The UFX+ can no longer be manufactured because Intel ended the production of the required TB chips long ago. We used our stock to continue building UFX+, but stock is gone now.

To answer an expected next question: We were ready to change to a newer chip with TB 3 support (fully developed new digital board), but Intel delayed its shipment (chip crisis) for a long time. Then when the chip was expected to be shipped Intel declared it EOL (end of life). Beginning a production using this chip made no sense anymore.

I don't think there will be a new TB audio interface from RME...or anyone else...

Much likely USB3 which is a proven solution.

With USB2 68/68 channel in/out are possible (-> MADIface Pro).
With USB3, even 196/198 channel in/out (-> MADIface XT).

So USB3 is fully sufficient for 94ch in/out (UFX+).

Additionally, you benefit from higher maximum cable length of 3 m (vs 2 m Thunderbolt) and cabling is cheaper compared to TB.

Just had to read today ...

"Urgently seeking UFX+ to buy ".     o)

And the UFX+ is still up on RME's list of interfaces    https://www.rme-audio.de/external-cards.html

I would wait a little, if you can.
The UFX+ could not be built anymore because Intel couldn't deliver those TB chips anymore.
Reading MCs comments there will be no other TB based interface anymore.
I could think of that an UFX+ successor might be on the way, most likely with USB3 but without TB.

@MC: any plans / roadmap that you could share at this point regarding an UFX+ successor with MADI support?

It's my understanding that Intel wouldn't manufacture those chips anymore, not that they couldn't.

Hi everyone!
I’m new on this forum and super interested in this interface too. I may have chance to buy ufx+ but judging from this thread  I’m not sure this information is credible. I also have information that successor of the ufx+ may launch in March 2023. Can anyone confirm this?

There's a few UFX+ in stock around in some Australian & Canadian stores, but you'd be ofcourse paying import tax & shipping etc.

Not sure why this one at bhphotovideo store says March 16, 2023 for "Expected Availability" though .

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/ … annel.html

It's showing as discontinued now. I was on the list since October of last year but never got one. Too late now.

That would be game changing.

And did that one also have 188 channels of I/O?

Unlikely, I never checked as I don’t need that.

Don’t get me wrong, so far I’m very impressed with my UCXII, I can reliably run it at 128 samples all day long and that is amazing for a USB device. In fact, I like it so much I have an ARC incoming, to take full advantage of TotalMix.

I just notice that similar workloads over Thunderbolt tax the system less. That’s not a dig at RME, you have done a fantastic job addressing the inherent limitations of USB.

And if I were a manufacturer, I would not allocate resources to Thunderbolt either, with the way Intel and Apple throw up roadblocks at every turn. I just lament the fact that a protocol as great as Thunderbolt is effectively neutered by its two biggest advocates.

Sorry if you took my post as criticism, it certainly wasn’t intended as such. So far the UCXII has been great for me. But if the UFX+ was still available, I would think hard about upgrading to that.

I was using
- UFX with FW, USB2
- RayDAT (PCIe)
- tested HDSPe MADI FX
- UFX+ via USB3
another gent from forum gave me his RTL values for UFX+ via thunderbolt.

Check this table and tell me whether you see any _significant_ differences in terms of RTL
https://www.tonstudio-forum.de/attachme … es-v2-jpg/

And now check this information about my "artificial" big Cubase project which I use for benchmarking (not real work).
I am checking whether playback is still possible without audio loss.
400 tracks with 2 VST in each track and in the sum, so a little bit more than 800 VST in total.
Useful to check different products or whether the system setup has issues (windows updates and what not).
https://www.tonstudio-forum.de/blog/Ent … cks-de-en/

No audio drops no matter whether I use
- UFX+ (USB3) or
- RayDAT (PCIe)
and the smallest ASIO buffersize at single speed (44.1 kHz, 32 samples) or double speed (96 kHz, 64 samples).

I also didn't notice any significant difference in CPU consumption.
Machine was under load (of course) but no matter what RME solution I used they all behaved accordingly.

I assume you won't work with 400 tracks as well (same as me).
So .. after digesting this information.
Do you still think that it makes a big difference that is worth scratching the head for it?

Initially, I also wanted to switch to a thunderbolt-based system, but now I am fully satisfied using USB.

On my older PC system it was even so wired that USB2 worked better compared to FW400. There were some combinations of sample rate and ASIO buffersize that didn't work well. With the USB driver, no problem.

Pick the solution which works best and supports you best. RME driver seem to be coded according to specs.
If the FW or USB chip(set) is well-designed, if you have a good BIOS and well-designed mainboard, then you should have zero problems, regardless of which driver you choose.

Some people claim that PCIe based solutions should have better RTL or would work better on higher system load.
But when looking at the RTL of different solutions and how well 400 tracks with 800+ VST work with any solution,
well I do not think there is a significant difference. Simply get a reasonable system. And if you need single thread performance get a CPU that delivers also single thread performance. We are in 2023 and CPUs are fast.

I see no need to remove our postings.

It's still useful for the thread, as some people seemed to be disappointed that the UFX+ successor will most likely be based on USB3 only (without TB).

I think that this is no big deal, and I also wanted to answer your assumptions in your post #27 that the transport nowadays doesn't make a big difference. At least for RME based systems with FPGA based design, no 3rd party communication chips and efficient drivers.

Regarding VST vs VSTi. I think VSTi are at the end very similar to VST, VSTi usually only need more performance.
This enhanced performance demand I simulated by using 800 VST in total.
This also creates a decent system load which is IMHO comparable to the use of CPU hungry VSTi.

Finally, under such high system-load the same performance demands are there like always for processing audio with near real-time demands, you need:
- an efficiently working PC with good drivers and low DPC latency
- low RTL

The values that I presented to you, to compare the RTL between different RME solutions, makes IMHO sense in this context.

Guys any update if there's new UFX+ or anything like that in the near future ?

I also have a UCXII as the UFX+ was unavailable. I also have a 2021 MacBook Pro Max M1 w/64GB running 128 samples all day and I can’t tell it’s working hard to keep up. Latency is super low and I’m throwing tons of real time playing with virtual instruments (piano) like you so I’m a little surprised to hear that. To me it seems there’s even more headroom. The biggest difference is I’m using Logic, not Cubase. I wonder if that is part of it?

BTW, you’re going to love the ARC remote. I can’t imagine not having one now. I got it about a month after the UCXII arrived and could never give it up. Such a handy little tool. 

Cheers…

Not really. There is no sense of timeline or what the features would even be. Main question for me is: will it have MADI support? (or some official way to add MADI, like pairing another device or SPF module). But also, can we expect news in the next year?

This is important when considering buying a used UFX+ for $4000+.

except the part where no one asked about TB support in your quoted questions. We're now asking about a new ufx+ (as in, a successor or replacement). Perhaps better for another thread. either way, still looking forward to news from RME on this product line