Setup Ensemble FireWire for Standalone Mode

Here are the steps to set up Apogee Ensemble for Standalone mode as an AD/DA converter.

In this mode it can be connected to any other Audio Interface with ADAT Optical Input/Output, such as another Ensemble, Symphony I/O, Element, and many others from all brands.

1. Open Maestro 2
2. In the System Setup tab window, set Clock Source to Internal and set the sample rate to the rate you will use in your DAW.
3. In the Device Settings tab window, ensure that Optical In  and Optical Out are set to ADAT/SMUX
4. In the Standalone Routing tab window, route analog inputs to ADAT outputs and ADAT inputs to analog outputs. See the diagram below.
5. Make other desired Maestro settings, such as configuring inputs 1-4 as Mic inputs.
6. Once Maestro settings are complete, remove Ensemble's Firewire connection. Ensemble's front panel Status LED will turn  green to indicate that the unit is now in Standalone mode.
7. The gain of each mic pre may be controlled from the front panel by pressing the left hand encoder to select a pre and turning the encoder to the desired setting. The analog and headphone outputs may be controlled with the right hand encoder in a similar fashion.
8. Using two Toslink optical cables, connect Ensemble's optical output to the Main Audio Interface's optical input and vice versa, from the Audio Interface Optical Out to Ensemble's optical input.
9. Your Inputs of Ensemble now will show up in the channels labelled as "Optical" or "ADAT" inputs of your Main Audio Interface.
10. As the Standalone Ensemble is on Internal Clock make sure you set the Main Audio Interface to Clock to External ADAT, so it follows the 2nd unit, and there are no clicks or pops.