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I typically program music in my DAW and work with a vocalist. I have owned several audio interfaces, my last was the Antelope Discrete 8 Synergy Core. I upgraded to the Zen Tour Synergy Core for the flexibility of the control panel and I wanted a desktop device. The control panel alone makes this my favorite. There are so many routing options and it's pretty easy to understand. The Antelope effects sound great and being able to mix with them is fun and rewarding! The results are nice. The sound quality of my productions have improved because of this device. Within 24 hours it has become my favorite, 10 Thumbs Up, Very Happy!!

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I recently purchased the Antelope Audio Zen tour Synergy Pro from zZounds and am extremely pleased with the sonic quality after using it for 3 days so far.The included plugins in addition to the promotional bundle provide me with all the tools I need to track and mix with a signal quality on par with top studios. Adding the Zen Pro Synergy Core has resolved my audio io (quality) issues for the majority of my setups in my home studio - used for songwriting, production, sound design and video/cinematic editorial.I have only done mic (dynamic and condenser) and instrument tests with electric guitar so far but am inspired. I've been using NI, Arturia, Izotope plug ins for years and feel a difference already just using Antelope's Darkface Amplifier, Green 2x12 Cab simulator with only the cali 121 mic and some rear mic, BAE1073MP mic pre, VEQ-4K Orange eq, - it really is the studio/console workflow and I tend to visualize it like being in the studio with the gear. I don't get that same mental image routing in my DAW. The difference I'm feeling is that I have much more processing headroom, I don't have to back off when my computer processors cannot handle anymore computational load (The NI, Arturia, and Izotope plug ins are fantastic - I'll just be using them in tandem after the antelope chain - and probably less of their eq, comps etc.) But that also opens the computer up for the software synths etc.The Antelope signal chain adds up sonically like the real world hardware. So you do have to take care and use common sense managing the signal. The sonic grit is tangible if you want it to be. You can feel the personality of each effect and for most of the eq's, mic pres and compressors, understand their parameters - gamut/ranges quickly and intuitively. I feel like I'm going to like working with this toolset and will also be able to experiment a lot.The Zen Tour Synergy Core is packed with 2 fpga and 4 dsp chips and they in turn generate much heat. The unit is well designed mechanically and vents well but you'll want to provide room for air to flow so give it space. It is a small box, but using 1/4 inch TRS, xlr and db25 connectors will require additional clear space in front and behind the unit as well. So draw some maps before you determine where you'll be placing it.Also, the unit does not ship with a Thunderbolt 3 cable - A usb 3 cable is provided. Be aware that thunderbolt 3 cable length has the potential to reduce the effective bandwidth of the thunderbolt connection, but the reduction is from TB 3 - (40 Gbps) to TB 2 - (20 Gbps). i'm using a 1 meter cable and all is well. I haven't found any Antelope documentation on this factor yet, so it would be a good thing to ask on the forums... The Zen Tour Synergy Core is a portable unit, but I'll not be dropping it into my backpack without proper padding. I'm considering a pelican case for it if it is to go on the road. It would be cool if there were a Porta Brace case for it. In short, I'm inspired. Inspired to track, which makes me inspired to write, which makes me inspired to mix, but not on the same day.

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Verified Customer zZounds has verified that this reviewer made a purchase from us.

