UAD dsp vs spark plugins. Is there a difference between them?

[Funkybot's Evil Twin]

Well I would still buy the DSP versions so I wouldn’t have to rent them indefinitely. I’ve looked into getting the cheapest UAD card possible. Anyone know of any license issues when purchasing a UAD card second hand?

Can you buy a really old card on eBay and still purchase any and all current UAD plugins for it?

I think it must be a UAD-2 series card. Don't buy the OG UAD-1.

You can buy a UAD-2 solo with no extra plugins for around $149 (it comes with a base package of legacy plugins, but that stuff isn't on Spark). Then you can just buy licenses for as many of the Spark plugins as you'd like, and you get 2 iLok authorizations deposited in your account for each of those plugins.

When you get the card you have to register it to your UAD account. That's how they know you have the hardware, and what ties the plugin purchases to the iLok license.

I've got an old UAD-2 Duo and I've got most of the Spark plugins now running on my Macbook, and looking very forward to the PC release which I think will be next month.

[_leras]

Lol at these threads. Some AUD dsp buyers are having trouble accepting it was all delusion and now the walls are coming down but they don’t wanna

Really? I can't imagine UAD users, like myself, are that upset about also being able to run plug ins natively as well as on the DSP cards.

There's not delusion that I see about UAD cards and off loading CPU load. Sure it's less of an issue than it may have been in the past, but I still think it's useful when also running lots of CPU synths. If it runs better as native, and it may possibly reduce asio load, then it's a win.

Absolutely excellent plug ins, regardless.

All win win from where I'm sat.

[Funkybot's Evil Twin]

Lol at these threads. Some AUD dsp buyers are having trouble accepting it was all delusion and now the walls are coming down but they don’t wanna

Really? I can't imagine UAD users, like myself, are that upset about also being able to run plug ins natively as well as on the DSP cards.

There's not delusion that I see about UAD cards and off loading CPU load. Sure it's less of an issue than it may have been in the past, but I still think it's useful when also running lots of CPU synths. If it runs better as native, and it may possibly reduce asio load, then it's a win.

Absolutely excellent plug ins, regardless.

All win win from where I'm sat.

Yeah, the same UAD plugins I thought were excellent before are still excellent today and now I can run them on Macbook Pro despite my UAD hardware being a UAD-2 Duo PCIe card installed into my PC. Will be thrilled to have these running natively. It's nothing to do with any "delusion" from "DSP buyers". The plugins are generally excellent and now we've got more places to run them, and it didn't cost me a dime. Except for all the ne UAD plugins I've purchased to get perpetual access to!

[LFO8]

Well.. as far as delusional goes, I have seen people claim that the dsp versions still sound better

That’s what I was referring to.

Glad to see the pair of you have got your head on straigh

[zvenx]

Yeah that was always nonsense...
And indeed I have been in quite a few such 'debates' on the uad forum myself.

And also clearly remember a UAD employee telling me a few years ago that the power required to run them could not be done natively (this was at most five years ago, when it was clearly nonsense).

But indeed as a UAD DSP user I am glad we have them slowly being ported to the native side of things, just wished they did them so they would be interchangeable...
Maybe when the dsp versions are available as vst3's that will happen.

rsp

[Funkybot's Evil Twin]

But indeed as a UAD DSP user I am glad we have them slowly being ported to the native side of things, just wished they did them so they would be interchangeable...
Maybe when the dsp versions are available as vst3's that will happen.

I think Drew from UA vaguely indicated that making them interchangeable was part of the long-term plan. Honestly, I can't imagine wanting to run the DSP versions once Native is out, but that's because of a got a single UAD-2 Duo, which doesn't have a ton of power to begin with. If I had more UAD hardware, I'd certainly feel differently.

