Universal Audio Arrow Interface Review / Test / Explained

[@dresschwarz5488]

"Audio gets loud in 5.. 4.." - I just subbed, love what you're doing man

[@mohsend72]

Your comment section is always so nice and civil. Good Bandrew; good viewers, I guess. I am happy to see you so excited about this interface.

[@voicehead]

melt

[@curtisjudd]

Nice review Bandrew.

[@JasonRaneses]

Thanks!

[@dimaivanov7107]

Test vocal uad arrow vs audient id4???

[@ulyssesdewaegemaeker7311]

THIS IS A PROPER HARDWARE REVIEW!! i would love if you opened it too! love to see the guts!!

[@PurpleSwordfish]

Good god, what a beautiful interface. I was skeptical about the price tag until watching this review. Looks like it's worth every penny.

[@Podcastage]

I love it so much. The only downside is you can't use the UAD plugins without this thing being attached.

[@saxoman1]

@@Podcastage Doesn't UAD have some Native ones now? (not too many, but some, correct?)

[@HannaDahin]

Very nice review, almost covering everything about this amazing converter. Thank you

[@Ayedeezzy]

Best review of this product I have found!

[@Podcastage]

WAde Thank you so much Wade. That really means a lot.

[@theboifromspace]

Hii! Can you still track vocals with near zero latency on the Arrow like you can on the Apollo Twin ? And is the sound quality the same?

[@Podcastage]

You can track with 0 latency. That's what the DSP is for. 0 latency monitoring and real time processing of the track (if you want). I have not tested the Apollo Twin so I can not really compare the quality against them.

[@genolexismusic983]

Yoooooo you made me want to pick up my bass and start learning how to play again. I picked up the Twin X and woooooow! Thank you so mcub for this video

[@epitomeof8040]

I have the UA Apollo Twin Duo and I have gone a little crazy with buying UA plug ins haha... I can’t get enough! BUT they are some of the best audio investments I have ever made.

[@matthew5633]

Epitome Of would you suggest the arrow or Apollo twin duo?

[@gillythekid]

I wanna ask you because I don’t know anyone who has this interface but, I have issues where if I so much as LOOK at the thunderbolt 3 cable the wrong way, the interface power cycles. This goes for both the interface’s end and my pc’s end. It’s very strange. I swear if I even just slightly tap the cable, the drivers and interface both disconnect and reconnect. Tried more than one thunderbolt cable too...and it makes no sense to me since it happens on both ends

[@Nikulvankar]

Hi i am interested in UA arrow but still confuse for quality between focusrite 2i2 and arrow plz suggest

[@Rohansingh-pe5fh]

i have purchased this card but i dont have information about thunderbolt cable how can i purachsed the cable

[@danboud8135]

Last time I was this early my wife kicked me out the bed

[@ThekidEdwin]

There’s the Bandrew we all know !! Was worrying because last video seemed odd! Great video

[@Podcastage]

I had driven 16 hours the previous weekend, so I was exhausted.

[@MatthiasBuesing]

Can someone explain to me why those interfaces are WAY higher prices than the ordinary competitors like Focusrite etc.? I don't get it...

[@BrianPex]

Wondering the same thing myself..

[@MsZero333]

Matthias Buesing because they have internal processors allowing you to have more processing power for running plugins and the ability to have zero latency monitoring. So basically, a home studio approach to having something like the HD pro tools cards but for UAD ecosystem. Also, there’s now the new UAD LUNA being a free daw.

[@johnnulf624]

Sergio Salinas Does the latency issue really matter for recording? You can hear yourself with ~0 latency with pretty much any interface, it's just the dry signal without processing. But you don't really need to hear all the processing while recording do you? Seems like a dry signal is good enough for monitoring.

[@user-uw4dj3oc3f]

Question: How do you get sound out of this thing? Set it up, plug in instrument, everything on, MacBook, console, No Sound. Lots of pretty lights and buttons, No Sound. Plug into an amp - Sound! Can you explain how to get instrument sound to computer. Tried everything.

[@matdemaz]

The noise is pretty low on this thing. Pretty impressive. I don't personally use thunderbolt stuff, but this makes me wanna make the jump. Seems like it's a good investment if you have a decent setup already.

[@00solman]

Thanks for another great review! I got a sense there are lots of interface vids coming from you in 2020. That's really exciting. I really want to work my way into more inboard processing. I have no idea what I'm trying to say here. Forgive me.

[@KhuvamMuang]

Can you review Apollo solo 😭😭😭😭😭

[@slickhatter9812]

Brilliant review : ) i wish you could go for UAD full tutorials

[@lousekoya1803]

Great video,.....I'm a newbie and would like to know if you need to get UAD plugins to use this or you can have other pluggins ?

