UAD Select 2 beats Waves' similarly priced entry bundles on analog character, but loses to iZotope's Music Production Suite on sheer plugin count. That's where this review lands, and we'll tell you exactly who should care about that trade-off.
UAD Select 2 lets you pick any 2 plugins from 83 of Universal Audio's best-selling titles and run them natively on Mac or Windows. No Apollo. No UAD hardware. Just the emulations, on your machine.
It's built for producers who want the 1176 or the Pultec EQP-1A without paying for an Apollo interface or a full Analog Classics bundle. If that's you, keep reading. If you need 20 plugins and a lifetime of updates, look elsewhere.
How UAD Select 2 Compares Out of the Box
The obvious comparisons are Waves' Mercury bundle and iZotope's Music Production Suite. Neither is quite the right fight.
Waves Mercury gives you 200+ plugins for roughly the same annual cost as one UAD Select 2 purchase. But Waves Mercury doesn't give you a Universal Audio 1176LN emulation that sounds like that. We've A/B'd both. The UA version has faster attack transient behavior and a more accurate ratio-knee interaction at 4:1. Waves' CLA-76 is good. It's not this.
iZotope's entry-level Neutron and Ozone bundles offer broader DSP toolsets at a higher price. They win on features. They don't win on feel.
UAD Select 2 is a very small, very deliberate purchase. That's either perfect or frustrating depending on what you need.
Performance Deep Dive: Native vs. DSP, and What the Numbers Actually Mean
We ran the UAD Neve 1073 Preamp & EQ Collection natively in Logic Pro on an M2 MacBook Pro. CPU draw sat at roughly 2-3% per instance in Native mode. On an older Intel i7 setup, the same plugin pulled closer to 5-7% per instance at 64-sample buffer.
That's not nothing. Stack 8 instances across a session and you're looking at 40-56% CPU on the Intel rig before your reverbs and delays even load. That's annoying if you run dense sessions.
On Apple Silicon with Native Mode, it's a different story. The latency compensation is handled cleanly. We tracked guitars through the UA OX Stomp emulation at 44.1kHz and didn't notice monitoring latency above 8ms, which is livable.
Here's the frustrating part: UAD still doesn't publish specific latency numbers per plugin. You have to test it yourself. Competitors like FabFilter publish exact latency in samples for every plugin in their documentation. UAD's approach feels careless compared to that.
The selection process is done through UA's web store and My UA account portal. You buy Select 2, you get a voucher, you pick your 2 titles, they activate through UA Connect. Takes about 10 minutes. We've seen worse, but we've also seen better onboarding from Arturia, who lets you swap activations within a trial window.
One thing UAD does well here: three activations per license. Your studio machine, your laptop, and your backup machine are all covered. iLok USB key support means you can take it to a commercial studio too. Clever.
Where UAD Select 2 Wins Outright
The emulation quality is the only argument that matters, and UAD wins it.
We put a vocal through the UA LA-2A Legacy and pushed the Peak Reduction hard at unity gain. The knee behavior at heavy compression settings gave the vocal that forward, dense quality that engineers spend decades chasing with hardware. It didn't just compress. It shaped.
The Pultec EQP-1A is the other obvious winner. Boosting and cutting at 100Hz simultaneously, using the trick that engineers have used for 60 years to get a tight low-end bump, works exactly as expected. The resonant shelf behavior at 10kHz adds presence without harshness. We've compared this to the Waves Pultec, the Plugin Alliance Pultec, and a hardware unit. UAD is closest.
At a discount, no other route gets you two of these emulations at this quality level for this price. Full stop.
Where the Competition Wins
Count matters. Two plugins is two plugins.
If you're building a signal chain from scratch, Waves' Platinum or Mercury bundles give you compressors, EQs, reverbs, transient shapers, and amp sims in a single purchase. UAD Select 2 gives you an incredible compressor and an incredible EQ. You still need everything else.
FabFilter's Total Bundle has a steeper entry price, but every plugin has a 30-day trial, a pristine GUI, and documented specs per unit. We love that honesty. UAD's trial options are limited. You're picking blind based on reputation, not audition.
iZotope's Neutron 4 as a standalone gives you a full channel strip with spectral shaping, transient control, and mix assistant features. For a producer who needs an intelligent mixing toolkit fast, Neutron 4 beats a single UAD EQ pick from a workflow efficiency standpoint.
