Universal Audio Apollo Thunderbolt for Windows has arrived! What you need to know and what you'll need...

By Front End Audio on Nov 9th 2017

Universal Audio, a leading manufacturer of professional audio recording hardware and software, has announced Thunderbolt compatibility for Windows 10 users as part of UAD Software v9.0.

Now, Thunderbolt-equipped Apollo Twin (Apollo Twin SOLO, Apollo Twin DUO), Apollo 8 (Apollo 8 DUO and Apollo 8 QUAD), Apollo 8p, Apollo 16 MkII, and Apollo FireWire audio interfaces, as well as UAD-2 Satellite Thunderbolt devices can all be connected to Windows 10 computers that include a Thunderbolt 3 connection (qualified Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt adapter required).

Thunderbolt Compatibility for Windows 10 Systems — Key Features

All Thunderbolt-equipped Apollo and UAD-2 devices now available to Windows 10 users with Thunderbolt 3 PCs
Allows current PC-based Apollo and Apollo 16 FireWire users to upgrade their rigs to Thunderbolt speed and stability with UA's Thunderbolt Option Card
Compatible with Windows 10 64-bit only
PCs must be equipped with Thunderbolt 3 via USB-C (older Thunderbolt systems are not supported)

The Universal Audio Apollo family of interfaces has really revolutionized the world of recording. However, save for the continuing legacy (Silver) piece - the Universal Audio Apollo Firewire (w/ QUAD UAD-2 Processing) - and the relatively recent release of the Universal Audio Apollo Twin USB (w/ DUO UAD-2 Processing) which upped Windows users' connectivity using the zippy USB3 , Windows users were pretty much the huddled masses in hiding. And while USB3 is certainly proving itself as a much, much faster and reliable protocol with tons more bandwidth than USB2.0, the Apollo Twin USB still lacks any other interface company in the Apollo family to connect and expand with. And despite the very nice addition of the Universal Audio UAD-2 Satellite USB family of USB3 equipped Satellite UAD-2 processors, when it comes to Apollo, USB3 remains only a solution for overdubbing and mixing. For anyone doing band tracking, Thunderbolt and the Apollo Firewire remain the only options.

There's HOW MANY Americans on Windows who want Apollo?!?!?!?It's no secret that the American pro audio community proclaims itself to be a Mac club (some might even go so far as to call it a Mac cult). And while we're happily shopping at the produce market in North America, the folks across the pond in Europe enjoy an environment dominated by Windows (does that mean that they're shopping at "the hardware store?"). And this is what really gave UA the need for USB3 - serving the European market. And what better way to test the waters than to release a USB3 version of the Apollo Twin?

And this is where things got interesting. It was by a not-so-insignificant multiple by which the American audio workers scooped up the Universal Audio Apollo Twin USB. Universal Audio was shocked to learn just how many people in the US wanted Apollo running on a high-speed / low-latency protocol for Windows. Obviously - the people have spoken. And Universal Audio was listening.

Thunderbolt for Windows... but how?
Since Thunderbolt was a collaboration between both Intel (a company with a much longer history of serving the PC [Windows] users community) and Apple, Thunderbolt was to remain something locked into the Apple manufacturing platform until there could be a universal conduit available for Windows which could incorporate Thunderbolt. It wasn't until recently, when another of Intel's creations - USB-C - arrived, that such a universal conduit was available.

USB-C supports a couple of different formats (and we're going to reference some Wikipedia links here to help give you the resources to learn a bit more about it):

USB-3.1 (If a product implements USB Type-C, it does not necessarily support USB 3.1 or Power Delivery over USB )
DisplayPort 1.3
MHL 1.0, 2.0, 3.0 and superMHL
HDMI 1.4b
Thunderbolt 3 and DisplayPort 1.2

So, as you can see, this is a POWERFUL new format that supports quite a bit. Obviously, Thunderbolt 3 is what we're going to be concerned with as it pertains to Apollo.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED:

PCs must be equipped with Thunderbolt 3 via USB-C (older Thunderbolt systems are not supported)
Qualified Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt (1/2) adapter required
And as with any Thunderbolt device, the Thunderbolt cable is not included with Apollo. So, you'll need one of those, too.

StartTech makes a lot of very cool and dependable adapters and cables for USB-C and Thunderbolt. They make a perfect Thunderbolt 3 adapter:

StartTech Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt Adapter - Windows Only

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UNIVERSAL AUDIO APOLLO for WINDOWS RESOURCES

Here is the direct link to Universal Audio's help page for Thunderbolt on Windows 10:
https://help.uaudio.com/hc/en-us/articles/214492726-Thunderbolt-for-Windows-is-here-

And below are the direct support links applicable for specific Apollo and UAD-2 products:

Apollo (silver - Apollo Firewire) / Thunderbolt 2 Card

Apollo System Requirements
Apollo Thunderbolt Windows Compatibility
Configuring Windows for Thunderbolt
Windows Setup - Required Settings
Windows Optimization - Optional Settings
UA Device Compatibility with Apollo Thunderbolt
Known Issues - Windows Thunderbolt Compatibility

Apollo Twin

Apollo Twin System Requirements
Apollo Twin Thunderbolt Windows Compatibility
Configuring Windows for Thunderbolt
Windows Setup - Required Settings
Windows Optimization - Optional Settings
U A Device Compatibility with Apollo Twin Thunderbolt
Known Issues - Windows Thunderbolt Compatibility

Apollo 8 & Apollo 8p
(Models: Apollo 8 DUO, Apollo 8 QUAD, & Apollo 8p)

Apollo 8 & Apollo 8p System Requirements
Apollo 8 & Apollo 8p Windows Compatibility
Configuring Windows for Thunderbolt
Windows Setup - Required Settings
Windows Optimization - Optional Settings
UA Device Compatibility with Apollo 8 & Apollo 8p
Known Issues - Windows Thunderbolt Compatibility