I purchased my UFX maybe 10 - 15 years ago when they first came out. It's one of the best purchases I've ever made. It's been rock solid. I still love it. Being that it is a bit old now I'm just wondering has the world of interfaces changed much in that time? If I upgrade to the latest UFX am I really gaining much? I always wonder the converters that are in my UFX, have cheaper interfaces caught up in quality and maybe surpassed it? It makes sense that it would.

Anyway just curious. Cheers

If its not broke...

I'd spend the money on something more fun if everything is rock solid and still working fine.

yeah that's exactly what I've been doing. I feel like it would be a low priority. RME still provide drivers for it which is awesome

Well, a new UFX III has more sensitive preamps and overall better specs and gives you MADI, so you could expand that way if you needed to.

But unless you have a 20-year-old RME, you may want to keep what you have.

Maybe get one and try if you have a no-questions-asked return policy where you live?

I'm still using a Hammerfall PCI in one of my machines with...ready...? The old Nuendo/RME Converters LOL. Works great sounds great (B Room tho)

The thing I like about RME is the drivers work, and RME keeps them up to date.

yep RME is the king of quality and longevity.


If the latest UFX has better AD/DA converters( and I'm not sure what the UFX III has over the original) then you could always buy a 2 channel high end AD/DA convertor and hook it up via ADAT or AES so your main monitor outs have 'better' D to A and you'll have 2 channels of 'Better' A to D if needed.


otherwise , as has been said. If it ain't broke....


I have 20 year old hammerfall PCI card in a drawer that works perfectly still with a PCIe adapter. But run a UFX III iin the Studio.

Great device.





M

curious which adapter you use for your hammerfall. and did you have to get a larger case?

buy the latest ufx with a 100% return policy. do a shootout. you will see the sound of the new box is better, and it will be forward-facing with the latest in system compatibility. how important are these details to you? that is a question only you can decide.

if your microphones are not as good as they can be, that's going to be a greater improvement. you get your best value per dollar spent on room acoustics and transducers (mics, monitors, headphones) if those items are not yet at flagship professional level.

the new ufx is $2800. that's close to u87ai or reference cardioid money. if your mics aren't at that level, bring the mics up to that level first.

I am in a similar situation. Also have an OG UFX that has been great. I am close to settling on the UFX II, but the Lynx Aurora (n) 16 looks super lusty and my better half has signed off on either.


I have a very nice assortment of Neumann mics, and API/Neve pres, and high end monitors as well.

I am a hobbiest when it comes to recording, but I have played on/released a bunch of stuff. Nothing to brag about really. Just love high-ish end gear and to capture my compositions to the highest degree possible at home.

I used a cheap Ebay adapter.

it was more a proof of concept so I just had the card dangling in the case to see if it worked..... and it did... perfectly.


I'm very happy with my UFX III though, superb card.

Not really sure what to do with the 9652 hammerfall really.

I know it works with Linux as well but without total mix.

I sould give it to someone who needs it and has no money.








M

Mine is running on a Win98 box loaded with Gigastudio hehe... I have a bunch of samples and custom sound design stuff I did for games back in the day - one day I'll convert them over to Kontakt or something LOL

I run it's adat out into my UFX+ and use that stuff in some productions.

Purchased the OG UFX right when it came out in 2010.
Thought about upgrading when the UFX II came out, then again when the UFX III was released...
But I didn't.
Instead I recently upgraded ALL my studio cables, from a mix of all kinds of brands mid level cables to custom high end 32 channel snakes.
I didn't want to believe that it would make much of a difference, but it did.

Upgrade to the latest converters but make sure everything else in your studio is up to par, quality wise.
Room, Monitoring, Mics, Preamps, Cabling, Computer etc. ... it ALL matters.

I'm about thirty years ahead of you. Started with a pair of ADI-8s and RayDat card, currently at five pieces including the UFX. And yes rock solid
Don't know if this quite legal.. maybe you have already..
https://forum.rme-audio.de/viewforum.php?id=4

Thanks all for the feedback. Would the converters from something cheaper but newer like a Motu M4 interface be on par with something like the 15 year old UFX? I always hear about how converter technology has come along leaps and bounds over the last 10 - 15 years. Have they come along that much?

Yeah, something new but decent may surpass the older converters. Whether you can hear it is a different matter, which is why you’d need to test it.

Check this.

Evaluating AD/DA loops by means of Audio Diffmaker

It’s a test that tries to measure conversion accuracy. Not whether the converters add something extra to the sound like warmth that may make them sound better, but sheer accuracy.

I’ve been looking at a well priced UFX+ and was about to pull the trigger but lo and behold there is apparent glitchiness on Mac silicon which I am surprised by. Anyone else have any experience with this? The UFX+ from what I understand is no longer produced. The UFX II would suit me and was on my original short list - still is but the price!

I have a UFX III and I've 'heard' about issues on mac silicone but on my M1 max I've had no issues with either the kernel driver or the new drive kit. I mainly use my windows DAW though so it's possible i just haven't used it enough on MAc OS to see a problem?



M