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Latest Technical Bulletins

The new UAD-2 OCTO card is now shipping! Contact your dealer for delivery information.

• Please review the information on this page carefully before installing or using UAD-2 PCIe cards.
• 64-bit versions of UAD Powered Plug-Ins are now available.
• Specific Thunderbolt-to-PCIe chassis are now qualified for use with UAD-2 PCIe cards.
• UAD-2 OCTO cards require UAD v6.3.1 or higher. Running older UAD versions when OCTO is installed could cause the system to stop responding.

Support Videos

General Information

Get Started

• Latest UAD software updates
• Create Your my.uaudio.com Account
• Registration and Authorization
• Offline Authorization 

Performance

• UAD Instance Chart
• UAD Host Application Compatibility
• RTAS & Pro Tools Compatibility

Troubleshooting

• Troubleshooting Basics
• UAD-2 LED Key
• Complete Uninstall/Reinstall (Mac)
• Complete Uninstall/Reinstall (Windows)

Other Information

• UAD-2 Powered Plug-ins Basics & FAQ
• UAD System Manual – UAD Meter & Control Panel application and general UAD-2 instructions
• UAD Plug-Ins Manual – Specific details about individual UAD Powered Plug-Ins
• UAD Version History & Release Notes

System Requirements

UAD Minimum System Requirements

• (Win) Windows 7 64-Bit Edition w/SP1
• (Mac) OS X 10.6.8 Snow Leopard, 10.7 Lion, or 10.8 Mountain Lion
• 2 gigabytes available disk space
• Available PCI Express (PCIe) slot for each UAD-2 card
• Available FireWire 800 port* for UAD-2 Satellite, Apollo, or Apollo 16
• 1024 x 800 minimum display resolution (UAD-2 PCIe and UAD-2 Satellite)
• 1024 x 900 minimum display resolution (Apollo and Apollo 16)
• Internet connection to download software and authorize UAD plug-ins
• Compatible VST, Audio Units, or RTAS plug-in host application software

*On Windows systems, Apollo, Apollo 16, and UAD-2 Satellite require a qualified PCIe-to-FireWire adapter card. See the product support pages for details: Apollo | UAD-2 Satellite

Operating systems not listed above are unqualified. Although unqualified operating systems may work, they are untested and unsupported. Prior UAD software for older operating systems and discontinued UAD products is available in the UAD software archives.

Specifications

UAD-2 (PCIe format) Specifications

• High-bandwidth x1 PCI Express card (PCIe 2.0 compatible)
• UAD-2 SOLO: low-profile, half-height, short PCIe card
• UAD-2 DUO/QUAD/OCTO: full-height, short PCIe card
• 1, 2, 4, or 8 Analog Devices SHARC floating-point processors
• Multi-device support for up to 4 UAD-2 devices in one system
• Supports VST, RTAS, and Audio Units plug-in formats
• 44.1, 48, 88.2, 96, 176.4, and 192 kHz sample rate support for all UAD plug-ins
• 14-day full function demo for all plug-ins; try before you buy

Motherboard Compatibility

Listed below are all currently known PC motherboard compatibility issues with the UAD. No other hardware issues are known at this time. For information on PC software issues, please review the UAD software release notes.

Note: If you already have one of the below motherboards, we recommend trying the latest BIOS update to find out if any incompatibility issues have recently been fixed.

Dell Precision Series 4xx / 6xx (specifically 470 / 670) are incompatible with UAD-2 PCIe

Symptom: Inability to recognize UAD-2 Hardware ID preventing registration and major performance issues preventing any use of the cards.

The UAD-2 is incompatible with the Dell Precision Series 4xx / 6xx (specifically 470 / 670) systems. We do not recommend using the UAD-2 with these systems.

Lenovo X200 / LCS2 is incompatible with UAD-2 SOLO/Laptop

Symptom: Complete system freeze.

We've had user reports of incompatibilities with SOLO/Laptop and this system. We are looking into the issue, and currently do not recommend this configuration until a resolution is found.

Intel DX58SO motherboard is incompatible with UAD-2 PCIe

Symptom: Opening the UAD Meter & Control panel application, or attempting to open a UAD plug-in while a UAD-2 is installed, will completely freeze the system or cause a BSOD.

The UAD-2 is incompatible with the Intel DX58SO motherboard. We recommend choosing a different motherboard for use with UAD-2, as there are currently no workarounds.

Thunderbolt-to-PCIe Expansion Chassis Compatibility

About Thunderbolt-to-PCIe Expansion Chassis Compatibility

UAD Powered Plug-Ins software v6.3.1 (and higher) enables the operation of UAD-2 PCIe cards with Thunderbolt-to-PCIe expansion chassis products. We are actively working to qualify some of these products for use with UAD-2 PCIe cards. The latest results of our testing is detailed below.

Thunderbolt Chassis Operation Notes

• Thunderbolt is supported under Mac OS X only.
• For optimum UAD performance with Thunderbolt-to-PCIe Expansion Chassis products, connect and power all Thunderbolt devices before the computer is powered on.
• For optimum Thunderbolt performance, Mac OS X 10.8.2 Mountain Lion is recommended.

Tested Thunderbolt-to-PCIe Expansion Chassis Models

The specific Thunderbolt-to-PCIe expansion chassis models from manufacturers listed below have been tested with UAD-2 PCIe cards. The results of these tests are noted beneath the specific models.

Note: The chassis models below are individually qualified to work with UAD-2 cards. Using chassis models from different manufacturers together in the same Thunderbolt chain is an unsupported configuration.

Sonnet Technologies

• Echo Express Thunderbolt Expansion Chassis for PCIe Cards
• Echo Express Pro Thunderbolt Expansion Chassis for PCIe Cards

Status: Qualified. Both of these chassis models (the one-slot Echo Express and the two-slot Echo Express Pro) are validated for use with UAD‑2 PCIe cards. Although the Echo Express SE chassis has not been specifically tested, we expect it will work because it is from the same manufacturer.

Magma

• ExpressBox 1T One-Slot Thunderbolt to PCI Express Expansion Chassis
• ExpressBox 3T Three-Slot Thunderbolt to PCI Express Expansion Chassis

Status: Qualified. Both of these chassis models are validated for use with UAD‑2 PCIe cards.

UAD-2 PCIe Frequently Asked Questions

Note: This section is oriented towards technical support-related questions.
For broader, more generalized questions, please see the main UAD-2 FAQ.

Are UAD-2 device drivers compatible with 64-bit operating systems?

Yes! UAD-2 products include 32-bit and 64-bit device drivers for both Mac and Windows operating systems.

Note: For further information on 64-bit operating systems, please read the following UA Support Report:
64-bit Operating Systems: Separating Fact from Fiction

Are UAD Powered Plug-Ins 64-bit?

Yes! UAD v6.4.0 (Win) and UAD v6.4.1 (Mac) and higher versions include both 32-bit and 64-bit UAD plug-ins.