[@weathrhead]

Forgive my dumb question... with the backwards compatible thing.... so my 2015 pro can't use an adapter to thunderbolt 3 to use the UAD Arrow?

[@Podcastage]

Michael Tormanen that’s correct. You need to have a thunderbolt 3 port on your computer for this to work.

[@weathrhead]

Podcastage thanks so much. Now just gotta see if it's a good enough excuse for the wife to be convinced I need a new comp.,,,

[@weathrhead]

Podcastage do you have a recommendation for a beginner to use with my current computer? Was thinking a Scarlett... but really would like to just go sith this if I can swing a computer upgrade. Just bought ableton live 10 suite. Not planning to do a ton of recording, mostly wanting to use an interface for demos and writing for my band. And live for... well...live. lol

[@Tiggsvoice]

I have this interface and love it!

[@LoveLifeAndTheGame]

Does it improve the sound of your mic? I am thinking of getting this. I am a voiceover artist and just purchased a Shure SM7B mic, looking to get an interface that will allow me to get the most out of it.

[@Novro]

Hey dude! You mentioned about it’s struggle with Discord. Did you experience anything with your mic popping and cracking through it?

[@plasmanade]

Yeah, that's a good question. I've been have weird cracking static on certain softwares. Trying to narrow it down is hard

[@Novro]

@@plasmanade So I ended up going with the Arturia AudioFuse Studio and I’m extremely glad I did. It works flawlessly with Discord and DAWs alike. I’d highly recommend shelling out the extra $100 for the AudioFuse or go with the AudioFuse studio for the $400 extra.

[@derwienernuts]

Have you adjusted sample rate?

[@videntemusic2465]

Hi what you think is better for only vocal the audient id4 or the universal audio arrow

[@elhamzawishy]

Absolutely excellent review. Quick question if anyone could chip in…can i connect this interface to a thunderbolt 3 hub? I want to really utilize the thunderbolt port that i have and add other stuff, not just connecting it with the arrow. Any ideas anyone? Thanks

[@maazduncan3851]

Your a goat for the time stamps

[@ThaEsso]

where do u get the xlr cable to mic? that fits the interface input??

[@Podcastage]

Amazon, Sweetwater, B&H, or any online music retailer sells XLR to XLR cables. You need an XLR mic to use the cable with though. You cannot use a USB mic with this interface.

[@666PANDEMONIUM]

Not backwards compatible? Ism't that like rule 1 of making high-end gear? People need to be able to buy it and put it into their already existing set-ups right? Also, $500 is a bit much for fancy lights, I'd say $350-$400 would be more fair. It looks nice but when you think about it it doesn't make much sense as a product IMO.

[@zezesilver]

P.A.N.D.E.M.O.N.I.U.M. I was not impressed by the thing either. It was a good review, though.

[@fuzzfizz]

not backwards compatible even with thunderbolt 2, bacause this uses thunderbolt 3 bus power, no external power supply needed.

[@2cleverxhalf]

this is not "high-end" gear.

[@fuzzfizz]

what do you mean not high end? is it cheaper than focusrite? is it less better sounding preamp and converter than m-audio? just because it's the cheapest UAD doesn't mean it is not "high-end", besides, it needs high-end computers because it is thunderbolt 3 only

[@2cleverxhalf]

come on man. you know what high end means...

[@NMEATM]

Quick question. I just got this interface and went to use the plugins and it asked if I’d like to try the free demo?? I thought these plugins came free with my interface???

[@mrchedda]

Hey Bandrew…. Do you know if the device + plugins can be transferred to another owner? Thanks in advance!!

[@paolomiami]

Thank you for me this is a very userful video can you tell me which plugin you get when you buy this stuff and if you can buy in a second time other plugins?

[@daramulhern6301]

Excellent review, thanks!

[@CopacabanaDisc]

awesome review!!!!! many thanks

[@erJonhy]

Thank you fur this review! One question. Do you think that this interface rec much more betteer than the ssl2+?

[@Official360]

I personally think they are almost identical with SSL having a minor & very SLIGHT advantage based off their history.

[@Ganache30]

Great video! Can you run the outputs as a line out to an amp to power speakers? Cheers!

[@freespirit8267]

Good Day, I am interested in using it to record vocals. But I'm wondering if the DSP can handle it. I am interested in using the Neve® 1073® and TELETRONIX® LA-2A simultaneously. Will this be too much for it? also if possible will I be able to add at least one more plugin without issues?

[@yashmaksupremeali4427]

Real dope and informative you really answered questions that I had thank you......

