Universal Audio VOLT 2 - USB Audio Interface Review (Vintage Mode Audio Samples)

[@JulianKrause]

Don’t be fooled by the graph at 12:47. It snuck into the video at the wrong time. What I say about the dynamic range of the output is correct.

[@paddar_darshan]

Waiting for the comparison as you mentioned. I would be highly thankful, if you could analyse Apogee one & duet 3 the same way please 🙏🏻. Especially “Apogee One “…. Please, Please, Please. Request from your regular viewer.

[@gangtegte8775]

M about to buy audio interface, m following your videos, there's a lot of interface m interested but, from the graph i think audiant id4 mkii and ssl2 looks good to me...m still confusing...which one do you mostly preferred or recommended if you are gona chose,....please help..as i dont want want to waste my saving.. Thank you.

[@gaganbakana]

@@gangtegte8775 audient id4 mk 2 should not disappoint you..

[@gangtegte8775]

@@gaganbakana thanks

[@royal1234ful]

Can you do your top 5 or 10 interface?

[@murball1980]

"This is generally regarded as a dick move" made me legit laugh out loud. Perfect delivery. And also, incredibly useful and thorough review.

[@cmdredstrakerofshado1159]

It was the total deadpan delivery that made me laugh.

[@flyfanger]

Uhm...I think he just insulted Universal Audio??? I'm not sure. LOL

[@rockmyballsplease]

the phrasing was great too...."generally regarded". love it.

[@crimecrimson9153]

When I read this comment I thought his guy has to be 40+ yrs old. Then I read your username 😆

[@kymbo72]

haha i was about to comment the same thing. I like how he clearly pronounces the K in the word "Dick". It makes me want to hear him tell someone to F*ck Off 😄

[@robertduvall7392]

By leaps this was the most useful review I have ever seen. I appreciate the work you put in to supply the good data. This Makes me know rather than guess that I made a good decision to buy for someone else who is getting ready to launch a career. It won't be the last interface - we will step it up. But for now, it is perfect. Thank you!

[@HungryForTastyFoodAndComicArt]

You and Podcastage are the Dynamic Duo! 💪 👏

[@raguzza]

Best review of an audio interface I've ever seen, great job!

[@thedeadxtras9927]

As always Julian is totally the best guy to go to to check out the comprehensive specifications of studio gear in comparison to other brands & models out there, all information you may need to know is covered to make your decision. Thanks Julian for all your work and helping me make the correct decision for me.

[@PedalScience]

UA requiring registration is a dick move indeed! Another reason I prefer RME in general.

[@Eric_In_SF]

Pretty lame indeed. But it doesn’t take much for someone to post it somewhere for people to download or just use fake information

[@HarvinderSingh-yy8th]

RME colours the sound. Otherwise also it stand last in industry level interfaces.

[@thatchinaboi1]

I'm quite happy with my Quantum 2626 paired with an SMSL M200 DAC and a tube preamp for the output.

[@natevirtual]

@@HarvinderSingh-yy8th Since flatness of sound is subjective wouldn't that mean that sound coloring is also subjective? I'm genuinely asking since I'm not really sure whether the two things go hand in hand. As far as I'm concerned, NOTHING can be absolutely flat and therefore different ears will hear different flatness and levels of sound coloring. I would leave it to personal preference in regards to the sound one is accustomed to.

[@andrewbreazna]

@@natevirtual well youre right to a degree, however once you get to a certain level of clean pres - where the distortion caused, especially IMD and signal/noise ratio - lives just soooo far down below the noise and distortion floors of the mics, that you can call it "uncoloured" Im not sure about how the rme stacks up against the apollo, but uncoloured is certainly not subjective

[@VFoermer]

I just needed to add to this as I was so frustrated with my Focusrite Scarlett 2i2. I tried everything to get the static out of my audio. And I gave up and decided to return it and looked for a better budget interface when I found also your video. Its is insane once you installed the driver the sound is so good it is day and night. Thanks for the review really! Danke dir Julian!

[@static-san]

Props for using the HitchHiker's Guide To The Galaxy monologue at 8:16. Love it.

[@Eric_In_SF]

Yeeees! I’ve been waiting a month for this. Thanks! Now time to watch :-) Oh bummer, didn’t read the title. I was hoping to see one of the 76 series. Hopefully they have a newer dac in it as part of the higher price.

[@frankluo230]

I don't think they would put a different DAC in 276. End of the day UA thinks their compressor worth more than the price difference.

