Universal Audio Volt 876 USB Audio Interface Review: Pro-Level Polish

Universal Audio Volt 876 USB 音频接口评测：专业级的打磨

WIRED 优点： 支持类兼容（Class-compliant）。前置放大器（Preamp）属于顶级水准。开箱即用，非常简单。ADAT 和字时钟（Word clock）接口让扩展变得无缝衔接。 缺点： iOS 上无法使用 Console 应用程序。没有 S/PDIF 输入/输出接口。

TIRED 不足： iOS 上无法使用 Console 应用程序。没有 S/PDIF 输入/输出接口。

In the fall of 2006, I decided emo was out and IDM was in. Fueled by the hope of becoming the next Four Tet or Aphex Twin, I marched into my local Guitar Center and purchased an audio interface to convert my guitar and vocals into ones and zeroes, then mangle them in Ableton Live. 2006 年秋天，我决定告别情绪摇滚（Emo），转投智能舞曲（IDM）的怀抱。怀揣着成为下一个 Four Tet 或 Aphex Twin 的梦想，我走进当地的 Guitar Center，买了一台音频接口，打算把我的吉他和人声转换成数字信号，然后在 Ableton Live 中进行各种“蹂躏”。

When I got home, I plugged a brand-new M-Audio Fast Track Pro into my Windows desktop and immediately hit a brick wall of audio driver configuration hell. I eventually got the thing to work after hours of troubleshooting, but latency—the gap between when you make a sound and when it hits your computer—rendered the box unusable. 回到家后，我将一台全新的 M-Audio Fast Track Pro 插到我的 Windows 台式机上，随即就撞上了音频驱动配置的地狱，寸步难行。经过数小时的故障排查，我终于让它运行起来了，但延迟——即你发出声音到声音进入电脑之间的时间差——让这台设备根本无法使用。

I was tempted to throw the Fast Track out the window and sample the sound of it hitting the pavement with an analog tape recorder. Instead, I went back to Guitar Center, traded the interface for a Line 6 DL4 delay pedal, and set my sights on ripping off Explosions in the Sky in a proper band setting. 我当时真想把这台 Fast Track 从窗户扔出去，然后用模拟磁带录音机采样它撞击地面的声音。但我最终还是回到了 Guitar Center，用这台接口换了一个 Line 6 DL4 延迟效果器，并决定在正经乐队里模仿 Explosions in the Sky 的风格。

Had something quick and painless like the Universal Audio Volt 876 existed at the time, who knows where my life would be now. I probably wouldn’t be opening for Four Tet and Fred Again … at the O2 Academy, but my entrée into computer-based music would have gone much more smoothly than it did in 2006. 如果当时有像 Universal Audio Volt 876 这样快速且省心的设备，谁知道我现在的人生会是什么样呢？我可能依然没机会在 O2 Academy 为 Four Tet 和 Fred Again… 做暖场嘉宾，但我的电脑音乐入门之路肯定会比 2006 年那会儿顺畅得多。

For the Masses 面向大众

Audio interfaces have come a long way since then. Prices are down, quality is way up, and latency is negligible in most home studio environments. Interfaces that pair with proprietary software and drivers still exist, but the genius of class compliance—meaning you can plug a device into your computer without needing the aforementioned—makes it easy for audio gear manufacturers to build boxes that are effortlessly plug-and-play on most operating systems. Even iOS and Android, in many cases. Anyone can find a decent-sounding interface on Amazon for $200 or less and plug it into their iPhone, then plug in a cheap mic and mumble their way to TikTok superstardom. 从那时起，音频接口已经取得了长足的进步。价格下降了，质量大幅提升，在大多数家庭工作室环境中，延迟几乎可以忽略不计。虽然仍有一些需要配合专用软件和驱动程序的接口存在，但“类兼容”（Class-compliant）技术的精妙之处在于，你无需安装上述驱动即可将设备连接到电脑。这使得音频设备制造商能够轻松制造出在大多数操作系统上都能实现即插即用的设备，甚至在很多情况下也支持 iOS 和 Android。任何人都能在亚马逊上花 200 美元或更低的价格买到一个音质不错的接口，插上 iPhone，再接个廉价麦克风，就能通过哼唱在 TikTok 上成为超级巨星。

For most of the 2010s, this was not the case with interfaces manufactured by Universal Audio. The Scotts Valley, California, company became legendary in the ’60s and ’70s among audiophiles and studio engineers on the back of essential hardware units like the 610 preamp and the 1176 compressor. 在 2010 年代的大部分时间里，Universal Audio 生产的接口并非如此。这家位于加州斯科茨谷的公司在 60 和 70 年代凭借 610 前置放大器和 1176 压缩器等核心硬件，在发烧友和录音棚工程师中成为了传奇。

In 2012, Universal Audio launched its Apollo series of interfaces, which were immediately lauded by the “prosumer” klatch for their high-quality preamps, durable components, and the vast ecosystem of plug-ins that offloaded processing power from your underpowered home computer onto the interfaces themselves. As enticing as all this was, there was a catch: You needed the hardware plugged in to run the software, and vice versa. The “walled garden” approach pioneered by Apple reared its ugly head in the world of music gear. 2012 年，Universal Audio 推出了 Apollo 系列接口，因其高质量的前置放大器、耐用的组件以及庞大的插件生态系统，立即受到了“产消者”（Prosumer）群体的赞誉。这些插件可以将处理压力从性能不足的家用电脑转移到接口本身。尽管这一切都很诱人，但有一个前提：你必须连接硬件才能运行软件，反之亦然。苹果公司开创的“围墙花园”模式在音乐设备领域露出了它丑陋的一面。