[@ryvnoxford]

I'm VERY excited about picking one of these up. When it comes to the software on Windows, does it work the same or are there any complications with it? I've heard Antelope have issues with their software on Windows so I'm hoping that's not the case here. I'll be picking up a Thunderbolt 3 PCI-express card as well as an appropriate cable.

[@Podcastage]

I have heard a few people say they’ve had issues with this on Windows.

[@Blueon123]

You might say bandrew is the god of gain

[@Blueon123]

Andrew M. Sheppard or the commander of condensers

[@yrackaz8540]

I’m mad... I can’t buy this because I don’t have enough money

[@only1emacz58]

don't its not worth it

[@e3yt277]

@@only1emacz58 why?

[@Alexander.Ochoa.]

After plugging in my Arrow to my thunderbolt port on my PC it turns on normally. After installing the software it won't recognize the device and gives me the message "No Device Found" even though it is plugged in. I've already reseted the arrow and used a different thunderbolt 3 cable. I've also plugged in an XLR mic that requires phantom power and I see that it picks that up fine so it isn't hardware related? Can any help with this issue? Thanks.

[@nickfs442]

Hello! I have this interface and plan on using it for music production and gaming/streaming. I have it all set up and also have the SM7B hooked up. Everything works but everytime I talk there is really staticy sounds and I'm not sure why. Any ideas as to why this may be?

[@Alex-xx3ve]

The problem with that microphone is that it's not receiving enough power so to compensate I'm assuming you drove the gain up on the mic or audio interface. In doing so you are getting lots of white noise (static) in the background. Before purchasing anything make sure your audio interface is set to the same frequency as the computer (ex. 44.1k and so on, also make sure the bit depth is correct for your computer). If you are still having issues with white noise consider purchasing the cloudlifter. It boosts the mic and will not distort it with white noise. Here's is the link for it! There are many videos on youtube that fix this problem for this specific mic this way. Hope this helps! www.amazon.com/Cloud-Microphones-CL-1-Cloudlifter-1-channel/dp/B004MQSV04/ref=sr_1_5?crid=8D25U4U2Q90R&keywords=cloudlifter+cl-1&qid=1577468277&sprefix=cloudlifter%2Caps%2C276&sr=8-5 *****Here is the link for the cloudlifter with the Shure SM7B....... kzbin.info/www/bejne/iIrLqaeCe7Flbbs *****Also, heres a link to my music haha;) open.spotify.com/artist/4Bfp4fRznxd1hmIUYsJ3Rq?si=6twYB_36TbOPghTMwr3kWw

[@TheSckVs]

Hey Nick, hope you solved your problem by now if you didn't I recommend you downloading ASIO LINK PRO software. UAD stuff is all WDM and they don't really talk with Gaming/Streaming softwares usually. It works fine in any DAW but DISCORD or most game for example are gonna need you to run through that routing Matrix, I had the same problem along with a bunch of other people and this seem to be easiest work around it. Cheers

[@JudgeFredd]

Great in depth review

[@djadhd.mp3]

Would you recommend this or the Apogee Duet? Not too fussed about using UAD plugs just want the best AD/DA and one with a more powerful headphone amp!

[@_JohnnySav]

Great video. Did you ever review the Apogee One? The silver version works for Mac and PC.

[@Podcastage]

I did not. I believe it's the same as the apogee duet, just pared down to a single XLR input.

[@artysanmobile]

Everyone, without exception, who enters the world of Universal Audio, stays. The ‘joy of ownership’ is extremely high for everything they do, most of all their software. I regularly see their small interfaces being used by top engineers from around the world, people who have no budgetary constraints, for impromptu recording sessions on the road. Something tells me this is going to be on Andrew’s desktop for a long time.

[@Podcastage]

Yessir. I have since upgraded to the Twin X for my testing rig and X8 for the studio. The Twin X might be my all time favorite interface. It’s compact and can still be expanded with ADAT. It’s amazing!

[@chrisdontmiss_]

When you say it’s not backwards compatible, what would be the best alternative to set this up with my imac…

[@BryceKleinhanz21493]

@podcaststage, What Mac do you use?

[@xHadesStamps]

(2017?) iMac.

[@arminverwest220]

Hello, Why you don't test the maximum output level of headphone? I have headphone 600 ohms impidence. I want to know if the UA ARROW work well with my 600 ohms impidence headphone or not ? Please help 🙏. Thank you.

[@DevGambit]

What do I do if I don’t have a thunderbolt 3 port anywhere on my pc

[@adamnesbitt11]

Get an add in PCIe card or buy the USB version

[@elyot4010]

Does one HAVE to use the console? In other words, can we just use our DAW with input 1 or 2 or both for a stereo pair without having another console up?

