i love mixing and the ability to keep adding plugins without interuptions. this is what you need to keep everything running smoothly.

I have an x4 and plenty of UAD2 and UAD Native plugins. I was having to freeze tracks to free up DSP and finish a mix. This remedied that.

Plugged in... went to registration page... BAM!!!

Worked!!! Easy peasy....

I have a bunch of Native (run on CPU) plugins and UAD has a great interface with UA Connect that makes it easy to download/install/activate exactly the plugins that you own. I was pretty astounded to find that when purchasing UAD hardware one is not able to use UA Connect. Instead, one needs to use some totally antiquated interface. It is a pain to set up.

When you want to use UAD DSP hardware, UAD install every single plugin, whether you have a license for it or not. Then when you search for a plugin in your DAW by typing "UAD" you get a long list of things you can't even use. Only way to fix this is to go one by one and remove them. However, due to the confusing way UAD have named them, and the fact that you can't do basic things like sort the list of plugins in the UAD Meter & Control panel, this is a huge pain.

It's pretty clear that UAD are focused on Native plugins now, and the experience using their hardware sucks. Regardless of what they say in forums about the future of DSP acceleration, it's pretty clear they have abandoned the software to support their hardware. DO NOT BUY THIS IN 2025.

Purchased for my new (unsold) 2022 Mac Studio M1 Ultra running Ventura 13.3. Hookup was seamless and recognized instantly. Added my old Octo8 card in a PCI chassis and now I have plenty of "firepower" to run multiple plugiins. Everyone is happy and "talking with one another" quite well. If you need more UAD brain power, this is the way to go!

I've been an Apollo Twin X user for years. The 2 inputs and DSP has served me well with capturing singer / songwriter ideas. And for most modest mixes that remind me of my old 4 track days, I was good to go.

Then my music practice started to grow and my Pro Tools sessions were getting bigger and so where my ambitions. Although I could freeze my tracks and bounce audio to save DSP it was slowing me down especially when I would want to make tweaks to several busses at the same time. It was frustrating. I almost felt like I could NOT run any of my sessions any longer. How could I possible continue to grow if this is in my way? Sweetwater to rescue once again.

I walked into this process a bit skeptical, especially in a world of M2 chips and more UAD plugins going native. I questioned if investing in the Octo might be overkill. But I took the leap and big shout out to Skyler at Sweetwater for guiding me through the process. I am hear to say it's worth its weight in gold. And really saved my bacon on a project with a deadline closing in.

I'm SOOOOOOO glad I went with the Octo instead of the Quad. That extra DSP really comes in handy. It feels sooo luxurious to have all the freedom in the world. Running sessions in Pro Tools or Luna with 60+ tracks is not a problem. I can focus on the mix and being in the music instead of fighting technical limits. So if you're running into DSP issues and feel like you just cant get anything done. If you're hitting your limits just like I was. Take the plunge. It won't disappoint. It's now my go-to piece of studio equipment. The UAD plugins are sooooooo good. And now I feel like I can really let my mixes shine.

I got into UA in 2022 with the x8 first. A year later I bought the UA x4. These were solid recommendations from SW Sales Engineering. It was the first time I could access software models of famous analog gear and experiment. Then I waited almost 2 years and recently bought this unassuming little box o' DSP chips called a Satellite. Once the decision was made, I had to go with the TB3 and 8-core.
Ethan Kathau in Sales Engineering explained what the UA Satellite could do and resolve the "out-of-DSP" errors from the DAW plug-ins. Little did I know that it would prove to be critical piece of gear to open up access to the full capability of the DAW. The caveat is that there is a much steeper recording learning curve.
That last part is why I have to write a review and recommend this product and only purchase it directly from Sweetwater. I did not understand this at the time because it was your classic, "how am I supposed to know what I don't know?". All the reading beforehand did not prepare me for how it enable recording experimentation with the rest of the recording chain. It basically allowed me to pretend to work in an analog studio and enrich the experience of the Art Of Recording. How could I have known? All of a sudden, this unit let me put into practice something I would hear Rick Beato interview a famous producer who mentions, casually, an ATR. Really could not wrap my head around that amazing feeling beforehand.
This machine and Sweetwater helped me realize the word "workflow" that everyone kept throwing around meant something else to me. It meant "process" to me because it was a continuous flow of setup, routing, auditioning, researching, trying virtual and physical channels, bus architecture, testing (listening) and seasoning to tast. Repeat.
So if you have to sell old gear to get this thing like I did, then I would do it. Because I did and do not regret it a bit.

