Hi

Am thinking of getting the apogee duet.
Disregarding the difference in track counts etc... Will I notice a real improvement as far as monitoring is concerned over the M-Audio 410 I have at the moment?

I don't do much recording, just the odd guitar part, so can get away with just the 2in 2out, am really trying to find out if the converters are that much better.

Many Thanks

YES!!
The ADC and DAC are much higher quality than the M-audio box,

I think you will notice a very big improvement in depth, tone and the general "size" of the audio.

Plus, it offers WAY cooler features, with the MIDI assignable control, that can be anything you want inside DAW land, for example; Master fader, pan control, song position, record arm...whatever you want dude.

I've never used the 410, but I will say I think the Duet's converters sound great. They blow my Mbox2 out of the water. To me, the Duet sounds very clear and the Mbox2 sounded like there was a blanket over the monitors.

The Duet sounds better than my 002R as well.

I'd see if you can do a home trial first so you can hear for yourself.
I recently tried an Ensemble and didn't like it compared to my M-Audio ProjectMix. There's a long thread on that test on this site. If you read it and others you will also note how some people really tend to push certain products, so bear that in mind very carefully.
It's always best to listen for yourself. Good luck!

I can only truthfully speak for the D/A, but I have a lightbridge and I think I'd be hard pressed to find a unit with worse D/A than that. The Duet D/A is great.

Check out topcatz thread, but I strongly feel there were some other problems with the test, like unmatched levels, different mic distances, and the extra detail of the Ensemble A/D picking up the nastiness of the room he was in. Good A/D can be startling at first, but is so welcome once you get accustomed to it and it comes time to mix.

I 've got both.
Consider the m-audio as a toy.

Thanks all for replies.

I think that settles it for the duet then.
don't think a demo is an option. I haven't even seen an add for it in the shops in london, let alone a unit to take home and try in my room.

will just have to take a chance I think.

Many Thanks

I made the exact same thread a month ago or something and bought a duet after that. Very happy I did! You will definately notice the difference.