[@circedge]

They are the exact same unit. The 76 series has a compressor and vintage preamp mode that frankly to my ears makes no difference at all except to your bank account.

[@samueloluyinkaojomu6548]

Great review as usual. You are blessing to the music production world especially home studio owners. Still looking forward to a test of the Universal Audio Apollo Twin ii

[@ArtyShat]

Julian usually reviews more budget friendly interfaces.

[@rjb7569]

J... Another super thorough review. Makes decision-making so much more informed.

[@ren-shen]

I really liked that vintage button. It reminds me that some things never get old (including snake oil).

[@kingvincent9835]

Nice!!!!

[@PandaPotPies]

this is a crazy amount of effort put in the stats

[@SoumitraChakravarti]

After watching this I'm so glad I didn't bought into the UAD hype and went with the ID4 MK2. Big thanks to you!

[@p.m-audio]

i´m proud also too of my SSL +2

[@cheveyo2403]

same here but id14

[@SoumitraChakravarti]

@@cheveyo2403 Awesome! In my case I didn't need the extra IO

[@adityabali1939]

iD4 MKII would be perfect if only it had an on/off switch

[@cheveyo2403]

@@SoumitraChakravarti only downside is that after long periods of sleep it loses connection an need to restart

[@djcorewrecked]

Thank you for the headphone specs! This made my choice between the Motu M2 and the Volt 2 easier. I purchased the Volt 2 with more confidence :)

[@PileOfEmptyTapes]

This seems to be among the very best-performing CS4272 implementations out there, with dynamic range overtaking even the Arturia MiniFuse 2 on the input and only being second to the Tascam US-2X2HR on the output side, as well as consistently very low distortion with no nasty surprises. The headphone output is solid (not the highest max voltage but a very good load driver), microphone EIN is good but not exceptional (but still beats its spec). Clearly a well thought-out piece of kit overall, including the power options. In these times of chip shortages, wringing a maximum of performance out of what we can get is appreciated. Beating 110 dB(A) in and out would have been midrange terrain a decade ago. This is getting close to EMU 0404 USB terrain. A good one for measurements, and it's class compliant so will work in Linux out of the box. As it stands, the CS4272 datasheet DR specs of 114 dB(A) seem to be unattainable in practice (not unusual in consumer-grade chips) and about 112 dB(A) in and 111 dB(A) out would be more realistic. It's interesting how things seem to be the other way round for the CS4270 if we look at the UR22C (chip spec 105 dB(A) - in 103, out 106, so the DAC even beats the datasheet, which makes sense if you consider that it was likely based on the CS4391 design spec'd at 108 dB).

[@JulianKrause]

I agree, the Volt 2 has one of the best implementations of the CS4272 which I have measured so far. In most aspects the interface achieves nearly the fully specified performance of the converter.

[@darikdatta]

Forcing the user to register just to get the driver for an audio interface is, in fact, a dick move. That would be a hard no for me. If you ever want me to be a customer, UA, you should fix that garbage.

[@batphink2655]

So true but does this one come with an incldued power cord unlike the Apollo range LOL!

[@jambajoby32]

Their customer service is trash too! I messaged them to see when the official release is on this and they said “ask your dealer” In my initial message I stated that they all said “around thanksgiving “ and that’s it. Which is why I bothered to message them in the first place

[@vewilli]

Thanks a lot! Ich habe das Volt 1 und nehme an, dass es die exakt gleichen Messwerte hat als das Volt 2. in meinem Homestudio verwende ich zwar das ZenQ TB von Antelope, aber für mobile Angelegenheiten macht dieses einen guten Job!

[@UndergroundSoundProductions]

Julian 🙌 the goat of the audio community 🐐 great work as always man 👍

[@aviatedviewssound4798]

i told you ty we should've waited for julian.

[@macspeedlite]

The community needs your review of Antelope Discrete 4 Synergy Core

[@bg4productions]

I second that 💯

[@prettylitch1785]

Your delivery is so stoic. Subscribed.

[@rohitsaraf69]

I like how interconnected the power supply and headphone power consumption is

[@kain.3111]

Danke Julian, hab ein Motu M2 an meinem Mac Mini, will aber etwas kleines für unterwegs zum aufzeichnen. Das Video war echt informativ um mir mal Volt 1 & 2 anzuschauen :D

[@okay1904]

Julian your reviews are most valuable.

[@POWPLANET]

Yes the 276 is definitely what I'm looking right now!

