ULN-8 Featured User
I have owned almost all portable audio-interfaces under the sun. A big rack full of them. I just kept the ULN-8 (and a ULN-2 for home use) -- I sold the rest. It is that good. Zip Boterbloem, Helios
Recording Engineer, Musician
Haarlem, The Netherlands
http://www.helios.nl/productinfo/productinfo_video_mh_01.htm
ULN-8 Featured User
With the ULN-8 Metric Halo continues its astounding series of achievements.
Here I am with my absolutely indispensable ULN-8. After using the 8 to create 24/192 recordings, for the first time in my experience, those reservations I have always had about digital, where I felt there were some things the best analog did better, have evaporated like the morning mist.
This is a bigger jump up in quality over 24/96 than that was over 16/44. It no longer feels like a great digital recorder or a great analog recorder. It feels like the recorder has been effectively removed from the equation and I am listening directly to the mic feed.
Is there a downside to the ULN-8? Yes, I believe it will cause many folks to lose sleep... especially designers of competing (and more expensive!) mic preamps and converters.
A stunning achievement!
Congratulations Metric Halo!
Barry Diament, Barry Diament Audio
Audio Recording, Production, Consulting, Mastering, Editing
Rockland, NY
http://www.barrydiamentaudio.com
ULN-8 Featured User
The ULN-8 has completely changed the way I master records.
It has allowed me more freedom and power and at the same time simplified my chain greatly for increased transparency
John McCaig, Panic Studios
Mastering Engineer
Seattle, WA
http://www.panicStudios.com
ULN-8 Featured User
I’m currently in rehearsals for a major tour and have been using the ULN-8 extensively. Currently I am using the unit for measurement microphones and reference sources for system tuning and timing with Spectrafoo. I’m also using a stereo insert of Transient Control across a stereo drum sub-mix (in parallel, inserted via AES with no latency issues what so ever) to add some punch. In addition to that I am using the ULN-8 for 4 audience mics inputs sourced out by the FOH console and recording a “mastered” cd mix as well with the unit.
Oh yeah... I almost forgot.... all of this takes up all of 1 rack space!
Credits: No Doubt, Sum 41, Big Day Out, Rogue Traders, Avril Lavigne, Gwen Stefani, Bruce Springsteen, Shania Twain etc...
John Kerns,
FOH engineer, System Engineer, System Designer
Myaree, Australia
ULN-8 Featured User
I’d gotten so spoiled by the early ULN-8 prototypes at Sound Images that when I left the company in November of 2008 it was the only thing I missed! It was my favorite mic pre, favorite signal router, favorite digital processor, favorite location recorder, and favorite control room Console, and without it I was lost. It had become a must-have for my mastering, as well as recording (playing a big part in my one and only Grammy nomination).
When I purchased the ‘real deal’ I was blown away all over again - the slick, integrated control surface and extensive, clearly labelled patching was missing on the prototype. And of course the same stunningly rich sound and routing. But I’d forgotten that the ULN-8 was still a ‘mobile’ i/o; Racked in a single-space travel case, it’s nearly as portable as our 2882s (it won’t run on firewire power, but it’s fairly easy on batteries). At Sound Images I used my 2882 on location, but the ULN-8 is only a little bigger, and considerably more flexible. AES/EBU, seperate mic and line inputs, along with sends ahead of the converters in the analog domain make it a functional replacement for a mixing board, mic splitter and monitor controller, not to mention tape recorder and signal processor. This flexibility has opened new doors for my business. I’m able to work in the best rooms in town (acoustically), and arrive with my session and tools on my back. The ‘8’ makes it easy to integrate my usual kit with any DAW or monitoring situation.
