• qubit
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Topic: RME Fireface UC or 802 - which one ?

Hello,

as i am in the stage of upgrading interface and want to get RME one, known for their stability.

I am hesitating between the Fireface UC and the Fireface 802. My main concern is there any significant difference in terms of sound quality.

Right now i could go with the less I/O options of the UC, but if the 802 is better for DA - monitoring, id prefer that.

So far i have been using Scarlett 2i2, would the RME give me better quality and more detail on the monitors ?

I won't be upgrading anytime soon after this one, and want to make the better choice .

My work is mostly in the box with soft synths, and also i record bass guitar.

  • Jeff
  • Jeff
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Re: RME Fireface UC or 802 - which one ?

Either one would be a nice upgrade. Specs are available on the product pages; FF802 has slightly better measurements and gives you more analog and digital I/Os.

Regards,
Jeff Petersen
Synthax Inc.

Jeff's Website

3 Reply by ramses (edited by ramses 2019-08-20 17:13:11)

  • ramses
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Re: RME Fireface UC or 802 - which one ?

Why UC and not UCX ?

I put together an excel, there you can compare most interfaces very easily.
https://www.tonstudio-forum.de/index.ph … 8-08-xlsx/

If you can afford, get UFX II.

With the 802 I am missing two useful features:
- Autoset
- Ability to store gain settings digitally in snapshots to be able to recall a setup completely incl. proper gain

UCX has
- more modern converters, less converter latency
- later Mic preamps design
- full FX chip implemented
- autoset
- USB and firewire
- ...

UFX II is not that much more expensive, but gives you even more interesting features.

Also possible / useful, a combination of UC / UCX / 802 / UFX II and ADI-2 Pro FS plus eventually ARC USB on top.

See also these two blog articles that I wrote:

https://www.tonstudio-forum.de/blog/ind … 8-RME-UFX/

https://www.tonstudio-forum.de/blog/ind … our-Setup/

BR Ramses - UFX III, 12Mic, XTC, ADI-2 Pro FS R BE, RayDAT, X10SRi-F, E5-1680v4, Win10Pro22H2, Cub13

4 Reply by qubit (edited by qubit 2019-08-20 19:22:39)

  • qubit
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Re: RME Fireface UC or 802 - which one ?

Hey, @Ramses, thank you for the detailed information in the articles.
To be honest , all the feature you list would't make much of difference to my work.

I mostly care about the sound quality - getting better and detailed sound in DAW production

Do you know if theres going to be any significant difference between UC, UCX and 802 , meaning the DA conversion aspect - out to my monitors ?

Best regards!

5 Reply by ramses (edited by ramses 2019-08-21 06:23:25)

  • ramses
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Re: RME Fireface UC or 802 - which one ?

IMHO the new D/A converters with AKM chip make a difference (ADI-2 Pro FS or alternatively ADI-2 FS).
But these products are not a typical recording interface with Mic Pre's and TM FX ...

Alternatively UFX II with latest converter technology and overhauled analog section.

Or combination of (smaller) recording interface with TM FX and ADI-2 Pro FS.

Next recording interfaces like 802, UCX, UC, ..

Whether differences are significant you should judge with your own ears in your own environment.

I would say that the difference with the AKM chips is higher because this is a D/A converter of high quality.

But as I said, A/B test this yourself.

BR Ramses - UFX III, 12Mic, XTC, ADI-2 Pro FS R BE, RayDAT, X10SRi-F, E5-1680v4, Win10Pro22H2, Cub13
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Re: RME Fireface UC or 802 - which one ?

@ramses:
do I understand correctly, using Totalmix/FF 802 saved snapshots can be recalled - but gain settings will not be saved by using TM snapshots ?

When using FF 802 I had problem sometimes that gain settings could not be recalled completely. I had no idea why this happened. I did not find any detail in the real good manual.  Could you please give some more details about this special fact.

7 Reply by MC

  • MC
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Re: RME Fireface UC or 802 - which one ?

Mic gain settings from a mechanical, analog pot can not be stored in TotalMix, that should be obvious. If you need that feature use UC, UCX or the UFX series.

Regards
Matthias Carstens
RME

MC's Website