RME Fireface UFX -- First Impressions

[mhschmieder]

I received my RME Fireface UFX on Wednesday and hooked it up yesterday, retiring my Fireface 800 from the studio once verified working.

This is a MAJOR upgrade, as I suspected it would be. The four front-panel mic pre-amps are high-end and transparent; almost as good as my True Precision 8. This means I now have 12 high-end pre-amps (so I'm getting rid of my placeholder 2-channel Symetrix pre-amp as I don't like cluttering my rack with units that take external power supplies).

I can't fully judge the D/A conversion yet, as I didn't have the right cabling to hook up my monitors. I stopped at Leo's Pro Audio today to pick up two XLR patch cables from Whirlwind, so can finally set up the monitor connections tonight.

I was stuck using headphones, but immediately noticed the clarity and depth, but of course there are too many factors as I was using my Symetrix headphone amp before (which I am also now selling, for the same reasons as the 2-channel mic pre-amp). Right now, I can't say how much of that is due to better op amps and how much to the improved D/A.

The A/D is far better though, and as transparent as my Mytek AD96 -- yet they sound different. I did some experiments, hoping to have a reason to sell the Mytek, but remain torn so more time is needed.

I tried vocals as vowels are mid-low and consonants are high frequency with many transients and potential sibilance. There is a slight boominess and low resonance with the Fireface's A/D, but the Mytek has more high end clarity (also some mid-high resonance though) and is either weak in the bass or simply flat (my impression is the latter).

Next I tried miking a Colombian Tiple, which is a 12-string guitar that has four triple-courses. Same results as before, with the same characteristics in the given frequency ranges.

Finally, I eliminated the mic from the equation and plugged in my Hammond XK-3c, knowing that the performance would be almost identical both times and mic distance wouldn't change either as there is no mic. Also, the organ isn't velocity-sensitive so it would be easier to match dynamics.

Same result as the other two experiments, so even though this wasn't a very scientific test, I think the conclusions are likely to repeat themselves ad infinitum.

Well, both are fairly transparent but differ, so it's hard to say whether one is better than the other. The Mytek is old by now but it definitely high end. The converters in the UFX come from the ADI-8 DS so are also high-end. As the Mytek would be used for all overdubs and the UFX just for initial tracking of drums (or acoustic projects that require more than two initial tracks), I think I'm probably better off sticking with the Mytek for now, as it does seem slightly clearer.

A huge advantage to the new setup is the ability to go as high as 96 kHz when using microphones and outboard gear, as I can now connect via AES/EBU vs. S/PDIF. This was a major reason for the upgrade.

As for latency, for some reason 64 samples is my lowest choice even though documentation says 32. I haven't figured that one out yet.

I am now using USB instead of Firewire, and there's no going back. RME told me at several trade shows that USB is the future and better than Firewire due to the mods they made and their custom board giving them more flexibility than the custom boards and chips most people use.

Well, the proof is in the pudding. Look at the UFX manual and you'll see that Firewire is band-limited but USB is not. No need to dumb down the enabled inputs/outputs when using USB, which simplifies setups and templates and is more flexible -- especially if you're working on a project whose input/output needs are always in flux.

Of course, this unit also has the ability to do zero latency monitoring through loop-back, but I haven't figured that out yet. Once you kick in the built-in effects though, of course you get the latency of an ADDA round trip. Even so, it's nice to have that flexibility for singers and acoustic guitarists who freeze in the studio without reverb.

Unfortunately, I am a bit concern my unit may be flawed -- although it is probably operator error as this is a refurbished unit and those always get a deeper inspection than original production units.

I simply can't get the front panel to work as expected, so have to use the TotalMix interface just as I did with the FF800 (which had no front panel controls). It's probably the way they wrote it up, but I've tried clicking while turning, keeping the large button/dial depressed while using the others, etc., but so far have been unsuccessful in getting the front panel controls to adjust volume of the mains or the phones.

I'm hoping to have time to suss this out tonight, in case I need to exchange the unit. I searched their forums but didn't really find anything. I read reviews in several magazines, and they talked about how simple and intuitive the front panel is -- yet nothing happens in ANY mode, whether panning, volume control, etc. It does step through the available inputs and outputs, but the smaller dials on the right do nothing.

I'll re-read the manual again tonight, now that I can focus JUST on this aspect -- I was too overwhelmed yesterday with how much I had to do to re-wire and re-route everything in my studio and set up my initial recording tests, plus I have low light in my studio and have a hard time reading small print. I just hope it's operator error!

The timing was right price-wise (lots of Labour Day sales this year), but not budget-wise. I was hoping to get quick turnaround on the two Symetrix units, but the brand is so little-known (in spite of being high-end and widely respected in the broadcast industry as well as in pro studios) that it looks like they may require a renewal on eBay. I'm just now realizing I probably should have gone the Audiogon route instead.

