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Antelope Zen Q Synergy Core

21

14 x 10 Thunderbolt 3 Audio Interface

  • With Synergy Core FX Processing Platform
  • Compact desktop design
  • AD/DA conversion: 24 bit / 192kHz
  • 2 Discrete ultra-linear preamps with 65 dB gain and 48 V phantom power
  • With 37 analogue modelled Synergy Core effects
  • Proprietary 64-bit Acoustically Focused Clocking (AFC) technology
  • Synergy Core onboard platform with 2x DSP & 1x FPGA chip
  • Latency-free real-time monitoring with Synergy Core effects (< 1ms)
  • With volume control and buttons to control core parameters
  • 2.8" IPS screen
  • Digitally expandable via S/PDIF and ADAT interface
  • Thunderbolt 3 bus-powered
  • 2 Combo inputs Mic/Line/Hi-Z: XLR/6.3 mm jack
  • 2 Switchable Line/Hi-Z inputs: 6.3 mm jack
  • ON: -128 dBu (A-weighted)
  • Dynamic range: -121dB (A-weighted)
  • THD: -106 dB
  • Max. input level: +20 dBu
  • Max. gain: 65 dB
  • 1 Monitor output L/R: 6.3 mm jack, balanced
  • 2 Line outputs: 6.3 mm jack, balanced
  • 2 Stereo headphone outputs: 6.3 mm jack, with separate volume control
  • 1 S/PDIF In/Out
  • 1 ADAT In (expandable up to 8 channels @ 44.1/48.0)
  • 1 Thunderbolt 3 port
  • System requirements: Win10 (64bit), Mac OSX 10.12 or higher, Intel Core i3, 4GB RAM, 4GB HD, TB 3 connector
  • Dimensions (W x D x H): 198 x 137 x 57.5 mmWeight: approx. 800 g

Note: Thunderbolt cable not included in delivery (suitable cable: Art.430801)

Available since May 2021
Item number 517421
Sales Unit 1 piece(s)
Recording / Playback Channels 14x10
Number of Mic Inputs 2
Number of Line Inputs 2
Number of Instrument Inputs 2
Number of Line Outputs 2
Headphone Outs 2
Phantom Power Yes
Number of S/PDIF Connectors 2
Number of ADAT Connectors 1
AES/EBU Connectors 0
Number of MADI Connectors 0
Ethernet 0
Other Connectors TB 3 (Article 430801)
MIDI Connectors No
Word Clock No
Max. Samplerate 192 kHz
Max. Resolution in Bit 24 bit
Bus-Powered Yes
Incl. Power Supply No
Windows Thunderbolt driver Yes
Thunderbolt Version 3
Width in mm 198 mm
Depth in mm 137 mm
Height in mm 57,5 mm
£552
All prices incl. VAT
In stock
In stock

This product is in stock and can be shipped immediately.

Standard Delivery Times
Delivery free of charge expected between Friday, 11.10. and Monday, 14.10.

21 Customer ratings

4.1 / 5

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20 Reviews

C
Could be a great interface
Chaoswork 22.11.2021
I ordered mine in the beginning of June. It came with hardware bug, which Antelope agreed to be the whole revision problem. I was planning to return it to Thomann, but I've ordered it to Russia, so I paid quite a sum for customs and shipping and of course with returning it to Thomann, this expenses wouldn't be refunded. Antelope's managers suggested to replace it via another dealer in Russia with no expenses from my side, ensuring that there would be no problems with another revision. So agreed and everything was settled. That was my fault to agree with those conditions. The device came and with an additional gift from a company, Edge Solo mic and everything was perfect from the first glance. But there appeared other problems with the replacement device. I filed several tickets to Antelope's support. They suggested to replace the device again. After several arguments we settled down to replace the device with mic to a model higher, but they didn't even bother to organise it properly. They never give the insight on what is happening. They keep saying that next week it will definitely be there. And they never call you back to say that the next week nothing going to happen. You have to dig it out by yourself if you're lucky to be answered. Now they just stopped answering my calls and messages. I want a working device, I paid money for it! I don't need any gifts or upgrades from them either. Now I just want my money back, as it took already half a year! But as soon as I told that I want my money back, they disappeared. Very professional, innit? :-) I wish I just sent it back to Thomann when the 1st buggy unit came at 1st place. Thomann can't replace it now, since it was already replaced by Antelope Audio and Thomann knows nothing about this replacement.

