Oops, that second quote is meant to be about the ufx. I must've edited it wrong. It's from this review.
RME FireFace UFX Review : Weapon of Massive Recording - Audiofanzine

Either way, it looks like I'll be saving up for a ufx, unless someone else puts out some amazing product with loads of features and stability before I reach my $$ goal.

Anxiously awaiting a shipping conf and reading all I can about this box. Good point the last poster brought up about that review. What in the world went wrong that they were using 35% of their resources running the FW driver. Something seriously went wrong there, or the last poster brought up a valid point.

Also, can somebody tell me if the front inputs can be used as TRS and bypass the internal preamps? If so, do you still get the benefit of the double AD stages, thus yielding superior conversion compared to the rear inputs, or will they have same results. Unless the pres are really something, I'll have better options 100% of the time and those inputs will be more valuable to me as TRS ins.

FWIW the pres are designed around the PGA2500 and they are very usable. I'm running 8x 1290s to the analog ins on the back and use the front 4 with no issue. If I'm feeling lazy I have no issue running the UFX pres over the 1290s and do prefer them on some sources.

I haven't tried running an preamp through the UFX front panel yet, but from experience on past consoles/interfaces usually if I bring the gain on the front panel pre all the way down it works to satisfaction.

Got one today.Loaded the driver and off it went.
WOW what a machine.

Me too!

Man, do I ever welcome how tiny and light this thing is in comparison to my Digidesign 192 I/O's! I was expecting it to be a lot deeper. Makes it even more amazing how they shoved everything in there.

TotalMix will take some getting used to, but looks to be pretty intuitive. I've been in Pro Tools HD land for almost 10 years now ... this is all Greek to me.

Look forward to putting this thing through its paces

Got it working,never mind.

Wow. Anyone still on the fence wrt to getting one of these I just came across this on a music sale site. This is cheaper than most used ones go for, but this site is like one or two days only and while supplies last. Might as well pick up a ufx for the same price as a ff800 if you're in the market for an interface. Too bad I already got mine a couple of weeks ago, and I thought my deal was smoking. This beats it by $100!

http://www.hellomusic.com/ec/DealMain.aspx?did=12265

Just bought one! $1699 total cost shipping included is unbeatable from what I have seen. Didn't think I could afford the UFX although it is what i really wanted but that sale convinced me to stretch a bit. Super excited.

Hey guys. I have a dilemma, and thought I'd post here since this is all about the UFX and many of you are quite knowledgeable about it.

I have a choice between purchasing an A-Designs Pacifica, or a Fireface UFX and wanted some other opinions, as my head is going around in circles trying to decide which would be the better buy. Some days I’m convinced it’s the Pacifica, other days, I’m convinced it’s the UFX.

Here’s my situation:

I’ve been recording with a FF400 for the last two years now, and have since bought a UA Solo 610 (for vocals and anything else that could use its warmth) and a True Systems P-Solo (for my transparent classical guitar recordings). I really want to have a dedicated 2 channel high end pre, which is why I have my eyes on the Pacifica. Why the Pacifica? Well, honestly, I chose it based on reviews, not listening. So that in itself, may not be a good reason...

But I also have a vision of being able to track drums, and at some point in the distant future, track a whole band live. And so I thought the UFX would be good for this, since it has lots of flexibility. For now though, I mainly record just guitar (electric, acoustic, classical) bass, voice, and aux percussion.

Here’s an argument for the Pacifica:

You won’t ever have to upgrade it. Once you buy it, you have it for good. You now have a dual channel pre to track your guitar, use as drum OH’s (in combination with the Solo 610 for kick and P-Solo for snare), use for snyths (since I read it’s good for that as well) and anything else with stellar results. Add to that the other two pre’s and you’re looking at quite a solid front end. The FF400 has all you need right now anyways in terms of I/O’. You don’t need so many I/O’s just yet. If you buy it, you won’t be using the UFX to it’s full potential for quite a while. And maybe by the time you’re ready for the UFX, something better has come along.

In other words, the benefit 4 great sounding pres outweighs the benefit of a slight upgrade in quality and huge expansion in I/O’s that won’t be used just yet.

Here’s an argument for the UFX:

Upgrade now, and you’ll be set for a long time. It has lots of flexibility that you can grow into later on down the road. The preamps may not be as good as the Pacifica, but at least you have 4 identical pres with which to start learning how to track drums. It will also allow you to develop a better ear and then decide if the Pacifica is really the sound you’re going for, or if it’s something else entirely. Using just the UFX will allow me to improve on your recording by learning to use what I have and getting the most of the onboard pres before spending money on more preamps, mics, and things that may be a bit over your head right now.

In other words, the benefit of having more I/O’s to be used eventually, coupled with the fact that you’re putting yourself in a situation where you learn to make good sounding recordings with lower tier gear outweighs the benefit of having 2 more great sounding pre’s that you can use to get better sounding tracks no matter what you happen to be recording.

Thoughts?

