Apollo x16D
Take UAD plug-ins from studio to stage.
- Connect to your front-of-house or monitor console and use UAD plug-ins in low-latency over Dante®
- Bring your favorite UAD plug-ins like SSL 4000 G Bus Compressor, Neve 1073, and Lexicon 224 from studio to stage
- Turn any space with Ethernet into a multi-room Apollo recording studio
- Mix with confidence in stereo and immersive formats using Apollo Monitor Correction by Sonarworks®*
- Link up to four x16Ds for a 64-channel Dante system with network redundancy at 96 kHz
- Pair with Apollo e1x remote-controllable Unison™ preamps and e2m stereo headphone amp/line interfaces for a complete I/O solution
- Use Plug-In Scenes to recall settings instantly, even in the middle of a performance
- Get included software worth thousands with either UAD Analog Classics or UAD Complete bundles, plus add more with optional plug-in upgrades at point of purchase
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What’s Included
Available Plug-In Bundles
Apollo, Meet Dante
What They Say
John Buitrago
Karol G
Àlex Carretero Salvador
Shakira, Alizzz, Leo Rizzi
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Cage The Elephant, Disturbed, The Last Rockstars
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Frequently Asked Questions
The Apollo x16D is worth it if you need professional-grade UAD plug-in processing in both the recording studio and a live sound environment. It's the only audio interface that brings the Apollo X platform to a Dante-networked live rig, letting you run plug-ins like Auto-Tune, Neve 1073, and the Lexicon 224 with near-zero latency from the stage or in a distributed multi-room studio. If your work crosses those two worlds, nothing else does what the x16D does.
The Apollo x16D combines Apollo X's flagship D/A conversion and UAD-2 HEXA Core DSP with Dante networking, a pairing no other professional audio interface offers. Standard Apollo X rack models route audio over Thunderbolt to a computer — the x16D also routes 16 x 16 channels of audio over a standard Ethernet network, so it connects directly to live consoles from Yamaha, Allen & Heath, DiGiCo, and others. It's an interface that moves freely between the recording studio and the touring rig.
Dante is a digital audio networking protocol from Audinate that transmits high-quality, low-latency audio over standard Ethernet. The Apollo x16D uses Dante to send and receive up to 16 channels of audio between the interface and any compatible mixer, console, or stagebox on the same network, replacing bulky analog snakes or proprietary digital formats with a single Ethernet cable. The x16D also supports AES67 mode at 48 kHz for compatibility with popular broadcast AES67 hardware beyond the Dante ecosystem.
The Apollo x16D does not include built-in microphone preamps. It's designed as a Dante-networked audio interface, D/A monitoring hub, and realtime UAD-2 DSP engine, not as a front-end mic preamp unit. For mic and instrument inputs, you can pair it with an Apollo e1x, which adds remote-controllable Unison preamps that connect over Dante, or with any other Dante-compatible or AES-connected mic preamp or stagebox.
The Apollo x16D delivers flagship D/A stereo monitor conversion with 133 dB dynamic range and THD of -129 dB, matching the conversion specs of the Apollo x16 and putting it in the same range as dedicated mastering converters at a comparable price. That precision matters most for monitoring: what you hear through the x16D's outputs is a clean, accurate read on your mix. It also includes Apollo Monitor Correction by Sonarworks, which calibrates your monitor system in both stereo and immersive configurations for an even more accurate listening environment.
The Apollo x16D runs realtime HEXA Core DSP, the highest processing tier in the Apollo X line, with six onboard UAD-2 SHARC processors. That gives you substantial realtime headroom to run complex plug-in chains with near-zero latency, whether you're tracking in the studio or running realtime channel inserts inside UAD Console across a live mix. The x16D supports over 200 UAD plug-ins across VST, AU, and AAX 64 formats in all major DAWs.
DSP plug-ins on the Apollo x16D run on the interface's onboard HEXA Core SHARC processors, which gives you near-zero latency processing without using your computer's CPU. UAD native plug-ins run on your computer's CPU instead, with no DSP hardware required. The Apollo x16D does not run UAD native plug-ins directly, however included plug-in bundles (where available) contain both DSP and native versions, so you have access to the full UAD plug-in library regardless of which processing path fits your session.