I am seriously considering buying a 2nd one. I only wish after buying a 3rd UAD hardware unit, a Twin X dual and the 1st. Octo, UA would either discount the price of duplicate unit or allow you to pick at least 3 plugins you don't already have.

So far this satellite has solved my issue of running out of dsp juice.

This guy makes sure his customers are happy with what they are getting and he give the best advice possible for the solution and the recording space that you explain to him that you're in he also help to the best of his ability over all. All of my experience with sweetwaters were the best ever.

Thanks in advance,
Joenathan Smith

Works great. No problemos. UAD Plugins sound great. UA tech support is a not all that responsive though, so if you have a problem it's a good thing to have purchased through Sweetwater so that you have an advocate to get any issues resolved. :-)

Solved my plugin processing issue. A bit difficult to set up. (probably my fault)

This is a tool for increasing the stability of your system. I use with with an Apollo Twin X and a Mac Studio computer. My computer processor loves me.

This is great for freeing up DSP on my laptop. I have put as many plugins as I needed and have barely reached my DSP limit. It keeps my laptop running smoothly. Thunderbolt is super fast and no noticeable latency. My sales engineer always gets it right and have been buying from him for years.

See the title. :D

Built like a tank. Silent. One switch. You can't really get simpler than that. Runs all my UAD plug-ins without breaking a sweat!

I am so satisfied with this hardware DSP excelerator, it links perfectly through the thunderbolt 3 cable from my Apollo twin X duo. Thank you Forrest for recommending this interface for my MacBook Pro, was using it with my i7 quad core 15" and now using it with my new 16" M Pro 10core MacBook Pro.

One of the best purchases I have ever made!

The difference between using this box and using native plugins is day and night. I have the Waves collection of native plugins and Plugin Alliance stuff. I compared those plugins to the UAD DSP versions, and was blown away by the difference between the native and the UAD versions. The UAD versions sound like real analogue gear, and I've used analogue stuff before especially reverbs, and the UAD reverbs like the 480 and 224 lexicons are so smooth and lifelike, they just blew me away. The room verbs like Capitol chambers and Ocean way studios, sound like you're in a real room. I've never found a really believable room reverb using native plugins. The plate reverbs, EMT140 (my favourite) is impressive both in its clarity and richness. The UAD compressors are amazing as well, which is mostly why I got the satellite. Try out the Fairchild 670, even at -1db of gain reduction, it imparts a magical sheen to things like acoustic guitar, hard to describe, but it'll bring a smile to your face once you hear it. The EQs are as smooth as silk. I compared the native Bx_digital V3 with the UAD version, as well as the Maag 4 native and UAD versions, and where you can hear the difference, is in the smoothness of the high end, the UAD wins out there on both plugins. I guess the UAD versions oversample, which gives a smother high end. One important thing to note here is that I'm not talking about the legacy plugins which come free with the UAD.

In terms of how the Satellite Runs on my system. I have a late model iMac (intel 10 core i9, with 64GB RAM) running Big Sur, and having only two Thunderbolt 3 ports and various drives and other TB3 interfaces such as my Lynx Aurora n. I decided to run the satellite through an OWC thunderbolt hub, leaving the Lynx with it's own TB3 port. Both units run smoothly without glitches. I will be adding another Satellite in the near future, and will post my experiences running the two satellites together.

I do have a few minor gripes though. Firstly if you start the satellite in the wrong order, some plugins will be temporarily disabled and you'll get an Error 38 code. To prevent this, always boot and log into your computer before switching on the satellite.