Why not borrow or rent both units and try them out? Or, buy both from a dealer with a good return policy and keep one. You have clearly considered the pros and cons of each, and either would be a great purchase, so I don't think additional opinions here will help you much.

My only additional thought is that the pres on the UFX are very good for a clean sound, so I wouldn't assume they are worse than the Pacifica - just different and without adding any particular extra mojo.

Thank you for your 2 cents gentlemen. After browsing some other threads this last week, I see a consistent belief that mic, mic placement and overall experience and know-how will always be able to change the sound more than a preamp. Am I right in saying so?

If that's the case, then I am end up with the UFX. With its clean preamps, I can learn how to color the sound with the tools available to me first.

If anyone favors the Pacifica instead, please enlighten me as to why!

As of my current thoughts, the UFX seems to be the wiser choice.

UFX with those preamps from their top tools -used by many instances around the globe
for acoustic music- would be my choice

Matti

Cool! Glad someone was able to get one. I only paid $100 more but man did I hate to see that deal come and go and not get in on it. lol. Enjoy!

did they seriously have it on the hellomusic site?!...dang it...the moment i take my eyes off that site they sale the very thing im shopping for!!

Yeah. There was a concurrent coupon for first time buyers for $25 off. that made it 1674! I got mine for 1784 from JRRshop.com They may still have it at that group-buy price.

just found the ufx on ebay for $1700 buy it now...couldn't pass it up.

HELLO MUSIC: Best deals on guitars, keyboards, amps, basses & recording studios

use hm25new got $25 off

New ufx for $1574 hurry!

Has anybody done this mod?

I bought mine from audio pro star for $1775 shipped. I've had one incident where the audio was glitchy and distorted just playing from itunes. I restarted it and haven't had a problem since then. I think it may have been a cpu problem.

It might just be my ears, but this unit actually sounds better and better as it "burns in." I've never believed in the "burn in" theory that I read on gearslutz sometimes, but it really does appear to be happening.

Compared to my old setup [focusrite saffire 6], the sound is much more clear. I instantly noticed that reverb tails are more defined and there is very little grain/haze. This is through Dynaudio BM5A monitors in an untreated room. I can't wait to integrate my crane song HEDD and outboard hardware with the UFX. It should be a massive upgrade in sound.

So far I am very pleased with the RME UFX. For the price, I can't see anything beating it. heh

RME User Forum / TotalMix FX 0.970b2 for Mac - Cocoa and OSC support, Beta 2

The UFX and all TotalMix FX compatible devices, such as Babyface, UC and the brand new UCX just got beta support for TouchOSC over WiFi. Sooooo I just fired it up on my Ipad... lo and behold, it works as an incredibly powerful control surface with no latency... and control over ALL things in TotalMix FX like mic pre gain, EQ, compressor settings, reverb and so on

Pardon the untidy mess around my recording rack... my main DAW is a PC and this is only my remote recording computer.

This is great! Hoping now for a PC version so I can try it. I have been waiting for a good reason to buy an iPad. If I can have full (or nearly full) control of TM over wifi, that is a good enough reason for me.

Please keep us updated on how it works for you, Mats.

I have a question! there is 30 channels in and out, if i wanted to sum analog and use the 16 channels of adat out and sum analog, that stuff is out there to do that on? the only thing i have found is the cranesong egret! but there must be something else?

Not sure of your question. Can you clarify?

The UFX has 12 analog line-level outputs that you can mix outboard. You need to attach an ADAT DA converter if you want 16 more line-level outputs. All these 28 analog I/O can be routed any way you want with TotalMix.

For the full specification of 30 channels you need also to count the AES digital I/O.

if i want to use all the outputs on the ufx i will need a DA device connected to the adat out (16channels) do you know any gear that i could use for that purpose?
I want to use all the outputs to connect with a 24 channel analog mixer, but i need to convert the adat channels to analog and use them along with the analog channels, what eqipment do i need?

theres a lot of preamps whit adat out that i could use! but the other way around stuff i know little about,

Here are a few...

RME: ADI-8 DS
http://www.rme-audio.de/en_products_adi_8_qs.php
Aurora 16

Thanks! i will check it out!

So would it be possible to use 2 UFX or a UFX and a UCX at the same time? I have a metric halo 2882 that I really like but I'm in need of more inputs. The thing is I need a minimum of 24 inputs available all the time and occasionally I do live recordings where I need 48. I had ruled out the UFX because I thought you could only use one at a time. Having owned rme interfaces in the past I really like total mix.

This may have been covered, but I just got my UFX last night and am trying to decide if I should keep my Fireface 800 or not. I want/need more channels than the UFX but am wondering if (and how) it's possible to use all 10 analog channels of the ff800 with the UFX. Channels 1-8 through ADAT right? But how would I route channels 9/10 IO through the UFX?

If I can't, I'll probably downgrade to a basic 8 channel adat converter.

Thanks!

Use the FF800's second ADAT output into the UFX's second ADAT input.