These days the ULN-8 has replaced my beloved 61 Fender Jazzmaster as Most-Beloved Gear. Just as our 2882’s have improved with age, the ‘8’ will become a true ‘classic’ in time. It’s the only piece you can buy that makes everything in your studio sound better. Great clocks and converters, and interconnections that work at any level or format turn antique ProTools Mix rigs into useful workstations. +DSP and literally perfect gain change capabilities (80 bit mixing engine maintains resolution end-to-end, allowing fully reciprocal noiseless processing) are must-haves for mastering, which ruled out ProTools HD in my work. +DSP brings this capability to PTHD, opening new venues. For me that’s the ticket: I can work anywhere my clients need me without compromising the sound. And so in my new business I do exactly that. Rather than opening a 4th mastering room in a tiny market, the ‘8’ lets me work in rooms I know well (at Sound Images, QCA and Ultrasuede), and deliver the sound my clients have come to expect.
As I said, our 7 year-old 2882s keep getting better, and show no signs of aging or obsolescence (they still sound better than Digi HD192s). Based on that, I suspect the ULN-8 is probably the last interface I’ll have to buy.
The ULN-8’s a blank slate, a toolbox with everything, in a single rack space. All the connections you’d ever need to do whatever you want. Meters, and knobs to control it with. It’s like a laptop for audio, only it doesn’t go obsolete.
Dave Davis, Ultrainteractive
Operations Chief, Media Designer The All Night Party
Cincinnati, OH
ULN-8 Featured User
The ULN-8 has instantly become the hub of my recording workflow. Regarding
quality and versatility, there is barely anything around that would make an
A-B comparison seem fair, unless you want to include products ten times the
price.
What is most important for my work are the eight analog inputs and A/D stages, conveying a sonic clarity that I had not thought possible. Add to that a user interface that allows for very quick changes of the entire setup, and I can really make my clients smile, and their music shine.
In short, the ULN-8 is the best that could have happened to my mobile studio, and I’ll be using it for a very long time to come.
Ralf Kleemann, Kleeworld
Music & Recording
Salzgitter, Germany
http://studio.kleeworld.de/
ULN-8 Featured User
As for the ULN-8 promotion (who says it needs to be promoted other then merely being switched on :-)
My point of view is one of the relief that I feel now that I can tell other people how they can get this ULN-8 sound -- nothing but superlatives!
My son, a cook, tells the secret about preparing a fantistic dinner: Get the best products and try not to ruin them...
I feel the ULN-8 fits with this philosophy perfectly.
Floris van Manen, Klankschap
Sonographer
Abcoude, The Netherlands
http://www.klankschap.nl
ULN-8 Featured User
Making my surround-sound recordings with the ULN-8 gives me glorious real-life clarity and imaging unlike anything else I’ve used.
During the beta phase, I took my ULN-8 to Ireland for a remote recording. The baggage handlers at the airport managed to drop my case, with the ULN-8 in it, off the back of a the baggage truck, whereupon another truck promptly ran over it, dragging the case for several hundred yards, ripping the top off and distributing the contents along the concrete in the rain. When I eventually retrieved the bits, I plugged the ULN-8 in, turned it on and apart from the cosmetic damage to the case, the unit was in perfect working order, which is a considerable tribute to the build quality.
I don’t recommend that you try this out with your ULN-8, but it does inspire confidence in a world where so much of the gear that we buy and use is so fragile that you’re frightened to breathe too heavily on it.
From the roar of a 747, thru chamber music ensembles, to the gentlest birdsong, the ULN-8 handles everything with jaw-dropping fidelity.
It’s my one-stop, high-definition recording solution.
John Leonard, Theatre Sound & Show Control
Recording Engineer, Sound Designer
London, England
http://www.johnleonard.co.uk
ULN-8 Featured User
This is serious... Metric Halo’s ULN-8 sets a new standard!Rico Sergeant,
Recording Engineer
London, England
http://www.ricosergeant.com
ULN-8 Featured User
When I started using the Metric Halo boxes, my world totally changed. I’m a location engineer, so small has always been beautiful, but it’s usually involved some pretty significant compromise in quality.
The Mobile I/O has changed everything. When the 2882 came out, I could offer multichannel recording without having to pack an outboard mixer or recorder. Then the ULN-2 quickly became my go-to box for stereo gigs, with its splendid microphone preamps I could leave another extra box of gear at home.
