Universal Audio recently announced their new UAD Spark plugins. They are part of a new subscription offering from UAD. They are also the first native versions of UAD plugins.

One big question that some will ask, do they sound the same as the plugins that require DSP processing?

What Plugins Are Native?

The following plugins which were originally only available using UAD DSP processing, either by using an Apollo Audio interface or a UAD accelerator, are;

• API Vision Channel Strip

• UA 1176 Classic Limiter Collection

• Teletronix LA-2A Leveler Collection

• Lexicon 224 Digital Reverb

• Studer A800 Tape Recorder

• API 2500 Bus Compressor

• Galaxy Tape Echo

• Pure Plate Reverb

Are UAD Native Plugins The Same As DSP?

There’s only one scientific way to find out if the plugins are identical, that is to run a nulling test. We decided to do just that to see if the UAD Native and DSP plugins are bit-for-bit identical.

Check out our video below to hear the results.