RME Fireface UFX -- First Impressions
Posted: Fri Sep 09, 2011 12:17 pm
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.
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.