Now with the ULN-8, I have the best of all worlds: all the clarity of those beautiful mic preamps PLUS even more lovely converters, and I can do multi-channel recordings for orchestra, chorus, opera, even jazz combos - and all in one box. No compromises: with Metric Halo small really IS beautiful now!
Lolly Lewis, Transparent Recordings
Location Classical Recording
San Francisco, CA
http://www.TransparentRecordings.com
ULN-8 Featured User
"I feel I don’t need to try to be a better engineer anymore since ULN-8 sounds so amazing it makes me look like a great location recordist with no effort. Not only does the ULN-8 have the superior Metric Halo pristine sound on steroids, the tact switches and encoders on the front panel make my job so easy."
Hiroaki Honshuku, A-NO-NE Music
Musician, Engineer, Composer, Educator
Boston, MA
http://anonemusic.com/
ULN-8 Featured User
The ULN-8 is the best investment I have made as an audio professional in the last 10 years.
It's uncompromising sonic quality is ideally suited for my work as a classical music recording engineer. Coupled with the +DSP features and the routing capabilities, the ULN-8 provides what nothing else on today's market can match.
Nathan Lawrence, AudioART
Classical Recording Engineer
Cobleskill, NY
http://audioartrecording.net/
ULN-8 Featured User
Uncompromising hardware, driven by uncompromising software. Simply the best. Metric Halo rules again.
Having a private studio, I do not have to compromise to be compatible with others who may want to rent the room. This allows me to have any audio hardware and software in the world. To have the most accurate, stable hardware powered by it’s software equivalent in the MIO v.5 has raised the bar for my creativity in production.
After testing the ULN-8 I quickly realized that this one rack space box was going to replace several individual components I had purchased for their superiority. Within a couple of months (and ‘fire sales’) I purchased 2 more.
Jack Hale, Hale House
Recording Engineer, Composer, Arranger
Hendersonville, TN
http://www.jackhale.com
ULN-8 Featured User
I’ve always loved my 2882+DSP, then, with my ribbons, the first ULN-2 came along, from then on to accompany me to all small gigs, but since I first heard the ULN-8 in December of 2006 my life has changed.
It’s been sonic heaven, everyday and everywhere!
I got my ULN-8 while editing an audiophile recording of Debussy’s 24 preludes for piano. I noticed with surprise that I had placed the end-of-take marker three seconds before the sound had fully faded. This usually doesn’t happen, but with the next take I noticed the same thing. In the end I had to move all of them, with the softest sounds rising out of the already low noise floor. It was an ear-opening experience!
When I first hooked up my ULN-8 to my monitoring system I spent a day in a trance-like state, starting to play my own recordings, my favorite CDs, only to find that I could not stop listening. It was clarity, precision, depth like I never heard before. Now, 2-1/2 years after my first contact, I feel the same every time I listen to that glorious sound!
Andrew Levine, Blumlein Records
Mobile Recording Engineer
Amsterdam, Berlin, Denver, Hamburg, London, Munich, New York, Paris, Vienna ...
http://mobile.blumlein.net/index_gb.html
ULN-8 Featured User
The ULN-8 is truly the only indispensable bit of gear I own. Don’t get me wrong, I love my Mac, but as we all know CPUs come and go and I have a strong feeling the ULN-8, on the other hand, is going to be serving me for the rest of my career as an audio professional.
It has made everything else in my rack redundant including all my nice preamps compressors and even the presonus central station I had been using to get all of my audio sources into my monitors and headphones.
I am betting ULN-8 is going to be the recipient of the first and only Nobel Rack Piece Prize.
Dennis Gunn,
Musician, Producer
Tokyo, Japan
http://dennisgunn.com
ULN-8 Featured User
The ULN-8 is my secret weapon when capturing hi-res recordings of live performances.
With amazing sounding pre-amps, the best digital clock I’ve heard and the hyper-diverse MIO Console software, the ULN-8 brings a new standard of fidelity and precision to the world of digital audio.
