Fireface the Music.
admin | October 22nd, 2012 - 6:43 pmWithout access to an equivalent rival product, a constructive comparison isn’t possible, hence I cannot state definitively that the UFX is without peer. The Apogee Symphomy, Orpheous Sound Prism and Motu’s 828mk3 Hybrid have all been mentioned as viable alternatives but I’d raise an eyebrow at the audiophile who, following blind test, insisted that any was a clear cut above the RME’s solution.
Marrying it up with my trio of dynamic mics (two Heil PR40s and an Electrovoice Re27) served as indisputable proof of the preamps’ exemplary quality. Dynamic mics are generally known to require a higher gain from the preamp than condensers, though even when set at 60db, the sound remained smooth, clean and perfectly balanced, with no discernible characteristics other than those exhibited by the mics natural frequency response, in other words, as transparent as Lucifer’s conscience!
The remaning analogue and digital ins and outs all performed to spec under testing. With no equipment connected, noise floors measured between -109 and 110db (RMS unweighted) for the balanced inputs and -112db for the mic/instrument inputs. The digital inputs also functioned without issue. I used an XLR to coax adapter to hook up my Soundcraft M12 mixer, which emits a fixed sample rate of 44.1khz. This was duly detected by the UFX, which automatically entered slave mode and switched its clock source from “internal” to “AES”. No pops or clicks were evident on any recordings. Performance in Audition 3.0 and Cakewalk Sonar X1, my two most frequently used applications, was superb. Recording and playback were stable and extremely responsive. Even when multi-tracking with a gamut of FX and plugins, I rarely had to set the latency buffer above 256 samples.
In terms of performance, neither the built-in dynamics or FX processors are going to rival class leading, dedicated solutions such as are offered by TC electronics, but those who want nothing more than a simple compressor/expander along with convincing reverb and echo, will likely be satisfied by the UFX’s in house offerings and prefer not to sacrifice extra cash or valuable studio real state on outboard alternatives. Furthermore, the 3 band EQ more than matched the quality and versatility of that on my Soundcraft M12 mixer and with an armory of presets only a couple of clicks away, also eliminated a good deal of pre-session knob twiddling! It’s also worth emphasizing the that fact that all three of these features, the EQ, dynamics and FX processors, are integrated, since this allows for each to be applied exclusively within the UFX’s digital domain, resulting in optimum quality and negligible latency.
As a customer who purchased the UFX to replace a four year old Fireface 800, and one that had proven infallible throughout its service, I can without hesitation state that the transition has been as seamless and rewarding as I could possibly have wished and I’m almost certain that in another four years, the only thing likely to prevent me from indulging in RME’s next slice of sonic heaven, will be a bank statement.
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