PreSonus FirePod

It was fairly easy to set up for me. I was a little confused at first because all I had to do was plug it into my Macbook for the drivers to be installed. It's ridiculously easy to record with. I don't understand how so many people have technical issues with it. I bought a refurbished unit, so maybe they fixed the problems with mine.

The sound quality on this is pretty good. The preamps sound good with my AKG Perception 200, MXL V63M, and Sennheiser E609. It is great for home demos and recordings. I wouldn't suggest using this if you are trying to create a professional studio, but then again it's all about the person mixing. If you suck at mixing mastering, then this will sound bad. If you are decent at mixing and mastering. you can make this sound decent. If you are great at mixing and mastering, you can make this sound amazing.

I've had it for over a year, and there has been zero issues with it.

I have not contacted them yet for any reason.

I think this is a great value interface for home recording. I wanted something that's firewire, and I'm very glad a purchased this piece of equipment. The only problem I've had with it is the ability to control separate volumes while monitoring through it. When I record drums, if I try to use the built in monitoring, it doesn't let me hear the change in volume and stuff. For some reason, the levels all sound the same, even if I change the gain. This was an easy fix for me though. Instead, I just monitor through Logic, and when I change the gain levels on the Firepod you can hear them perfectly.

I'm no computer tech, but I really had no serious issues with start up. Vista gave me a couple of problems at first, but easily solved by downloading a new driver and re flashing the firmware. After that had no problems. I don't get real technical with my recording and the Firepod has done everything I've asked of it. Oh, I don't think I looked at the manual to tell you the truth.

I use the firepod to record mostly ecclectic metal. Usually 7 tracks on drums with a scratch track then overdub from there. It is also used to record live practice (guitar, drums, bass, vocals). No problems with noise. No pops, clicks, hiss or anything like that. Spent more money at a studio for a demo that sounded alot worse than what I get with the Firepod. Sounds not perfect but I don't expect it to be.

Had it about 3 years no problems ever. I turn it on, and it works. I don't use it in live situations because I usually have to many things to worry about as it is.

Only dealt with them when Vista was being rude, they were quick and efficient got it running quick.

I was going to get a newer Alesis unit but it would never ship so just said to hell with it and bought the Firepod, I don't regret it at all. I use the Firepod going into a Toshiba laptop (pentium dual core, 2 gig of ram) running Vista (I'd rather XP but...) and I use Reaper for multitracking. All in all a very cheap DAW and it works just fine. I've been playing, writing, gigging for about fifteen years. A recording engineer I'm not, but this little unit has been great and simple.

Depending on how technically savvy you are, you should be able to get this thing up and running/sounding good very soon. I bought it and installed the drivers and my computer recognized it, but I got many of the pops and things others have mentioned. I had to go into my DAW and adjust some things, and after I did, the unit sounded great and was very simple to use. So, if you know a little about DAW software/computers, you should be able to figure things out, but if you are a total newbie, you might have to consult some forums to figure out how to get it running like it's supposed to. Basically, the Firepod will likely not just "work" as soon as you install it. You'll have to adjust your system a bit, but when you figure it out, it will work great.

I use two Firepods and daisy-chain them to get 16 inputs. I record full bands remotely (drums, guitars, keys, and vox) and it really does sound good. I mean, it sounds great for the price you are likely going to pay. It's not noisy at all. The preamps are good quality. I do mobile recording, and these units are great for getting clean, quality signal to your hard disk. After that, it's really up to you to mix your recordings to get them to sound the specific way you want. By that I mean that you won't have to do tons of eq-ing to make up for a lack of quality in your recording interface. This one will give you a great sound to work with. After that, it's up to you.

One of my units stopped working after 2 years of use. Channel 1 had stopped working, and a month later, the whole unit just quit. I sent it in to Presonus to be repaired, and since I received it back from them almost two years ago, it's been fine. I travel to different locations, and every time I hook it up to my computer, it syncs up just fine. Works great.

When I first started having problems, I emailed Presonus right away. It took three days for them to respond, but they were very nice when they did. After I explained the problem, they told me I had to send it to them to fix for an $80 bench fee. From when I first emailed them, it was a week before I knew what I needed to do to get the problem fixed. They were pretty easy to work with, and within a month, I had my Firepod back, and working great. I mean, I don't expect their likely understaffed tech support to respond to my problem right away, I just want them to respond and help me figure the problem out in a reasonable amount of time. And they did just that. They were fine.

I record many genres, and the Firepod does a great job of capturing a good, clean signal. If my units were lost, I'd buy them again. I've only spent about $600 for 16 channels of good quality preamps, and I'm very satisfied. If I had several thousand dollars to spend, I'd probably buy something else, but these are great for a beginner or intermediate recording engineer on a budget. As I've said, a recording interface/preamp can only get you good quality signal. After that (mixing, etc..), the sound of the final CD is up to you. The Firepod will give you good sounds/recordings to work with, and that's what it's supposed to do.

