Universal Audio 4-710d

Reviews | Universal Audio 4-710d
104
T
he 4-710d is UA’s their fi rst
product in decades to offer
more than two channels. The
centre piece is four preamp
channels utilising the 710 Twin-Finity
architecture which blends solid-state
and valve (tube) amplifi cation stages.
Each preamp houses a simple
compressor, the design of which is
based on UA’s famous 1176. An A/D
section allows for ADAT and AES/EBU
output of these four channels as well
as four additional fi xed gain line inputs
at all standard rates up to 192kHz.
Trial by fi re
I received the review unit just before a
recording session I was booked for
outside my own studio, and being too
lazy to pull any of my other preamps
out of the rack I decided to give the
4-710d a trial by fi re hoping it would
deliver on the day. The number of
switches and the small font size made
navigation a little tricky to start with in
the slightly dingy room I was recording
in, but after a few times wondering
why lifting the gain of one channel
seemed to have no effect (it was the
output of the previous channel) I soon
got comfy. Simply put the 4-710d is a
great front-end for recording and
despite my initial navigational
confusion it is also very easy to use.
The VU meters provide enough
feedback about what’s going on with
the four preamp channels: input drive,
output level and gain reduction. The
status of all eight output channels at
the point of A/D conversion is covered
by eight two segment LEDs that let
you know the difference between a
healthy signal and a clipped one.
When you start tinkering with the
exciting regions of harmonic distortion
that this unit opens up the VU meters
can get pegged pretty easily when
monitoring input and output levels, at
which point they are not only useless
but also in danger of being damaged.
Luckily the gain reduction (GR) mode
cannot act so violently so this mode
can be used just to spare the coils as
well as check how much action the
compressor is involved in.
Preamps
The recording session I subjected the
4-710d to was focussed on creating
oddball percussion/rhythm tracks. This
involved many changes of mic and
settings as layers were added.
Dynamic, condenser and ribbon mics
were all used to capture loud and
quiet sources both close up and from
WHAT Is IT?
Four-channel solid-state/
valve blending preamp
with compression and
eight-channel A/D
CONTACT
Who: Source Distribution
Tel: [phone]
Web: uaudio.com
HIGHLIGHTs
1 A great tool for harmonic
manipulation
2 Simple and effective
compressors
3 Full sounding preamps
with plenty of clean gain
Universal Audio
4-710d | £2,039
UA package up four of their 710 Twin-Finity pres,
add 1176-style compressors and top it off with eight
channels of A/D. Robbie Stamp checks out the buzz
ON THE DVD
A/D conversion is fi tted as
standard in the 4-710d
(thus the ‘d’). The eight
channels, which are the
four preamps and the four
fi xed-gain line inputs, are
available via optical ADAT
and AES/EBU, the latter
utilising the DB-25
connector in TDIF
confi guration. There are
two ADAT sockets so that
all eight channels can be
transmitted at 88.2kHz
and 96kHz using the
SMUX protocol, and just
the four preamp channels
at 176.4kHz and
192kHz. The clocking
options are simple: the
unit can act as master
with sample rates
selectable via a front
panel knob or as slave via
Wordclock. The A/D
quality is of a suitably
high quality and would
take a much more costly
converter to make any
signifi cant improvement.
UA have also included a
limiter that engages for all
channels via a front panel
switch. This is mostly
transparent and keeps
unruly transients in check,
and can even add its own
brand of THD if pushed
hard enough.
A/D output and limiting
FMU241.rev_ua 104 5/23/11 2:15:00 PM