Apogee Mini-Me

UPDATE-August 16, 2002
Late yesterday, Apogee indicated that there would be another shipment going out in about 2 weeks. This will be approximately 50 units to dealers worldwide and we should receive about 10 of them. Another similarly-sized shipment is scheduled for about two weeks later and then another about two weeks after that. By the end of September they expect to have all back orders covered and have a consistent stock available.

UPDATE--July 31, 2002
Apogee shipped a very limited quantity at the beginning of July, 10 units, to all dealers in the United States. The three units we received, and many more to come, are all spoken for through pre-sales. Consequently, we have not had a unit to call our own and perform and tests or comparisons.

Word from the first round of users has us very excited for the next round of Mini Me shipments. Based on Apogee's feedback, we expect to be able to fill all current back orders by the end of August and have units available for purchase.

Generally, feedback has been quite positive about the audio performance with only a few gripes about functionality--some folks would like to have the pre-amp control knobs also control line-in level calibration, and others would like to see multiple sampling rates and bit lengths supported simultaneously. Nonetheless, the glowing feedback about the sound quality makes it apparent that those who are patient will find the Mini Me to be well worth the wait.

UPDATE--July 2, 2002

Apogee informed us that they shipped an initial allotment of units to U.S. dealers on Monday, July 1.
A total of 10 units were shipped in the U.S. We will be receiving three which will be delivered to those who placed their orders first.

The balance of current orders are not scheduled to ship until late August.

As many of you anticipated using the Mini Me this summer, you may want to discuss alternative options. We will be in the office until 3 p.m. Friday for your convenience and back to regular hours on July 8, 2002.

Although these delays are out of our control, we thank you again for your continued patience.

UPDATE--June 10, 2002

Having spoken with Apogee last week, it now sounds like we will NOT be seeing any Mini Me's before the last week of June.

For those of us who have had our hopes up for a release and arrival this week or next, we shouldn't hold our breath. Perhaps, we'll get lucky but other plans should be made for recording equipment if you are planning to record any of the big festivals this month and were planning on using the Mini Me.

Evidently, no units arrived last week and the testing, burn-in, inspection period is going to take some time.

We'll keep you posted.

 

UPDATE--April 20, 2002:

Since the earliest conversations about the Mini Me, some exciting information has changed:

The USB and the S/PDIF or AES/EBU outputs CAN BE used simultaneously.

Apogee explains, "Not only that, you can set them to different word lengths independently! The *front panel* controls the resolution of the AES and S/PDIF outputs and they can be anything at any time. The *computer* controls the resolution of the USB output and it can be anything at any time as well.

"So, for example, you could set 16 bit on the front panel and 24 bit on the computer. The AES and S/PDIF outputs would use UV22HR to send a 16-bit signal to your DAT machine. Meanwhile, the computer would receive the full 24 bits. Or vice-versa. When reducing the world length, UV22HR is used in either case.

"The only thing we recommend, although it is not required, is setting the same *sample rate* on the front panel as on the computer, but even if you don't, the USB output will be sample-rate converted to match the computer setting.

"Incidentally, you can theoretically use the USB interface at 96 kHz. However, it is at the limit of performance of USB 1.x, and in the case of most operating systems with most USB host chipsets, you will get too much jitter for this to work. We therefore don't recommend trying it. This is not a Mini-Me limitation, however."

Additionally, the nearly line level headphone output makes use of the 24-bit/96kHz digital-to-analog converter enabling monitoring through home stereo systems. Simply plug in a stereo 1/4" to RCA left/right pair and connect to the listening center of your choice.

UPDATE: April 16, 2002:

As of this afternoon, we received confirmation that shipping will be approximately three weeks from now. Final selection of the headphone potentiometer is delaying the release but they have several units in house and operating.

However, the final specification for DC power is 8-20 volts, at 700mA, not 6 volt @ 500mA, as originally expected. Consequently, a six volt battery will NOT power the Mini Me. Apogee established this final specification in order to assure that the Mini Me could be powered from an AC or DC input of higher voltage without damaging the unit.

We are aware that many of you have purchased the Mini Me expecting to use it with the six volt battery system that you already own.

In order to minimize the impact of this change, we will be offering the Eco-Charge Gamma Pro Single battery 12 volt system at a greatly discounted price for everyone with a Mini Me on order. This system will power the Mini Me for 8-10 hours.

Please contact us with any questions so we may assist as needed.

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The Mini Me is housed in a chassis resembling the AD-1000 (5.4" x 9.8" x 1 1/2") and weighing in right at 2 pounds. This 2-channel mic pre-amp with phantom power and 24-bit, up to 96kHz a/d conversion, can be used with DAT machines or CD-Recorders (at 16-bit with UV22) using the S/PDIF or AES/EBU output, with a computer via the USB for up to 48kHz, or via another digital interface like the Nuendo Multiset for up to 96kHz operation. In all applications, including USB, it requires an external DC battery ranging from 8-20 volts and will draw 700mA.

Other features:
Soft Limit and three compression curves
4 segment LED meters per channel (-40dfs, -20dbfs, -3dbfs, and 0dbfs)
Headphone output with very low latency monitoring.

To answer a few likely questions:
Just like the AD-1000, controls are on the front and inputs/outputs are on the back.
Although they are NOT recessed, the gain control knobs are much tighter than the AD-1000
There is no breakout cable necessary.
The DC input is a standard round jack and the digital outputs are chassis mounted RCA for S/PDIF and XLR for AES/EBU.
Unlike other USB products, it can feed the USB and the external S/PDIF simultaneously and it will send 16-bit and 24-bit simultaneously.
It does NOT have a digital input so you can NOT use it for post-production word length reduction.
With a stereo 1/4" adaptor, the nearly line level headphone output can be used as a digital-to-analog convertor.
The AES/EBU output can be used as a second output parallel with the S/PDIF
The USB port is modular so it can be removed and replaced with the forthcoming Firewire port that will support 96kHz. (Expect this upgrade option in 9-12 months for a very moderate price).
A 12volt 7.2AmpHour battery will deliver over 8 hours of operation.
Listing at $1395.00, it will be available at a special introductory rate from Sonic Sense

Call Sonic Sense toll-free at (877) 324-4463 to place your order now.