The Firepod was dead simple to use - if anyone had problems with it they probably didn't read the manual or it could be that their computer has other problems. It has been a steady tried and true workhorse in my studio - line it up with an Avalon 737 and it's good to go!

My Firepod has been working perfectly - there's no noise and the extra head room is great!

I have used it ever since I bought it (roughly 2 yrs ago??) and i have had no problems whatsoever!

I have dealt with the company - I had a little problem with the upgraded software - but they helped me solve it quickly. No problems here!

I have been touring/recording for over 20 years and I play/record many different types/styles of music - I've used the Firepod in live recording and in other situations and it hasn't let me down yet - the only criticism i have is that i wish they came out with a 16 or 24 track version - they might have one out already - but i'll have to check it out. If it was lost i would buy another.

Ok recently i got a firepod and its been pretty good to me thus far. i really havent any problems that other newbies wouldnt have.

Comes with about a 3 ft. Firewire cord, which is kind of short BUT its free. so if you just want to have your pres all the way across the room you might need a longer cable. Also comes with Cubase LE, which like others ive read, i havent used very much because im already so accustomed to Reaper. but neverthe less again FREE software and DAW.

mainly thus far ive recorded a little bit of vocals, but mostly electric and acoustic guitars. In my recordings ive had no noise whatsoever. this is a HUGE step up from the fostex studio in a box i was using before. MUCH better sound quality.

its pretty easy, just watch your meters in your DAW and set the trim so nothing goes over about 12 db or so and youre good to roll.

its a rack unit so as long as youre kind to it, itll be kind to you. seems pretty tough and although i wouldnt throw it around or anything, it could pobably withstand some beating.

havent had to deal with Presonus

So far ive had this unit about 3 weeks or so and its been just as i expected. way better sound quality than i was used to recording with and is pretty easy to use once you get the drivers set up and sort of understand how a lot of things work.

i think thats the problem a lot of people will complain about a lot is not being able to function the unit correctly. TAKE TIME TO READ everything you possibly can BEFORE you try to push buttons and turn knobs. once you understand how everything works together its really not all that difficult.

Took it out of the box . . .Plugged it in to power. Took the cables out of my mixer, and plugged them into the firepod. Fired up my laptop installed the drivers, connected up my monitors . . .Done! The easiest piece of recording hardware I ever installed!

Sound quality is great, not professional, but then again neither am I. I'm still learning on the recording side of things. I was using a Tascam US-224 with a 16 track mixer. Could only get 2 seperate tracks to the computer that way. With the Firepod I can do 8 individual mono tracks or 4 stereo! With much better sound quality than the previous setup. I'm going to pick up another one. You can daisy chain 2 firepods together for 16 tracks simultaneously!

Had it for a month and no problems, yet, what so ever! No clicks, no pops, I'm using it with an Acer laptop, Windows Vista Home Premium, Core 2 Duo at 1.6ghz, and 3gigs of ram.

Never had to call them so a definite 10!

I've bought a lot different stuff in my 20yrs of playing music, and this is one of the best deals out there! I'm very happy I bought this and hope it continues to work flawlessly as it has so far! I've read some of the bad reviews, and I am surprised. I guess I should consider myself lucky. I'm definitely buying another one, we'll see how the daisy chaining goes . . . (The $699 price came with a whole package with 2 small monitors a couple mics, cables and stands.)

This is a recording interface with rack ears so therefore can be rackmounted or can be used sat on a desktop.
It has clip indicators for every channel.
A Sturdy metal case which seems very hard wearing.
Volume controls are also metal...very close together so slightly fiddly.

Its a firewire interface and works with MAC OS X Leopard and Tiger and Windows

The pre-amps are very good.
It has 2 dedicated instrument inputs which can also be coupled as mic inputs...8 inputs in total which can either be XLR or Jack.
1 midi in and 1 midi out
1 headphone out jack with independent volume.

The card is AC powered with an adaptor
It has phantom power on all channels

It came with a few other various bits of software...never used any of them.

It's a good all rounder but nothing particular special. It's worth its price if you are looking at spending around ??220 you wont be disspointed.

Was easy to use - WHEN IT WORKED!!! Driver/firmware updates took 2 years to release, and they crashed down all units, making them unusable. Computer won't even recognize they are connected anymore. 1000's of others have reported same issue, hunks of s**t, they don't work!

TONS of people have reported pops,crackles,drop outs, and MANY other sound quality issues. I saw LOTS of problems with mine, when it actually DID kind of work. It sounded like rice crispies most of the time, and spent more time resetting the unit then actually recording with it!

As explained previously, it RARELY worked AT ALL, and when it did, it worked like junk. DO NOT BUY ANYTHING FROM PRESONUS. If you want ANY kind of reliability - GO ELSEWHERE.....

These people are nothing short of a complete joke! they took nearly a month to respond to the dozens of emails I sent, and then responded to some other person's question by accident. When I DID finally did get a response to MY question, their answer was: "send it in to us at $85.00 charge plus shipping, and we'll look at it". They caused the unit to go down with a bad driver/firmware update, and now they WANT ME TO PAY????