[zvenx]

I have two quads (a thunderbolt one on mac, and a pci-e one on pc).. I have actually never maxed them, but the ability to take my macbook pro on the road (as I am doing now) and not have to also take the uad-2 satellite would be very welcomed.
Also I imagine it would decrease latency for us non console users.
rsp

[LFO8]

And also clearly remember a UAD employee telling me a few years ago that the power required to run them could not be done natively (this was at most five years ago, when it was clearly nonsense).

Exactly.,. that type of nonsense.

[teqnotic]

I think Drew from UA vaguely indicated that making them interchangeable was part of the long-term plan. Honestly, I can't imagine wanting to run the DSP versions once Native is out, but that's because of a got a single UAD-2 Duo, which doesn't have a ton of power to begin with. If I had more UAD hardware, I'd certainly feel differently.

This would be the best of both worlds. This way you can use DSP power for tracking, then toggle a DSP/CPU button on the plugin's GUI for mixing, or when traveling with your laptop and not needing to connect a UAD device with DSP

[Funkybot's Evil Twin]

I think Drew from UA vaguely indicated that making them interchangeable was part of the long-term plan. Honestly, I can't imagine wanting to run the DSP versions once Native is out, but that's because of a got a single UAD-2 Duo, which doesn't have a ton of power to begin with. If I had more UAD hardware, I'd certainly feel differently.

This would be the best of both worlds. This way you can use DSP power for tracking, then toggle a DSP/CPU button on the plugin's GUI for mixing, or when traveling with your laptop and not needing to connect a UAD device with DSP

Here's what I"m pretty sure is going to be announced imminently (sometime between tomorrow and NAMM in April):

1. New Apollo interfaces that...
2. Use ARM-based processors for the DSP and
3. Run UADx plugins in a way that allows them to switch between native and DSP with
4. A bunch of new UAD plugins ported over to the new format

...I think this is going to replace all the legacy UAD plugins on a go-forward basis. So old UAD plugins will still run on that hardware, no change for existing customers, but they'll ditch the Softube and Brainworx plugins and focus on porting UA developed plugins to the new platform and Spark.

I think using ARM-based chips will also allow for a lot more DSP instances of the plugins to pad the value proposition. We may even start to see the UAFX hardware models (Ruby, Woodrow, Dream) eventually ported as those are ARM-based FX.

Why do I think this? Apollo's are being blown out. UAFX already run on ARM-based DSP, as do Apple Silicon native versions of the UADx plugins. UA has hinted that they would also like to see the ability to toggle between native and DSP instances of their plugins and they've been saying all along that their DSP hardware will continue to be the "premium" option.

I think all of this points to the above.

In addition, the UA Ox Boxes have had $300 knocked off the price, so I think a new version of the Ox is also imminent.

[zvenx]

I hope you are right.
Throw in vst3 and a proper installer.
rsp

[Funkybot's Evil Twin]

I hope you are right.
Throw in vst3 and a proper installer.
rsp

They’re already doing VST3 with the Spark/UADx plug-ins and UA Connect is an installation and authorization manager. So yeah, I think you’ll get your wishes.

[zvenx]

Yes I was basing it on stuff Drew has said or hinted at on the UAD forum.

And I figure if they are going to do the sweeping changes your theorize they might as well do them all now.
rsp

[db3]

UAD native plugs can now be purchased individually or in a pack.
https://www.uaudio.com/uad-plugins.html

[kmonkey]

There's not delusion that I see about UAD cards and off loading CPU load. Sure it's less of an issue than it may have been in the past,

Look this is not pointed at you, I quoted you to keep the context of what I am about to say:

But come on! For more than a decade UA crowd claimed that native is inferior because of "put your favorite delusion here - there's a ton of them".

Now when same plugins are native everyone keeps pretending as if nothing has happened.

Even when Spark was out some people over at UA forum claimed that they can hear the difference. Even after UA staff member told them they are the same code.

Then some YouTubers nulled them out (with DSP) to silence or to -100db or whatever..

And then they are like "I don't value phase canceling tests they are not the whole picture"...something like that...

idiots and "engineers" at work....