Product: Universal Audio Solo/Laptop
Price Paid: USD 499
Submitted
07/13/2009
at
01:21pm
by
MJ
Reviewer Background
:
26 yrs of Experience making music as a semi-pro guitarist and "prosumer" pro audio guy/project studio engineer. I am using this card on my '09 macbook pro to access the UA plugins I already have and use with my Quad UAD-2 card on my mac 8-core.
Ease of Use
:
10
I received one of the first of these that Sweetwater received from UA last week (beginning of July), after waiting for it since March.
Functionality: I give this 5 stars - does exactly what it's supposed to, set up is completely fool-proof, even as I already had multiple plugins on my quad card (was easy to link them to this card). This definitely works great on my '09 mac book pro.
Sounds/Sound Quality
:
1
See notes above for functionality - UA plugins sound great and this card does what it should in terms of allowing me to access the plugins without taking up precious firewire or usb ports.
Herein lies the large drawback-
Build Quality: Completely shoddy. This card feels like one accidental bump against it while in the slot and it would break in half very easy. Most of the card is plastic, and where the plastic joins the metal seems like it will break within 6 months.... we'll see, but for 500 bucks for a card I expect it to be top notch build quality. UA makes great stuff and excellent hardware on the analog side with excellent build quality - makes me think they outsourced this, and it shows.
A comment on the packaging: This tiny little card and set of 3 cds came in a ridiculously large box from UA - the same box my quad card came in. COME ON UA, BE MORE ENVIRONMENTAL - You're practically in Santa Cruz for god's sake, the mecca of contemporary environmentalism!!!
A note on Supply Chain Mgt. - ALWAYS HAVE MULTIPLE VENDORS LINED UP FOR KEY COMPONENTS! I heard the vendor they went with originally to make the board in this went out of business, and this was the reason for the long delay. They had to scramble to find another vendor. This is a rookie move, and shows me that they may be growing faster than they are maturing their business practices. Take my advice, don't dilute your good name with shoddy quality and promises you can't keep. As a wise man once said, "The sting of poor quality lasts a lot longer than the sting of steep costs."
Overall Rating
:
5
All in all a good functioning product that may be a little overpriced, but if you're sold on UA plugins (which are great), then this will be for you.