Secondly, some of the GUIs on certain plugins make it frustrating to accurately control those plugins. I can understand UAD wanting to make the plugins look authentic and true to the original analogue gear, but using a mouse is far more difficult than using knobs and turning dials with your fingers. Some of the GUIs, especially on some EQ plugins are frustrating to use, and for that reason I'm not buying those plugins. But on the other hand, the more recently coded plugins (Capitol Chambers, Ocean way studios etc) have good interfaces, which are more graphical in nature and lend themselves infinitely better to control with a mouse.

My advice is, definitely buy the UAD satellite, it's a lovely piece of gear. But before you buy any plugins, try all the demos out (14 day trial period once you authorize your software) to see which suits you best, then buy the plugins you really like. you won't be disappointed.

I stayed away from buying a UAD-2 satellite for years because I wasn't sure how it would work with Studio One. UA doesn't talk about Studio One in their documentation and Studio One doesn't talk about using UA equipment.I have seen several videos of guys showing how many plugin they can run with the satelite unit connected to Studio One, but no one talks about how to set it up. Last month I finally broke down jumped in. I am glad I did. The sound quality of the plugins are beyond great.
I have remixed several old recordings switching out the Studio One plugins for the UA plugins. The result was recordings that came alive, sparkled, and had a presence that I could never achieve before. The installation was quick, easy and totally transparent. All I had to do was follow the instructions, which were crystal clear and answer a few questions. the installation package took care of everything. The integration of the plugins with Studio One is seamless. If you want LA, Nashville, New York, or London studio quality mixes, then this is the only way to go. The sound is so good I bought 2 more units the following week, I will never run out of processing power even with the most demanding plugins.

After hours of head scratching I finally got the Satellite going correctly, but I want to raise this issue for anyone thinking of purchasing this small box. Firstly, the sound of the UAD plugins compared to the native versions, some of which I have, is strikingly better. The UAD Lexicon reverbs are incredibly smooth compared to my native versions which also sound great, but I've used hardware reverbs in the past and the UAD plugins capture that sound perfectly. Compressors are amazing too, as well as EQs and Saturators. So yes, buy the thing and you won't be disappointed with the sound.

Where I got frustrated was that I authorized a bunch of UAD plugins, then a few would be mysteriously disabled as I added an instance of those plugins to my DAW. It wasn't a DAW-specific issue, it happened in different DAWS. An error code popped up as well : Code 38, which seems to imply that something isn't connecting properly with the UAD box or I have a faulty cable etc etc...... according to the UAD help files and tons of posts on various blogs.

Ok, long story short. None of that was actually the cause of the error code. When you install the UAD software on your computer for the first time, the instructions tell you to First turn on the UAD satellite, then boot up the computer. The problem is that most people including myself, assume that this is the best way of starting the system up, and I do this with my Lynx interface without issues. In fact this seems to be part of the problem that leads to the code 38 error on the satellite.

If you boot your computer up, login and THEN switch on the Satellite last, then the Code 38 fault no longer occurs and all the plugins work as they should.

Have UAD posted this work around ? NO, not that I could find it anywhere except on a blog where someone mentioned this exact problem 3 years ago, and another blog where someone else changed the boot order and it worked. It would be very simple for UAD to slip a small note into each box, that explains this issue and tells customers how to solve it, instead of wasting hours or days of people's time trying to solve this issue.

The affected plugins which give the Code 38 error are:
> UA 175B & 176 Tube Compressor Collection,
> Lexicon 480L Digital Reverb,
> Capitol Chambers
> Avalon VT ‑ 737 Tube Channel Strip

The question I have for UAD is, what is it about those plugins that specifically causes the error to occur when the Satellite is switched on in the wrong order ? It there an issue with the authorization of these specific plugins that makes them more susceptible to glitching when the satellite isn't switched on in the correct order?

Either way, if you've bought this device, try this suggestion and hopefully all should be good.

