I was considering adding an ADAT Mic Preamp to my RME UFX. It occurs to me that if you attach a Mic Pre via ADAT, it basically becomes the piece of gear that does all the stuff that contributes to the sound, the Mic Pre stages and the A/D conversion. So I'll no longer be using any of the UFX A/D conversion or any of the analog circuitry of that unit. It basically becomes a conduit for the 1's and 0's of the digital signal. 
 
Essentially, from a "sound" perspective, it pretty much takes the interface out of the equation. Sure you still have the latency, stability, and smooth operation of the RME UFX, which is great. But all of the things the characterize the "sound" now become components of the Mic Pre. 
 
With that said, I need to study more about ADAT Mic Preamps. I was considering a "run of the mill" unit like the Audient ASP800. Which still might be a good unit. But maybe I should invest in something better. After all, even if I change interfaces down the road, it's likely that I'll still have the Mic Pre. The life expectancy of a good mic pre is probably a lot longer than the life expectancy of an interface, even though the UFX is pretty long. 
 
What does every here think? And does anyone have suggestions for an appropriate 8 channel ADAT Mic Preamp?
 
Thanks, gbow

I have an RME UCX and an Audient ASP880.
 
I do use the clock link from the UCX to the Audient. The Audient doesn't have an ADAT input so you have to hook up the clock cable or sync the UCX to the Audient.
 
It works fine.
 
My UCX has SPIDF too, so I can lock to the clock in my Tascam 2488 giving me 24 inputs at 44.1.

i wouldn't call the audient pres, "run of the mill".  Presonus and Focusrite and Behringer make run of the mill pres.  Audient's are definitely nicer!

BlixYZ
i wouldn't call the audient pres, "run of the mill".  Presonus and Focusrite and Behringer make run of the mill pres.  Audient's are definitely nicer!

 
Great example of totally incorrect information on the internet! Focusrite actually make some of the highest quality Mic Pres available. Especially the ones in their thunderbolt range. I have got a Scarlett 18i20 and recently just made a very high quality recording through it as well.  Focusrite also make a real nice ADAT Mic Pre but it is quite a high price.
 
Presonus are also quite fine indeed. The Behringer older ADA8000 Mic Pre is also one of their finer products.  I have made supreme high quality recordings through them in the past so lets put that myth to bed.
 
Good thing now the newer Behringer ADA8200 Mic pre is very very good indeed.  They have improved it big time. Mic pres are all Midas now and they sound fabulous. Very affordable as well. The Behringer has both ADAT In and OUT so all you need is two optical leads and set it into slave mode and it all works perfectly.
 
Try and get an ADAT Mic Pre that has both optical IN/OUT connectors.  It is handy to be able to lock it via the optical connection rather than the word clock. You may need the word clock on your RME for something else that is more important.
 

Jeff Evans
Try and get an ADAT Mic Pre that has both optical IN/OUT connectors.

 
Good point. Although there aren't many with both In/Out. Even the RME octamic XTC which is 3x the price of most of the boxes mentioned, only has ADAT out and bnc word clock in/out. 
 
gbow 

do you currently use all the outs you have? I'm not being difficult, I'm honestly curious. I have not often been limited by my outs.

agree, focusrite make some killer pres, but i'm not impressed by those included in their interfaces.
standalone products are a different story.  sorry for the incomplete thought!

also, I think people are making killer recordings everyday with run of the mill pres.  even with cheap pres.  I know i have.
but the audient pres sound almost as good as API pres.  They are sweet and warm.
Presonus and focusrite put decent pres in their interfaces, but make some top notch outboard gear.
 

gswitz
do you currently use all the outs you have? I'm not being difficult, I'm honestly curious. I have not often been limited by my outs.

No I don't really have a problem with outs either, it's more of a clocking question. I suppose since I don't have multiple digitally connected devices, allowing the Pre be the clock is just as good as running a word clock back and using the clock in the UFX.
 
However, all of that is mostly secondary to the actual preamp. Sounds like most people believe that preamps are so good these days that spending the extra for higher dollar units isn't really worth it. If that's the case, my original thought of the audient ASP800 is still a pretty good idea. It does seem to be a lot of bang for the buck at approximately $750 compared to things like the octamic XTC at around $2500.
 
gbow

I have found from experience it is better to make the ADAT Mic Pre the slave, digital clock wise not the other way around.  The reason is that the RME is naturally the master clock. It works well when it stays that way and can send a clock out to the ADAT Pre you want to connect to it.  The other reason is the quality and stability (jitter) of the master clock is going to better inside the RME as well. You want the best quality clock in charge.
 
The Audient looks nice but is expensive. If you are paying that sort of money the Focusrite would be equally as good for around similar cost:
 
https://uk.focusrite.com/mic-pres/clarett-octopre
 
The Focusrite Pres would easily be on a par with the Audient. The AIR switches are on all 8 channels and are very similar to the IRON switch on the Audient. They add in a nice transformer colour and sound real good. The Focusrite can do other tricks though. All 8 analog outputs are available on the D sub connector and the Focusrite can be programmed to do things the Audient cannot such as mix all 8 inputs into 2 outs so you could use it as mixer live. You set this all up on a computer and dump that into the unit so no computer is required live when in mix mode.
 
The Behringer ADA8200 would also sound pretty nice with the Midas Mic Pres on board for under half the price or even a third the price.