Philip Harvey, Pilotlight Audio
FOH. Live Recording Engineer, White Stripes, Raconteurs, Secret Machines
Brooklyn, NY
http://www.pilotlightaudio.com
ULN-8 Featured User
There are a lot of good audio interfaces out there these days. Some of them are really good. Fewer are in the top echelon but there is where you find all the Metric Halo products. But now there is the ULN-8. It provides eight exceptional servoed pre-amps and a thorough mixing, routing, sweetening and monitoring environment superior to any other, or any other combination in my opinion. I use mine with a laptop in the field, but in the studio, I use it with my DAW and get the best of both worlds. I even bought a second one.
I've been in the audio business for a few years now, but I can still remember nearly every time that I heard something so good that I knew that somehow, someway, I was going to have that level of quality. Hearing it once, for me, was proof that it was possible.
The most recent time was with the ULN-8. Once in my possession, things sounded so good that I rushed about making comparisons with the best gear I had. In every case the ULN-8 equaled or bested all my other expensive gear. It immediately became my goto piece and put my high-end pre-amps into the 'also needed' category. It has given me pristine audio recordings that are way beyond the best I could imagine just a few short years ago."
Maurice Mogridge,
Recording Engineer
West Lafayette, IN
ULN-8 Featured User
Jeroen Visser -- Displaying that I'm prepared for anything 'Anytime, Anywhere' feeling with his ULN-8 on location in the African test department, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
MIO - Truly Mobile | Truly IO
Jeroen Visser, Fishing Bakery Labs
Studio, Mobile and Field Recording
Zurich, Switzerland
http://www.121234.net
ULN-8 Featured User
The ULN-8 has brought a new level of quality to my work with preamps that meet or surpass my usual classics - combined with Character, it's like having a rack full of them all in one space!
When I'm mixing, summing in the MIO Console and utilizing the superior converters of the ULN-8 to interface my favorite outboard lets me mix with the sound and flexibility of my favorite analog pieces but with full recall.
Don Gunn, Don Gunn
Freelance Recording-Mixing Engineer, Producer, and Musician
Seattle, WA
http://www.dongunn.com
ULN-8 Featured User
There's nothing I could possibly convey in words that's going to prepare you for the ULN-8: it's game changing.
The ULN-8 is the result of a bunch of brilliant people taking their time to deliver the best of the best without compromise. Metric Halo has delivered the best performing, best sounding modular audio interface and preamp that I've ever heard.
The ULN-8 is triumph.
Marc Schonbrun, www.macosxaudio.com
Author, Educator, Engineer and Technologist
San Francisco, CA
www.marcschonbrun.com
ULN-8 Featured User
My primary free time activity is related to music composition and performance, modelling of sound/music and their processing by our brain, (psycho)acoustics and sound engineering. In these activities, I am trying to follow a scientific approach borrowed from my day job. Therefore I looked around for serious tools for recording, processing, analysing, engineering and playing back music and audio. I was happy to find out that a single box can serve all these expectations. That box is the Metric Halo ULN-8, which became the centrepiece of my mobile studio and acoustic-sound research laboratory very soon after I got it in my hands (I use the also excellent ULN-2 for less critical tasks now).
The analogue and digital parts of the ULN-8 sound extremely clean and reveal details of any audio material at a precision and transparency hardly matched in the industry. Combined with the SpectraFoo signal metering and analysis software (also from Metric Halo) the ULN-8 arms me with the most versatile and accurate audio analysis toolset available today. The DSP environment allows me to patch even my craziest ideas in minutes into a processing Graph, which not only has a much lower (near zero) latency but also sounds musically much better than all the computer based or off-line solutions that I heard or tested. Further, I can set up a mixer in minutes for recording, mixing, mastering or live performance and be certain that it will sound great.
Tibor Pali,
D.Sc.-- Research Physicist
Szeged, Hungary
ULN-8 Featured User
I have been using the ULN-8, through it's evolution for almost two years now. In that time, it has been the Mastering interface for almost 400 cd's. Every part of the Mastering process from AES interface, MIO console- including Dynamics and EQ, Routing, and Character to the analog stages. It is an extremely powerful tool to say the least!
Essential for all of my work. The summing in the console sounds better to me than can be found in any DAW or digital mixer. And the sound of the EQ/Dynamics is extremely transparent and open.
