New (2021) RME Fireface UCX II

[raoulst]

The original UCX has been released in 2012 (mine is still working great btw). The UCX II in 2021. Maybe a UCX III might still take a while…

 

[spnc]

The original UCX has been released in 2012 (mine is still working great btw). The UCX II in 2021. Maybe a UCX III might still take a while…

We said UFX III, not UCX III…

 

[raoulst]

Good point… Sorry

 

[digitallysane]

Thomann in Germany shows the UCX II and UFX II as "no longer available"...

 

[Trell]

Thomann in Germany shows the UCX II and UFX II as "no longer available"...

Supply chain problems.

 

[digitallysane]

Supply chain problems.

I know, but "no longer available" means "discontinued", not "we don't know when it will be available".

 

[Trell]

I know, but "no longer available" means "discontinued", not " we do't know when it will be available".

There was a similar question for the ADI-2 FS (not DAC or Pro) with respect to Thomann on RME user forums and RME replied it was not discontinued and blamed supply chain issues as I recall.

Perhaps Thomann is tired of "When is the ADI-2 DAC FS available" mails?

Hopefully @MC_RME can clarify.

 

[spnc]

Well that's a bummer @MC_RME as I was about to order now and not in *X/Y/Z* months.

You're the only mainstream audio company having such crazy delays, what's the deal??

Or is it discontinued for good???

 

[Trell]

Well that's a bummer @MC_RME as I was about to order now and not in *X/Y/Z* months.

You're the only mainstream audio company having such crazy delays, what's the deal??

Or is it discontinued for good???

View attachment 218457

UXC II was released a year ago and is a major update from the previous UCX. It’s a great audio interface. No way it is discontinued.

On the other hand I’m happy that I got my UCX II last autumn.

Discontinued RME products are listed here:

Legacy Products - RME Audio Interfaces | Format Converters | Preamps | Network Audio & MADI Solutions

RME Audio Professional Live, Studio, Recording and Broadcast Solutions. Unrivalled Quality, Performance & Stability MADI Interfaces, Converters & Preamps.

www.rme-audio.de

 

[philosobyte]

Well that's a bummer @MC_RME as I was about to order now and not in *X/Y/Z* months.

You're the only mainstream audio company having such crazy delays, what's the deal??

Or is it discontinued for good???

View attachment 218457

I've been looking primarily into getting a Babyface Pro FS or a MOTU Ultralite mk5 amd both are listed with similar stock delays on B&H (August/September 2022). I'm not sure whether that's a coincidence or if it's related to both RME and MOTU making heavy use of ESS chips in their interfaces.

ESS probably has a lot on their plate after some manufacturers (including RME) switched to them after the 2020 AKM fire. Interestingly, Focusrite did not switch their Clarett range to ESS and instead went with Cirrus Logic.

IMO it's not fair to pin this on RME given the shortage in top-end chips.

 

[Trell]

I've been looking primarily into getting a Babyface Pro FS or a MOTU Ultralite mk5 amd both are listed with similar stock delays on B&H (August/September 2022). I'm not sure whether that's a coincidence or if it's related to both RME and MOTU making heavy use of ESS chips in their interfaces.

ESS probably has a lot on their plate after some manufacturers (including RME) switched to them after the 2020 AKM fire. Interestingly, Focusrite did not switch their Clarett range to ESS and instead went with Cirrus Logic.

IMO it's not fair to pin this on RME given the shortage in top-end chips.

The UCX II has AKM for DAC and ADC, and I recall RME writing that they bought many of those chips. There are other components that can be hard to get and can be the cause for this model long delivery time. The Russian invasion of Ukraine can also cause production problems in Germany, I guess.

 

[MC_RME]

Well that's a bummer @MC_RME as I was about to order now and not in *X/Y/Z* months.

You're the only mainstream audio company having such crazy delays

We are not. And it is NOT discontinued.

 

[digitallysane]

You're the only mainstream audio company having such crazy delays, what's the deal??

They definitely aren't the only ones. And in the following weeks/months things will only get worse.

 

[spnc]

We are not. And it is NOT discontinued.

Well some smooth communications on the part of the company wouldn't hurt then... are we supposed to do your work and research the availability of X or Y chips on our own? lol

 

[Trell]

The UCX II has AKM for DAC and ADC, and I recall RME writing that they bought many of those chips. There are other components that can be hard to get and can be the cause for this model long delivery time. The Russian invasion of Ukraine can also cause production problems in Germany, I guess.

For AKM usage in UCX II this post is the fifth one in this thread by one of the RME founders @MC_RME :

New (2021) RME Fireface UCX II

It's not the multichannel version of ADI-2 FS PRO DAC/ADC that I've been dreaming of but it's closer and definitely stellar specs and improvement over Mk 1 . https://www.rme-audio.de/fireface-ucx-ii.html I like this feature :

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[spnc]

The UCX II has AKM for DAC and ADC, and I recall RME writing that they bought many of those chips. There are other components that can be hard to get and can be the cause for this model long delivery time. The Russian invasion of Ukraine can also cause production problems in Germany, I guess.

What has Putin to do with compromising ESS chips? Western propaganda at its finest (I'm just kidding here don't get mad peeps haha)

 

[Trell]

What has Putin to do with compromising ESS chips? Western propaganda at its finest (I'm just kidding here don't get mad peeps haha)

Not specific to ESS chips but Putins very brutal invasion is having a big impact here in Europe. Obviously I don’t know if this is the specific cause for the delays for RME devices.

 

[spnc]

Not specific to ESS chips but Putins very brutal invasion is having a big impact here in Europe. Obviously I don’t know if this is the specific cause for the delays for RME devices.

I wouldn't say a big impact here in Europe, I would say some impact in Germany soon when energy bills will rise by October, since these clowns decided to tie their hands to Russian oil and gas 40 years ago lol... not a very smart idea lol Germany really no longer is the respected 'powerhouse' (lol, no pun intended here) it used to be until WW2...

To be honest I feel no difference, but I live in Switzerland it was always expensive so no difference really xD (except electronics such as precisely anything from computers to sound interfaces which for some weird reason are cheaper than in the EU, probably due to the lower 8% VAT rate)

I rarely order on Thomann since you always manage to find a local dealer here, so the good news might be that, while RME is sold out on Thomann, the local dealers usually have their own stocks remaining, so I might get lucky.

 

[Trell]

I rarely order on Thomann since you always manage to find a local dealer here, so the good news might be that, while RME is sold out on Thomann, the local dealers usually have their own stocks remaining, so I might get lucky.

Thomann has removed very many RME devices from their home page, and only UFX+ and Madiface USB are now listed among USB Interfaces apart from the ARC remote.

So yeah, RME is hit very hard.

 

[Χ Ξ Σ]

I used the Mic In to measure the Line Out. There is a noticeable phase shift within the audible band when sample rate was set to 44.1kHz. I double checked that the sample rate on REW matched the sample rate on Fireface. I have repeated the test on different sample rate. As the sample rates go higher the phase shift gradually become unnoticeable.

Whether this phase shift is audible is not my concern. I just want to know, did the DAC filter at Nyquist frequency cause the phase shift? I didn't find where to change the filter type. Unlike a typical standalone DAC product, the Fireface is pro audio tool and doesn't seem to offer such option.