I think you have the wrong takeaway from my response. Admittedly. not the best example on my end. Of course I dont expect the latest version of ozone to recall settings from legacy versions. My point was that UA is great with backwards / cross compatibility & OP can buy with confidence knowing their purchases will be supported for the foreseeable future. Some plugin companies can be a headache in regards to that sort of thing which tends to preset issues if you have a lot of external sessions coming in day to day or are handing off sessions to other machines locally. This is just my opinion & everyone's needs are different but these sorts of things do play a factor in what plugins I use for my own template.

 

Here's my thoughts as somebody who moved over to UAD from sister site stuff. For emulations I now use almost exclusively UAD stuff.

Disclaimer: Before I get called a shill, my UA journey has been INCREDIBLY bumpy. I bought and returned the new gen Apollo Twin in favour of a Neve 88m, and in the process lost access to nearly all of the plug-ins I had purchased separately in a bundle. I had to chase their customer service for nearly three weeks AND beg on the forum before I even got a response. It's sorted now, but their whole iLok and UA Connect system absolutely sucks when it breaks for whatever reason. Anyways, here's what I own and what I'd use if I didn't have it:

1176 Collection: Sounds good, as you'd expect. If I didn't have it I'd use Arturia FET-76
Ampex ATR-102: Nice on the mix bux, although I slightly prefer the Studer as it's dirtier. IK Tape 80 is the best alternative IMO
Capitol Chambers: Again, a nice sounding plug-in, but you can get the same vibe from IK Sunset Studio
Capitol Mastering Comp: I really want to like this, I've tried, but I think Magic Death Eye Stereo reacts better to audio
dbx-160: If you want snap, this is snappy. That being said, I think Arturia VCA-165 is more versatile and sounds better
Fairchild: Nice sounding plug, not used it a whole lot yet, I'd say Undertone Audio Unfairchild is the best non-UA alternative though
Galaxy Tape Echo: Surprisingly vibey, just wish it had longer tails. Arturia Delay-201 or IK Space Delay would be my picks otherwise
Hitsville EQ: One of my favourite plugs, love Motown EQs. Kazrog True 252 is my favourite non-UA version of this.
Lexicon 224: Sounds nice but the interface is fiddly, Valhalla Vintage Verb sounds similar and has much better workflow
Massive Passive: Love this plug-in, sounds awesome. Obvious answer but Pulsar Massive if not this.
Pultec: Does what you'd want it to do. NoiseAsh Rule-Tec would be my alternate pick, although I hate NoiseAsh's GUIs.
Pure Plate: Nice sounding reverb, but again, IK Sunset Studio can get you the exact same vibe.
SSL Bus Comp: Sounds amazing on the mix bus, tightens up the mix. BX Townhouse Comp is my top alternative pick.
Studer A800 Tape: One of my favourite UA plugs, so vibey. Once again, IK Tape 80 can get you very similar results.
LA2A: Don't use a whole bunch, but has that sound. IK White 2A is a dark horse here, it's really good.
LA3A: One of my other favourite UA plug-ins, use it everywhere. Overloud's version is probably the best non-UA one.
176/175B: Use these a lot, really nice. Klanghelm MJUC or the new Relab would be my picks
Dream 65: Sounds amazing, VERY CPU greedy. ToneX will get you similar/better results without the hit AND is more versatile.
Neve 1073: Very good emulation, sounds just like the Heritage clone I had. Arturia Pre-73 for clean, Lindell 80 for dirty vibes.
Echoplex EP-34: Not native, wish it was. Got it when I had the Apollo. Audiority Plexitape

Overall I really like the UA stuff, it all sounds great. I hate the whole UAD ecosystem though and how much they try to lock people into it. The alternatives I've suggested I'm also NOT saying are the closest to the real thing or the absolute best sounding plug-ins as that is incredibly subjective, people will argue over finite details of which 1073 is closest to the real deal until they're blue in the face. As somebody who has owned a decent hardware clone version of said thing, it really opened my eyes to just how most of these plug-ins are pretty spot on and in the ball park of the vibe. If you run good source audio though them, they'll sound good, but don't expect these things to perform miracles for you, same goes for the UAD stuff.

Just my take, hope it helps somebody out.

 

Thanks to this intelligently designed system, UAD is one of the few companies that hasn't been hacked yet. I think it's purely UAD's own protection against illegal, free, cracked distributions without payment.

When I first got UAD and installed it, it only worked after the third attempt. I was already thinking it wouldn't work and my money and the plugins would be gone. It's quite stressful and a real nuisance.

