PreSonus FireBox

Compact and portable. It has a fairly sturdy metal case. Overall kind of cheap looking. But what do you expect? Just look up the other details.

Firewire, which apparently is going the way of the dodo.

The two preamps are considerably noisier than the Apogee Duet or the TC Konnekt 24D (the other two interfaces I've unfortunately had to buy). If I didn't do fairly high gain amp-sims I probably wouldn't care. But I do. And I write my own signal processing software.

Its bus-powered by certain machines. My macbook pro apparently doesn't have enough power to power it (see http://psfaq.presonus.com/index.php?action=artikel&cat=3&id=45&artlang=en). Sad... but I guess that's mainly Apple's fault.
Presonus though needs to suck it up and update the thing for compatibility.

High sample rates just eat up disk space. All this high sample rate crap is just like the Megahertz myth for computers. Don't fall for it! What counts is component quality, not numbers you can easily boost. And what really counts is just writing better music.

Rant aside, latency is good. Mac drivers are stable (unlike TC's Konnekt).

Overall, I like the combination of features the box has. Its a shame the preamps are kinda noisy, otherwise I think I'd get a lot of use out of it.

Save your duckets and buy a Duet.

Very easy to use.

I've noticed the preamps are a bit noisy. Anything past 20 db of gain introduces all kinds of things. It sounds almost as if there is bad RF shielding going on because there is more than just white noise in the background. What is odd is that I also own 2 firepods, and they don't have this issue (plugged into the same computer in the same power outlet). Perhaps the preamp section is different on the firebox? Either way, this area could use improvement.

I suppose so. It seems like a pretty solid build.

Presonus is really amazing with their customer support. In fact, I would go as far as saying that they are THE BEST of anyone I have ever dealt with, even outside of the music realm. I had an issue with one of my Firepod, and they replaced it with really no questions asked. This is why I'm sticking with them for good, regardless of the Firebox's preamps. I'm a customer for life.

If there was some way for Presonus to fix the issue with the preamp noise on these, it would be a 10/10 most definitely. The layout is easy to use, it fits in a 1/2 rack space if you want to mount it, and it generally behaves itself. I've had mine for about 2 years now, and have recorded countless tracks with it. Maybe the newer models have addressed this issue. Either way, I would suggest just going all out and getting the firepod/firestudio instead, as it'll give you future flexibility anyway.

As far as functions go, it's class compliant with OS X, so plug it in and it works. Problem is what it does once it starts working.

Garbage. Absolute garbage.

The preamps are horrible. They have little to no gain (I've read around 45db. That's crap), so they try to counter this by offering you a 12 db boost through software that you install onto your computer. For those of you just venturing into the field of home recording, this is a horrible idea, and I'll tell you why..

WHITE NOISE. HISSING. Lots of it. It's not just me. Dig around a little bit. You'll see most of the complaints about this unit center around such issues. I tried using this as my interface using Logic. I couldn't use any kind of amplifier plug-in; it was too hissy. By the time the gain was turned up enough to make the guitar audible, all the background noise from the crappy preamps came through louder than the guitar signal. Wanna plug in mics? It doesn't matter what you use. Dynamic, condenser... it's all gonna come in so low, that by the time you turn up the gain to hear them, you get overpowered by white noise. It's pointless. I've a/b'd this with an Apogee Duet, and the Duet is **gasp** quiet! It's not the cables, it's not the mics, it's not the guitar. It's the Firebox.

I was gonna sell this on eBay, but I actually feel bad for doing so. I think I'm gonna smash it with a baseball bat instead to see how it holds up; I'll let you know.

They respond after a week or so.

Look, you're probably in the same boat as me. Want to record some demos, maybe tool around with some recording software, maybe just learn a bit? Yeah, I was there. And sweet Jesus is it tempting when you see the industry awards being tossed around for this thing, all for $300. Heck, you might get something thrown in with it as well (I got a microphone package. Yee-haw). I know, you're broke, and this thing is touted as a cheap solution to all your problems. It's not.

Shell out the extra cash for a Pro Tools LE set up. If you have a Mac, buy an Apogee Duet. PreSonus puts out budget gear. If it hadn't been touted as such a revolutionary device I wouldn't be as aggravated, but this thing is polished turd. I really wish I had done a better job of educating myself before jumping on this thing, but que sera. Either way, I'm not giving these clowns any more money, because I know they just cut corners to make things cheap. It's not worth it. You will be disappointed. I cannot stress this enough.

