wst3



But the single most important thing is that I like them, and therefore I bought them.

I know you stated your opinion and I wasn't trying to be overly argumentative.  The above quote says it all and, of course, is all that really matters.  I have a high opinion of UAD plugs but it really annoys me the way they've held on to this outdated marketing model.  

 If I recall, Matt already is a UAD owner and knows what he's getting into upgrading to a quad.

vintagevibe

wst3

But the single most important thing is that I like them, and therefore I bought them. 

I know you stated your opinion and I wasn't trying to be overly argumentative.  The above quote says it all and, of course, is all that really matters.  I have a high opinion of UAD plugs but it really annoys me the way they've held on to this outdated marketing model. 

AH!


Guess I misunderstood...

As far as the outdated marketing model, well, I have mixed thoughts.

On the one hand I have yet to run out of processing power, so the cards aren't a huge imposition.

On another hand, yeah, it'd be cool if I didn't have to worry about it at all, and just let native processing power determine the limits. (aside - a friend of mine used to work at UA. He claims, and I believe him, that the newer plug-ins would take a serious bite out of processing power on all but the fastest general purpose CPUs. They code their plug-ins to leverage some of the special features found only on the DSP chips, things like multiply and accumulate are actual opcodes on those chips. BUT, as general purpose chips become faster that aspect could become less of a factor.

On the third hand, well, the accelerator, necessary or not, provides a very strong deterrent to piracy. Since they don't have to worry about piracy they can focus their energy on writing cool new plug-ins.

So until a pair of octos (yeah, in my dreams) runs out of horsepower I guess I won't complain.

wst3


On the third hand, well, the accelerator, necessary or not, provides a very strong deterrent to piracy. Since they don't have to worry about piracy they can focus their energy on writing cool new plug-ins. 

If you think of it that way you are spending hundreds or (thousands) of dollars beyond the plugs just for anti piracy!  That makes it seem like even a worse deal than before!

That would be one way to look at things, but I thought I was fairly clear - I buy, and use UA plug-ins because, to my ears, and based on my experience with the hardware, I think they sound better than any other emulation plug-ins. I do not begrudge UA their accelerator card - I've written DSP code in the past, and I have to wonder if their code would actually run better on a general purpose CPU. In fact I doubt it.

The fact that their emulations sound different (I didn't say better or worse) than emulations that run native suggests that there is a reason for the DSP chips, and their specialized instruction sets.

That the card protects my investment in them, and their investment in themselves is really a serendipitous bit.

Bill

So my birthday is coming up, and I'm debating what to get. I was planning on getting a UAD 2 quad, but now I'm thinking of replacing my audio interface (EMU 1820m). They really don't maintain the EMU anymore, my windows 7 drivers are still on beta, and while it usually works ok for music, it sometimes crackles then shuts down when I video game (yes same computer, I'm not buying two). Anyway, thoughts on which to get, also if sound card which one? I don't need a bunch of ins or outs because I hardly ever record, and when I do, it's just one vocal. Thanks,

IMO, It makes sense to focus on fundamentals first.
UAD plugins are good... but if you're having issues with your audio interface, I'd address that first.
The 1820m was a great unit... and it's too bad its too bad it's been abandoned (for all intents/purpose).

If you have the budget, you can't beat RME audio interfaces.
Rock-solid... and good sound

On more of a budget, the new VSL units from Presonus are nice.

MOTU "hybrid" units are also good

Jim Roseberry

IMO, It makes sense to focus on fundamentals first.
UAD plugins are good... but if you're having issues with your audio interface, I'd address that first.
The 1820m was a great unit... and it's too bad its too bad it's been abandoned (for all intents/purpose).

If you have the budget, you can't beat RME audio interfaces.
Rock-solid... and good sound

On more of a budget, the new VSL units from Presonus are nice.

MOTU "hybrid" units are also good

I'd have to add the new Roland units to the list.  The pre-amps on my Quad-Capture are very noticeable a step up in clarity from my Echo Audiofire Pre8 (or any other interface I have owned).  Latency and stability are top notch.  Very professional units.  The newest one has 12 of those sweet pres if you need that many.  Can't say enough good things about the current Roland line.

My audio interface is fine when in Sonar, it only gives problems in game.

I'd have to add the new Roland units to the list.  The pre-amps on my Quad-Capture are very noticeable a step up in clarity from my Echo Audiofire Pre8 (or any other interface I have owned).  Latency and stability are top notch.  Very professional units.  The newest one has 12 of those sweet pres if you need that many.  Can't say enough good things about the current Roland line.

The Roland units are very good...
I just wish you could get RTL @ or below the 6ms mark.
Doesn't make a huge difference for many folks... but for me it's a bit of a sticking point.

Kroneborge


My audio interface is fine when in Sonar, it only gives problems in game.

In that case, I would go with the USB gaming card and unplug it when not gaming. Just like a game card is not a good choice for pro audio. Pro audio cards are not a good choice for gaming.  On some games, lowering the audio quality in the game setup will give you better stability but some games really need the extra components a game card has or it has to be rendered in software resulting in poor game performance and or audio dropouts during game play
 
 
Edit: To be clear, lowering the audio quality in the game setup, if an option will probably be enough to get you by. It gets me by and I really don't hear a difference when gaming with it down a few notches.
 
IMO a new driver for your current card or a new pro audio card will most likely not improve your game play.