New Gear Review: Fireface UFX+ by RME

The Fireface UFX+ is RME’s flagship interface, offering truly massive I/O, unprecedented connectivity, onboard DSP and much, much more.

RME has been producing audio equipment for the past 21 years, with an eye on providing open-ended products at a fair price point.

Despite the many affordable options in their line both past and present, RME has been focusing a majority of their latest efforts on crafting new high-end interfaces and converters that play nicely with both Windows and Mac.

The new Fireface UFX+ now sits at the top of RME’s interface line, offering 94 total input and output channels, and connectivity via either USB 3.0 or Thunderbolt.

At $2,799, the UFX+ is well above the price point of most of its competition, but can serve as a comprehensive and expandable audio center for both prosumers and professionals alike. To help justify the premium price tag, RME boasts of unparalleled driver stability and sound quality, as well as unique and expansive feature set. I took this latest Fireface for a spin in my studio to see how well it performed.

Features

The UFX+ features a truly insane amount of I/O. On the analog side, you can use the four included XLR/TRS combo jacks on the front of the unit, as well as the eight line level inputs on the back. For outputs, there are six TRS and pair of XLR jacks on the back, and two headphone outputs on the front.

If your math skills fare well, then you know that brings the UFX+ to 12 analog inputs and outputs, with the headphone jacks each accounting for two. The digital I/O brings the number way up, segmenting 64 channels to the MADI protocol and 16 channels via ADAT.

Rounding out the I/O are single AES3 digital input and output XLRs, bringing the total number of inputs and outputs to 94. The distribution between the front and back panel is sensible, with pertinent and often-changed I/O on the front, and more static options on the back.

On the front panel, you have the four mic preamps fit with combo jacks, the headphone outputs, a single pair of MIDI I/O jacks, and a USB slot for memory. The most notable connection is the USB input, which allows you to record directly to a thumb drive or external hard drive as a main or backup option.

First introduced back in 2011 with the UFX, DURec (Direct USB Recording) has been considerably improved on the UFX+. Now, the technology can support up to 76 simultaneous channels of recording and playback.

In a live context, this has enormous potential. You can use DURec both to archive shows through the digital mixer, and play back previously recorded shows for a virtual sound check.

DURec is meant to be used independently of a computer, so dumping the files into a DAW later can normally be a bit of a chore. RME offers a piece of software that stitches the recorded WAV files together, but the extra step is just that—an extra step.

If you are running the UFX+ with a computer, either in a studio or live setting, you can access RME’s TotalMix software, which has always been available for use with all RME interfaces. TotalMix has become much more refined with time, and presented little to no issues in use.

With TotalMix, you have onboard DSP powering global EQ, compression, delay and reverb across up to 4,096 virtual channels. The addition of an app for iPad makes controlling the UFX+ even simpler with access to all of the controls in a touch screen interface.

TotalMix can also be used to set up and control DURec, but channels inside the software cannot be recorded directly. This reveals one downside to the configuration of the UFX+: if you’re a new user, it’s likely that you’ll feel lost inside the software. 4,096 virtual channels offers massive amounts of flexibility, but is a lot to deal with, especially when coupled with DURec options.

The selling point of the UFX+ is, however, the flexibility it offers. While newbies may have a difficult time navigating the software at first, power users will find a wealth of options for the price. RME has improved considerably on the seven year old design with expanded I/O and higher capacity DURec.

In Use

With a product that offers this much, it’s important to maintain simplicity in the user experience. The power of the UFX+ sets up unavoidable obstacles, but RME still manages to do an admirable job of making the unit work cohesively.

The front panel only has a few controls, but you can do a lot with them. You have a large knob which mainly serves as a volume control (but can take on various different roles), four buttons for navigating to different sections of the menu, and two smaller headphone knobs.

Primarily, you navigate the UFX+ with the main knob, twisting and pressing it to scroll and select. The four buttons open up the possibilities by allowing you to adjust input gain, record and play back with DURec, scroll the channels in the virtual mixer, and set up effects chains.

