The Universal Audio Volt 4 Gen 2 is a 12-in/6-out USB-C audio interface from UA's second-generation Volt range. It has two Tone Shaping mic preamps, 32-bit/192 kHz conversion and connections for outboard gear, MIDI hardware and optical expansion. It suits home and mobile recording of vocals, instruments and synths, as well as podcasting and streaming.
-
Tone Shaping preamps: two mic preamps with 60 dB of gain and three one-button modes: Warmth (inspired by the UA 610 tube preamp), Focus (modelled on a classic American solid-state console) and Shine (British Class-A circuitry)
-
Expandable I/O: two mic/line combo inputs, two front-panel Hi-Z instrument inputs, line inputs and outputs 3–4, and an ADAT or S/PDIF optical input for up to eight more channels
-
MIDI and USB hub: MIDI In and Out on 1/8" TRS (Type A), plus a USB-C hub port that can power a USB MIDI controller
-
Smart Display: a full-colour screen showing inputs, levels and settings
-
Recording aids: Auto-Gain for setting levels and Clip Protection for unexpected peaks
-
Built-in loopback for podcasts, streams and video calls
Line inputs and outputs 3–4 let you patch hardware processors into your recording chain or connect a line-level synth. Through the optical input, an ADAT preamp gives you eight extra channels at 44.1/48 kHz, which makes the Volt 4 a practical base for recording drums or a band. Phantom power is switchable per channel, so you can run a condenser and a dynamic mic side by side.
The Volt 4 works with UAD Console and LUNA, with session recall and low-latency cue mixes. Plug-ins run natively on the host computer rather than on DSP hardware. The interface is USB bus-powered and class-compliant on Mac, iPad and iPhone. On Windows it uses the ASIO driver from the UA Connect app. For mobile rigs with more gear attached, there is a separate USB-C power input, and a rear-panel power switch.
The Volt 4 ships with the UAD Volt Studio Bundle, whose contents UA notes are subject to change. It currently includes LUNA Free, the UA 610 Collection, LA-2A and 1176 plug-ins, Pure Plate Reverb, Galaxy Tape Echo, the PolyMAX and Anthem synths and third-party extras such as Melodyne Essential. Compared with the Volt 4 Max, it has no compressor processing, no Main/Alt speaker switching and a single headphone output.