Universal Audio Apollo x16D Closes Out a Huge Summer on Tour

Used by top engineers on 2025's biggest tours, Apollo x16D brings studio sound to the stage

SCOTTS VALLEY, CA • August 21, 2025 — With the Summer '25 festival season coming to a close, Universal Audio (UA) is proud to celebrate a record-setting season for its Apollo x16D audio interface with Dante® connectivity and realtime UAD plug-in processing designed for live sound, now a staple on the world's most prestigious tours and festivals.

Perfect for front-of-house and monitor engineers, the Apollo x16D interface has powered shows for everyone from Iron Maiden and Kendrick Lamar to Backstreet Boys and Shakira.

"I’ve had zero issues with this system, while I have had to start other setups again from scratch," says Toby Francis, Sales Consultant at Clair Global and FOH Engineer (Kendrick Lamar, Ariana Grande, Red Hot Chili Peppers). "Apollo x16D is truly plug and play, and the quality of the UAD plug-in emulations is the closest I’ve found to the original hardware."

Ken “Pooch” Van Druten, FOH for Iron Maiden agrees, saying "Apollo x16D is my favorite new piece of gear. Not only is it amazing sounding and hosts some of the greatest sounding plug-ins in the world, it has one of the easiest setups of any computer gear I have had in years."

Universal Audio's Rodrigo Ibieta, Sr. Product Manager for Apollo, praises engineers who made this summer unforgettable. "We're incredibly proud to support the sound on stage behind these tours. Thanks to everyone who jumped on board and helped shape the music for your audiences around the world using UAD plug-ins and Apollo to help bring the sound of the records to your stage.”

For the Backstreet Boys' comeback tour at Sphere Las Vegas, front-of-house engineer James McCullagh and monitor engineer Marlon John also powered their mixes with the Apollo x16D and UAD plug-ins, engulfing nearly 18,000 people with the huge sounds of classic pop hits.

“With Apollo x16D, we use UAD plug-ins like C-Suite’s C-Vox for mic and noise processing, the Sonnox Dynamic EQ for surgical and intelligent control, and classics like the Summit TLA-100, Tube Tech CL 1B MkII and SPL Transient Designers for tried-and-true classics," says  McCullagh. "To create movement in the venue, we’re also using creative tools like the Dytronics Cyclosonic Panner."

“Going forward, I’ll use Apollo x16D because it’s reliable, stable and easy to patch," adds John. "It's really easy to access the unit with Dante from my DiGiCo console and Orange box, which is phenomenal."

Engineer Michael “Coach” Conner (Steely Dan, Paul Simon, David Byrne), says: "The level of detail required for Paul Simon’s ‘Quiet Celebration Tour’ was made possible because Apollo x16D eliminated unnecessary conversions. From preamps to PA amplifiers, the entire signal path is low-latency and Dante keeps it clean and direct, so I can work faster, sound better, and deliver a consistent mix night after night. It’s now the centerpiece of my rig, and I’m excited to use it on the David Byrne World Tour this fall.”

Trusted on Tours Worldwide

From sold-out arenas to theatres and iconic festival stages, Apollo x16D is making a powerful impact on tours worldwide. The latest list of users includes:

• Toby Francis (Kendrick Lamar)
• Ken “Pooch” van Druten (Iron Maiden)
• Jason Tarulli and Neal Jensen (The Black Keys)
• Adam Labov (The Linda Lindas) 
• Matt Napier (Muse)
• John Buitrago (Don Toliver, Lil Durk, Karol G)
• Jason Frankhouser (Bob Dylan)
• Michael “Coach” Conner (Paul Simon, David Byrne)
• James McCullagh and Marlon John (Backstreet Boys)
• Paul J. Falcone (Mariah Carey)
• Will Donbavand (Shawn Mendes, Zayn, Dermot Kennedy, Noah Kahan)
• Todd Wines (Miranda Lambert)
• Mike Osman (McFly)
• Chris Martin (Primal Scream, HONNE)
• Jonny Williams (Rod Stewart)
• Richard Sillitto (Paris Olympics, BBC Glastonbury, Strictly Come Dancing)
• Stephen May (Herbie Hancock)
• Stereophonic (West End Theatre Show, UK)
• Eddie Mapp (Evanescence, Pantera)
• Fernando Pérez Claudin (Maná)
• Michael Njuguna (Michael Kiwanuka)
• Àlex Carretero (Alizzz) 
• Logan Hanna and R. Courtney Warner (Brothers Osborne)
• Ashton Parsons (Cage the Elephant)
• Sean Quackenbush (Brandi Carlile)
• Will Madera (Pitbull)
• Many more

Studio Sound, Stage Ready

The Apollo x16D allows engineers to:

• Use UAD plug-ins like Auto-Tune, Neve 1073, and Lexicon 224 Digital Reverb live over Dante with near-zero latency
• Recall full plug-In scenes in realtime over MIDI for seamless show changes
• Link four Apollo x16D units for up to 64 channels of processing at 96 kHz with network redundancy
• Pair with UA’s Apollo E-Series peripherals for a complete I/O solution, including UnisonTM preamp emulation and distributed personal monitoring across the network using Power over Ethernet

With support from leading rental houses such as Solotech, Autograph, and Clair Global, which deploy hundreds of Apollo interfaces, including x16D and legacy UAD-2 Live Racks, Universal Audio is setting a new standard for live sound workflows.

Special Offer Through 9/30

From now through September 30, UA is offering over $2,100 in FREE UAD plug-ins with Apollo x16D Essentials+ and Ultimate+ Edition interfaces. See full promo details and the 15 included plug-ins at: https://www.uaudio.com/pages/promotion-details

Learn more about Apollo x16D: https://www.uaudio.com/products/apollo-x16d

Learn more about Apollo Networked Audio: https://www.uaudio.com/blogs/ua/apollo-networked-audio

Download images and press materials: https://u.audio/apx16d-summertours-pr

About Universal Audio Inc.
Universal Audio (UA) is a pioneer in audio and music production tools, with a rich 60-year history of craftsmanship and innovation. UA today enables millions of audio and music creators worldwide, with industry-standard Apollo and Volt recording interfaces, UAD plug-ins, UAFX pedals, advanced audio machine learning, LUNA recording suite, and UA Custom Shop hardware. UA is headquartered in Scotts Valley, California, with passionate employees worldwide — united by our goal of "Inspiring Sound for Generations."

©2025 Universal Audio, Inc. All rights reserved. Product features, specifications, pricing, and availability are subject to change without notice. The "Universal Audio" name, UA "diamond" logo, “Apollo,” “Apollo Twin,” “UAD,” “Powered Plug-Ins,” and “LUNA Recording System" are trademarks or registered trademarks of Universal Audio Inc. *All other trademarks contained herein are property of their respective owners, which may or may not be affiliated with Universal Audio Inc. Specifically, the Neve, 1084, 1073, MOOG, Studer, Spitfire Audio, Orange Tree Samples, and Loops de la Creme trademarks are used with permission. Other marks, including Steinway, are used to suggest the products that were studied in the creation of LUNA Instruments, but are not in any way affiliated with Universal Audio.