Universal Audio UAD-2 Duo Flexi

Universal Audio has an excellent web site where you can watch a bunch of high quality videos that highlight their products. They offer 3 different PCIe models, with the only differece between them being the number of plugin instances that can run concurrently. Some plugins require significantly more DSP power than others, so I created a spreadsheet in Excel to calculate estimated DSP usage for what I "guesstimated" I might typically use, based on the UAD instance chart. I ended up buying the DUO Flexi. By my calculations, the DUO should be more than adequate for the typical small home studio. But, you certainly won't go wrong buying the QUAD, if you can afford it. Installation is a snap. Install the software and pop the card in an open PCIe slot and you're off and running. The plugins really do sound amazing. Right after I installed it, without even knowing what I was doing yet, I dropped an instance of the 1176LN compressor on a guitar track and it smoothed the track right out and blended it in beautifully with the rest of the tracks. The Studer A800 analog tape machine plugin brings an amazing warmth to drum and bass tracks, all without putting any load on your CPU. I'm sure I will learn more about the rest of the plugins as time goes on. One word of warning though! The installation program installs ALL of UA's plugins on your hard drive. All of them are available for a 14 day trial period. But only the ones that were either included with the card, or that you've paid for will work beyond the trial period, and you purchase additional plugins directly from their web site...and they are expensive...and they're also addictive. What does this mean? It means that at any given moment while you are sitting in front of your computer, you're only a few mouse clicks, your CREDIT CARD, and a confirmation email away from activating all the plugins you're heart desires. Impulsive buying gear junkies beware! All that being said, if you really think you need the best sounding plugins available, and you can afford it, you can't go wrong with the UAD-2 platform. Not to mention, the cost is still a tiny fraction of what it would be for the hardware versions of these plugins. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go log in and buy another plugin... :)

My UAD 2 Duo worked flawlessly right out of the box which was no surprize. I had been using four UAD 1's for awhile and have gotten used to UA's amazing top notch plug-ins. It sounds that the newer cards emulation's have improved over the UAD 1 even though I never had a complaint. A great device I'm going to add Quad soon to top my system out. Though pricey it's worth every penny.