UAD-2 Satellite Firewire

I traded in my UAD-1 cards this month, (June 2012), for a Quad Satellite , so I could start using it in my audio-post mixes.

Just finishing an ABC Family/Disney Christmas musical with my new mix template using the UAD plugins. Busy show, lots of performances.
All I can say is WOW.
Love the efficiency and sound. Less work to get the dialog sounding the way I like it to sound. The UAD plugins have really brought my dialog up a notch. I can't praise the VOG enough for that. Instant magic for adding more body to thin sounding production dialog. The precision de-Esser sounds fantastic, and the Pultec gives some nice air to the dialog.
And all the music performances were brough up a notch with the SPL Transient Designer, by adding more punch.

I love plugs that makes a pleasant, audible difference. This thing with the plugs I have (LA2A, LA3A, Fairchild, Manley, 1176, Pultec, Cambridge, etc) makes a.....uh.....pleasant, audible difference. Undoubtedly. I only opted for the Compressors and EQs for now, as these are surely necessary for anyone creating music. I haven't used a plug that's as good as these are. Since I started mixing years ago. The Manley Massive Passive is a hog though. Warning!! I have two audio interfaces, a hard drive, and the UAD 2 solo on one firewire bus. Not enough bandwidth. If possible, use two separate busses. I'm gonna try and use the Thunderbolt as another firewire port.

I've been hooked on the UAD cards for a while now, but I've never been able to take them on the road with me. Now, with the Satellite, I can run full sessions on my laptop wherever I want to. Excellent product. Recommended.

Combined with my Apollo Quad... Amazing! This thing makes life much easier and mixing in the box a lot more fun! Definitely a great addition to my studio.

I think its to early to have a solid opinion about the product. But I can say the plugins sounds really good, specially Pultec Pro and Fatso Sr.

I got a crash once or twice, just by opening some instances of Fatso. Which was quite weird, because it was a small project... actually i was only making some experiences with the new plugins.

Well, if I can, I would like to make this review in a few weeks. Probably I'll be more aware about this great device.

Dani M.

Great product!. It's of the best purchases I made so far.

It's a great device, now i can mixing/mastering music on my Mac Book Pro anytime and anywhere, Thanks, UA!!!

Excellent piece of equipment, everything in one small very stylish casing.. Replaces my 2 UAD 1 PCIe cards. Runs more stable and very easy to install. `i would recommend this to anyone who is still running UAD 1. Not much else to say really except that i can now purchase the UAD 2 Plugins :-) Keep up the good work....

I took the satellite quad to add it to the apollo quad. Fantastic! And I am using also a Uad2 pci in the same system. Flawlessly! I am happy!!!

As the production mixer for Chicago, I work with one of the most dynamic, musically complex bands of the past 45 years. Chicago has always depended on the wide dynamic range and authentic character of the world's finest analog hardware. Universal Audio has succeeded in creating a no-compromise solution for the band's twin DAW platforms. Rich emulations such as the Ampex ATR 102, the Manley Massive Passive, and the EMT 140 Plate are indispensable tools and ensure that I can achieve the sounds that have characterized Chicago for decades, no matter where we are. Running the UAD-2 Satellite Quad Firewire Accelerator on a MacBook Pro, we have dedicated the Thunderbolt port as a separate Firewire buss, which flawlessly provides maximum instances.

I've been using UAD cards since their inception. I had two installed in my trusty old Apple G5. I just couldn't live without it, for mixing and mastering. No other plugins even came close to giving me the quality and versatility I needed. When the UAD-2 was released, I bought a MacBookPro for no reason other than to get a UAD-2 SOLO and have access to all the new plugins. Now my old G5 has finally been retired to the back of my closet, and the new UAD-2 Satellite is in place. It's breathtakingly beautiful in its compact efficiency, and the new UAD-2 plugin classic reverbs and Ampex & Studer designs are to-die-for. I couldn't do my job without them. My digital mixes sound analog, and without UA, I just couldn't say that. UA RULES!

In a word. Wow.

I've been toying with the idea of a UAD-2 for a long time but the cost put me off initially.

Having taken the plunge, I can't believe how much my mixes have improved, even by when sticking to the 1176 and pultec eq and realverb pro.

If you do buy this though, it's well worth getting the Studer A800 to use on most of your channels.

Ein großes Kompliment an Universal Audio und alle beteiligten Spezialisten für dieses erstklassige Soundpacket. Ein Traum für alle Fans von analogem Equipment!
Die UAD2 Satellite ist absolut zuverlässig und stabil im Arbeitsprozess, die Sounds umwerfend und bereichernd für jede digitale Produktion. Meine Favoriten: EMT 250, die Bandmaschinen und natürlich Bruce Swediens Harrison EQ. Thank You All!

Great little box, fits nicely in the studio near the MBP 2011 and Duet 2. I'm slowly but surely drawn into using UAD plugins only as the quality is great and it's quite easy to dial in the appropriate settings, even if this means pushing them to the limits.
Would have loved it to be rack mountable though.

I've been using UAD products since the early 2000's, even before the host (Digital Performer) and the UAD cards could compensate for latency. The sound was so good that I manually slid the tracks by twice the buffer size in samples to align them, such was my urge to use UAD plugins when needed. Eventually I outgrew my system and my old UAD-1 cards remained installed in an unused G5 computer. I recently bought a UAD-2 Solo-laptop, and regained immediate use of my plugin library (no other manufacturer allowed me to use a 2000's plugin without several paid upgrades), so I went on and ordered 2 Apollos and 2 Satellite Duo's, one system for the studio and one for home. Haven't got the Apollos yet, but the Satellites and Solo rock big time. Kudos

This is easily the best addition to my studio since we started. The quality is stunning and I can't imagine working without it now. Thanks UA!

I was so scared that my 2007 Macbook pro wasn't going to like running at FIREWIRE 400 in LOGIC PRO 9.....but....surprise-surprise!!! I have never had any problems with bandwidth or speed. I will run out of available plug-ins before I even use 1/2 the bandwidth at FW 400!! How many plug-ins can I run max?? I think I had 4 fatso's and another 12 other plugins running at once before DSP said "FULL".

Latency did not appear to be an issue either. I was playing live synths with my fingers in real time, with almost no latency. I had UA's Neve EQ's, Fairchild, all 4 Fatso's, Dreamverb, loaded all over the place, effects sends, precision buss compresser on the drum buss, the works!!! I have no problem at FW400 speed!!

Also Logic compensates for plugin latency (you may have to turn it on in preferences) and everything comes out spanking clean. I used a short hihat tic running on several tracks going through different combos of UA plugs, and the sum was one loud single tick. Perfection!

Excellent. Can't say enough about the quality of this system.

This is a ridiculously awesome system. It's easy to take from studio to studio, and offers a lot more power than I expected. All I have to do is make sure the computer is compatible with it, and I'm off to the races.

Awesome product. Immediate notice in the sound quality compared to other software competitors. It's a must have for anyone serious about their music and their career. Cheers!