If I had it to do all over again, I would have bought the $2499/107 plugin bundle, two Octos, and one X16 for large pro mixes/outboard routing in 48/24. I have the X8p and the pre's aren't bad, but Neve/Manley/API hardware pre's still sounds a wee bit better.

I master with LUNA and use outboard gear for real time rendering. The ATR-102 Master Tape Emulation is pretty good and UAD allows 3rd party plugins such as limiters.

LUNA is free and has it's own plugin eco system that is separate from the DAW plugins which I don't like ex.; LUNA Api is a separate purchase than DAW Api.

Simply wonderful!

Once you start using UAD plugins you have a hard time putting them down, unfortunately they're DSP heavy and dependent, paired with your apollo interface this gives you all the DSP power you need to stop switching out UAD plugins. Worth the investment.

Universal Audio is an interesting company. They sell you the interface, give you the DAW and then you're hooked into the UA ecosystem. If you go with LUNA, almost everything is done via UA plug ins and you're going to need to double or triple your DSP power. Or if you run, say, Logic, and get most of what you need from the app, you can just use UA for input recording and the special sauce effects during mixes. But nobody buys their first UA interface without spending more money. That's just how it goes. But you're getting very good quality plug ins with just a few exceptions.

Now, as far as "free" plug ins, if you're buying an expander, you already have some UA plug ints so they're pretty much giving you the same stuff you already got free with your interface. And any plug in with Legacy in the name means that make a second generation version that is better. So it would be way better if they would just give you a credit to pick three or four that you don't already have. Or a thunderbolt 3 cable.

This is definitely what my music, daw, ears, whatever else you can add have been missing. The plugins and hardware relief are noticeably different right off the bat. The sound is incredible. You can't go wrong!

I bought an Apollo twin duo core. Had no idea what the processing would be like. The twin can do the job if you use busses and are efficient with the plug-ins. But that's maybe 5-7 plug-ins max. For some thats ok. I needed more. I bought an x6 for more dsp and inputs. And that worked very well. But I wanted just a little more!! So I purchased the octo. WOW. Now I can run well over 30 plug-ins. Definitely more. I just don't need to. So I finally have all of the dsp I need for uad plug ins. The system works very well with all uad units. They all daisy chain together. So if you have a twin. You NEED this unit.

I have an Apollo Twin Duo and I was tired of bumping up against DSP limits. I felt kind of like a sucker buying this, but I do not regret it. I considered the quad but figured I should just go all the way. It works seamlessly and you can just pile on UAD plugins with abandon, even DSP hungry ones. I did finally run into the limit, but I had tons of plugins on almost every track and was just trying stuff out to see how far I could push it. In real life, for most mixes, the octo satellite with an apollo twin duo will cover all of your bases. If you have already spent money on UAD plugins, this allows you to get full use out of them by letting you put as many instances of each plugin as you want. A little disappointed that the included plugins are almost identical to what you get with an Apollo Twin. It would be nice to get an option to swap some of them out if you already have them.

If you are already invested in UAD plugins and have to spend a lot of time managing your DSP usage, bite the bullet and get this so you can just focus on mixing.

Gotta have an OCTO to spread the UAD butter on those mixes!

When I got my UA Apollo Twin, I was so disappointed with how many UA plug-ins I could run, 4-6 at a time. I finally bit the bullet and spring for the Satellite Octo. What a huge difference. I can run all the plug-ins I want to use in a mix without compromise. Most of the UA plug-ins are way better than the competitors. (but not all are better) I still use many plug-ins from Waves and Eventide etc. UA doesn't make some stuff that I need. UA make some plug-ins that other manufacturers don't have and that's one of the things I find necessary to be a serious professional. As hard as this business is, I still love mixing more than anything. Even if I'm not making big bucks anymore, I want to have the tools that I want to make me and my clients satisfied.

This unit works really well, processing is instantaneous. Keep it in mind if you are using plug-ins with a lot of data you're going to need this. It more than doubles the cost of the Apollo.