Redefining the bar for impressive audio at Apogee Studio: Dante's innovative strategies
Apogee's Symphony System Revolutionises Multi-Room Audio at Bob Clearmountain's Studio
Bob Clearmountain, the renowned audio engineer known for his work with iconic acts like Bruce Springsteen, The Rolling Stones, and David Bowie, has expanded his studio in Santa Monica to deliver immersive, pristine audio experiences to multiple rooms. The technology driving this transformation is Apogee's Symphony System, which offers high-fidelity, low-latency audio expansion.
At the heart of the studio's audio system is Apogee's Symphony Mk II Special Edition, a multi-channel audio interface. This system, equipped with an optional Dante hardware module, transmits audio via a dedicated network to the remote rooms. The Dante network, in turn, delivers pristine, low-latency audio to each room, allowing people in remote locations to monitor the live immersive audio stream through their Symphony MK IIs.
The Symphony System is the core technology for this multi-room, low-latency, and high-fidelity audio expansion. It provides up to 64 channels of AD/DA conversion, leveraging Thunderbolt connectivity for low latency. This setup supports expansion and integration necessary to send high-quality audio to multiple rooms while maintaining professional studio standards.
In the main studio, the audio stream transmitted via Dante is heard through the Atmos speakers. Each remote room at Apogee Studio is equipped with a Mac running Dante Virtual Soundcard, a software application that turns a PC or Mac into a Dante-enabled device.
Bob Clearmountain aims to tie all the rooms together at Apogee Studio, allowing for a live, immersive mix in the main studio with the old Neve 8068 console. This setup enables him to mix some of the most iconic live shows in music history, including Live Aid, The Concert for New York for 9/11, and the Foo Fighters' Taylor Hawkins Tribute Concerts, with the same level of precision and quality in every room.
Apogee Studio, known for hosting legendary recording artists and up-and-coming artists, offers an intimate experience for those lucky enough to get on the guest list for a show. Setting up the Dante network at Apogee Studio was described as "fairly painless" by Bob Clearmountain, making it an accessible solution for studios looking to expand their capabilities.
For those interested in the technology behind this transformation, the Symphony I/O and Symphony 64 | ThunderBridge allow up to 64 channels of audio data to be transmitted seamlessly with low latency to any Thunderbolt-equipped Mac computer. This setup supports the expansion and integration necessary to deliver pristine, low-latency audio to multiple rooms, making it an essential tool for professionals like Bob Clearmountain.
- The Symphony System, a core technology in Bob Clearmountain's studio transformation, not only supports multi-room audio expansion but also transmits high-quality, low-latency data using technology like Dante and ThunderBridge, making it a valuable tool in data-and-cloud-computing for professional studios.
- As Apogee Studio continues to host high-profile events featuring iconic acts, the integration of cutting-edge technology like the Symphony System enables features such as immersive, low-latency, multi-room audio, enhancing the overall experience for both artists and audiences alike.