But as good as the ULN-8 is for Mastering work, it is even better as a recording interface.
I have recorded dozens of records using the very quick and very open mic pres and A/D converters. What a great thing it is to go to a remote location or live venue armed with a laptop and a few ULN-8s and capture a sound that would beat some of the best studios and consoles available.
That is just the start. When it comes time to mix, the ULN-8 shifts into overdrive. Aside from being the best digital summing anywhere, The true power lies in its flexibility. The routing for inserts and sends are as powerful as your imagination. You can even create your own effects using the primitives in the graph. And with the subtle Character, you can customize the color of sound of each channel before and after the recording.
There are even more details I could get into as to why I think this is a superb piece of equipment but that would be too much reading. Suffice it to say that the real power of the ULN-8 is it's ability to allow the engineer to capture and translate the power of the music and not have to compensate for the equipment and to focus on the ART of engineering.
Michael Romanowski, Michael Romanowski Mastering
Recording, Mixing and Mastering Engineer
San Francisco, CA
http://www.michaelromanowski.com
ULN-8 Featured User
Metric Halo's audio interfaces are legendary, the ULN-8 increases an already healthy distance between their offerings and would be competitors.
You could spend many times as much money to get something that comes close in sound quality, but would still only have a fraction of the functionality and flexibility.
Ronald Antony, Cubiculum Systems - inCus Productions
Providence, RI
http://www.incus.info
ULN-8 Featured User
I've used my ULN-8 for recording Broadway shows and live concerts, restoring tapes from the '60s, electronic equipment design and everything in between.
No other piece of gear has been so indispensable to me like my '8' is. It's the heart of my workflow, and the best sounding interface I've ever heard. Period!
Allen Rowand,
Audio Engineer
Greenwich, CT
www.mhlabs.com
ULN-8 Featured User
The ULN-8 is the indispensable nerve center of my studio. The transparency and depth of it’s converters are unmatched at either normal and HD sample rates. It’s eight ultra-low noise preamps sound full-bodied and musical on every source I throw at it, and they have gain for days. The ULN-8 also offers the best sounding Hi-Z DI inputs I’ve ever used, amazing for guitars, synths, and basses. And the ULN-8 has arguably the lowest latency drivers and DSP of any computer audio interface I’ve ever used, allowing me to record into Logic Pro with extremely small buffers for a really natural feel.
The ULN-8 is far more than an interface alone for me. I use Character and other MIO DSP+ effects when mixing thanks to the Mobile I/O’s ease of routing FireWire returns to individual tracks within Logic. I also use the Console Connect AU plug-in to save the state of the MIO Console, so I have an instant MIO Console snapshot within each project file.
Finally thanks to the MIO’s EuCon support, I use my Euphonix MC Mix to control the MIO Console and keep the MIO Monitor Controller locked to the Control Room of my Euphonix MC Control. The ULN-8 accomplishes what would require half a dozen specialized devices otherwise...and the ULN-8 does it better anyway!
Orren Merton,
Songwriter/Musician, Ember After, Author, Logic Pro 8 Power
Orange County, CA
http://www.amazon.com/Logic-Pro-Power-Kevin-Anker/dp/1598633694/
ULN-8 Featured User
The ULN-8 packs tremendous power and functionality in one box, and on top of that includes 8 very transparent A/D and D/A converters.Bob Katz, Digital Domain
Mastering Engineer, Author
Longwood, FL
http://www.digido.com
ULN-8 Featured User
With the ULN-8, Metric Halo has created the most powerful, flexible, and incredible sounding audio interface on the planet - all housed in a single rack space -- it is work of art.
Awesome!
Dave Weeks, Manca Weeks -- Singer
Recording Engineer
Brooklyn, NY
http://www.manca.com
ULN-8 Featured User
Metric Halo has inalterably changed the way I conceptualize recording. I wasn’t even thinking about remote recording when I bought my first 2882+dsp. With downsizing of studios everywhere, it’s now a way of studio life for me. Need to find a studio with just the right piano? How about we just find the piano, wherever it may, be and record from there? I also regularly record my concerts, singers and or bands that want to record where they’re most comfortable. A whole new revenue stream has opened up!