DO NOT buy ANYTHING from this company - BEWARE!!!!!!

Their products are HORRIBLE, drivers are a NIGHTMARE, support is USELESS, and they are just a bunch of crooked criminals that should be put OUT OF BUSINESS for their unethical and irresponsible business practices.

Setup was a snap. Only problem i had was my own fault (forgot to switch to ASIO drivers) Didnt bother updating because of a possible flaw in the newer driver so i just stayed with the one that came with the unit. If it aint broke....dont break it!

Only reason i gave it a six is compared to other higher end preamps there OK. But for the price range its in, its a TEN. You cant expect to much for only 500 bucks. Most people see 500 and freak, but they are the ones that have never seen (or dont even know) what boutique stuff is.

Never quit on me once. Had butter fingers one time and dropped it (pretty far, pretty fast), bent the rack flanges a tiiiiiiny bit. Plugged the unit in, worked fine.

Never had to deal with them with this unit, but with my Firestudio I've had nothing but good luck. Quick responses, no mess, no BSing me around.

If i were to want to downgrade my gear, i would buy another one. If anyone of my buddies were looking for a lower priced, 10 input pre, I would tell them to buy this unit. Prefer not to send my friends to the wolves and dont enjoy being made a fool of when something doesnt work for them, but i am confident in this unit and all other Presonus gear. Got a decent PC that isnt a hacked together P.O.S that you play WoW on and only do music, then this guy is for you!

I use the Firepod of multi track play back for a large theater production. There have been a couple times that I had to use my back up plan in the middle of a the show because I had to restart it. I need it to work every single time for what I use it for. If I was just recording, I'd give it a 10.

This is a rackmont. 8 preamps. 1 Clip indicator.
Generally the idea is a good one.. When the preamp work they sound good. But general overall there is so many problem with this thing. This is by far the worst piece of gear I have every owned.

connecting is through firewire.. They give a firewire cord. Which is to short and you have to buy an after market one that's longer. There is constant problems with communication from computer to firepod and vis versa..

Preamp quality is not bad. Only if you can get it working.

Power supply seems ok.

Tech specs seem good on the box.. and that's where it ends..
Shit. If you change the sample rit it does not work.

It comes with Cubase LE.. which I do not use and do not want to have to learn a whole new DAW to use.

This is the worse thing I ve ever bought.. Support is shit.. After 3 months of trying everything they mentioned. They finally said send it in. Well that's another 200.00 in shipping for something new that should work..For the love of God if you buy one of these you will regreat it.. I promise you that.

Installation was effortless. The manual is good. However sound quality got in the way of doing useful mixing using it.

Frequency response is very colored. Midrange frequencies are missing. Listening to familiar material makes them sound colder. Instruments that had reverb applied sound strangely less reverbed in the case where a lot of the referb effect is in the mids. Other than that, sounds brittle but free of noise. Bass response is good.

I returned it within a couple of days of buying it. Drivers seemed stable in my experience at least.

I never had to contact their customer support.

I rate this as unusable due to the audio quality issues. I play electronica type of rock including bass, electric guitar, analog synths. I've been playing and recording for 15 years. I returned this and got a Echo Audiofire 12. I needed a lot of inputs but had a couple of mic preamps I could use, so this suited my purposes. The Audiofire 12's sound quality is sweeter, not brittle, cold and colored as the Firepod.

ok... i bought this to record a 5 piece band. previously i had used a powered mixer and ran the stereo output to the 1/8" input on my computer. the firepod gives me the ability to mix those tracks after we've recorded and to apply effects to specific tracks. it helps too that it has 2 output busses. we run the main output to the powered mixer using it as a power amp and just run vocals to that for our singer, and then run the other tracks to the monitor bus which goes to our headphones. if you know what you're doing the features are perfect for live situations and recording.

it was pretty easy to set up, although i consider myself highly skilled in computing technology, and using a mac helps because it has preloaded drivers (no installing software off a cd). just plug it in, set it up in your preferred recording software and you're good to go.

midi interface works like a charm, along with spdif. power switch on the back might be my only complaint about this thing.

i'm not a sound engineer. i'm not a professional recording guru. but i do know that i spent $400 on a piece of equipment that gives me very good sounding "demo" quality songs with about 10 minutes of mixing and adding software effects. much better than anything i would've gotten from running from my old powered mixer.

i can't really comment a whole lot on comparing the quality of the pre-amps which most people seem to have a problem with on here, but i can say this: i have recorded in million dollar pre-amps and equipment at my college. i have recorded on the same neve board that AC/DC recorded their back in black album on. in each of these cases though there was a shitty engineer behind the controls, and that made the entire mix sound like it was done in someone's basement. there is no replacement for having someone that knows what they are doing at the helm.

so with that said, i'm really not the one that should be behind the controls on this piece of equipment either, but i do know that the firepod has helped me learn a lot and i believe that given time and guidance i could be able to produce professional quality recordings on the firepod.

