German pro audio manufacturer RME is no stranger to users seeking no-compromise digital audio interface products for studios, broadcasters — and recently — into an increasingly growing number of live production applications. The company was launched 21 years ago with the DAM1 (Digital Audio Monitor) and a PCI recording card and continues leading the industry, constantly improving and expanding the scope of its product range.
While intended mainly for the studio, the rock-solid build quality of RME gear has often found itself in critical situations, such as Supertramp co-founder Roger Hodgson, who used a 60-channel Fireface UFX USB and Firewire interface for his keyboard rig and grand piano mic feeds on tour this past year. Unveiled in 2010, the UFX has become an industry standard and remains popular, yet RME sought to take the system to the next level.
Enter the UFX+
Rather than reinvent the wheel, RME wisely chose to expand portions of the original UFX design with the new UFX+. The company’s first interface with Thunderbolt and USB 3 connectivity, the newcomer also adds 64 MADI inputs, 64 MADI outputs, for a total of 188 I/O channels (128 channels more than the Fireface UFX), more powerful DSP for near-zero latency routing and extensive dynamics and effects processing on all channels.
While never considered a problem with the original Fireface UFX, the RME design team chose to upgrade the specs on the new UFX+, taking advantage of improved onboard microphone preamps and higher performance chipsets, namely the new Asahi Kasei Microdevices’ AK 5388 AEQ A/D converters and AK 4414 EQ D/A converters.
All told, the Fireface UFX+ can handle up to 94 total input channels (with 94 output channels) and the second-generation of RME’s DURec (Direct USB Recording) feature can record/play 76 channels (12 analog plus 64 MADI) of standard WAV files to/from a USB 3 drive for archiving/backup. Record/play feeds can also route to a Mac or PC via Thunderbolt or USB 3.
Ins and Outs
The UFX+ is loaded with I/O selections. New are the MADI (optical via FDDI duplex SC supporting up to 2,000 meters of cabling; and the more familiar coaxial 75-ohm coaxial BNC jacks) and the Thunderbolt and USB 3.0 ports. Other than those, connectivity follows the same — yet substantial — format as the original UFX. Shown in Fig. 1, these include: eight balanced TRS line inputs; four front panel mic/instrument inputs on combo XLR/TS inputs; six TRS line outs; two XLR main/monitor outs; dual TRS headphone monitor outs with separate gain controls; and two XLR AES digital input/output pairs. Also standard are two Toslink optical ADAT in/out pairs (both are software switchable to function as two 8-channel 48k Hz streams or two 4-channel SMUX 96k Hz paths). Alternatively, the ADAT #2 ports can be switched for stereo S/PDIF consumer optical I/O with sample rates variable from 28k Hz up to 200k Hz.
On the control side, there are two sets (front and back panel) of standard 5-pin MIDI I/O jacks, BNC word clock I/O (doubles with the MADI jacks) and a dedicated USB port for connecting the Advanced Remote Control USB (ARC USB), an optional tactile control that allows easy operation of the TotalMix FX software that ships with the UFX+. The rear panel rounds out with an IEC input socket for any AC supply worldwide from 100 to 240 VAC. The AC switch is mounted on the front panel. Another nice touch is a metal hook the AC cord loops through to prevent accidentally disconnections during a gig. I like that.
The front panel is cleanly laid out, with the XLR mic inputs (with LEDs to indicate signal present, software-selectable 48 VDC phantom power and TRS); the MIDI #2 I/O jacks; two TRS jacks fed from outputs 9 to 12 used for headphone outs; USB out to the DURec record feed and a seven-inch control section (shown in Fig. 2) for status, channel monitoring and local control via four mode buttons and three rotary encoders. The latter are fast and easy to operate, and provide tweaking of basic functions for the front inputs — such as mic gain, main volume, headphone levels, etc. — as well as enabling record-play start/stop, transport controls and indicating the amount of record time remaining on the connected disk.
The 2-inch LED screen can show levels of 64 simultaneous sources (32-in/32-out) and switches to show parameter changes during any tweaking, as well as the main output level, selected clocking and operating sample rate. By the way, the UFX+ can operate at 44.1/48/88.2/96/174.6/192 kHz sampling rates. Getting deeper access to the UFX+ requires using the TotalMix FX app (shown in Fig. 3) with a connected Mac/PC or iPad, as while as convenient as the local front panel control is, sometimes it’s nice to work with a display that larger than two inches.
On the Road
Getting started with the UFX+ was surprisingly straightforward. The unit ships with a software/drivers disk and I had no issues with it installed on a MacBook Pro running Yosemite. Besides offering multiple setup screens, the software includes an easy to use matrix I/O router (Fig 4) and the comprehensive TotalMix FX mix engine with onboard DSP. The latter is ideal for submixes or for creating full-on mixes in special event presentations/exhibits or as MADI-to-analog feeds for drive audio, MADI to USB/Thunderbolt record capture, virtual sound checking (fed to any MADI-equipped console), or simply on-the-bus/hotel suite tracking situations where ultra-high quality is essential.
This is where the UFX+ really shines. It offers a nonstop palette of I/O possibilities and if you need more mic sources, for example, it’s easy enough to bring in these in via MADI, ADAT or the additional analog line inputs. The audio quality is impeccable, confirmed after extensive studio listening tests with high-end mics and sources played over a Dynaudio Air monitor system via both the analog and AES outputs. Sweet!
I do have a few tweaks on my wish list, including perhaps moving to a 2-rackspace enclosure, a slightly larger front display and maybe another four (or eight) preamps. Given its versatility, impressive audio performance and road-tough build quality, I can put up with a few bumps, such as the $3.99 charge for the iOS app on a $2,799 product. However, I’ll look past that and give the Fireface UFX+ two thumbs up.
At a Glance
Power, Performance, Versatility
RME updates its popular UFX interface with a new model loaded with pro features for the studio — and live — market.
RME Fireface UFX+
PROS
- Compact
- Solid construction
- Plenty of I/O versatility
- Impeccable sound quality
CONS
- Small front panel display
- Extra $3.99 charge for iPad app
- Only four mic inputs
STATS
- Inputs: 94 total (30, plus 64 MADI)
- Outputs: 94 total (30, plus 64 MADI)
- Sampling Rate: 44.1k Hz to 192k Hz
- Record Out: USB 3, MADI or Thunderbolt to DAW or external USB 3 drive
- Software Support: TotalMix FX for Mac/Windows/iPad
- Dimensions: Single rackspace; 9.4” deep
- Weight: 6.6 pounds
- Street Price: $2,799
- Manufacturer: RME
More Info: www.rme-audio.com