 

No, not really

 

My top picks are the 1176's (LN Rev E / Rev A), Tape Emulations (Studer A- 800 / Ampex ATR-102), La-2a's (Silver / La-2 ), Lexicon 224 and Galaxy Tape Echo.

All native. No interface or pricey accelerator

 

The Neve 88RS, API Vision, and Avalon 737p plugins are top notch. The gate parameters are so flexible and smooth. When used with DSP, its the closest to an analog vocal chain.

 

Distressor, SSL E Channel Strip and some other emulations combined with Waves Audio emulations and FabFilter you have all necessary studio sound right now. Thanks.

 

Not really. My point about UAD was that they rarely release all sorts of update versions to fix bugs or add new features. So if you have a plugin inside a project file; chances are very good when you open that project on a different machine later down the road, it is very likely the exact same plugin version as the one in your old project. We have all dealt with developers who put things out which are still known to have issues with them; which often results in "it's in the magic next update", that never ends up being fixed. This might explain it better than I'm going to type out:

Spoiler

UAD’s update philosophy is very different from companies like Waves. Here’s how it works:


1. UAD Plugins (Powered Plugins / UADx Native)

• Once UA releases a plugin (say, the 1176 Collection, Manley Massive Passive, or Capitol Chambers), it is generally considered “done” in terms of feature set and DSP modeling.
  
  
• They rarely tinker with the sound or add new features after release. Their marketing is based on “authentic emulation,” so changing the plugin later could undermine that promise.
  
  
• Updates tend to be compatibility- or platform-driven rather than bug-fix heavy. For example:
  • Supporting new macOS or Windows versions.
    
    
  • Native/UADx support (Spark).
    
    
  • Moving from Intel to Apple Silicon.
    
    
  • Making UAD-2 DSP plugins also available natively.

2. Bug Fixes

• UAD plugins generally have fewer constant patch cycles compared to Waves. UA tends to release thoroughly tested plugins that don’t need much fixing.
  
  
• If a plugin has a genuine bug (rare), they will patch it, but you don’t see the endless incremental “bug fix/update” logs Waves users are used to.

3. Exceptions / New Versions

• Instead of patching an old plugin, UA sometimes releases a new version or collection (e.g., the original LA-2A Legacy → LA-2A Classic Leveler Collection).
  
  
• This is more of a business model: keep the legacy version stable, release a new “MkII” or “Collection” if they improve modeling.
  
  
• Old versions stay available for backwards compatibility.

4. UADx (Native Spark)

• UADx plugins get slightly more frequent maintenance updates since they have to run across DAWs without DSP hardware. Updates usually address:
  • Authorization issues.
    
    
  • VST3/AU/AAX host quirks.
    
    
  • Native performance (especially Apple Silicon).

✅ Summary:
Most UAD plugins are essentially “done” when released — rarely needing the constant bug-fix updates you see from Waves. Updates mainly arrive for OS/DAW compatibility, new platform support (DSP → Native), or rare bug fixes. If UA wants to improve the emulation, they usually release a new version/collection rather than overhaul the existing plugin.

 

Someone found a way to buy the "UAD Signature Edition Version 2" for $149 on the uaudio website.

Here's a link to the list of plugins in that bundle: https://www.thomannmusic.com/universal_audio_uad_signature_edition_2.htm

It's almost all of the plugins you get in the Spark (native) subscription. The bundle gives a perpetual license for the price of under 8 months. All the plugins are native.

Link to Reddit post that tells you how to get the deal. I did it and it works: https://www.reddit.com/r/universalaudio/comments/1mukqdz/whats_up_with_this

You'll need to register first if you don't have a UA account.

I've been watching UAD sales for some time and nothing can touch this unadvertised discount. If you don't already have UAD plugins and want a very decent set to begin with, this beats all prior deals, including Black Friday. It's unusually cheap.

 

Last edited: Aug 20, 2025

But you need a Vault key. Or it will tell you that "you probably shouldn't be here".

 

it still works if you search for it normally. But their servers seem to be unusually busy right now.

wow.

 

That was a great deal, I snatched it even if I own some of those plug-ins already. It was still worth it for the ones I don't own. Thanks for the heads up!

 

Last edited: Aug 20, 2025

Someone pm'd me a link to it, but it was showing the Vault message saying "you shouldn't be here" by the time I read that pm. If you typed in the bundle name on the top right search, it would show it but also go to that error page.

But if you just shop for it normally, it lets it get added. It took a very long time to do every step from activate to download, etc. I was thinking maybe they were working on blocking it, because there's no way they are going to sell us 54 plugins for the price of just a few of them.