some people have also complained about popping and clicking in their recordings. this happens when your computer isn't fast enough for the latency settings you have in your software (latency = dsp samples / project sample rate). although i have noticed that once i start getting pops and clicks from too few samples, even after raising the samples the clicks are still there, but unplugging and reconnecting the firepod solves this.

this thing has always worked great for me.

never had to deal with them really. the only thing i've done is upgraded the firmware which was quick and painless.

i think this is the second review i have written on here, so i don't write these a lot. after reading all the negative reviews, however, i felt i should put my two cents in because i believe this product is great. i have not had a problem with it, and i believe the people complaining about it are the people who don't know what they are doing.

to put this in context: i have a very good friend who i have let borrow the firepod from time to time. i consider him to be capable but no expert at computers and technology. almost every time he borrows it he has some sort of problem where he can't get something working or the sound isnt correct or he cant get inputs to work. he'll call me and i'll tell him exactly what he has to do to fix it. viola it works.

anyways the firepod is great. it might not be super professional, but capable in my opinion as long as you've got the technical know how and audio recoding and mixing chops to handle the job.

Didn't need it, yet.

The Firepod (now called FP10) is one of those rare devices which caught my sympathy. It's sturdy and intuitive to handle. The drivers are rock solid and very well programmed in terms of compatibility in my experience. (I already worked with a lot of external interfaces) And on top of that it sounds just great for the price. I wouldn't recommend using the Firepod's preamps with a SM7 or a ribbon mic and also wouldn't recommend pushing them past the 3 o' clock position if you mustn't, but apart from that those preamps performed nothing but well in my latest productions. The conversion is also better than you would assume for the price in my opinion. Overall, I think the Firepod is a clear winner.

this machine works ok as long as the computer it is using is fast enough. i had to buy and external hard drive for my laptop because the internal hard drive was not fast enough. after i got the new drive i solved most of my problems. it helps a lot to modify preferences in cubase le to get the most out of the firepod.

far from a professional recording. it is good for waht is meant though. you can record a live band easily, and have 8 distinct tracks to mix. i used a 8 track analog from fostex, and the firepod is way easier to carry around. this machine is great to make demos.

the machine works as long as the computer doesn't fall behind. i had troubles on my hp laptop with 1 gb ram, amd x64 3200+, and also on a new power mac with intel duo. it really need an external dedicated hard drive. Also i am starting having trouble with one of the 2 firewire conntections.

never called

easy to use and carry around. makes recordings quickly and with decent quality. good for amateurs like myself.... definetly not for a serious production!

When it works it easy.... but like others I have had endless hours with the red light of DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM. I got mine off erbay 2nd hand...it takes ages for me to connect it to the computer...I think ive tried almost everything to do with the particular setting to get it work but it appears to me that the firepod just chosen when and when not to work.

yeh good for the few minutes ive had it goin.

no way

havnt delt with them

good when it goes but this red light of doom is really kicken my ass can anyone help me. my email address is Woody_tim@hotmail.com if you have any ideas.

Fairly straight-forward. Install the software, plug it in, and insert microphones. There is really nothing to it. But, of course, this could apply to every other firewire interface on the market so it is hardly a + for Presonus.

Sound quality? Let's go into the good, bad, and ugly of this contraption they call a "Firepod":

The Good? Well, it is quiet. That is pretty much agreed upon. It was always used to record rock so you probably wouldn't have heard much noise even if this unit was noisy. So, it deserves a thumbs-up for acceptable noise levels.

The Bad? The preamps, while quiet, have nothing special to offer. They are very dull and definitely get muddy in certain ranges. I have TWO Firepods to go by here (more on this later in the review) and both lacked the definition of better preamps. Someone said earlier that you should just "go buy it" and "as long as you are using $350+ microphones" it records like a champ! This is flat-out bull. Both Firepod units I have do not produce high-quality recordings, certainly nothing professional or defined. Sure, it sounds fine with one instrument, but when you start adding tracks, each one suffers from the lack of clarity of these preamps. It's a culmative effect. And, by the time you have added in all eight tracks, the dullness and lifelessness is definitely palpable. As far as mics used with this unit? Let me focus on the drum mics used for example only: Beta 52, SM57, MD 421, AKG 451, AKG C414, SM81 among others. Last I checked these are "good" mics. I actually borrowed several to test through the Firepod just to make sure I didn't have some bad mics or other issues. In the end, NONE of these mics had the brillance I have heard them have with other preamps. They all sounded generic and flat and needed a ton of EQ and other processing to get them to breathe as they should. Even then, it wasn't the same. Get them for demo work or non-critical live work - don't expect much more.

The Ugly? Used with a Mac Powerbook, the unit consistently POPPED and CRACKLED, introducing all sorts of digital noise, when used for any length of time. Changed every setting I could, fiddled, called Apple, nothing. This would happen after the Firepod was recording after 20-30 minutes. It would be fine functionally up to that mark and then just degraded in sound. We would literally have to power down, let the Firepod cool down (it tends to get hot when in use for awhile) and then try again. Think you want this situation during a live show recording? Want to try and explain it to the band you are recording?? I have and did - there are many other things I want to do with my life.

