Apogee Quartet User manual

Apogee Quartet
User’s Guide
V1, September, 2012

Contents
QuickStart!6
Introduction!6
Quartet!6
Professional audio interface and studio control center for Mac!6
What you can do with Quartet:!6
Package contents!7
The following items are included in the Quartet box:!7
Software, firmware and the Quartet User’s guide are available online only.!7
Please download the latest installer here:!7
Quartet panel tour!8
Top panel!8
Rear panel!9
Side panel!9
Display and touchpad tour!10
Input display and touchpads!10
Output display and touchpads!10
Connecting to your Mac!11
System Requirements!11
Install Quartet Software!11
Choosing Quartet for Mac Sound I/O!12
Connect to Headphones or Speakers!13
Check Audio Playback in iTunes!13
Adjusting Volume!14
Speaker Output level!14
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Headphone Output level!15
Configuring the Input!16
Open Apogee Maestro 2 software and select the Input tab.!16
Operation!17
Controller Knob!17
Quartet’s OLED Displays!17
Adjusting Input & Output Levels!18
Input level!18
Speaker Output level!19
Headphone Output level!20
Multiple Speaker Set Operation!21
2 Speaker Sets!22
3 Speaker Sets!23
Custom Output Routing!24
Assignable Touchpads!25
Mute outputs!26
Dim outputs!26
Sum to Mono!27
Engage Speaker Set!27
Clear Meters!28
MIDI Input/Output !29
To setup a MIDI device with Quartet:!30
OS X System Preferences!31
OS X Audio MIDI Setup!31
Setting Sample Rate!32
Maestro 2!33
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Devices Sidebar!33
Device Icon & ID Button!34
Input Tab Window!35
Output Tab Window!36
Device Settings Tab Window!38
Output Routing Tab Window!39
System Setup Window!41
Menu Bar Menus!42
Low Latency Mixing!45
Maestro Low Latency mixing!45
Maestro Low Latency mixing (continued)!46
Working with the Maestro Mixer!48
Do I need the Maestro Mixer?!48
Recording software settings!48
Software monitoring!48
Playback mix!49
Maestro Output Routing Tab!49
Maestro Mixer Settings!50
Applications!51
Using Quartet with Logic!51
Using Quartet with Logic (continued)!52
Using Quartet with Logic (continued)!53
Using Quartet with Logic (continued)!54
Using Quartet with GarageBand!55
Using Quartet with Avid Pro Tools (9 or greater)!56
Using Quartet with Ableton Live!57
Using Quartet with Apple Final Cut Pro!58
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Using Quartet with Steinberg Nuendo!59
Troubleshooting!60
Further Troubleshooting Resources!62
Apogee Website!62
Apogee Support!62
Apogee Product Repair!62
Specifications!63
System Requirements:!64
Warranty & Notifications!65
Registration and Warranty Information!65
Service Information!66
Warnings!66
Copyright Notice!66
Software Notice!67
Declarations of Conformity!67
Industry Canada Notice!68
Declaration of Conformity – CE!68
Declaration of Conformity – Japan!68
Declaration of Conformity – Australia!68
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QuickStart
Introduction
Thank you for purchasing Quartet. This QuickStart guide describes how to set up Quartet with your
Mac, connect speakers or headphones to play back music and connect mics and instruments to record
your own creations with Apple’s Logic Pro or Avid’s Pro Tools.
Quartet
Professional audio interface and studio control center for Mac
For over 25 years, Apogee has been an award-winning industry leader in digital recording. Quartet
expands upon this award-winning legacy with next generation sound quality and groundbreaking
new features that will raise the bar for the personal recording studio. With Quartet, you have a
powerful studio tool that’s easy to use and designed to deliver a difference you can hear.
Quartet features the very latest in Apogee conversion and mic preamp technology. Compact and
simple to use, Quartet lets you capture your best take anywhere with ease and without compromise.
What you can do with Quartet:
•Record up to 4 analog inputs simultaneously (microphone, line-level or instrument)
•Connect up to 8 additional inputs digitally via ADAT/SMUX optical for a total of 12 inputs
•Connect and power any compatible MIDI USB device
•Connect up to 3 sets of powered monitors
•Mix and monitor in 5.1 surround
•Record with any popular audio software on a Mac; Logic Pro, Final Cut, GarageBand, Pro Tools,
Ableton Live, or any Core Audio compatible application
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Package contents
The following items are included in the Quartet box:
•Quartet
•QuickStart Guide
•Power Supply
•USB 2.0 Cable
USB 2.0 CableQuickStart Guide Power Supply
Software, firmware and the Quartet User’s guide are available online only.