Universal Compatability 通用兼容性

Though the winds of the industry were blowing more and more in the direction of affordable and technically accessible gear, it was still a surprise to hear in 2021 that Universal Audio planned an entry in the class-compliant interface market with the Volt series. The company finally trusted users’ insistence on bringing their own plugins and software to the party, and its Volt 276 became an immediate hit. It’s accessible, portable, and affordable, and its pair of preamps are top-shelf at this price point. Plug it into just about any phone or computer, fire up a digital audio workstation (DAW) like Logic or Loopy Pro, and the green lights on channels 1 and 2 bounce up and down delightfully as you howl into your mic or strum on your guitar. 尽管行业风向越来越倾向于价格亲民且技术门槛低的产品，但 2021 年听到 Universal Audio 计划通过 Volt 系列进入类兼容接口市场时，依然令人惊讶。该公司终于信任了用户对于使用自带插件和软件的坚持，Volt 276 也因此一炮而红。它易于使用、便携且价格实惠，其配备的一对前置放大器在同价位中属于顶级水准。只需将其插入几乎任何手机或电脑，打开 Logic 或 Loopy Pro 等数字音频工作站（DAW），当你对着麦克风嘶吼或拨动吉他琴弦时，通道 1 和 2 上的绿色指示灯就会欢快地跳动。

Input channels fill up fast, and the process of plugging and unplugging things can be a major roadblock when you’re itching to get new ideas recorded as quickly as possible. On the heels of the 276’s success, Universal Audio pushes its Volt series to its limit with the 876, which boasts eight analog inputs in a single rack-mount unit. 输入通道很快就会被占满，当你急于记录新灵感时，频繁的插拔过程可能会成为巨大的障碍。继 276 取得成功后，Universal Audio 推出了 Volt 876，将 Volt 系列推向了极致，这款机架式设备拥有八个模拟输入接口。

The fact that a class-compliant interface with these specs exists in the first place is a minor miracle, as most manufacturers cannot resist the urge to marry硬件 functionality to proprietary software when their unit hits eight or more inputs (and a $1,000-plus price tag to match). 能有一款具备这些规格的类兼容接口本身就是一个小小的奇迹，因为大多数制造商在设备达到八个或更多输入接口（以及相应的 1000 美元以上价格）时，总是无法抗拒将硬件功能与专用软件绑定的诱惑。

While the Volt 876 pairs well with the accompanying Console software that will be familiar to anyone who’s used an Apollo interface, it also works just fine without it. Immediately after unboxing, I powered it up with the included IEC power cable—a standard connector instead of a clunky wall wart!—and connected it to my iPhone 16 Pro Max via the provided USB-C cable. I opened up Loopy Pro, added an audio input, and plugged my guitar straight into one of the two XLR/instrument combo jacks on the front of the unit. After a quick gain adjustment, the bright, spiky tone of my Fender Telecaster came to life through the headphones I plugged into one of the two front-mounted quarter-inch TRS monitor jacks. It worked flawlessly, and I wept tears of joy. My struggle to find a quality audio interface that works seamlessly on iOS had reached its conclusion. 虽然 Volt 876 可以很好地配合随附的 Console 软件使用（任何用过 Apollo 接口的人都会很熟悉），但即使没有它，设备也能正常工作。开箱后，我立即用附带的 IEC 电源线（这是标准接口，而不是笨重的墙插式电源适配器！）为其供电，并通过提供的 USB-C 线将其连接到我的 iPhone 16 Pro Max。我打开 Loopy Pro，添加了一个音频输入，并将吉他直接插入设备正面的两个 XLR/乐器组合插孔之一。经过快速的增益调节，我 Fender Telecaster 那明亮、尖锐的音色通过插入正面两个 1/4 英寸 TRS 监听插孔之一的耳机中生动地呈现出来。它运行得完美无瑕，我喜极而泣。我寻找一款能在 iOS 上无缝工作的优质音频接口的挣扎，终于画上了句号。

Simple, Yet Powerful 简约而不简单

An interface is only as good as its preamps and converters, and the 876 is at the top of the heap in this segment of the market. The preamps are crisp and spacious without any fake-sounding sizzle, and low-end sources like bass guitars and kick drums sound clear and impactful. The 32-bit/192-kHz A-D and D-A conversion is about as good as it gets for the price. Are you better off with a rack of high-end outboard preamps and compressors? Of course, but most audio engineers who are inclined to go for that type of setup are probably not the target market for this piece, which is just a click above entry level. 音频接口的好坏取决于其前置放大器和转换器，而 876 在这一细分市场中处于顶尖水平。它的前置放大器清晰且富有空间感，没有任何虚假的嘶嘶声，贝斯和底鼓等低频音源听起来清晰且充满冲击力。32-bit/192-kHz 的模数（A-D）和数模（D-A）转换在这一价位段已是极致。你是否需要一套高端外置前置放大器和压缩器机架？当然需要，但大多数倾向于那种配置的音频工程师可能并不是这款产品的目标用户，因为它的定位仅比入门级高出一档。