[@samidanger3666]

You sir, are a proper sound engineer.. 👏👏👏

[@eyesonly4451]

The *Vintage* mode kicking in only at high input levels is totally inline with vintage (i.e. tube) preamps such as the 610 and 1073. Universal's plugin versions of these preamps faithfully duplicate this behavior. However, UA adds a digital/linear turn-down control on the _output_ side of the plugin. This allows you to crank up the input side to the high levels required to induce the tube harmonics, while simultaneously (digitally) reducing output side, all the while maintaining those harmonics. I suspect the idea here is to crank up the VOLT''s gain to the same necessarily high levels, while turning it down to a more normal level inside your recording app.

[@mentalprogram5256]

I have been waiting for this video for sooooooo long. How does it show up on my feed 2 days after !!!!

[@DavidLuchow]

As always a perfectly done video 🔥

[@ferdinandoscala]

I greatly appreciated this review, very on point and evidence-based. Most reviews I saw about soundcards are full of bla-bla, with scarce data about real differences between brands and models in terms of objective performance. Congrats to you!

[@marcelhiltrop5286]

There it is. Everyone was waiting for it! 😉

[@zaporoshti3392]

I just like channels in which there are lots of info. Thanks a lot. Keep up the good work! Audient id4 mkII looks better stat vs price wise.

[@samothydude2694]

I’ve been waiting for this eagerly ,thank you so much ! Can’t wait for the other review of the Ua interface ! Gotta say I kinda expected a little more from ua

[@pauldean3804]

I just dont really get the vintage sound feature, i would have thought impercievable in the mix. I just find this stuff a bit of gimic to sell product. What would be better would be a lower priced DSP interface, which they could achieve just look at what Steinberg offers at the budget end.

[@justduit1879]

+

[@milankotevski1663]

Yeah, this vintage button is just some marketing crap.

[@A7mad.]

finalyyyyyyy .. this the most wanted youtube video for me in 2021

[@chrisjohnson5987]

You are the king.

[@fredl.6368]

Great review, can you review the Sterling Audio Harmony H224 at some point, thanks...

[@mladen777]

Thanks for amazing videos! They are very helpful and well done! You rock! 😎🤟 P.S. I would love if you include round trip latency at 96kHz also since people use it a lot more than 192 because of technological limitations. 96 is a really good step up from 48 but still not demanding as 192.

[@rayliam80]

I spat out my coffee when you said it was a dick move on UA's part to force users to register/create an account just to get ASIO driver support. Well done!

[@frankluo230]

This price range is really packed with contenders like SSL2, iD14 and motu M4, out of box one would be clarett pre2+. I don't see how UA Volt stands out in this lot.

[@bg4productions]

Agreed 💯

[@michaelj.4187]

I'll tell you what stands out: UAD Volt like the SSL2 add colour to a recording in a manner that Audient and Motu do not...

[@fredriksvard2603]

@@michaelj.4187 ssl just sounds flabby, i have to cut out a lot of sound around the 100hz area. Wish zen go was as user friendly as the ssl.

[@amusik7]

It doesn’t stand out. Hence the colourful buttons! It’s just marketing - they see that huge numbers of amateurproducers have shifted from the 100 euro interfaces into the mid-market and they just don’t want to be left out.

[@michaelj.4187]

@@fredriksvard2603 - that 100hz and below is known to require reshaping no matter what interface you use...

[@alexvelik]

I would LOVE to see rewiew of some prosumer recorders, like Zoom F8n, F6, or Sounddevises MixPre-II series!

[@neodem28]

Forcing someone to register in order to utilize a simple product such as an audio interface is generally regarded as a "dick move"..... Keep up the good work and godspeed @Julian Krause

[@LesVegasMusic]

Great review as always Julian! I can't wait to watch your review on the VOLT 276! I'm really looking forward to hearing that one.

[@carlosserrano3985]

Will see on the 276, for me is the only salvation that this interfaces will have, otherwise is another on the list.

[@ee1yd]

will it be more of the same

[@EdThorne]

Another informative video, Julian, thanks! PS - 3:04 - hilarious!

[@user-dv1jz5od6k]

Hello! In your opinion, for recording guitar and vocals, which better - UA Volt 2, Audient id14 MK2, SSL2+ or Motu M2(4)?

[@qwe1231]

Great review, nice sweater.

[@SSPSoundz]

The one we've all been waiting for!