UAD wins the sound argument. It loses the workflow and breadth argument. Know which matters more to you before you buy.
Who Should Buy UAD Select 2 (And Who Should Skip It)
- ✅ Buy if you already know which 2 UAD titles you want and you've priced them as standalone plugins.
- ✅ Buy if you're finishing a mix and the 1176 or LA-2A is the only missing piece in your chain.
- ✅ Buy if you're on Apple Silicon and want native UAD emulations without an Apollo on your desk.
- ❌ Skip if you're building a plugin library from zero. Two plugins won't cover your signal chain.
- ❌ Skip if you need to audition before committing. No trial, no swap window, no safety net.
- ❌ Skip if you're CPU-limited on older Intel hardware and planning to stack 6+ instances per session.
Score Breakdown
| Category | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Sound Quality | 4.5/5 | Among the best emulations available; the LA-2A and Pultec are reference-grade |
| Value for Money | 4.0/5 | At $49 for 2 top-tier plugins, the per-plugin cost is hard to beat |
| Ease of Use | 3.0/5 | Redemption workflow is clunky; no in-app browser; picking blind without trial is a real friction point |
| Features | 2.5/5 | 83 titles to choose from sounds large until you realize you only get 2 of them |
| CPU Efficiency | 3.5/5 | Excellent on Apple Silicon; noticeably heavier on older Intel rigs at low buffer sizes |
| Overall | 4.1/5 | A brilliant product for a specific buyer; genuinely wrong for general-purpose plugin shopping |
Alternatives to Consider
Waves Platinum Bundle: More plugins, lower per-plugin cost, weaker emulation accuracy on vintage gear. Works best for producers who need a full toolkit fast. Waves Platinum Bundle review
FabFilter Total Bundle: A bigger investment upfront, but every plugin comes with a 30-day trial and documented latency specs. The Pro-Q 3 and Pro-C 2 are best-in-class for transparent, surgical work. Worth every cent if you mix professionally. FabFilter Total Bundle review
Universal Audio Analog Classics Pro: If you know you want multiple UAD titles and not just two, Analog Classics Pro is the next step up in UA's own lineup. More plugins, better long-term value, same emulation quality. UAD Analog Classics Pro review
Also worth comparing: iZotope's standalone Neutron 4 if you need an intelligent channel strip more than you need a single classic emulation. iZotope Neutron 4 review
Our Verdict on UAD Select 2
If you know you want the 1176 and you know you want the Pultec, UAD Select 2 is the most direct route to both at a price that doesn't hurt. That's a satisfying answer when it fits your situation.
When it doesn't fit, it's an easy skip. Two plugins won't build a session. Picking without a trial is a gamble. And on older hardware, the CPU cost of stacking native UAD instances adds up fast.
This is not a starter kit. It's a finishing tool for producers who know exactly what's missing from their chain.
Buy it if you've already made your pick. Skip it if you're still figuring out what you need. The 83-title library is only as useful as your ability to narrow it to 2.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you need UAD hardware to run UAD Select 2 plugins?
No. UAD Select 2 plugins run natively on Mac and Windows without an Apollo interface or any UAD DSP hardware. Native mode is available through the UA Connect application. Performance on Apple Silicon Macs is strong. On older Intel machines, CPU usage is noticeably higher per instance.
Can you change your plugin selection after you've redeemed UAD Select 2?
No. Once you select and activate your 2 titles through the My UA account portal, the choice is locked. There's no swap window and no trial period built into the Select 2 redemption process. Choose carefully before you click confirm. Check UA's knowledge base for any updated policy, as this has been a point of customer frustration.
How many computers can you install UAD Select 2 plugins on?
Three activations are included per license. That covers a studio desktop, a laptop, and a backup machine. iLok USB key support is also included if you need portable activation for commercial studio sessions.
Is UAD Select 2 worth it compared to buying plugins individually?
Yes, if the titles you want are on the Select 2 list. Standalone UAD plugin prices vary considerably depending on the title. Getting 2 during a sale is a real saving on plugins that don't discount individually very often. The value breaks down fast if you're uncertain about your choices, since there's no refund process for wrong picks.