Pity that they have such problems with testing devices and software, before releasing them. And I, as a customer had to go through all these to convince all those managers that I even don't need their gifts or upgrades to any device of a higher rank, I just want my device to work, as it fits my studio needs.
The sound from my monitors and the headphones is really great though. The guitar sounds fuller, connected to the back-ins only, cause when you connect to the front-ins you get the huge feedback as if you are sitting by a fully cranked tube amplifier. This is actually is resetable by their "golden boot", but then it returns back w/o doing anything extraordinary, just organising the ins&outs in the control panel the way I wanted them to be organised, and there it goes again, a feedback from the front-ins.
The back-ins are working correctly though. You just switch the mode to hi-z there and that's it. The mic sounds awesome when connected into them. No problems with switching back and forth the modes (mic, line, hi-z).
There's a problem though with the switching the modes for the front-ins in the Control Panel. By default it's hi-z, but when you switch it to line mode the levels become cranked up to the max according to the meter and the level of the pot. When you switch it back to hi-z mode, it switches back to your previously selected levels for hi-z which is around 17db for me, but the actual levels are cranked up according to the meter as if you're still in line mode.
All these software and hardware issues you come across with, while operating with the device are negating all the goods the device has.
Those higher sensitivity front-ins, those cranked levels. Even wheel button is sticking in pressed position. All these is negating all the goods the device has. And I'm a Mac user. Mostly people are writing about the troubles with their software being Windows users.

Never mess with them, if you don't want to be left alone with all the troubles with their buggy devices. Don't be fooled by all those numerous vids they are sponsoring now here and on the other platforms! If you still think of getting some of their products, give them at least a year to solve all the issues.
It is my worst experience ever in purchasing the device of such a high price from such acclaimed company!
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SA
excellent
Sarah A 23.01.2022
My Zen arrived last week and for the time being I'm more than satisfied with the product. I'm usinga Macbook pro-2019 with TB3. I needed half an hour to run through all the activation and install the software. Everything went smoothly, although I had to follow the manual at some point. The only thing I noticed is that I needed to additionally allow the driverto be installed fully in the Mac security settings. I don't know why I had to do this step, but after I installed the driver it worked well.
I've been playing around with the unit for the last several days to see how far it can go - I opened an old project,added the AFX2DAW in Logic on 128 samples buffer and at the same time recorded a vocal with my SM7B and my electric guitar with added guitar effects from the Zen control panel - not a single glitch even though the project was relatively heavy.
I love how the monitor-outs sound, it's a huge improvement for me in comparison to my older interface (don't want to mention the brand). The sound is crisp and the stereo image is much better. I also feel that I can go louder if I want. The preamps are decent and with my previous interface I had to use an additional In-Line preamp with the SM7B, but with the Zen Q, I don't need it anymore.

For now, my experience is more than excellent. Initially I was a bit scared because of some ofthe reviews, but I took a leap of faith and gave it a try because all the specs fit perfectly on what I was looking for.I guess Antelope improved the device a lot since its release because I don't get any of those issues I read on forums. I hope this stays that way because I really like the interface and I plan to get the most out of it.
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Po
A huge number of bugs !
Part of You 28.09.2021
From the moment of purchase (2 months ago) I have been having problems using this card. Not once in ~ 20 have I been able to record without some kind of interference. The guitar might just turn off. The control panel may turn off. New drivers are not installed !!! We have to put the old version, which has even more problems! Support has a day off on Sunday. Answers waited 1-2 days. When working with headphones that are connected to a computer, the latency can spontaneously increase significantly!
At the very beginning, in order for it to function somehow, I had to start the Mac in recovery mode and enter some commands! Moreover, Antelope's support wrote me the wrong code! Because of this, I had to do this operation twice))

The sound is good. There were no problems with Logic.

To be honest, there is a great desire to bring her back. I hope it will be accepted without its own packaging.

I myself do not fully believe in what I write, but this is reality...
Macbook Pro 2019
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CG
I love this thing!
Colum Gray 29.08.2022
Having been away from home recording for the last little bit, I decided a few months ago that I wanted to start my little home studio up again. I was on the market for an interface with thunderbolt and DSP. I liked the specs on the Apollo interfaces a lot, though I didn't like the price tag - not so much of the interface, but more so of the plugins. I like what they have to offer, but then there are other emulations that fit the bill perfectly. I knew that I would quickly start to buy up all their offer, and I needed to keep that particular demon at bay. In comes Antelope Audio. There was a bit of negative press about them, and that made me wary. I also realised that none of it was personal opinion, so I decided to at least give myself the possibility to have an informed 1st hand opinion. After some initial hiccoughs regarding driver software, the interface is a joy, as are the emulations. I actually needed technical support, and their remote support technician was incredible. I can't thank him enough. The device is easy to use and setup - there's just that one issue regarding drivers that they have to get sorted out.
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