APOGEE JAMX USB AUDIO INTERFACE

LINK AUDIO | RRP: $399.00

Apogee Electronics are famed for having pioneered smaller guitar recording solutions like the iRig, while consistently putting out top-tier, mastering grade audio converters and just about everything in between. The jamx USB audio interface harnesses the best of a lot of this tech, with great sounding converters and low latency monitoring options, and the unit also being iRig sized for great portability. The jamx USB is an audio interface that includes all the cables you’ll need to connect it to your computer for a quick setup, ready to record those fleeting moments of inspired clarity.

Apogee’s intention is to make recording guitar as quick and easy as possible, with some extra handy features to set your input gain, monitoring and tone as quickly as possible so you can get those ideas recorded and saved away.

The Apogee jamx USB audio interface is currently the world’s only interface to feature analogue compression, available in varying modes to level out your guitar playing while recording, or record with no compression at all.

In use, the jamx USB is simple to set up. The jamx USB works on both MacOS and Windows, as well as iOS if that’s what you have available; like if you’re travelling and can’t bring a computer with you. You can monitor via either headphones or powered speakers, the jamx USB offering ample volume for both options. While the jamx USB is small, it’s rugged, and will endure being bounced around in a case or bag while travelling, serving as an on-theroad solution to recording if needed. The audio quality could have the jamx USB easily serve as your main interface for home and studio recording as well!

The compressor modes are really what elevate the jamx, offering no compression at all, or three varying modes of compression, from the lowest, the Smooth Leveller, to the Purple Squeeze in the middle, and the Vintage Blue Stomp at the most extreme end, offering an ‘aggressive’ amount of compression. Compression before an amp sim can really help you shape and hone your tone, bringing new life to any existing amplifier sims you might have. The Smooth Leveller felt and sounded like a great ‘always on’ type solution, providing reasonably transparent compression, while preventing any peaks from poking through and clipping an otherwise great take. Monitoring with latency is an instant mood ruiner, making it almost impossible to record, and because of this, the jamx USB includes a low latency mode that allows you to monitor direct from the unit, rather than after a round trip through your DAW and computer.

The Apogee jamx USB can record at 24-bit and up to 96kHz, offering some of the highest resolution recording around, and arguably the highest resolution that human ears can discern anyway! A guitar or other instrument is connected via ¼” jack, with Apogee’s PureDIGITAL circuitry for pristine audio connections. Included in the box are cables to interface the jamx via either USB-A or USB-C, depending on your needs. The jamx is made from a rugged metal chassis, with one main gain control and additional buttons to toggle between compressor modes. It weighs just 0.11kg and is only 10cm long, easily stowed away while on the move.

The headphone output offers 8dBu (1.9Vrms) 100mW into 32Ohm, offering plenty of gain for all systems, including if you choose to connect the jamx USB to a powered speaker via a Y-Split cable. The single preamp has 36dB of gain on board, plenty for an electric guitar or acoustic pickup, but it can function equally well as an interface for recording bass, keyboards and synths.

The jamx USB from Apogee contains Apogee’s years of research into function, form and fidelity, all packaged into a tidy, portable and rugged package. With audio quality suitable for a main audio interface for recording and mixing, as well as being well and truly qualified for a handy interface to have on the go while travelling or touring. There’s simple compression settings available depending on your playing, as well as to help shape the sound you’re aiming for, while the controls on the interface itself feature just about everything you’d need to quickly dial in gain and output for recording on the fly.

The iRig that came before the jam series of interfaces have inspired years of riffs, songs and melodies, and the jamx is the latest in a long line of useful, practical and well-designed interfaces. They play nicely with multiple operating systems, allowing you to jump between a laptop, computer or an iPad, for example, with no break in audio quality. The jamx USB is a tool that just about every music maker needs, whether you’re equipped with a full on, home studio situation with a need for a more portable solution, or simple recording equipment that could benefit from professional-grade audio conversion and handy onboard compression. Apogee have again elevated a seemingly perfect design, reinvented in the jamx USB Audio interface.

BY LEWIS NOKE EDWARDS