Final Verdict? When you are paying about $75 a channel for a pre, don't expect to sound like anything you hear commercially. You can't with this unit. That quality is simply not possible with this unit.

Now, maybe I happened to get the two stinkers that Presonus released between the end of 2004 and the beginning of 2006....but I'll let your common sense tell you otherwise.

Now, it where it gets interesting! I have had both Firepod units I bought GO COMPLETELY DEAD on me within a few months of use! Not one, but two that gave me the RED LIGHT of DOOM (if you own it you know what I mean and, if you don't, you soon will). Unbelieavable betrayal of my trust in Presonus and its product.

Bought Firepod #1 in August of 2005. It died in January of 2006. I was in the middle of a session - had no time to lose - bought Firepod Unit #2 to complete the live recording commitments I had. Firepod Unit #1 went into its box, ready to go back to Presonus.

I got totally swept up in work that it wasn't until Firepod Unit # 2 broke down in FEBRUARY 2006 (yes, only six weeks later) that I felt completely violated by these rank-mountable turds.

I can understand one unit going down. But, two? Within the span of one year? How many ways can someone say "unreliable"?!

For units that go for $599, the very least they should do is work, even if that is only at an acceptable level. Getting so-so performance and THEN getting kicked in the nuts with shoddy quality control is a right-left combo I wish on no one who reads this review.

Because of the above, I had the chance to get to know Presonus quite well dealing with these two deceased units. It wasn't a romantic affair either. For brevity's sake, I will enumerate in list form:

1) Very hard to get in touch with. Don't even bother calling the customer support line - they SIMPLY WILL NOT ANSWER. Call the sales line and use it as a backdoor into support. I guess they will pick up the phone if you want to BUY something but not if you need the very thing you bought serviced!

2) Customer support was very terse and generally unapologetic concerning the two dead units. Although they did not explicitly say it, they came thisclose to saying that I must be doing something to the units to make them fail. I told them that Firepod Unit #2 was only six weeks old, had never been manhandled and only left the studio once - this barely got an "Umm, OK" out of the tech guy! They agreed to fill out PA's on the units and have them serviced.

3) Customer service follow-through is weak. To this date, I have received only one unit (yes, it now works but for how long I wonder). I am STILL WAITING on the other. I don't even want to get into that - the amount of frustration is overwhelming. I do see light at the end of the tunnel with the second unit but it has been an extremely bad experience for me.

Customer Support at Presonus? You might want to try getting the factory telephone number in China where they make them - they are probably more likely to pick up the call and I am almost certain they will have more sincerity and sympathy for you as a customer. Of course, you might have to brush up on your Mandarin or Cantonese to get your point across but, in the end, you'll be a more well-rounded person in the grand scheme of things!

If these units were stolen, it would be a relief. It would spare me the time and effort of listing them on ebay to unload.

I would not buy a third Firepod and, as a result of the customer care, I will not buy another Presonus product. Once bitten, twice shy, thrice an idiot! There won't be a Round Three with Presonus for me.

If you plan to buy one, good luck. My heart goes out to you. If fact, if you still want one even after reading this review, check out the Firepod listings on ebay soon, you might get the very units I have written about. They will have been serviced and fixed by the grand fellas down in Baton Rouge so they will appear like great buys and you will hopefully give me positive feedback before the cycle repeats. Caveat Emptor!

If the new business model is to export manufacturing to China only to have it soon-after serviced in the good ol' U. S. of A, then Presonus is clearly leading the way. It seems the MSRP is only referring to getting you a working unit out the door of GC, Sweetwater, or your vendor of choice - anything after that is inevtiable disappointment.

To conclude and put this to rest (or, if you feel alseep through this admittedly-long review), let me recap:

Buy a Firepod if you are looking for a sub-professional sounding, guaranteed to need servicing, backed by flashy but apathetic eight-channel Firewire unit. This is the unit you want!

For a digital recording interface, this thing is pretty easy to use, the drivers installed with no problem, etc. Inputs and outputs showed up in Sonar just fine. My only issue is that sometimes it can be clunky to switch between projects recorded at different sample rates. Even stranger is that the behaviour does not seem to be consistent...

Well I'm sorry to say this, but I just don't think these preamps sound very good. It sounds like I threw a blanket over my microphone. In an A/B test with my M-Audio Ozone preamps, the high end and general clarity was much better on the M-Audio. Who knows, perhaps I have a faulty interface.

On the other hand, considering I got 8 preamps and 24/96 firewire for $600 they are good enough for my use, which is recording live shows of my bands.

I have a Focusrite Saffire Pro on order, if it ever ships I will compare those preamps to these. My expectation would be that the Focusrites would be better than the M-Audio and the Presonus, but we'll see.