All of that makes it possible for you to use the UFX+ independently of a computer. While it works, it’s not ideal. Clicking through screens to adjust the input on multiple channels is a hassle, so while the option to use the unit without a computer is present, it’s not recommended. Instead, you can control all of these settings inside of TotalMix.

TotalMix runs in one of two layouts, either mixer view or matrix view. Mixer view shows three separate rows of channels, with your hardware inputs at the top, software outputs in the middle, and hardware outputs on the bottom.

Each channel in the first two rows have sub-panes that you can open beside them. This is where you’ll find the EQ, compression, reverb and delay, as well as preamp settings if you’re using the four that are built into the unit. Effects are global for each given input, meaning, for example, if you put an EQ on channel one, you will hear that curve on every output.

Alternatively, you can use the matrix view to see all of your channels. This is sort of like a patchbay view, where you click to make connections between the three areas shown in mixer view, and drag to control the fader level. Controls like EQ and preamp settings aren’t part of the matrix view, but the fader levels allow a basic level of mixing.

If you’re setting up multiple sub-mixes with heavy-handed routing, then the matrix view is probably the easiest way to go. However, if you handle most routing inside of your DAW, then the tradeoff of preamp and effects controls in mixer view is too much to let go of.

Got connectivity? The Fireface UFX+ features support for Analog, ADAT, MADI, AES, SPDIF, USB 2.0 & 3.0, and Thunderbolt.

In my use, handling the routing inside Pro Tools was the most efficient method. All inputs and outputs showed up immediately, correctly labeled and in order. As opposed to learning another complex piece of software, handling routing inside your DAW of choice offers more than enough power. And though you will miss out on the effects included in TotalMix, the low latency of the UFX+ allows for plenty of plugin use within your DAW.

While it may seem like we just covered a lot, this is a very basic overview of the UFX+. The included 124 page manual dives deep into the real power available, and if there’s a configuration you can dream up, it’s likely the UFX+ can accommodate it.

To Be Critical

Ultimately, the UFX+ caters to many crowds by offering more than enough in terms of features and quality to serve almost any-sized studio. But that strength is also, potentially, its most significant weakness.

Like its MOTU and Focusrite counterparts, the UFX+ suffers from a slight identity crisis. It can accommodate the needs of most studio owners, but in so many of those cases, some of the features you’re paying for will likely not be put to use. By itself, the UFX+ is merely a 1U interface with four mic preamps, albeit with gargantuan I/O and ultra-low latency. Although there’s a lot of value there, it may not be $3,000 worth to a studio owner in isolation, as it requires a complement of other equipment to reap the most reward from its particular feature set.

For location work, DURec is hard to beat considering its ability to back up recordings or play them back for a virtual soundcheck. In that context, the insane amount of I/O coupled with 4 preamps can become a very sensible design choice. This allows you to take a complete feed right off of a digital console and complement it with up to four dedicated room mics of your own. Once again, the UFX+’s true power is unleashed by pairing with a complement of other gear.

The same goes for studio work. While all of the I/O options are there, you’ll need more preamps and expanded analog I/O. ADAT and MADI expand the possibilities, but the gap between the built-in analog and digital I/O still feels vast.

For all the incredible flexibility it offers for higher-end users, the UFX+ starts to fall behind in terms of expandability when put up against the Focusrite Red range. Dante networking opens up the options for the Red interfaces, allowing an entire range of converters, preamps and more to be built into a single system.

While it’s easy to knock the UFX+ on this level, in practice these rarely become issues. Striking a middle ground between budget interface and high-end converter is difficult to do, and RME delivers in this regard.

Summing it Up

Choosing RME has always been a sure bet, however no product is perfect—and the UFX+ is no exception to that rule. For what it offers, the interface performs exceptionally well, with consistently low latency on both USB 3.0 and Thunderbolt, and the available I/O options can meet the needs of almost any situation.

While it’s easy to salivate over the many features of the UFX+, it’s possible that many of them won’t be put to use in your particular situation. But if its unique options are in line with your needs—and you have the right gear to pair with it—the RME UFX+ can be an extremely powerful addition to your setup.

Jacob Roach is a writer, producer, and engineer from St. Louis, Missouri.

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