No worries at all, thanks for looking! :)

James I have a solo on my laptop and I've yet to find it a problem when I've taken projects from the DAW (with dual Quad cards) and played them on the laptop.
 
Yup, it would appear that my second QUAD was overkill.

I've gotten my UAD Solo and Quad cards as premiums when buying other pieces of UA hardware.  The Solo was free with the UA 710 preamp and the Quad was free with the UA 6176 channel strip.
 
I've bought some UAD-2 plugins and I really like them.  UA is sending me discount codes on a fairly regular basis and I use them in conjunction with seasonal sales.  I don't think I've paid full price on any of them.
 
But you have to be patient.

mod bod - you have any issues running a solo card?

smallstonefan
 Craig, have you found the solo card to be limiting in resources?

Yep - even though I have pretty old UAD plugins, I can't run as many of them as I'd like. And only having a solo means I wouldn't even think about buying any of the power-hungry plus.
 

Thanks for the input everyone! I am going to pick up a used solo to dip my toe in the pool. I have lots of other plug-ins, so I won't need to rely solely on the UAD stuff but I recognize it may become a limiting factor. Also, two solo cards are cheaper than a duo, so I can add a duo later if it comes to that. I've always wanted to try the UAD plug-ins, so this seems like an easy and relatively cheap way to go..

if you need DSP or cpu power : yes , if not , stay away .....in the native world you will loose nothing and if you think those plugins will make you mix better , the problem is not plugins ;) 
 
great acoustic, monitor , layout , ergonomy , ect ..will make an higly underesimated diffrence !!

Thanks Zo! I have a great room, good monitors - really a nice setup for a hobbyist. I'm doing the Solo really because I have wanted to experience UAD for ages. I have LOTS of great plugins, so I intend to exercise some restraint here (shhh, don't break the illusion). It's really all about curiosity at this point, as the group has convinced me it's not necessary. Honestly, I would love to find ONE killer UAD plugin to justify having the solo...

smallstonefan
mod bod - you have any issues running a solo card?

No, not any other than it made a quad card attractive. 
 
BTW, I love the Cooper Time Cube delay and the EMT 140 plate reverb.  Catch those when they are on sale.

Thanks!
I know common sense says not to get into this, but honestly, it's been on my list for so long I HAVE to check it out. I hear the EMT 140 is stunning...