Seems sturdy enough, and I love the Neutrik combo connectors on the front - super cool. The one thing I wish the Focusrite had.

I give an 8 because this is really studio gear, the knobs would not survive an incident on stage, so I have to be careful around it (and not let the drummer anywhere near it).

Surpisingly, they were decent. I contacted them about the sound quality and they had really good suggestions, although none changed the sound of the preamps, they were very good tips for optimizing the computer for audio in general. They also offered to exchange if I thought it was a faulty unit. So, my kudos to the email support from Presonus. I don't think I have a faulty unit, I just don't think the preamps are very good.

I'm using this for mobile recording of live shows of my bands, and it has worked quite well so far. I'm hoping the Focusrite saffire pro will have a bit more quality. Maybe Presonus will loan me a firestudio to compare against the Saffire Pro (assuming Focusrite actually ships these at some point).

Easy to set up, using Logic 7.2 OSX 10.4.7 on a powerbook g4 1.67gHz with 2gig ram and a 7200 internal drive, tracking to a firewire 800 external drive.

Manual is fine, if oversimplified.

Current firmware, OS updates etc.

These units started pops and clicks about 6 months ago. Before that they could have been functioning in the same way, but I never noticed due to all the noise of our live shows. I have gone over every software setting, hardware config, and have even had Apple replace my powerbook to solve this problem, and still no real help from Presonus.

Pops and clicks in recordings (and if left to record long shows it degenerates into noise) are simply unacceptable even in a lower quality unit. In order to be viable, they need to do their job, and do it right.

They always turn on and give sound, though it is terrible with the pops and clicks. Aside from that, they have functioned in a basic manner.

I never gig without a backup.

Here's the rub. I bought these from Sweetwater, and dealth with their tech support first. We went through software settings, hardware settings, swapped the order of the units, tried them seperately and together. Nothing fixed the problem. I dealt with Butch at Presonus who went through all of the same excersizes Sweetwater did, and eventually he said it was probably my computer. I have a backround in IT, and I have been a recording engineer working with digital medium for almost 10 years. I didn't think this was hte case, but took his word (hey, he's the guy at Presonus, right? He must know.)

So I got Apple computers to replace my Powerbook (no small feat) and still the problem persisted. When I contacted Butch again, I was told "I can try, but I can't make any guarantees." What? I spent over a grand on two of these units, and if he can't help me make them work, then they should be replaced or my money refunded!

I called my Sweetwater salesman to discuss offloading these lemons and getting a pair of MOTU Travelers. I've had it with Presonus' crap.

This unit is not worth buying simply for the fact that if you have problems, Presonus will hang you out to dry. Aside from that, if you happen to get a unit that doesn't pop and click you are lucky.

Go buy a MOTU Traveler or a Mackie 1200f.

Very easy to use as long as you download the latest drivers from presonus which are more reliable than the ones that shipped with my unit (older cd). Dead simple, but then I'm a pro studio engineer with a background in equipment that makes this thing seem like a child's toy. However..... it works, and work very very well.

Here's where I'm surprised at the responses. Sound quality is partly subjective, and partly cold hard facts.

Facts: virtually no internal noise. Disconnected from input cables of any kind, output cranked through my high end power amp and monitors, inputs all cranked, only the tiniest little bit of hiss. MUCH less than with my soundcraft board. If you think this is noisy then either you've got noisy source mics or cables, a faulty firepod, a crappy output amplifier for your speakers/phones, or haven't compared firepod noise a/b style with an 8 input mixer with 8 mic pres all cranked doing the same thing with similar mic pre gain specs ie 55 or 60 db mic pre gain.

personal opinion - this unit sound absolutely terrific. Having compared it's sound to what I've created in the past, in major studios with far more expensive equipment both analog and digital, I find that the only real difference is just in my mixing techniques and levels due to how my personal engineering and producing taste has changed over the past few years. I must say that I found drum mics couldn't always be used with the presonus pres unless I did what you're supposed to do which is use the mics' level pads to lower their output power. If someone is overpowering their firepod mic pre with a kick drum mic then they're not using the mic right, or don't have a good enough mic to have a pad on it, or have the firepod input level too high, or don't understand the difference between the overdriving of the mic pre with the breakdown of the capsule of their microphone in the kick drum. It works perfectly for me. HOWEVER, I do mix down my drums in a mixer and only track the kick and snare to the firepod's inputs directly on their own channels, everything else is in a stereo drum mix. Then there are two overhead drum mic tracks. That leaves two channels, which is why I have two firepods daisy chained together for recording, like any pro must do.

Excellent sound. Plenty of power from the phones output, love that "these go to 11", thx Nigel. the ability to use outboard insert gear on channels 1 and 2 is great, wish it was available on more channels.

Pres are crisp but warm, the typical class A mic pre sound that presonus does so well. Very good, very solid state, but very good. Takes well to eqing with a good board or with my UAD-1 gear or my waves ssl4000 which has one of the nicest software eqs in the business.

nothing gone wrong yet, no sync problems yet, excellent. dead simple.

haven't needed it yet, however they release new drivers as needed and have good faqs on their site. for that I give it a 9.

just get one. don't listen to people who don't know how to record.

