UNIVERSAL AUDIO Apollo Twin X £1,180 DUO VERSION £790

Universal Audio has its roots buried in the history of sound recording and tech. For more than 70 years – albeit with a 14-year hiatus between 1985 to 1999 – it has been responsible for groundbreaking innovations such as the layout of modern mixing consoles, per-channel EQ, and the invention of send busses, alongside influential and desirable kit under the Urei and Teletronix brands.

Since being relaunched by James and Bill Jr, the sons of original founder Bill Putnam, in 1999, UA has focused most of its attention on the ever-growing market for products that enhance and improve the experience of computer-based sound recording. One of the biggest successes here has been the Apollo line of audio interfaces, whose combination of high-quality analogue circuitry,