[@vlastneme]

i also think there is more cross talk introduced when vintage mode is engaged (stereo field narrows from what i heard in my monitors )

[@sanekn]

My M-audio m-track 2x2 died on me yesterday, so I took a VOLT 1 to replace it as I had some noise problems with the old one, will see, will see, thank you for your awesome work! :)

[@alidarxx]

03:01 Didn't see that coming. I was just thinking that right before you said it. It's such a simple device to pull that shit.

[@andreaaiazzi4501]

finally an actual review. Thanks

[@seanwebb605]

Another really nice video. Thank you.

[@artistdane5157]

Thank you bro, this video was so helpful. Bro you have no idea. Thank you so much.

[@w9ahmed]

Thanks for taking the effort making this review. :)

[@alidarxx]

Bro you always look like you're holding in laughter 😂 Love your videos. Keep them coming.

[@swancakes]

Been waiting for this one. Great job as always. Subscribed!

[@esteban5_m]

Best review brother, all the data we need 👏👏👏

[@leswright4108]

Excellent as always. In your tradition of excellent interface reviews, I would love to have you look at the Tascam Model 12/16/24, focusing only on the USB interface functionality to start. I recently got the Model 12. It boasts a 12in/10out interface and its preamps certainly are superior to my trusty older Behringers and I think just as good as Focusrite. Not at the level of Antelope, but not bad... Wondering if your tests would bear that out.

[@GregorMima]

I remember oldschool Telefunken gear that looked like the Volt. Nice vintage look.

[@KpIllest]

Best best best in the game! Mr J Money, Julian Kreezy my neezy! Respect man these reviews are highly appreciated.

[@yourforeignlocal]

Nice, specs look good and quite stable/consistent. Pertinent point about the price, people might choose to stretch a little to get those gear in the next tier

[@FriedChikan]

Brilliant video. Straight to the point. Great delivery. Thank you!

[@jgurtz]

Vintage mode de-cloaked. We love to see it, thanks Julian!

[@DragonboltBlastter]

Julian's first UAD review... Can't wait for Apollo X8 review (or any Apollo from the Apollo series). Also do you have future plans to review Steinberg AXR4, Avid Carbon?

[@andrewooleongwei3543]

thanks for sharing us all the specs & the measurement... but i'm more interested in uad volt 276...

[@chrisharbin623]

Ooopsy, up the dead :lol: I just bought one of these. My "what used to be trusty" iD4 was giving me all kinds of grief. Weird driver issues with it constantly reverting to an output latency of 17.5 (basically if I had set the buffer to 512) So far so good, and now that I figured out the "instrument" needs to be on for bass/guitar, it's ace.

[@neverender2308]

Came for the review, stayed for the Steinberg input noise.

[@ToddWhirley]

Haha. So true…I’m always waiting for it, too

[@carlosserrano3985]

But the winner is the Presonus Audiovox!

[@axefromrussia]

Pls review Yamaha AG03, Tascam ministudio us-42, go XLR Mini.

[@woodendoors3174]

Sheeeiiiit, I've been waiting for this one, I was hoping for the 76 series but its good to know I would just go for the Arturia Minifuse 1 or 2 over this one (cheaper) and the vintage mode makes little difference to my ears.

[@jonljacobi]

My ears suck, and I heard a noticeable difference. Listening on Yamaha HS5's

[@giuseppino4872]

Not only is it very slight, you won’t have problems imitating it with good EQ.

[@woodendoors3174]

@@giuseppino4872 Yep, there is not point. The minifuse has the same chip too.

[@woodendoors3174]

@@jonljacobi I can hear a change but you can do the same thing without the expensive "vintage" button.

[@Blewis-Diarrheo]

Hey Julian, I love your reviews. As someone who has owned 100+ soundcards, this is everything I wish I had previous to jumping into yet another interface. If I had more time, I'd love to do a bunch of reviews on all of the old stuff I own, because there are so many decent, even great interfaces from the past 10 years. I know it wouldn't have the relevance of what you do, but just from an audio geek perspective it could be a lot of fun. What's your favorite old interface? Do you have one?

[@petarmustur8118]

Thanks for the review Julian! One question I have is, does the interface support loopback mode?

[@ReckDemon]

Wasn't mentioned anywhere, so maybe not.

[@carlosserrano3985]

No

[@kaybhee6]

is it possible to not to connect to any computer,,,but directly stick in mics,,, output left n right to monitors... or summing mixer

[@TheTalemaster]

"Vintage" mode is deceiving tbh, as it emulates the famous "Harman curve" graph: rise in treble and bass with a dip in the mids.

