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The UAD-2 Quad features four SHARC processors.

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That's the good news. The bad news is that, while crossgrading is currently free, from January 1 2009, it will cost you $25 per plug-in (up to a maximum of $250) to switch your plug-ins from UAD-1 to UAD-2. For loyal owners of existing hardware who have invested in the UAD system, but who can't or don't want to update in the next three months, that's going to sting a little.

However, remember that you don't have to crossgrade - as long as you're happy to run your existing suite of plug-ins via your UAD-1 card.

Once you're fully installed and crossgraded, the new UAD Control Panel comes into its own. It shows you a full list of your plug-ins, and enables you to choose which of these you'd like to run from which of your cards. So if you want to spread the load, you can.

Via other tabs, it's also possible to deliberately limit DSP load on your card, check your card's status and, most crucially, see how the card is performing via its own DSP meters.

Performance

To test the power of the new card, we ran an A-B test with the Neve 88RS inserted into as many channel strips as possible, first running on our UAD-1 card and then on the UAD-2 Quad. We engaged both the compressor and EQ sections of the 88RS and managed to run 16 instances of this plug-in on our UAD-1 before it had had enough.

Once switched to the UAD-2 card, with 96 instances running, we'd maxed out the first three chips but had only eaten into half of the fourth chip. We managed to run a whopping 112 88RSs on UAD-2 before it had had enough.

These tests were carried out with Logic playing back the same audio loop on each of these tracks. Effectively, this means that a dual 2.3GHz G5 PowerMac can become a virtual 112-channel Neve 88RS mixer. UA claims that more powerful computers could run up to a maximum of 128 88RSs per card.

We should also say that UAD plug-ins can run in low latency mode with the release of UAD-2, which means that they can be used through software monitoring while recording.

Summary

If you're a fully paid-up UAD devotee, the switch to UAD-2 can only be exciting. Yes, it's an outlay for a card, with the all-guns-blazing Quad a serious investment, but this switch will ensure the future of the UAD platform for the foreseeable future.

It's now possible to turn your DAW into a full Neve console, for a fraction of the cost of a real desk.

Performance is more than impressive and the preparation work UA has done to ensure the install and crossgrade is smooth and error-free is commendable. Very, very good.