[@Podcastage]

I think you'd be able to use it as just a straight interface but then you'd be ignoring the reason for getting a Universal Audio.

[@elyot4010]

Doesn't matter. I ended up getting a different interface with 10 inputs TODAY. You see, I just bought an iMac for my studio. I didn't know (or do enough research) to know that my Firewire interface was going to be rendered useless. I bought hybrid cables, Belkin hubs, and adapters. Firewire is no longer supported by Apple. It IS USB. It has a little latency, but now I have a lot less latency than my previous interface. I don't need more plugins. I have more than I need after going through the plugin hording phase a few years back even though I got more with the purchase of my new interface (which was the same price as this one). To be fair though, I won't say what model and company. UA is great but I didn't have the funds for the amount of ports I needed with that company

[@xSKOOBSx]

Also, I am wanting to record guitar via the front input as well as using an instrument microphone to capture more of the live sound (like pick noises, etc). If this is done simultaneously, will the recordings be perfectly time aligned?

[@autolysisrecords1821]

The learning curve ain't no joke. Although I am getting it little by little but that last part about how you have to reroute using loopback, I've got a similar issue going on with my Serato software but it's not even working using loopback from some strange reason...

[@caseylasalle]

Have you reviewed any PreSonus USB Interfaces yet? If you have, please post the link.

[@JoeSmith9021090210]

Hey Bandrew, do you think running a cloudlifter before this preamp (for extra headroom with a SM7B) would negatively impact this interface's preamp sound quality?

[@slickhatter9812]

George O just make sure your cables are of high quality and it would sound great i have the same setup and i love it however a condenser microphone would sound better like at4040 or tlm102 specially with plugin it feels alive

[@serpentu]

Hi! Say, were the WDM windows drivers ever fixed? I'm considering one of those for OBS and discord and such, wdm as opposed to asio. Any chance you could check how well (if at all) that works today? (without external utils like voicemeeter or whatnot)

[@thedaveko]

were you running the SM7b without any boosters like a cloud lifter?

[@maxx_thor]

what is the maximum lenght for the thunderbolt 3 cable. i bought a 2m thunderbolt 3 and the unit stutters heavely and chop the sound. Im running Windows 10 64bits

[@larzy5249]

I need a TB3 card to have fun with these low latency sound cards! Thanks for your review! :D

[@Stacity]

A good review thank you.

[@tubeDude48]

I had a heck of a time getting my M-800 Mic to work on my Win7; but finally got it to work with the Behranger. Had waaay to many settings to change in Win7 before I had some output. And, yes, 48V was on. Unfortunate, I either had a lot of feedback, or it just wasn't loud enough. Any ideas?

[@oroscolance]

I got my thunderbolt 3 Mobo coming in and seriously thinking about snagging this, don't do a whole lotta audio recording other than the buddy who brings his guitar over now and then, I like the thunderbolt 3 low latency features and and also using some analog compression on some of my software instruments, seems like a good solid upgrade from my focusrite usb too

[@irrelevantytp1821]

Hello, sir. I was wondering if you could make a video, where you use the Audio Technica AT2035, and the Behringer U-Phoria UMC22 together. If you could do that, I'd appreciate it greatly.

[@facepalmjesus1608]

noob here! can someone confirm? can i run the uad plugins on the Reason 10 third party vst loader? or am i forced to run the uad plugins only on Apollo dsp?

[@normanbataille8865]

You need the interface otherwise they won’t run

[@DRocksRecords]

Excellent review thanks man

[@saulmeiofio]

Is it possible to use this interface without a computer? I'd like to use it as an audio input/output.

[@itssPuffy]

Should I get an arrow? Would the auto tune be on time even though my computer is on the slower side?

[@SimonBeats04]

UAD Arrow or UAD Twin?

[@andym7333]

what does live dsp procesing have to do with the latency ?

[@jaywessex5818]

Can the arrow be used for an entire master chain? If not is their a work around to master an entire mix with uad plugins? Possibly use my PCs processors to run the uad plugins.

[@Podcastage]

Depends on what UAD plugins you’re using for your master chain. This is a single chip device so not too many. There’s likely some answers on a UAD forum or something about which plugins take up X% of the processors resources. I do not own a large amount of UAD plugins so I’m not knowledgeable about that. And you are not able to use your computers processor to run the UAD plugins.

[@fmesj]

Can i use this UA Arrow/Solo in my late 2012 iMac i7 quad-core thunderbolt 1-2?