I’m really enjoying the interface. The USB driver is a little finicky on Windows 10, but it’s nothing deal-breaking and I haven’t seen any issues while recording - the driver mostly just seems sensitive to choosing other audio devices in Windows’ sound settings.The routing matrix/mixer/onboard effects control panel takes a little figuring out, but it’s super flexible and useful once you do - you can plug anything into anything via software, which is all I ever want (and rarely get) out of this sort of program.The quality of the onboard preamps and converters is good - a noticeable improvement both in and out over the Focusrite Scarlett 6i6 I was using previously - but I don’t have a high-end point of reference to compare it to, so I don’t know if they’re “great”. Certainly usable and unlikely to get in your way.Things I love:The two reamp outputs and four high-Z capable inputs are an awesome feature - I can send any source through my pedal collection and mess some stuff up.The onboard effects are great. I had a Universal Audio setup a few years back, so it’s been a while, but I don’t think the quality on any of the effects I’ve tried is less than as good as the UA effects. And the amp sims are the best I’ve played (and I’ve tried out a bunch of different amp sims, both software and hardware). I don’t play high gain stuff, so many of them don’t especially interest me, but the low gain amps are relatively easy to make sound good, can be made to sound bad (which tells me it’s a good simulation), and sound and feel incredible when they’re set up right.Things I don’t like:Their AFX2DAW plug-in that lets you use the onboard effects directly inside your DAW isn’t available over USB or for Windows.They opted for USB 2.0, meaning the number of simultaneous Inputs/Outputs is limited when compared to the Thunderbolt option, which is another strike against it for Windows users.The gain staging throughout the device (in/out of the software mixer channels, out of the assorted outputs, in and out of the effects blocks) is tricky. I find myself occasionally having to apply relatively extreme boosts or cuts to internally routed signals to ensure the destination device sees an appropriate signal level, and adjustments to some of the levels are inconveniently located.Overall, the best interface I’ve used for my purposes - most of the time I only want to record one or two channels and playback through my monitors, but when I get a crazy idea and want to send sounds weird places, everything about this system is designed to let me do so quickly, easily, and without compromising the sound.

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No other desktop unit can compete with this device. Bother in terms of I/O capability and routing matrix. I use my audio interface both in the studio and for live performance and this unit does everything I need with great sound quality. Having the DSP effects is nice not just for production, but for someone like me who uses it for live performance, being able to run multiple apps into a single mastering chain to output is great. There is a bit of a learning curve to fully understand the routing matrix. However, it's totally worth it, allowing you plenty of options for how you route everything. Plus, being able to save presets is really handy. For instance, I have a preset that's for studio so I can hear my DAW's click and one for live which routes the clicks to my headphones only.

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Exceptional sound quality with DSP based effects processing. The best routing options. Easy to set-up and use once you have orientated yourself to the software-based control centre. It really does sound fantastic. And they have an amazing support. I contacted them onces and they responded right away.Totally recommended.

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I love this with all my heart. The best pirate of gear I’ve bought. Love all the plugins as well. I was expecting a great device but I was blown away 1000x! Thank you Antelope Audio

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I bought the Zen Tour looking for a professional level TB3 audio interface that would upgrade my project studio while keeping as many inputs as the unit it replaces, and let me tell you I was not disappointed.The unit sounds great and the Synergy Core FX is really nice to have. I use Logic Pro as my DAW of choice and the ability to use the outboard FX is a really nice feature of this unit. I have not tried all the FX yet, but the ones I have use so far sound incredible and the emulations are pretty close to spot on comparing the hardware units I have experienced in the past. There are so many that I have not used as hardware, but sound pretty good on their own. No complaints here.I love the metering and the fact that I can use the unit as a stand alone interface from the touch screen. One think that I am slightly disappointed about was that they removed one set of the ADAT light pipe. I would have been over the moon if this allowed 16 ADAT channels. For an interface at this price point I would have hoped that they kept that extra set from the original Zen Tour unit, but the improved Synergy Core somewhat makes up for it I guess. I have not yet tried to max the unit out since it is my first Thunderbolt 3 interface, but I plan to put it through its paces on my next project. So far I have had this ZT for about 2 weeks and the setup was pretty easy on my MacBook Pro i7.I am glad I got this over the Apollo’s I was considering. It is loaded by comparison and I don’t plan on upgrading again for a while. I need to get my money out of this investment first, but with all the FX available it will be a while before I need to consider that anyhow. =)

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Verified Customer zZounds has verified that this reviewer made a purchase from us.

I was looking to finally upgrade to a Thunderbolt 3 interface and landed on a choice between the Antelope Audio Zen Tour Synergy or the Apollo. I went with this Zen Tour and have been very happy with my decision. The Zen Tour has loads of inputs and the DSP is outstanding. The AFX2DAW plugin is really convenient and I love that I can use all the fx as an outboard processor for my Logic. The hardware is top notch and the converters are excellent. The only thing I am slightly disappointed in is the removal of the second ADAT input/output. I would have really liked to have the option to expand to 16 additional channels like the original Zen Tour. Otherwise, this unit is the best available on the market. It can run stand alone with the touch screen in a pinch and the set up was painless for my MacBook Pro. This will be my interface for the foreseeable future. Thanks Antelope Audio for a great product.