[mhschmieder]

It took me over half an hour before I was successful in getting any sound to my monitors vs. just headphones, and I don't know quite what the magic switch was, but mostly it was the discovery of a submenu for "Workspace Quick Select" where I loaded a default template.

I suppose it was just in a weird state when it arrived. After reassigning the Mains, Phones1, etc. a few different times in the Control Room part of TotalMix, I see what happens with the available Hardware Outputs to the left and everything makes sense, plus signal is always being delivered to the expected channels (unlike before), but to my eyes the setup looks the same as the one I started with on my own. It remains a mystery.

At any rate, the sound is FANTASTIC. Pristine, transparent, balanced, flat across the frequency spectrum with no bumps, notches, hype, or undesired resonance or ringing.

In fact, the D/A on this unit is so good, I no longer feel the need to buy a two channel high-end D/A unit (I was going to go for the DACS unit, which has two headphone channels as well).

Now that I have the monitoring chain working, I am VERY glad that I went this route instead of SSL AlphaLink. RME has the most sophisticated routing in the industry. A little tricky to learn, but once you do, you realize no one else competes on that front.

[mhschmieder]

I still can't get either the large knob or the two small knobs to do anything.

Clicking them (or the function buttons to the left of the screen) does properly "scroll" through the menu choices, but turning ANY of the knobs is a no-op.

I fear the unit is damaged, considering that every review talks about how "intuitive" the front panel is. I couldn't find anything in HELP, but maybe there's a hidden document in the install area.

[mhschmieder]

I re-read the manual earlier today, and the only hint is a mention that the knobs don't work if in on-line mode (not the wording they used), but I haven't yet found how to set that mode or turn it off (unless it is inferred by a USB or FireWire cable being attached or not).

I'm also having hit-or-miss success with resetting the TotalMix to give me any audible output, even though nothing visually changes when I change setups. Maybe there's just a delay in the setup taking effect.

The actual action is in the Options Menu, as "Reset Mix", with a bunch of choices that more or less get you out of trouble if the setup is in a confused or unusual state.

The one area in which RME misses the boat is in making the most common tasks simple and/or well documented. It's a typical oversight, to focus so much on maximum flexibility that you neglect to adequately cover the two or three cases that people will use 98% of the time (or especially the first time, when they are struggling with multiple learning curves).

I still want to ascertain whether the knobs actually work as rotary encoders vs. just as push buttons or not, as I have limited time to return the device if it is flawed, but I also am under phenomenal deadline pressure at the moment as I just received two short-order compositional requests for some film shooting that is going on next weekend. I may just have to let this go for now and hope it's operator error.

[FutureLegends]

Too bad the RME interfaces are so damn ugly. Not sure I'd want one even if it was given to me for free because of that

[Dwetmaster]

Actually feature-wise the UFX is EXACTLY what I'm looking for but the connectors on the front is a deal-dreaker for me...

[mhschmieder]

It's only the four additional mic channels that are on the front. I actually like having them there, because those channels will not be permanently set up, being called into duty ONLY when I'm doing a full drum session (and for quick-and-dirty early mockups of song ideas). I will use them primarily for the floor and rack toms.

Wouldja believe my FF800 sold within fifteen minutes of posting it on eBay? I'm relieved as I WAY overspent last month due to all the sales. I'll be in good shape again once everything I've posted on eBay and CL sells, but I took a HUGE risk that this would be just a temporary setback. But I have deadlines that required most of what I bought. Timing is everything.

People either love or hate the RME design. I personally love their styling to death! My own company uses almost identical industrial design, whether by accident or homage (we're friendly with them as they cover some niches we haven't addressed, such as MADI). There's a couple of other companies that follow these design values as well.

[dix]

Oh mhschmieder?

I have an OT question about a Fireface 800. I'm wondering if you know the answer.

I'm planning to collaborate with a friend who uses a Fireface 800 i/o. In anticipation of this project I've downloaded the latest drivers and software for the Fireface from your site to my Mac (the Mac we will be using). However, neither the Fireface Mixer nor the Fireface settings will launch on my system. Can I assume this is because I don't have the i/o connected? - other i/o CPs will at least launch without the i/o connected (motu i/os for instance). Is it normal that these two utilities are not launching without the i/o connected?

I'll be using my MacBook Pro (early 2011) running SL 10.6.8 btw. Not the setup in my sig.

Thanks! …sorry for the ot post.

[kgdrum]

Hi Dix-
I think that is correct,a few months ago the power supply died on my FF, the 1st thing I noticed was totalmix was grey(icon/dock) and would not launch
then I noticed the FF was dead lol
so I think you need the FF connected to get totalmix running.
Hope that helps,
KG

[dix]

Thanks KG! I think that tells me what I need to know.