[@DirectorsGarage]

I think the hardware audio levels lack enough detail. Five bars to set a level simply isn't enough led lights. I want a headphone mute button that can be tapped to mute in emergency (ow my ears) situations. The Mackie Big Knob Studio costs a lot less and works just as well and gives more monitoring options, more LED lights for monitoring, and Onyx pre amps. The plug ins are a nice addition, but plug ins... who doesn't have a ton of Waves at this point?

[@Podcastage]

I had purchased about 50 waves plugins over the years and then With the v10 update, 40 of them stopped working. I tried getting assistance and I couldn’t get them working. I’ve lost faith in waves because of this.

[@DirectorsGarage]

@@Podcastage Wow apparently I'm catching up on reviews today. Amazing this quarantine stuff-- and I really enjoy your channel. Sorry that waves let you down, that sucks. They've been reliable to me ever since iLok. Their plug ins are so good-- from Abbey Road to SSL-- I rely heavily on their products. I'd think with your following they'd want to get you back in the fold.

[@josehaya6362]

Thanks for the video! I am thinking about geting one for live performance and ocasional recording. I use ableton to play live, so would i be able to send one chanel to the headphone out and other chanel(s) to the other outputs?

[@bericearthur3247]

So you’re only able to run uad plugins on this interface?

[@shubhshinde4438]

I don't know why but some people who use premium interfaces of UAD they say that arrow is not a good interfaces for music..they say "it's Plastic build, lesser sound quality, no Luna, can barely run any plugins" so I am confused and have a fix buget so please get me out of this.🙏

[@refugioflores2226]

im wondering if i can use any focusrite interface with thunderbolt 3?

[@theatifband]

Hi thanks for another gr8 review. Have you heard about its issues with "power cycles while computer is sleeping" is it worth going for Universal Audio Apollo Twin X DUO Thunderbolt 3.

[@Podcastage]

Yeah. I noticed this a few months after I did this review where, I heard clicks in the middle of the night and noticed it was power cycling. I bought the Twin X, and I have not touched the Arrow since that. The Twin does everything I could ever need an interface to do. If you don’t need an interface right this second, I would wait for UA to launch one of the sales where they give you some additional stuff for buying one of their devices.

[@theatifband]

Podcastage Thanks for the response. So sure I would go for Twin Duo. Sure I can wait, when do you anticipate it. What does it normally have in the combo.

[@xSKOOBSx]

Can all of the desktop audio come out of the front headphone jack or is that only for monitoring instruments?

[@johnnyguitar7921]

well, all audio interfaces work that way,,, i guessing this is the same, its set as the "sound card" isnt it?

[@arieldelacruzseverino3018]

hey men im a big fan of you what do you think about apollo solo usb c for windows?

[@bl4ck1c32k8]

best sound so far

[@yogevcohen]

Perfect review. thanks!

[@AnkAntio]

but can it stream asio to obs or even windows?

[@SelenatorBoy213]

Can you do a review of the Mackie Onyx Artist 1audio interface?

[@Fugue602]

Is it worth it to just spend the extra 200 and get the UA Twin?

[@shubhshinde4438]

Do you get the VOXbox plugin for free with this interface?

[@ductrantrung1880]

Damn it! I totally forgot about the Thunderbolt 3 to thunderbolt 3 cable requirement before buying the device. My Macbook only has thunderbolt 2. What am I supposed to do? Is there such cable in this existence? God help!

[@vagner3472]

What computer did you use?

[@nazlogin5520]

What is the roundtrip latency for 44.1 khz 128 buffer size on windows, ableton 10?

[@henrytuton9403]

ok so no usb cord thunderbolt cord. right.

[@diogofernandes8532]

Anybody knows if this universal audio arrow works in the new Macbook Pro M1? Just to make sure because my old audio interface doesn't work.

[@skrrrt1307]

Does it work with usb A 3?

[@NoorhakimMohamedNoor]

Do you still need cloudfilter to amplify SM7B while using UAD Arrow? Thank you!

[@jeffkung5088]

you don't NEED it. but you WANT it.

[@NoOffensePies]

Honestly, I suddenly understand the huge price. It is very justifiable

[@43audio89]

It sucks in the way that once you have one there is no going back.. It is the best hands down above all until you get into the real pro range like Lynx Aurora AD/DC instead of interface. And the plugins.. I put the avalon pre head to head and man. it was hard to tell between real and plugin. Hope you got one!m

[@hoebentoet]

I think Mike Delgado likes this interface also,... But he prefer the ID22

[@lihatjalanan1979]

Hi bro can you compare this with SSL 2 ?

[@cooljoescott]

Can you use it with PC?