Simply put, don't buy this if you are at all serious about recording some tracks. Spend the extra $200. I know you don't want to, but it's worth it. Otherwise, you have a cheesy aluminum paperweight at your disposal that you actually feel guilty about re-selling, even at a tremendous loss.

It seems easy to use until it doesn't work. Then it is a real pain to fix.

The line ins are good but there is not enough volume on the mic pres, even with their 12 dB boost that also boosts your noise!

It often works.

I've had it crap out on me too many times in the middle of a take to recommend it. I've had it for almost two years now, but it should still work!

I had to pick the middle number. At first Presonus tech support was fantastic. Now though they just send email me parts of the FAQ they have online. Basically they say "too bad that the mic level is too low to record. Go buy a preamp for the mics"! I couldn't believe it.

I thought it was great while I was doing a bunch of projects with just line in. Then when I started using mics it was all downhill. Condenser and dynamic mics are both bad. It seems that they used cheap parts in this thing. I am so disappointed in Presonus. I will NEVER buy anything from them again.

I'm also disappointed with Sweetwater because they recommended this box because of the preamps in it!

For years, the Firebox showed support for multiple interfaces in a daisy-chained configuration (for more ports) as "Coming Soon". The Inspire and Firepod both included this functionality. Now, years, later they have finally given up and those of us who bought them with the plan of upgrading them are getting the shaft.

When I contacted them asking if there was a rebate or consolation for owners who bought these, I was told "10% off MAP if you want to buy another interface".

I'll have a really hard time buying Presonus gear in the future.

The interface is decent, especially compared to the USB garbage thats out there.

Super easy to install(Class compliant on Windoze Ex-Pee and Mac OS 10).
Only thing I had to install was the Mixer and DB Boost panel(Drag and drop on a mac).

Manual is clear cut and if you follow the instructions(Which most don't) it will install right the first time.

Not sure of the firmware version, But it new as of January.

I am mainly plugging straight in the interface with a guitar and Bass and I am using Logic 8, Peak and Reason 4 and AU instruments long with a Condenser mic(no external Pre's or processing).

I am using it also with my Apple MacBook 2.2ghz Intel Core 2 Duo laptop with 1 gig of Ram and the Latest OSX(10.5.X).

I get very little noise when plugging in and recording(But then again I know how to setup a track and use the gain controls properly, a basic skill lacked by many).

I haven't had one issue with the Firebox, I tried M-Audio(Drop outs) Echo(Excessive clicks when just using a mouse). This is one of the best.

Motu was a close second. I have used it with my laptop as a keyboard rig and as backing tracks for solo shows and had no issues.

Had to ask a couple of questions(Use to use PC's so moving over to Mac was leading to asking a few).

Answers with in a day in e-mail and I never had to call them.

This gets a 10 + + +! No problems and I love it, If it was lost or stolen I would buy its big Brother.

The people who complained about noise or issues probably just need to be patient and "RTFM".....

A little research goes a long way people.

Now buy one!

Plug and play, what can I say.

Not as good as what I imagine a high end recording device to sound but certainly does the job and is good value for the price range.

If you is using a mac (not a pro) and looking for something good but basic to start off mucking bout with home recording I totally recommend it ay.

I'm going to start this out with the disclosure that because I could not get the Firebox to play back and record at the same time (for reamping) on my 64 bit Windows box, I'm overall negativly biased against this unit. It works with my 32 bit machine, but doesnt do Full Duplex with 64 and I wasted 2 weeks going back and forth with Presonus tech support, more on that later. Now, on with you regularly scheduled Firebox review.
The Mixer and control panel software look neat from screen shots, easier to pick up and use than my emu 0404 patchmix app, but harder than the control panel for my echo audiofire.

Digital is digital, and I had the very common problem of a cheap firewire chipset causing clicks and pops. But once that was fixed, the FireBox has some noisy preamps. A friend of mine bought a firepod a couple years back and raved about it so I expected great things from this, the preamps have lots of noise in them compared to my Echo Audiofire.

Meh, only had it a month.

PreSonus does not have a 64-bit Windows machine to test their equipment on! Yeah, its May, 2008 and they cant test this on a 64-bit Windows machine. I spent 2 weeks of back and forth with tech support trying to get this to work, thats after I wasted an entire weekend reading their forms about the same problems with SPDIF full duplex recording. From what I gathered it seems other people have expressed this problem with the 2.46 drivers (which haven't been updates in 8 months now), the common solution is to roll back to 2.44 drivers which work nice, except 2.44 does not support 64-bit Windows. The person I got a hold of at their tech support doesn't read their own tech support forums. I'm giving this a 4 instead of a 1 because the guy at least spoke english.

