Universal Audio has announced that the UAD-2 SOLO/Laptop, a compact ExpressCard-based DSP Accelerator, is now shipping worldwide.

The newest member of the UAD family, the UAD-2 SOLO/Laptop, brings Universal Audio's analog emulations to laptop users, whether in Cubase, Logic, Digital Performer, or Pro Tools. The UAD-2 SOLO/Laptop allows access to the full UAD Powered Plug-Ins library, without the need for external cabling or power. Like all UAD-2 hardware, the SOLO/Laptop supports VST, AU and RTAS plug-in formats on both Mac OS X and Windows. The UAD-2 SOLO/Laptop carries a US MAP price of $499.

"Bringing UAD-2 Powered Plug-ins to laptop users is really part of our ongoing vision for expanding the UAD platform, which we're proud to say is now 30,000 users strong," commented Universal Audio President Matt Ward. "Bill Putnam Jr. set out to take the best of classic analog equipment and bring it to the digital world — with all of the analog subtleties, intricacies and nuances intact. This level of authenticity simply requires more horsepower than today's laptops can deliver. But with the SOLO/Laptop, users can plug in a simple ExpressCard and access our musically superior UAD plug-ins."