RME UFX 3

[Tommy Byrnes]

I recently had the opportunity to do some major upgrades to my studio, including a new computer build and a new main interface. For the last 8 or 9 years my rig has run through a UAD Apollo Firewire and while everything was still working, I knew it was coming to the end as the primary interface.

I was unwilling to give up the Unison preamps and the associated plugins in the Apollo so I was leaning towards one of the newer units. But, as a PC user I was skeptical of moving over to Thunderbolt for a number of reasons, the least of which is that since its inception there have been a slew of versions, many of which have completely different connectors. UA’s commitment to Windows has been uneven over the years to say the least (Luna for Windows?) so I was worried about the driver compatibility and TB with Windows in general. That, along with my general dislike of Apple, who own the TB technology, made me look for a different solution. My Sweetwater guy, Drake, suggested the new flagship RME UFX 3, even before it was released.

My qualifications for a new interface were: 1) Have a future-proof connection type
(the RME is USB3), (2) have outstanding conversion, (3) have a really good word clock and (4) have very efficient drivers. The RME hit them all with a sledge-hammer.

The Apollo is still connected to the system via firewire, as is a firewire UAD Satellite, both of which can be used as SHARK-powered UAD plugin hosts, even with the RME ASIO drivers as the drivers in use. But the Apollo and an older Octo Pre Dynamic are connected to the UFX3 via ADAT and then slaved to the word clock of the RME. So, I can use the old Apollo’s Unison Preamps and the I/Os of both the Apollo and the Octo are available through the RME. This is a great solution for someone moving away from the UAD ecosystem while retaining the ability to use the Unison pres and the UAD plugins, which are about the best in the industry, in my opinion.

I’ve read and heard many complaints about the TotalMix FX software that is integrated into all RME interfaces. All I can say is it’s the most useful software mixer/router I’ve ever used. Tremendously powerful and allows me to access everything in the studio, set custom headphone and cue mixes with reverb, apply EQ and compression on all tracks during tracking, use loopback features and lots more. It’s a great piece of software. I spent some time to get to know it and now I can’t imagine working without it. I even can control it with my Behringer X-Touch control surface, which is very handy, indeed.

I am absolutely over the moon about the RME! I love walking into the studio, flip on the equipment and computer and start working with no issues. Everything just syncs and ready to go.  It is a delight to work with in every way, from the ubiquitous USB3 connection to the amazing number of I/Os to efficient drivers with absurdly low latency. The mic pres are really good, very clean. It’s wicked expensive but I’ve found in using it full-speed-ahead for about a month now that I could not have spent my money more wisely.

Edited May 5, 2023 by Tommy Byrnes

[Jim Roseberry]

Thunderbolt 3 and 4 work great under both Windows 10 and Windows 11.  Just a matter of tending to all the details...

RME UFX+, UA Apollo/Satellite, Presonus Quantum, Antelope are all rock-solid connected via Thunderbolt.

 

Anyone who says Thunderbolt doesn't work (or is flaky) under Win10/Win11 doesn't know what they're doing.

[Klaus]

WRT RME, another feature/tool I really like is their software DIGICheck.

It's been rarely mentioned here so I thought a post about it could be usefull.

Here's a link with info:

https://www.rme-audio.de/digicheck.html

[Tommy Byrnes]

6 hours ago, Jim Roseberry said:

Thunderbolt 3 and 4 work great under both Windows 10 and Windows 11.  Just a matter of tending to all the details...

RME UFX+, UA Apollo/Satellite, Presonus Quantum, Antelope are all rock-solid connected via Thunderbolt.

 

Anyone who says Thunderbolt doesn't work (or is flaky) under Win10/Win11 doesn't know what they're doing.

That's good to know, Jim.

 

[Gordon Prokap]

On 5/5/2023 at 8:38 AM, Jim Roseberry said:

Thunderbolt 3 and 4 work great under both Windows 10 and Windows 11.  Just a matter of tending to all the details...

RME UFX+, UA Apollo/Satellite, Presonus Quantum, Antelope are all rock-solid connected via Thunderbolt.

 

Anyone who says Thunderbolt doesn't work (or is flaky) under Win10/Win11 doesn't know what they're doing.

I was unable to even get my Focusrite Clarret 8 PreX even detected on multiple TB4 systems though it's always worked great on TB3. 

I'm not the only one.

Are the Focusrite drivers just shit?

Edited May 16, 2023 by Gordon Prokap

[Jim Roseberry]

1 hour ago, Gordon Prokap said:

I was unable to even get my Focusrite Clarret 8 PreX even detected on multiple TB4 systems though it's always worked great on TB3. 

I'm not the only one.

Are the Focusrite drivers just shit?

Hi Gordon,

Some companies have Thunderbolt-2 interfaces that have problems with Thunderbolt-4.

The ironic part is that there wasn't a dramatic change with Thunderbolt-4.

Focusrite makes some nice hardware... but I've never been a big fan of their drivers.

[JnTuneTech]

On 5/5/2023 at 3:38 AM, Tommy Byrnes said:

I love walking into the studio, flip on the equipment and computer and start working with no issues. Everything just syncs and ready to go.

Indeed. I have used a UFX (1) for about 10 years now, mostly with Cakewalk software. It has gone onstage, indoors, outdoors, and still works flawlessly back in the office setup. The driver options & stability are, from what I have been reading in these forums, very robust, and of course TotalMix, -once you get a handle on it anyway, is very much a part of the pro options that can be implemented on a computer audio interface being used to the fullest. -Almost every one of my mixes in Cakewalk includes a track to set the desired TotalMix options & change direct monitoring dynamically during playback. -And, I even get a fair amount of use out of the Durec - direct to USB recording that the UFX series has - really can come in handy for live recordings, troubleshooting & alternate DAW output mixing.  Great stuff!