In this article Luke Goddard explains why his product of the 2021 is the RME Fireface UCX II USB audio interface.
RME’s venerable UCX audio interfaces have been with us for the best part of ten years, and with good reason. These half-rack boxes can be found in many a professional rig for two overriding reasons: their high reliability and their quality. Not only that, but their small footprint and modest analogue I/O count (expandable of course) have also made them a serious proposition for creators and semi-pros as well.
The first generation of UCX was superseded by the second gen UCX II back in July. In true RME style, this box was certainly evolution over revolution, with a subtle re-modelling of the casework, but more significantly, newer juicier preamps, onboard hardware recording, and a bright front panel display for easier metering and better navigation on the hardware.
As with all RME interfaces, the Fireface UCX II lands with TotalMix FX. This DSP mixer and router runs on the hardware with per-channel EQ and dynamic processing plus global reverb and delay available. This plays nicely with the company’s ARC remote control, affording engineers a more console-like experience with configurable monitor and channel control available.
I’ve been using the UCX II as my main interface for a couple of months and it’s great to live with. Having TotalMix as my ‘console’ makes zero-latency input monitoring and monitor management easy, much of which can be switched on the configurable front panel buttons. That the Fireface UCX II is totally reliable goes without saying, but better still is knowing that the unit will be supported and continue to work for as long as its sober exterior would suggest.
This little box represents incredible quality and features that are good enough for pros, and within reach for all who are serious about sound, making it my product of 2021.