The ULN-8s have taken it to a whole different level altogether. I have a rehearsal/recording studio and here, in these very bad pictures, I’m at home. The ULN-8 allows me to mix and master from the comfort of home and yet I can do sessions with my band and for clients at the studio, with top of the line level quality unmatched in this area, at least. And as much as I love my Millennias, I haven’t felt the need to use them too much. There simply is nothing else like this, anywhere, to my knowledge.
Metric Halo has opened many doors for me as a musician, composer, producer, and engineer. And the ULN-8 is such a remarkable Swiss army knife, utility machine, you’re only limited by what you can imagine — there is so much it can do. Last month I took one in to Folsom Prison to record a double CD of songs, and you cannot believe the quality.
Currently I’m trying to figure out how I can swing buying a third ULN-8. This thing still blows my mind. And customer support? Forget it. There’s nothing like the care, alertness and speed with which Metric Halo responds to issues. Future proof with vision, care and innovation. Metric Halo is awesome. The ULN-8 is unbelievable.
Henry Robinett,
Jazz Musician, Recording Engineer, Educator
Sacramento, CA
ULN-8 Featured User
Better Bits!
The best AD-DA anywhere!
Get one and you will want to get more.
Brian Peters, Tech Valley Audio
Classical Recording Engineer
Cahoes, NY
ULN-8 Featured User
To regard the ULN-8 as merely a world-class audio interface (which it surely is), would be to greatly underestimate it.
The ULN-8 is the hub of my studio, and I can’t imagine going back to recording or mixing without it. The ULN-8 is a fantastic monitor controller - it is 8 superb microphone preamps - it is a pair of excellent DI boxes, a hi-res mixer with DSP processing (which has nearly replaced my use of Waves, MOTU and other plugins), and a location recording system. Combined with the MIO Console software, the whole is far greater than the sum of its parts, and with Metric Halo behind it I know it will continue to grow in power, and to evade obsolescence for many years.
Musicians who were recorded through my “mystery box” during the extensive testing phase often commented on how great it sounded, and I was dying to peel off the gaff tape covering the Metric Halo logo and tell them about it....now I finally can.
I am proud to have Metric Halo gear in my studio and on the road with Tom Jones.
Brian Monroney,
Guitarist, Recording Engineer, Musical Director Tom Jones
Topanga, CA
ULN-8 Featured User
There's a lot to be said for knowing that you have the best "thing" of its kind. When it comes to audio gear, the ULN-8 represents the best of so many things that are central to a superior modern recording rig.
The converters and preamps are the sturdy core. Add to that dedicated monitor control, revolutionary front panel control/metering, and DSP power, and you already have any competitive system beat by a long shot.
Then it's the bits that tie it all together and take it to yet another level. With a rock solid driver and software that I can rely on day-in and day-out, I seamlessly transition between any application from tracking to overdubbing to live PA use.
For all that the ULN-8 does (and does better than anything else), I feel that I have crossed the finish line when comes to the "gear chase".
Jon Stern,
Recording Engineer, Bassist
New Paltz, NY
ULN-8 Featured User
The complete transparency of the ULN-8s, combined with the incredibly flexible and powerful v5 mixer, +DSP environment, Character, TransientController, ConsoleConnect, and other Metric Halo technologies have enabled our curriculum to grow to a level of quality and sophistication we could have only dreamed of when it began 15 years ago with a Yamaha DMC-1000 and Sonic Solutions workstation.
The ULN-8s, along with other 2d-enabled (first-generation) Mobile I/Os have become absolutely integral components to our educational mission and production facilities; practically and functionally replacing numerous other devices for improved capabilities, quality, and workflow simplicity. What's more, the exceptional sonic quality of the ULN-8s is simply the beginning. Their unique versatility is constantly yielding new and creative applications for both existing and emerging needs in the world of audio production.
