Technical information

Apollo Software Manual Chapter 10: Multi-Unit Cascading 171
Chapter 10: Multi-Unit Cascading
Apollo Expanded Overview
Up to four Apollo units of any model type (Apollo, Apollo 8, Apollo 8p, Apollo 16, Apollo
16 mkII, Apollo Twin) can be connected and used together as a single consolidated
system. When multiple Apollo units are connected, all units are controlled within a single
Console window, and the I/O complement of all devices are available within the DAW. Op-
erating a multi-unit system is nearly identical to that of a single-unit system for seamless
expansion when more I/O is needed.
Console Integration
When multi-unit cascading, the number of Console inputs is increased to match the
increased hardware inputs. Both units share the same monitor, auxiliary, and cue mix
buses for integrated mixing convenience.
Monitor and Expander Units
To facilitate the mix bus integration within Console, one unit must be designated as the
monitor (master) unit. Monitor speakers and cue outputs are attached to the monitor unit
only. All other units are expander (slave) units. For details, see Monitor Unit Designation.
Tip: Headphone outputs can be freely assigned to any master or slave unit.
Hardware Setup
In multi-unit systems, all Apollo devices are interconnected via a single Thunderbolt
cable per unit, with a single Thunderbolt connection to the host computer. The host
computer port, as well as any Thunderbolt devices on the bus (including Apollo), can be
Thunderbolt 1 or Thunderbolt 2.
Constraints
Depending on the specific configuration, certain features and/or I/O streams are reduced
when multi-unit cascading. See Multi-Unit Constraints for details.
Driver I/O
Apollo I/O availability and numbering changes when multi-unit cascading. I/O routes can
be virtually remapped via Apollo’s Flex Driver feature. For a list of default I/O states, see
“Driver I/O Tables” on page 185.