Finally saved up enough - RME Fireface UCX

[mesaone]

This is going to be a substantial upgrade... But I'm still not 100% positive this is the model I want. On paper (and in demoing the unit) everything is great.

• Anyone else use these with PT 11 and Windows?
• If anyone has purchased the rack ears, can you comment on the build quality? I have a 1U universal shelf that this thing can be secured to, but these just look so nice.
• Any last minute considerations regarding Totalmix? How is the loopback function?

[ChazC]

I'm about to pull the trigger on one of these myself.

Been agonising over a Liquid Saffire 56, UAD Apollo & the UFX.

Discounted the Saffire due to Focusrites track record of dropping support for older gear, had to forego the Apollo due to UAD's reluctance to support Windows in general and settled on the UFX because of RME's history of driver support & the TotalMix routing plus the reported better latency over the Apollo.

I'd love the liquid channels or the UAD plugs but I can always add a UAD card if necc. and I'd rather have the peace of mind of decent Windows support moving forward than always worrying when the next crash is going to occur.

[Fuzzyc]

I just purchased an RME Fireface UFX a few weeks ago. So far I am very impressed with this unit! I don't regret at all spending the bucks for it. It looks a like great unit to build a really nice studio around. I'm trying to upgrade my home studio from the typical entry-level equipment to more professional gear. This unit has made a big difference so far in the quality of my recordings.

I was told (as a Windows user) to stay away from the Apollo for now. They still need some more time to get their Windows interface working reliably.

[mesaone]

Fuzzy, glad to hear it. I considered the Apollo, but ultimately decided against it for a few reasons..

I'm not a fan of combo units. In the Apollo's case, it's a UAD DSP chip combined with an audio interface. If one thing needs a repair, you have to send both. Also, while UA plugins are very nice, I think the prices are way too high considering the high "entry fee" you pay for the DSP card.

[Southsidemusic]

Originally Posted by mesaone

Fuzzy, glad to hear it. I considered the Apollo, but ultimately decided against it for a few reasons..

I'm not a fan of combo units. In the Apollo's case, it's a UAD DSP chip combined with an audio interface. If one thing needs a repair, you have to send both. Also, while UA plugins are very nice, I think the prices are way too high considering the high "entry fee" you pay for the DSP card.

Hey Matt

The UCX is a great piece of gear. Our neighbouring studio down the street here have two of them with those EXACT rack ears from Alva and they look and feel SWEET! Makes the UCX look very professional and expensive and it sounds great! Just have a listen to THIS in a Good monitor setup and you will hear them in one of the biggest songs of the year here in Europe and coming to the US soon

If we hadn't already bought the UA Apollo and Apollo 16 we would go for two of the UCX interfaces for our pre production room with those sweet rack ears.

Best of Luck
Christopher

[mesaone]

Chris, I am definitely happy with my purchase. It is as nice as I could afford, and definitely one of the nicest smaller-format interfaces out there.

I'm loving the software mixer, and the Digi Check software is a godsend. Already have tested the "total recorder" tool, and it works perfectly with screen capture in Pro Tools... Making voiceover for tutorial videos a lot easier to record and edit.

[davethe1]

Are you guys using the ucx with firewire or usb? I am getting cpu spikes/crashes using 128 latency and one instance of transfuser loaded up with about 15 instruments with rex loops on osx 10.8.5 using usb. Latest rme drivers are installed, still having same issues.

[mesaone]

I use firewire. No problems, although it doesn't seem to handle too much more processing than my MBOX did at low buffer sizes. According to benchmarks I've seen, USB should perform as well as Firewire with this unit.

Have you eliminated Transfuser itself as the culprit?