Michael Dunston, Virgina Tech School of Performing Arts & Cinema
Music and Technology
Blacksburg, VA
http://www.music.vt.edu/faculty/dunston/
ULN-8 Featured User
The ULN-8 is a game changer, of that there is no question.
In a blind test among the Beta Team members the ULN-8 converters consistently beat what many consider to be the gold standard in Analog to Digital conversion.
Considering that the other unit in question is 4 times the cost of a ULN-8 with a quarter of the number of channels, that's incredible. The ULN-8 analog section alone is more than worth the MSRP of $5995.00.
Having sold the fine boutique Channel Strips and preamps in my studio replacing them with the ULN-8 (I didn't sell them because I needed the money, I sold them because I didn't use them any more -- ever) my racks now looked ridiculous with so many open spaces that I literally went to my local used gear store and asked them if they had any broken units for sale that at least turned on and lit up - so I could fill in the spaces.
My advice: Run, don't walk, to get a ULN-8."
David Wilcock, Tacklebox Music
founder, Tacklebox Music
San Francisco, CA
http://www.TackleboxMusic.com
ULN-8 Featured User
I find the ULN-8 preamps extremly transparent and musical, with lots of gain and headroom. After extensive testing, I actually sold off some industry-standard external pre’s because I liked the ULN-8 pre’s better!
The converters in the ULN-8 are the most transparent I have ever used: Both in recording and high-end audio playback, the ULN-8 really shines."
The DI inputs on the ULN-8 both sound great, and I often find myself preferring them to external solutions.
Erlend Myrstad,
Producer, Engineer
Bergen, Norway
http://www.lydraus.no
ULN-8 Featured User
ULN-8: Top notch low noise mic pres, D/A conversion and an extremely flexibly structured mixer, including top of the line Plug-Ins, topped by world-class A/D in a portable 1RU box. Set yourself above the competition.
Arild Grindheim,
Caloundra, Australia
ULN-8 Featured User
In here precision matters, and that is what ULN-8’s converters and preamps provide. Unmatched clarity and accuracy in a unit you can take anywhere.Get ready to replace racks full of gear with everything this box can do! — We Did!
Pictured: Dan Merceruio, Brandie Lane, and Daniel Shores — Sono Luminus Staff
Daniel Shores, Sono Luminus - Dorian Recordings
Managing Director
Winchester, VA
http://www.doriansonoluminus.com
ULN-8 Featured User
My thoughts about the ULN-8? Well, I think Omar Khayam was thinking of his ULN-8 when he wrote:
A Book of Verses underneath the Bough,
A Jug of Wine, a Loaf of Bread-and Thou
Beside me singing in the Wilderness-
Oh, Wilderness were Paradise enow!
Rudy Chalupa, Pleiades Audio + Electronics
Recording Engineer
Newtown, PA
ULN-8 Featured User
For the last three years I’ve been fortunate to be a tester and contributor to the
development of the Metric Halo ULN-8. At the recommendation of their staff I
waited to build a record system for studio and remote recording until the first ULN-8 was
built.
The first project was a 72 channel remote recording project for the Crosby Stills Nash and Young “Freedom Of Speech” tour. This became the music performance part of the HD Video “CSNY Déjà Vu” Documentary.
Next came the studio testing. While tracking we set up a comparison between the Neve, API and AMEK analog pre amps and the ULN-8. After tracking the same instruments with both we favored the ULN-8. The tracks had much better image and depth without coloration.
As time went on, and more projects came, it became apparent the ULN-8 was something special. Each time I record I’m more impressed with the sound, versatility, and durability of the ULN-8.
Dave has designed mixing systems and mixed live performances for such artists as Neil Young, Pink Floyd, Crosby Stills and Nash, Carly Simon, John Hiatt, David Sanborn, Daryl Hall & John Oates, Blondie, Live, Oleta Adams, and more.
Studio Credits: John Hiatt and Oleta Adams
David Lohr, DML-Audio
Audio Designer, House Mixing and Recording Engineer
Littleton, CO
http://www.DML-Audio.com
ULN-8 Featured User
From the time I adopted Metric Halo interfaces back in 2001, I’ve experienced a drastic and noticeable increase in fidelity in my productions. Clients regularly comment on the clarity and resolution of the sound. The ULN-8 is an indispensible “secret ingredient” in the package of what I’m able to offer my clients. I’ve used it in everything from vocals to drums and orchestral sections with invariably magnificent results.