Noisy preamps, bad interface, poor driver support, worthless tech support. Sent this joker back to ebay, got an Echo AudioFire 4 instead, it cost a bit more but it is better than the FireBox in every way.

Pretty straight forward. The knobs have divets, not free turning, which is very annoying for fine tuning. Turning the knobs also doesn't feel "right", that's not a technical term but I'm sure you know what I mean. Software is a pain in the arse and only the left headphone works. Frustrating, no satisfaction at all.

Also, they expect YOU cut out and put on the rubber feet! Seriously, in the bag of manuals, drivers etc theres a square piece of sticky-back rubber with four feet on it! Have your scissors ready!

At levels high enough to record properly I got an awful hissing/hum noise. Nothing to do with my grounding either. Sound is so-so when not full of other noise, I guess preamps on a model this cheap is good whatever. Gave up. Refund pending.

The right earphone doesn't work. The thing hisses and the drivers are awful. I've sent it back luckilly in time for a full refund and now I can't get the software off my ******* computer! Very poor piece of kit, and I feel for the people who are stuck with theirs unable to get a refund.

As said I'm able to get a full refund from the shop I got it from. They're really good blokes. However, if you want to have a laugh at how awful their customer support is go on to www.presonus.com, then into the forums for tech support, hold ctrl+f then type "firebox" and look at the amount of unanswered posts compared to views etc. Terrible.

Also, when looking at the products page, watch the accompanying video for the firebox and you'll see that really we've all been dealing with a bunch of redneck goons who can't say "level" properly. If I'd have taken that on board I wouldn't have bought it in the first place.

An utter piece of garbage. I will always try and deter people from buying one 'til my dying days. Buy an Edirol FA66, my mate has a FA101 and it's a beaut. I'm planning on getting it too, I wish I did to begin with but I thought It'd be better to save ??20. I was wrong.

Please don't listen to any reviews of this from web magazines or whatever such as macuser etc etc. They all seem to big it up loads which isn't a fair representation (seeing as they're all from 2005 aswell). In google type in "firebox problem" and see what you come up with. Look on forums and get real advice.

A poor sour experience. I will never go with Presonus ever again.

Small, desktop unit, very portable, plug and play, firewire interface. Has 2 microphone/instrument preamplifiers, 2 analog line inputs, 6 analog line outputs, S/PDIF input/output, MIDI input/output, low latency monitoring, headphone output, powered via FireWire bus or externally, software mixer, Windows/Mac compatible, fits MAXRACK rack mounting system, includes Cubase LE. Box is metal, has clip indicators, no onboard DSP, physical knobs control mic/instr ins, phones & mix-outs levels.

Has additional FW port for daisy-chaining. S/PDIF and MIDI I/O are accessed through break-out cables.

The preamps are clean sounding but do not provide enough gain. I often have the gain up all the way and it is not enough. For quiet signals it is not a workable option, an external mixer is required-- unless you have a mic with a very hot output. For instrument ins it works fine. As mentioned above, there is a practical number of inputs and outputs. Send/Return must be accomplished using the available in/outs. One could use the available outs for surround applications, but this would need to be handled in the host software.

The unit is powered via firewire or DC power supply. Phantom power is provided for the front mic in's. I don't know if it is true 48 v.

24-Bit / 44.1, 48, 88.2, 96K sample rate, works with OS X core audio. I don't know if it supports direct monitoring. I always hear the usual latency with monitoring.

Comes with Cubase LE and a few small control panels. No stand-alone operation.

The Firebox is fine for some tasks: good quality outs for critical listening, MIDI I/O, and for line inputs. If you want to use it with microphones, you may need to boost signals to line level with another device. There is a utility that allows you to boost signals in software (but this is not true pre-converter gain).

When I tried using the Firebox with Digital Performer on a Macbook. There were clicks in the audio. I contacted Presonus they made a few suggestions that did not solve the problem.

I think there are a number of boxes out there with similar features for about the same money. Might be worth looking into other options. But if you can get a really good deal on a Firebox, and won't be using it on quiet mic signals, and won't be using it with DP, then go for it.