It’s an exaggeration to call the UAD-2 card a “glorified dongle” just because there are native alternatives… the DSP on the card does actually do something, after all. However, at the end of the day, the main reason I use UAD-2 plugs, silly as it is, is because I like the GUI’s – I basically imagine that I’m using the vintage, hardware originals. Like the Fairchild… it sells for $150, and even legendary Allen Sides of Ocean Way Studios couldn’t tell it from a real Fairchild, which can go for $40,000 