearing, there are a few things to check:
Launch ‘Apogee Maestro 2′ from your Applications folder, click on the ‘Apogee Maestro 2′ drop-down desktop menu and select ‘Preferences’. Confirm that the ‘Display pop-ups’ checkbox is checked. If you don’t see this option, then pop-ups aren’t available for the product you’re using.
If you’ve confirmed that the ‘Display pop-ups’ checkbox is checked and you’re still not getting the pop-ups, try the following:
- Unplug/replug your Apogee device
- Restart your Mac
- Launch ‘Activity Monitor (Applications> Utilities> ‘Activity Monitor’), click the ‘View’ drop-down desktop menu and select ‘All Processes’. Type ‘apogeepopup’ in the searchbar in the upper right-side corner of Activity Monitor. Once you see ‘ApogeePopup’ displayed in the list, highlight it and force-quit the process by clicking the ‘X’ button in the upper left-side corner of Activity Monitor. Wait a few seconds and you should see the popups again after adjusting input/output level.
*Note for Duet Firewire and Ensemble Firewire customers*
There was a known issue with pop-ups not working for Duet Firewire and Ensemble Firewire when using any version of Mac OS 10.8. It is recommended that you use either a version of Mac OS earlier than 10.8 or later than 10.9.
SBUS was a functionality that was included with the original Symphony 64 PCIe release. SBUS let you connect multiple Macs together to pass audio back and forth between them using Symphony 64 PCIe cards. Unfortunately, it was no longer supported after the release of Symphony I/O.
To use SBUS, you need at least 2 Macs (each Mac must be running OS version 10.5.8 or 10.6.8) and 2 Symphony 64 cards, along with at least one compatible Legacy Apogee converter (AD16x, DA16x, Rosetta800, or Rosetta200). If you meet all these requirements and would like to use SBUS, click here to download the compatible Symphony 64 installer.
For a detailed description of SBUS, including how to set it up and use it, see pages 12-16 of the Symphony 64 user’s guide.
Apogee’s VBus creates virtual hardware buses to allow expanded routing of audio within one application or between different audio applications. For example, it’s possible in Logic Pro to record a submix of multiple audio tracks onto a new audio track as described below. It’s also possible to route between two audio applications by selecting a VBus output in the source application and a VBus input in the destination application.
VBus is only available in the Symphony system. You must have either a Symphony 64 PCIe or Thunderbridge and at least one Symphony I/O, AD16x, DA16x, Rosetta 800, or Rosetta 200 to use it.
To use VBus:
If you have a Symphony system and everything is connected and configured properly, launch ‘Apogee Maestro 2′ from your Applications folder and go to the ‘System Setup’ tab. Go to the right-side of the window and click the drop-down menu under ‘VBus’ to select how many channels of VBus i/o you would like to use. As soon as you engage VBus, quit all open applications and restart your Mac.
In order for VBus I/O to appear in your audio application’s I/O list as VBus In 1-2, 3-4, etc, it’s necessary to specify the use of the Symphony driver’s names in the application’s I/O list. For example in Logic Pro X, open Mix>I/O Labels and option-click on all the I/O found under the Driver’s I/O Label column.
As an example of how to use VBus, let’s record a submix of drums onto a new stereo audio track in Logic. In Logic’s Track Mixer, set the outputs of the individual drum audio tracks to VBout 1/2. Create two audio tracks (or one stereo track) and set their inputs to VBin 1 and VBin 2. Record-enable the new track and commence recording. The new track will record the mix of the individual drum tracks.
The port selection switching back to the wrong setting (port 1 if you’re trying to use 2 ports or ports 1-2 if you’re trying to use 1 port) is caused by a preference file getting corrupted. This can happen from using System Preferences Sound to make your audio selections. We recommend only using Audio MIDI Setup (Applications> Utilities> Audio MIDI Setup) from now on.
To fix this issue, please follow these steps in the exact order:
- Go to the following location:
MacHD> Library> Preferences> Audio
- Once you’re in the ‘Audio’ folder, there should be 2 files in there:
com.apple.audio.DeviceSettings.plist
com.apple.audio.SystemSettings.plist
- Trash both of these files and empty the trash.
- If you still have the Symphony Release Installer package on your desktop or downloads folder, open it. If not, download it from our website and open it.
- Launch the Symphony Uninstaller and run it. Restart your Mac after the uninstall has completed.
- Open the Symphony Release Installer package and run the Symphony Software Installer. Restart your Mac after the install has completed.
- It’s a good idea to connect your Symphony I/O(s) to your Mac via USB and launch the ‘Symphony I/O Firmware Updater’ (Applications> Utilities> Symphony I/O Firmware Updater) just to double-check that your firmware is all on the current versions. If it’s not, update it. If it is, move to the next step.
- Launch Audio MIDI Setup (Applications> Utilities> Audio MIDI Setup). We recommend using Audio MIDI Setup instead of System Preferences Sound.
Make sure that ‘Symphony64′ (PCIe or Thunderbridge) is selected in the left-side column. In the ‘Source’ menu on the right, choose the appropriate port selection depending on how many Symphony I/Os you have. If you have 1 unit, choose ‘Port 1: 32ch’… if you have 2 units, choose ‘Ports 1-2: 64Chs’. Quit Audio MIDI Setup and restart the computer. Wait until the unit/units sync and stop clicking before launching Maestro. This can take a couple minutes if you’re using 2 Symphony I/Os.
If your signal isn’t showing up correctly in Pro Tools, coming out of Pro Tools to the desired outputs, or if the routing isn’t showing up as expected, there are a few things to check. Look below for the section that applies to the Apogee product you’re using:
JAM, JAM 96k, MiC, MiC 96k, Groove
ONE (every model), GiO, Duet (every model), Quartet (every model), Ensemble (every model)
Symphony I/O, Symphony I/O MkII, AD16x, DA16x, Rosetta 200, Rosetta 800
Yes! The following products have been tested and are fully compatible with Pro Tools 12 (every version of 12):
There is a known issue where the Symphony64 Thunderbridge would show up with the generic ‘Device’ label and wouldn’t work correctly after updating to macOS 10.12 Sierra.
This issue has been fixed in the latest Sierra-compatible Symphony software installer.
If you are updating to macOS 10.12 Sierra and use Symphony64 Thunderbridge, make sure to run the most current Symphony installer that is compatible with Sierra.