David Das, DavidDas.com
Composer, Producer
Los Angeles, CA
http://www.daviddas.com
ULN-8 Featured User
Since adding a ULN-8 to my studio in 2008, I have finally let go of my 30-year old analog console and have more or less “hard wired” my essential gear into my two MIO’s.
Using the summing functionality with the v5 MIO Console software, I can achieve the same sonic separation and headroom that I once got by summing out to a “real” console, but with the convenience of keeping it “in the box” and allowing total recall for each session.
The high quality of Metric Halo’s preamps and converters is certainly no industry secret, and the ULN-8 is no exception. In the last year, I’ve been fortunate to have access to other well known, top-shelf preamps and converters. But once the ULN-8 was in place, I found myself using other gear less, then finally not at all! My favorite Moog synth is now forever wired to the ULN-8’s handy front panel DI’s, and I really could not be happier with the sound.
While updating my studio recently, I took the opportunity to try out another soundcard/preamp combo. While I recognized the sound of my beloved Moog, the sound I got from the other card lacked highs, lows, and everything in between. In other words, I missed my ULN-8! I am now 100% dependent on it and don’t know how I ever worked without it.
With the beautiful, tactile front panel on the ULN-8, the unit really does move into a class of its own. It bridges the gap between stellar sound card and the best multi-channel stand alone preamp/converter I’ve ever heard.
Without a doubt this the most future-proof and versatile piece of gear I have ever owned.
Jason Wolford, Greenlake Media and Technology
Musician/Producer/Remixer/Sound Designer
Seattle, WA
http://www.greenlakemedia.com/
ULN-8 Featured User
“Old friends, New friends -- Passing the gauntlet”Julian Scott, Sound Affects Limited
Soundtracks and audio landscapes for Cinema, Television, Events, and Special Projects.
Kent, United Kingdom
http://www.julianscott.com
ULN-8 Featured User
I can safely say that [with the ULN-8] Metric Halo has created a professional audio product that finally allows me to ‘turn my back on digital’.
Picutre: ULN-8 recording at Carnegie Hall in Pittsburgh.
David Walters,
Classical Music Production
West Orange, NJ
http://www.davidwalters.com
ULN-8 Featured User
The ULN-8 is the perfect expression of Metric Halo’s longer-term commitment to product support and development.
Their model is the absolute opposite of “planned obsolescence.” This isn’t just a feature of their structural design, but a brand philosophy. A lot of companies talk about “future-proof” equipment, but at Metric Halo there is a straight line between past, present, and future that runs through all their gear. I work on a tight budget, so this fact made investing in the ULN-8 an easy decision for me. It sounds gorgeous, and I anticipate working happily with it for at least the next decade.
How many pieces of digital gear can you say that about?
Sean Witters,
Recording Engineer
Bob Moses, Rubblebucket Orchestra, Lionel Loueke, Greg Burk
Richmond, VT
ULN-8 Featured User
It’s not a question if I could only have one piece of gear, it’s simply the only piece I can’t do without.
Jeremy Miller, Jeremy Miller
Recording Engineer
Richmond, VA
ULN-8 Featured User
I sold PT HD3 to help fund a 48 Channel APB Dynasonics board. I was comfortable doing so because the ULN-8 met or exceeded my recording needs with many additional benefits.
I sold the mic pre’s and compressors because I got better results with the ULN-8 and I don’t keep anything I don’t use. The ULN-8 plus 2 cables replaces a whole rack of outboard with the APB board. The combination is amazing. when I am not using the APB the ULN 8 makes my studio a very happy place sound wise.
My next ULN-8 will essentially replace my DM1000 for many shows.
Steve Devino, Granite Rocks Live and Recording
Owner Granite Rocks Live and Recording.
Sound Designer and Recording Engineer.
Derry, NH
http://www.graniterockslive.com