Mig,

I own the Sphere microphone and use it with my UFXII mic preamps.  I can answer some of your questions and then give some color commentary as well.  In short, I love the microphone and would almost purchase a second one.

>>>Do you run it using the preamps in the UFX+ or some other preamps?<<<
Yes, I use my UFXII preamps because they have stepped digital gain structure.  So there is no need for "calibrating" the two mic preamp channels when setting up.  I simply set both UFX preamps to the same gain value.  If I was using outboard preamps, I would only use a very clean style AND with stepped gain.  The Cranbourne Audio preamps look really nice for this task but I'm don't think I could say that they would be "better" for this mic.  The UFX pre's are super great.

>>>Are there issues with latency?<<<
I don't typically do live monitoring through plugins in the way that you are maybe thinking.  Indeed, monitoring through the Sphere plugin would take a little bit of setup to get right.  Usually, I just monitor the mic through totalmix (without the mic model) which has been great up to now.  So, I can't really comment on latency of the plugin.

>>>What is your overall impression and experience running the L22?<<<
See below....

>>>Is it possible to run a UAD interface like an Apollo Twin into the UFX+ dedicated to the L22? Since I can only select one ASIO driver I imagine it not working but thought I would ask.<<<
I know that it is one of UAD's value propositions to make hardware and software that will monitor real time.  I have never used it but understand that their realtime plugins can be a big system load AND are integral with their hardware.  No, I think you would not be able to hack their system the way you are thinking about it because there will be some real time latency compensation within the UAD hardware / plugin pair. 

I use only VST3 plugins and have a reasonably fast windows system (but not at all bleeding edge tech).  I have yet to max out my cpu with more plugins than I can really use.  So, I guess I don't understand value proposition that UAD is offering.  True, I am not monitoring through plugins but haven't had a problem with this.

What follows is a post I wrote on the Reaper forum about my experience so far with the Townsend Labs Sphere.  Highly recommended microphone.

Hope this was helpful

Cheers,

Rob

>>>
All,

I am an owner of this microphone. Like some or many of you, I am an independent music producer and don't have access to a locker full of high value microphones. So choosing the microphones I purchase and own is always an important decision.

As a quick point of note.... even if you have never heard "that" Neumann microphone or "that other" fill in the blank microphone, you can bet that the things people say are really true. Some great mics are only great on some sources and then terrible on others. Or more like just not the right fit. But even more, when it's right..... it's REALLY right.

So rather than try to chase a bunch of different microphones at A LOT of $$, I opted to check out the Townsend Labs Sphere. There are other modeling microphones and there are plenty of reviews on all of them. To me, it seemed that Townsend really had the most well developed system. So I chose them.

I'm not a purist so I didn't really consider whether or not it would sound JUST LIKE that special microphone or the other one. This was not a consideration at all in my buying decision.

Now for my experience with the microphone.

I've been working on a project for about a year now with one band in particular but also the other musicians in their circle. We've done a lot of tracking, recording, and mixing. I've used the sphere on vocal, acoustic guitar, guitar cabinet, and other sources.

In every case, this microphone has captured a pristine sound. Clean, quiet, and uncharactered (when listening NOT through a model). Indeed, sphere by itself is not really anything special.

However, once the models come into play, this thing is absolutely worth every single penny I spent. The models are AWESOME and VASTLY unique. Indeed, the U47 sounds dramatically different than the U87 and dramatically different than the 414, etc... More specifically, it is OBVIOUS when the right and wrong mic models are chosen for a source. Some mic models work better for this source and others work better for other sources.

Additionally, the context of the source in the sound field is very significant and OBVIOUS which mic model works best in the context. For instance, the mic model I use for the lead singers voice is something completely different than I used for the one electric guitar. And, the mic model I used for the different electric guitar was different because it was obvious which mic model was better.

Regarding the sound, it really is about right fit. That thing people say about The Neumann mics.... that the U87 is that rock and roll sound.... kind of forward..... yes my model is exactly that. And interestingly, I haven't yet used the U47 for my work. It hasn't been the right fit. And as much as I love my Blue Bluebird microphone (C12 type capsule), I haven't yet used the C-12 or 251 model for my work. They haven't been the right fit for my sources.

For the work that I have been doing, the models that I chose have been an unbelievable fit. Moreover, choosing right model invalidates almost all EQ. So I choose a model and don't touch the EQ. But (and this is important), it's really way more than just EQ. So I could never EQ my source up to the mic model.... the model is more, deeper, etc.... and then EQ is just not really necessary in such a big way.

The software plugin is great and flawless. The physical device is nice and well made. I have in fact even used it wrong on accident once (recorded to the back of the capsule) and was able to recover with the software (flip the mic around digitally). Yes, this thing can do that.

Overall, my experience has been fabulous and I am just one random customer who took a chance on some new tech. Like I implied above, I don't have a lot of experience with those big name mics. And I'm not interested to chase the exact sound of those devices. If that's important to you, perhaps pass on the modeling mics all together. For me the flexibility of the system was really the draw and now that I've used it, the sound is the reason to use it. In fact, I may get another one to have a stereo pair. The system is that great.