UAD-2 Powered Plug-Ins Platform to Feature to Premium Mixing and Mastering Software from Sonnox

UAD-2 plugins with UAD-2 Quad and Duo (photo Universal Audio)

Universal Audio has inked a Direct Development Partner with Sonnox in the UK.

For audio recording enthusiasts it means they will be able to run the highly praised Sonnox Oxford plugins on their UAD-2 DSP processor cards.

Sonnox, formerly a division of Sony, is highly regarded for the quality of its Sonnox Oxford audio plugins, originally for Digidesign and ProTools. Oxford plugins are now available for most DAW platforms on VST and Audio Unit platforms. 

Universal Audio

Universal Audio is one of the most venerable of audio technology companies. Founder Bill Putnam designed the modern recording console, the 610, used by every major artist in the 1960s. Putnam and Universal Audio built the LA-2A and 1176 compressors, still considered the gold standard for recording music.

UA LA2A classic compressor, available in electronics or as a UAD plugin

While those devices are still made today, UA turned itself into a digital company in 1999 with the creation of the UAD digital processing card (DSP) that allowed computers to process many instances of the LA-2A for a fraction of the cost of the actual electronics.

In a simple recording with 20 tracks, the LA2A compressors required for real-time processing on each track would cost $70,000. A UAD-2 Duo card and plugin which does the same thing costs less than $1,000.  Purists contend there is a difference in using the real hardware but most music is recorded today with plugins.

Currently at UAD-2 with 4 DSP chips, the UAD concept is still valid despite the ability of computers to natively process audio plug-ins. UA had an almost obsessive attention to replicating the features and sound of the most famous hardware used to record music.

Sonnox Reverb (illustration Sonnox)

With Windows 7 and 64 bit computing, UA has committed to moving the 32-bit plugins to a 64-bit memory space.

Sonnox recently completed porting it’s Oxford plug-ins to the 64 bit platform.

Sonnox Oxford

Sonnox plugins include the coveted Sonnox Dynamics, EQ, Limiter and Restore. Sonnox Reverb is one of my wish list items. Sonnox plug-ins require i-Lok authorization. UAD-2 plugins are authorized for the UAD-2. Some people consider one i-Lok better than a DSP card. Personally I like the DSP card approach.

Sonnox explains how to finesse reverb in this video.

Sonnox Oxford plugins are known as a finesse product with a perfectionist’s attention to the sound. Sound on Sound magazine did the best two paragraph summary of the Oxford Plugins.