The Apollo x16D works with all major DAWs that support VST, AU, or AAX 64 plug-in formats, including Pro Tools, Logic Pro, Ableton Live, Cubase, Nuendo, and Reaper. LUNA, UA's own DAW, offers the deepest integration with the x16D on both Mac and Windows. For live sound use, the x16D integrates with the UAD Console app independently of any DAW to enable realtime DSP processing across your Dante network.
Yes, the Apollo x16D works with all Dante-enabled equipment from any manufacturer — it’s an open, cross-brand networking standard. You can route audio directly between the x16D and compatible consoles, stageboxes, and interfaces from Yamaha, Allen & Heath, DiGiCo, Shure, and others over Ethernet. UA has published setup tutorials specifically covering integration with the Yamaha DM7 and Allen & Heath consoles.
In a live sound rig, the Apollo x16D connects to your front-of-house or monitor console over Ethernet using Dante, letting you route UAD plug-ins into your live mix with near-zero latency. You can use Plug-In Scenes in UAD Console to save and recall your entire plug-in parameter configuration over MIDI from your live console, even mid-performance. Engineers on tours with The Black Keys, Iron Maiden, Shawn Mendes, Dermot Kennedy, Karol G, Shakira, and Cage The Elephant* have used the x16D to bring UAD processing from the studio to the stage. **All trademarks property of their respective owners. Use of artist names does not constitute endorsement of Universal Audio products.
Yes, the Apollo x16D supports immersive audio monitoring up to 9.1.6, covering Dolby Atmos, Auro-3D, Sony 360 Reality Audio, and other spatial formats up to 16 channels. The UAD Console app handles immersive output routing, subwoofer Bass Management, and Apollo Monitor Correction powered by Sonarworks, which calibrates your monitoring system in immersive configurations as well as stereo. It's a complete immersive monitoring solution in a single rack unit for a networked audio facility.
Yes, you can link up to four Apollo x16Ds to build a 64-channel Dante system at 96 kHz with network redundancy. You can also expand the system with Apollo e1x remote-controllable Unison preamps and Apollo e2m stereo headphone amplifier/line interfaces, which connect over Dante to build a fully featured distributed I/O setup. That makes the x16D scalable from a small venue installation to a large multi-room studio or a high-channel-count touring rig.
DSP-based interfaces like the Apollo x16D are worth it in 2026, especially for engineers who need realtime plug-in monitoring at near-zero latency without placing heavy demands on their computer's CPU. As sessions grow larger, offloading processing to onboard UAD-2 DSP keeps your computer running efficiently while letting you track through plug-ins at low buffer sizes. HEXA Core DSP gives the x16D more realtime processing headroom than most modern computers can match natively under the same latency constraints.
The Apollo x16D gives you access to the full UAD plug-in library of over 200 plug-ins, UAD Console, LUNA, and UA Connect — all part of the Apollo X ecosystem. Plug-in settings and scenes built in the studio carry directly into your live rig, so nothing gets lost between environments, and the sound translates from studio to stage. UA's Spark subscription lets you access additional UAD native plug-ins beyond what's included with your plug-in bundle edition, adding flexibility as your needs expand.
The Apollo x16D stands out in the Dante interface space because it's the only option that pairs Dante networking with onboard UAD DSP and access to over 200 professional plug-ins. Most Dante interfaces focus on routing and conversion; the x16D adds realtime processing from Neve, SSL, Auto-Tune, and Lexicon running on six onboard SHARC processors, independent of a host computer. For engineers who want studio-grade plug-in processing on the road, the x16D occupies a category of its own.
Yes, the Apollo x16D is fully interoperable with Dante-compatible consoles and devices from Yamaha, Allen & Heath, DiGiCo, and other manufacturers, since Dante operates as an open, cross-brand networking standard. You can route audio between the x16D and any compatible console over a standard Ethernet network without additional converters or adapters. For engineers running those specific consoles, UA has published dedicated setup tutorials showing exactly how to integrate the x16D into those workflows.