I still think they are the devil and expect some kind of bs. I actually recently opened a ticket for a plugin I bought but then returned the interface. One user posted here about having to almost harass them trying to get money back from a similar situation. When I first contacted them, they were like you're stuck with it. You could hear the rep almost laughing about it in the email. I wanted to give it to someone I know with an Apollo and they wouldn't even accommodate that. I'd say we're even now ;)

 

My download took ages last night (UK) and all the activates, transfer to iLok etc, but the whole thing went through... Glad I've snatched it, I think it might be another error somehow. I was going to buy from PB for £265 and randomly ended up on UA's site and saw this crazy price... Everything is installed and working.

Grab it.

 

The UAD Sound City is very good. It works very well and does what it says it does.
The Manley plugins are also very good because they are modelled on the original analog H/W because Manley gave them the schematics. Just my opinion i.e.

 

The Ampex ATR-102 could work well on the master when the mix lacks bass, sub, and shine.

 

shoot, I just checked, as I know people were using this direct link last week @clone ,

https://www.uaudio.com/collections/all-plugin-bundles

and that was the work around to get to it even if you got that "vault" message denial (which I did), added to cart, then I added coupon code : TAKE25, and it came to $124 before tax.

They may have taken it out since than, but worth a try if someone wants...

5 minute later edit add: bummer, I mentioned I got this in the first page of this thread, and I thought people either already knew about it, as no one asked in a follow up comment as to the "how"...

But it looks like UAD made a mistake (similar to one that happened a few years ago), and fixed it, as I can't seem to access it now (or see it from the above link provided), and from reports on that reddit thread, it looks like even if you can, they nuked the "TAKE25" coupon ability.... But I would think $150 to still be a phenomenal deal.

I personally already had around 8 or 9 or so of the 54, but it still seemed like a good deal obviously, and it looks like you managed to get in there and get it correct?

but I just checked my UAD account and they are all there, and I was able to redeem and install all last week....and while it took some keystrokes, their site at least at that point wasn't bogged, and I was up and running with all quickly...

Hope people are able to get it if so inclined and that window hasn't shut.

 

Last edited: Aug 20, 2025

First, they blocked the link people had shared which led to the Vault Key error page. Then it said "You probably shouldn't be here" when you logged in. Then you could still see for $149 it if you searched for Signature in the top right side search box, but that also directed to the Vault page. But if you logged out, backed all the way out and just hit "Shop" button it was still working. Knowing my luck with my timing of buying legit plugins; they will probably all be on some site by later today anyway. lol.




Instruments not included, obviously;

 

Well I'm glad you got it if you wanted it friend.

Yeah, it seems like it was a little more difficult for you than it was for me last week. I just got the link (logged into my uad account which gave me the same "vault" prohibition thing), but was able to add to cart, add code/coupon, pay, checkout and boom. $124 and got the 54. (and like you, I didn't bother with dl'ing the instruments that required the bog of whatever as I didn't feel the need for the Ravel piano/b3/or epiano myself having plenty of those I am good with.

I'm glad you were able to get it at what I consider a fair price obviously for what it is, (hell, there were just 5-8 of them in there I would have paid that much for as wanted, and the earlier summer 10 for $100 whatnot did not include them).

Sure, doesn't include the Dolby A, the Neve stuff, and one of the native amps, but I can live with that. As basically the whole native collection outside of that (I don't currently own any UA interfaces so), All good.

But for me that was a week + ago iirc, (posted earlier in the thread), and hell, I get what you mean about paying for legit and then stuff showing up elsewhere... but in this case I don't really care, and I usually try and ultimately buy what I actually end up using regardless (unless it's some chuckleberry tech bro owned company (like NI and what have you right now), and I can live with myself getting the UAD native cake for that price legit and be solid with it as I don't like playing games that much anymore... I don't see myself spending $799 for some Kontakt library if I'm not using it on scoring some big film ( ;) or other ridiculously priced libraries) , and even owning NI Komplete/Ultimate whatever, .... it's just been easier to go HCiSO ala carte on that, and whatever.. we all have our own lines on this obviously. And I'm not one to judge.

It does seem like UAD realized too late in that there was an end around (as the patching/redirecting/lack of access/denial of code coupon etc that you experienced and apparently others are now), and I haven't had the time to peruse it all in any means in the last week, but I don't see my self regretting the $124 purchase.

 

It's still possible to make the purchase, I would love to have those 150 to be able to buy (this is where I have to say, Argentina, what a great meme it is)