[@electricwhiterabbit]

I would love to see you go over the Audient ID44 and ID22. Curious how that one would compare to the other Audient MKII versions.

[@SIRHOT]

your english is great and the video is detailed👋

[@sung_yun]

Do you think having the compressor on Volt 276 is much better than getting just Volt 2 without the compressor, do you think it justifies the higher price? Thanks for the review, enjoyed watching it.

[@wavtunemusic]

Great review

[@revelationsix]

Excellent review, but... the MOTU M2. Can it be beat?

[@carlosserrano3985]

Including this interface? I guess not, LOL! I got the M4, by the way!

[@R-Winder]

Best explanation ❤

[@juanpacheco4603]

Which would have better sound quality when recording a podcast? With Volt or ZOOM H6?

[@thatchinaboi1]

Vintage mode sounds just like when I toggle my audiophile system through my tube buffer preamp: Holographic imaging and analog "warmth". I am guessing 2nd order harmonics is added.

[@yourforeignlocal]

The vintage effect seems to work in the same manner as some high end Neumann condenser mics do

[@Purrrelll]

Yeah, you wish.😀

[@natevirtual]

I'm totally happy with my MOTU M2

[@carlosserrano3985]

Same here, I love my M4!

[@hexfarmer]

Hi Julian, I appreciate your content. have you ever considered reviewing any RME interfaces? like the fireface ucx2 or babyface pro fs? im curious how they compare against some of the higher end stuff you reviewed. Supposedly many pros consider RME to be entry level but a true contender against highest end interfaces but it would be interesting to see how the actual measurements stack up

[@gman0o0]

I just got a babyface pro fs. Loving it much more than my apogee element 24. Really would love if Julian could do a break down for us!

[@euerhenning5780]

Hi Julian, welche Software benutzt du denn da im Hintergrund für die Audio-Aufnahme? Lg Henrik

[@zexxonije]

Any chance you will do a review on Roland Rubix44? Not finding any useful reviews. Btw you sir are one of a kind. Noone comes close to this level of professionalism and detail.

[@paddar_darshan]

Waiting for the comparison as you mentioned. I would be highly thankful, if you could analyse Apogee one & duet 3 the same way please 🙏🏻. Especially “Apogee One “…. Please, Please, Please. Request from your regular viewer.

[@imacmadman22]

Registration-to-use is definitely a non-starter for me, are there other interfaces with this “feature?”

[@beatteller4845]

Hello Julian. Do you think it's any better than the Audient Evo 4?

[@dinofond]

Julian, Thanks for the fish!

[@DjDrippyOfficial]

I bought the volt 2 about 2 months ago and I'm not satisfied with it. The sound quality is good, but the volume knob makes some cracks when i turn up the volume. I didn't expect this problem to come in such a short time.

[@carlosdelgado4077]

Hi Julian , I'm a recent susbcriptor and I'm loving your videos, they are very detailed and specific. I don't know if you already did a video of the top 5 under 200$ interfaces in 2022 but it would be amazing. I'm looking forward to buy a nice interface in that price range but I can't decide yet. I would like to know what would you buy for recording at home and live gigs. thank you very much!

[@ruthlesscutthroat4030]

glad to see my 3 year old clarett thunderbolt at the top of that list

[@artg7909]

Looking forward to the next video."276" 👍 So much info in just a few minutes. Thanks!

[@nicemirko]

Thank you Julian.

[@zb-music4278]

Great Review! Have you ever worked with the Motu Stage B16? It's like a swiss knive. It's build for recording but you can also use it for a Studio. I would love to see a reciew of that!

[@MrMelancobar]

Hi! first time here... there are really exciting those graphs. I assume you use an oscilloscope or some kind of measurement device. It´s great to compare without "subjectiveness"... very courious to see other content from you whit this format. Greetings from Argentina

[@inbetweendayz90]

can you plug both usb connections in without damaging the device or my computer???

[@chrisharbin623]

Had to add, latency is better than my Audient iD4 @128 buffer, so it's interesting that it's "not as good" in latency on your end. Higher end cards like RME do indeed have terrific latency, but it's hard to believe that in this price range, others are really better.

[@stefanomarquezrivera6507]

Please Julian, Make a review of the UA Apollo Solo, and maybe a comparison with the Antelope Zen Go