BUT, don't expect it to solve all your problems and be dumb simple. you must learn how to record. This is pro audio gear that it affordable enough for some joker to buy it and think they can record their band easily.

not so easy though... learn how to use mics properly, get GOOD mics, nothing less than $350 please per mic for studio recording unless you get sm57s/58s or beta 57s/58s. This product is good enough that it will show the problems with your existing gear, and more importantly, with your existing engineering techniques.

The firepod brings you into pro recording quality gear, and just like with really good studio monitors and amps, it shows you your mistakes as blatantly as it shows you your successes. It's all I would use for this mid-level recording target group. It's all anyone with a project studio should get for this low a price. Nothing else comes close without costing much more, especially for the eight excellent class A mic preamps. I'd classify them as closer to 60db of gain, not the conservative 55db gain listed. That's typical of presonus, a great company will always be conservative with their product's specs. Much better than saying it's got 60db of gain when it measures at 80db s/n ratio or something dreadful like that (behringer tube 100 anybody?).

This is a great recording tool, one that you can't go wrong with as long as you learn to blame yourself and your microphones (and their usage), NOT your preamps or your interface.

Once you know how everything is supposed to work, the Firepod is simple to use. Getting to a point where Cakewalk's Sonar and my Firepods (2x) would work as I wanted took some doing.
The manual is no help at all, unless you're not sure what "recording" is, in which case there are diagrams.
The Firepod itself seems capable enough but the Windows drivers seem poorly written. They hold up the entire computer when you make changes to the firepod's internal settings. The ASIO drivers could have a lower latency too.

The preamps are clean enough but maybe a little too crisp ?
Outputs can really get loud, I dunno if that's worth bragging about though. I use 2 of them, 2 AKG 418's, a Shure Beta 52A, a few SM-57's, Beta 56's, an AT-4040, an AKG C-3000 and a Shure SM-81. All sound ok though the Beta52 on a kick could use some more headroom. Seems like the firepods dont handle low end well.

Reliable enough, more dependant on the computer you're using than the Firepod's themselves though.

Customer support is iffy. The first few emails i sent went unanswered. My most recent one was replied to after about 2 days, but with a short, blunt answer, with no real discussion about alternatives, etc. They answered my question, but they don't seem too happy to help out.

I hate that the direct outs arent really direct outs when you plug in the firewire. They become software routed outs, and are susceptible to computer latency. Thats annoying.
I would like to have a deticated firewire card that didnt rely on my computer for handling firewire. I have a PCI card that works fine, but like most cards in its range ($100 <) it uses CPU power to manage the firewire connection. Something like the MOTU setup would have been nice.
I dont like to daisy chain the firepods, I'd rather have each one on its own firewire port.
If you peak the preamps, SONAR stops the recording. Likely a result of the firepod's losing sync somehow. They frequently lose sync btw, even when nothing is happening. Its not always a problem, but 1 in 100 recordings comes out with a pop in it. Kindof annoying.

Pretty easy to fire up the Firepod. I was getting tracks in just under two hours (realistically, that's not bad and you know it!)

At first glance/listen it sounded pretty good, I started tracking a vintage (otherwise beautiful sounding) Slingerland kit, sm57 on snare, Audix D5 on bass drum, Audix D2 on rack tom, D3 for floor tom. I used a pair of NT1A's for overheads. I have to say it really sounded good at first.
Upon further experimentation with more drums, (a lot of bass drum tinkering), acoustic guitar, electric bass and guitar, the works, I finally concluded I was getting better sounding tracks with my M-Audio Omni studio, which I fed from a Yamaha Pro Mix1 mixer set at 48Khz. When I listen back to earlier mixes from the previous rig, I realize that I was getting warmer, more dynamic tracks. The FirePod is not for critical audio applications to a seasoned ear.
Drums sounded hollow after critical listening, great bass drum sounds seemed almost impossible to achieve. Cymbals require a lot of eqing and tinkering, as I found myself spending a lot of time trying to NOT make them sound so harsh. The full spectrum is not even close to perfect as someone else suggested earlier on this board. Midrange wasn't present, and frequencies around 40-120hz were impossible to separate, and sound totally bloated. These are your standard artifacts of bad digital recording. Trust me, pass on this item. Unless you are just recording demos and quality is really no big issue, and you want the multiple tracks at a time, I guess there is an exception.

I have occasional issues with the firewire cord, and my recording software sometimes doesn't recognize that the unit is on and plugged.

never needed it.