Please download the latest installer here:
http://www.apogeedigital.com/downloads
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Quartet panel tour
Top panel
Input Meters Output Meters
User Assignable
Touchpads
Controller Knob
Durable Cast
Aluminum Body
Input Selection Touchpads
Output Selection Touchpads
Quartet panel tour
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Rear panel
Analog OutputsAnalog Inputs
DC Power
Word Clock OUT
USB 2.0
Digital Inputs
MIDI (USB)
Side panel
Headphone Output
(on right side)
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Display and touchpad tour
Input display and touchpads
Output display and touchpads
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Connecting to your Mac
System Requirements
•Intel Mac 1.5 GHz or faster
•Mac OS X 10.6.8, 10.7.4 or greater
•2 GB minimum RAM, 4 GB recommended
Install Quartet Software
1. Remove the protective film from the front panel, otherwise the Touchpads will not work.
2. Connect Quartet’s Power Supply to the DC power input on the rear panel of Quartet and the
appropriate IEC cable to a wall outlet.
3. Connect Quartet’s USB port to a USB port on your Mac using the supplied USB 2.0 cable.
4. Go to http://www.apogeedigital.com/downloads
5. Locate and download the latest Quartet Installer package.
6. Once you have downloaded the package, double-click the open box icon to run the installer.
7. You will be required to restart your computer after the install is complete.
Quartet is powered through the external power supply but must also be connected to your Mac via
USB in order to power on. Once both connections are made, Quartet’s OLEDs and Touchpads will
illuminate, indicating that it is powered on.
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Choosing Quartet for Mac Sound I/O
After connecting Quartet to your Mac, a dialog box will prompt you to choose Quartet for Mac sound
input and output. Click Yes.
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Connect to Headphones or Speakers
Connect headphones to the headphone output on the right side of Quartet.
Connect Quartet’s 1/4” speaker outputs 1-2 to the inputs (balanced or
unbalanced) of your active (powered) studio monitors or amplifier.
Check Audio Playback in iTunes
To verify Quartet’s output, open iTunes (found in your Mac’s Applications folder), choose a song, and
click Play.
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Adjusting Volume
Speaker Output level
To change Quartet’s speaker output level (i.e
the listening level of connected speakers), press
the Speaker Selection Touchpad to select the
appropriate stereo output.
Now, turn the Controller Knob to the
desired listening level. The hardware
Controller Knob operates in parallel
with any software level controls.
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Headphone Output level
To change Quartet’s headphone output level (i.e
the listening level of connected headphones),
press the Headphone Selection Touchpad to
select the headphone output.
Now, turn the Controller Knob to the desired
listening level. The hardware Controller Knob
operates in parallel with any software level
controls.
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Configuring the Input
Connect a microphone or instrument to one of the combo jacks on the rear panel
Open Apogee Maestro 2 software and select the Input tab.
Select the Analog Level setting that corresponds to the
device you have connected to Quartet’s input(s). For
example, if you have a microphone connected to the
XLR input of channel 1, select “Mic” from the Analog
Level menu on channel 1
Note: If you are using a condenser
microphone that requires phantom
power, select the 48V box on the Input
tab of the appropriate channel in
Maestro 2. Phantom power is
indicated on Quartet’s display by a red
dot above the microphone icon.
48V Phantom power
button in Maestro
48V Phantom power
indicator on OLED Display
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Operation
Controller Knob
Quartet’s Controller Knob allows you to easily adjust the levels of all inputs and outputs and also
provides a quick and easy way to mute the outputs. By default, the Knob Push Button is assigned to
mute all outputs. Alternatively, you can assign it in Apogee’s Maestro 2 software to mute only the
speaker or only the headphone outputs.
Quartet’s OLED Displays
Quartet's input and output OLED display provide full color metering and visual feedback.
Input display - Home view Output display - Home view
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Adjusting Input & Output Levels
!
Input level
To change Quartet’s input level (i.e the preamp gain of microphones and instruments):
1) Press the Touchpad corresponding to the desired input.
The ring around the selected icon will be brighter than the others after you select it.
2) Turn the Controller Knob until the desired recording level is obtained.
The controller knob operates in parallel with Maestro’s input controls.
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Speaker Output level
To change Quartet’s speaker output level (i.e the listening level of connected speakers):
1) Press the speaker output Touchpad.
The ring around the selected icon will be brighter than the others after you select it.
2) Turn the controller knob to the desired listening level.
The controller knob operates in parallel with any software output controls on the Mac.
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Headphone Output level
To change Quartet’s headphone output level (i.e the listening level of connected headphones):
1) Press the headphone output Touchpad.
2) Turn the controller knob to the desired listening level.
The controller knob operates in parallel with Maestro’s headphone control.
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