When I purchased the ‘real deal’ I was blown away all over again - the slick, integrated control surface and extensive, clearly labelled patching was missing on the prototype. And of course the same stunningly rich sound and routing. But I’d forgotten that the ULN-8 was still a ‘mobile’ i/o; Racked in a single-space travel case, it’s nearly as portable as our 2882s (it won’t run on firewire power, but it’s fairly easy on batteries). At Sound Images I used my 2882 on location, but the ULN-8 is only a little bigger, and considerably more flexible. AES/EBU, seperate mic and line inputs, along with sends ahead of the converters in the analog domain make it a functional replacement for a mixing board, mic splitter and monitor controller, not to mention tape recorder and signal processor. This flexibility has opened new doors for my business. I’m able to work in the best rooms in town (acoustically), and arrive with my session and tools on my back. The ‘8’ makes it easy to integrate my usual kit with any DAW or monitoring situation.

These days the ULN-8 has replaced my beloved 61 Fender Jazzmaster as Most-Beloved Gear. Just as our 2882’s have improved with age, the ‘8’ will become a true ‘classic’ in time. It’s the only piece you can buy that makes everything in your studio sound better. Great clocks and converters, and interconnections that work at any level or format turn antique ProTools Mix rigs into useful workstations. +DSP and literally perfect gain change capabilities (80 bit mixing engine maintains resolution end-to-end, allowing fully reciprocal noiseless processing) are must-haves for mastering, which ruled out ProTools HD in my work. +DSP brings this capability to PTHD, opening new venues. For me that’s the ticket: I can work anywhere my clients need me without compromising the sound. And so in my new business I do exactly that. Rather than opening a 4th mastering room in a tiny market, the ‘8’ lets me work in rooms I know well (at Sound Images, QCA and Ultrasuede), and deliver the sound my clients have come to expect.

As I said, our 7 year-old 2882s keep getting better, and show no signs of aging or obsolescence (they still sound better than Digi HD192s). Based on that, I suspect the ULN-8 is probably the last interface I’ll have to buy.

The ULN-8’s a blank slate, a toolbox with everything, in a single rack space. All the connections you’d ever need to do whatever you want. Meters, and knobs to control it with. It’s like a laptop for audio, only it doesn’t go obsolete.

Dave Davis, Ultrainteractive
Operations Chief, Media Designer The All Night Party
Cincinnati, OH