Universal Audio

Explore Universal Audio vintage audio equipment in the Vintage Technology Archive.

Audio Interfaces

• Apollo 8 — Universal Audio Apollo 8 — Thunderbolt-only, Mac-only interface with UAD-2 DSP, 18x24 I/O, Unison preamps, and improved converters. $1,999–$2,499.
• Apollo 8p — Universal Audio Apollo 8p: 16x20 Thunderbolt interface with eight Unison preamps, UAD-2 Quad DSP, and 2 ms latency.

Channel Strips

• 610 Channel Strip — Universal Audio LA-610 channel strip: a 2RU all-tube 610 preamp plus LA-2A-style optical compressor, 61dB max gain, shelving EQ.
• Avalon VT-737 — The Avalon VT-737 channel strip — valve preamp, opto-compressor, class-A EQ — a studio workhorse found racked three-deep in serious rooms.

Compressors

• LA-3A — Universal Audio LA-3A (1969): solid-state optical limiter with 50 dB gain, 1.5 ms attack, and the LA-2A's compression curve in transistor form.
• Teletronix LA-2A (1962-1969) — Teletronix LA-2A (1962–1969): the mono optical tube limiter that became a studio standard, with 40 dB of smooth gain limiting and a flat 30–15,000 Hz response.
• Urei 1176 — Universal Audio UREI 1176 — the 1967 solid-state FET limiter that changed studio compression forever. All-buttons-in mode, revision variants, and why engineers still fight over them.

Consoles

• 610 Console — Universal Audio 610 Console — Bill Putnam's 1945 prototype studio console, the origin of the UA 610 lineage and the blueprint for the modern recording desk.

Dsp Processors

• UAD-2 QUAD — Universal Audio UAD-2 QUAD — four-chip DSP accelerator card that offloaded UAD plug-ins from the host CPU. The top of UA's second-gen line.

Equalizers

• API 550A — Universal Audio's API 550A 500-series EQ plug-in — modeled filter shapes, band interactions, and clipped-filter nonlinearities for UAD and Apollo.
• UREI 560 — UREI 560 feedback suppressor — four notch filters, built-in mic preamp, 60Hz–6kHz tuning, 1970s US-made install gear.

Mic Preamps

• 4-710d — Universal Audio 4-710d: four Twin-Finity tube/solid-state preamps, 1176-style compression, and 8-channel 24/192 conversion for under $2k street.

Plugins

• UA 610 — Universal Audio UA 610 — the Bill Putnam modular console tube preamp. Selectable impedance, +77 dB mic gain, 6072A/6AQ5/12AX7A tubes.

Preamplifiers

• 710 Twin-Finity — Universal Audio 710 Twin-Finity single-channel preamp/DI with continuous tube-to-solid-state blend, Drive meter, 70 dB gain. $799–$999 new.
• Precision 110 — Universal Audio Precision 110 — a Class A discrete single-channel mic pre and DI from the SOLO series, descended from the flagship 8110. Clean to crunchy, project-studio priced.
• SOLO/610 — Universal Audio SOLO/610 tube mic pre/DI — portable Putnam 610 circuit, impedance switching, no EQ, project-studio price.
• Type 69 — Universal Audio Type 69 UAD plug-in — models the Helios Type 69 preamp/EQ. Reviewers praised it on electric guitar. Runs on UAD DSP hardware.

Preamps

• 610 tube preamp — Universal Audio 610 tube preamp — the all-tube circuit UA's own literature names alongside the 1176 as an industry standard. Studio-credited, under-documented.
• Neve 1073 — Universal Audio's Neve 1073 plug-in — a complete end-to-end model of a console-pulled 1073, with Unison mic preamp support on Apollo and a DSP appetite three times the Legacy version.

Tape Emulation Plugins

• Studer A800 — Universal Audio Studer A800 UAD-2 tape plug-in ($349) models the Studer A800's full signal path — four tape types, 7.5/15/30ips, gang controls.

Tape Recorders

• Ampex ATR-102 — Universal Audio's UAD-2 emulation of the Ampex ATR-102 mastering deck — $349, four tape formulations, and the wow-and-flutter wobble engineers put on everything.

Other Models

• 1176LN — Universal Audio 1176LN peak limiter — Bill Putnam's 1966 solid-state design, ~12,000–15,000 built from 1967 at $489. The fast, hot-sounding compressor that never left the rack.
• Apollo 16 — Universal Audio Apollo 16: 16x16 DB25 analog I/O, UAD-2 Quad DSP, FireWire or Thunderbolt. A pro-rack converter built for channel density.
• LA-2A — Universal Audio LA-2A — the T4 electro-optical leveling amplifier that defined transparent compression, and the reissue that brought it back.
• UAD-1 — Universal Audio UAD-1 — the PCI DSP card that offloaded plug-ins from the host CPU, bundled with modeled 1176, LA-2A, and Pultec emulations.
• UAD-1e — Universal Audio UAD-1e PCIe DSP card — Neve emulations, Precision Mastering Bundle, up to four cards per system. Bundles from $750.
• UAD-2 — Universal Audio UAD-2 DSP accelerator (2008) — PCIe and ExpressCard plug-in cards that offloaded analog-emulation processing from the host computer.