For this kind of money you are MUCH better off getting a higher quality 2-channel unit, or even 4. Just use a decent mixer for drums and work on a great pre-mix. Trust me, the sound os MUCH warmer and full of life.

very easy just make sure you have a firewire card installed

heres the deal breaker for me, my friend has a digi 002 and we compared the sound of the pres and ill say that i noticed a difference so much that i sold my fire pod 2 weeks later because it wasnt the quality i was going for. its more of a (that will do) kind of quality which may be okay for some but you just cant get that much in a small package(otherwise the digi 002 wouldnt cost 2x as much but with only 4 pre's) and presonus gives you more pres for less? something missing there, and its called quality,but this is my opinion

didnt own long enough to form opinion, i would say those preamp knobs will be the first to go though, flimsy and delicate! be very careful

offers alot if one little package but definetly not pro at least in my ears opinion and ill tell yea, im not nice, and i will call it like i see it. i will not try to justify my purchase by (trying) to like it. If i bought it and it sucks, ill admit i made a mistake and sell or return it and get somethimng that sounds really good! to me!
For the less demanding, this unit is awesome!!!

Excellent drivers. Easy install. Simple to set up and configure. I use this with a Toshiba P35-S611 laptop (3.33 P4, 1 GB Ram) with an external LaCie Firewire 250 GB hard drive daisy-chained through the Firepod. Runs real smooth and I typically get latency down to around 5-6ms when tracking. I use Mackie Tracktion2 software to track with. Great combination overall.

Dead quiet......even with the mic trims way up. Somehow the mic pres sound warm yet transparent. Hard to describe other than "they just sound right". I am really glad I bought this unit. I have a couple of nice rack unit outboard mic pre's that I always used on past projects/jobs and the Firepod eclipses them in every way. Great sound.

Runs smooth every time. Granted much of it's reliability hinges on the host software and the PC, but Presonus seems to have made sure the drivers were solid before releasing them.

These guys are great. Fast email responses to questions. Very informative emails and nice folks. I actually ran into these guys at the Summer '05 NAMM show and they were real gentlemen and very informed about their products. It's a smaller company and the people that I have contacted at various times seem to be real passionate about their line-up.

This is a great sounding unit. Hard to believe that it is only $600. The mic pre's are every bit as good as most reviewers will attest to. It's not overly hyped -- they really do sound awesome. Highly recommended. I think I need to add a Firebox to my rig for when I only need 2 mic pre's for location mic'ing (the backpack set-up). Can't gripe this unit in any way.

It's a good thing the pod is easy to use. The manual is almost worthless...well no, it is worthless.

The preamps sound pretty ok considering that you are getting 8 of them. I wish each channel had it's own phantom power switch instead of the V power being ganged to two sets of four.

There is new firmware available but I couldn't use it due to a problem I am having.

I got the pod so I can have several things hooked up without having to unplug them all of the time (such as if you had only two preamps).

The noise level can get high if you have to crank the volume up...if kept at a reasonable level, I know, what the hell is that?

The sound is nice compared to my ART Tube MP.

For some reason, I could never use the Presonus MIDI drivers. I may be doing something wrong, I don't think so, but I always used other drivers for my MIDI. With my Creative Audigy 2z, I could use my sequencer software to convert MIDI to wav files...I couldn't accomplish this with the pod.

Dependability? Mine has already failed after 7 months.

I sent an email to Presonus and they responded with two suggestions. One was to edit the registry and the other was to check my systems devices to see if there was a problem with them. I had already done this but I checked again and they were fine.

A third suggestion was to connect it up to another computer to see if it worked. I don't know anyone with firewire capability.

Along with their email, was a statement that if the suggestions did not help to write back to get an authorization number (I am registered for my warranty). So I wrote them back indicating that none of their ideas worked and the pod still was in a coma.

The reply I received was this, "The only suggestion they could give me was to connect it to a computer to see if it's the pod or not." Talk about a non-answer. I retorted back, "So if I can't find another computer to hook it up to, I am out of luck and my $600.00 investment is lost..is that what you are telling me?

To say the least, I am not happy with the product and the support service. If I get the pod fixed, I will sell it and buy a quality stereo or two channel preamp.

I cover a wide wide variety of styles. From post-bebop jazz to Beatle ballads. I have been playing the guitar for 44 years.
I own a Taylor 510 acoustic, Fender 1992 Start, Roland GR700 gtr synth, Washburn Montgomery archtop, Johnson J Station, Samson PA, Firepod :-( , Rode NT1 and Shure KSM32 mic, Roland MC50 sequencer, Roland SC-55 Soundcanvas.

If it were stolen I would not replace it. I don't believe it is worth 600.00. But it used or get a great preamp instead.

The sound of it is very good. I have to give it that. But it lacks many features for the price and has limitations as far as other soundcards go.

Well i must say, i've done alot of computer recording in the past,starting with a Layla back in 1998. It was a good interface for the time,but computer power was the issue. I've went through others also M-Audio Delta 10/10 which wasn't too bad either...But the problem with those is that they were all PCI hook up. Still to this day i believe there was interferance from the computer and gave some unwanted noise at times.
Now i moved to this FirePod, running of a highpower Laptop with Cubase SX. I can't say enough,it's so easy to use and flawless when downloading the driver.

Well the preamps is what sold me on this thing..My regular condensor mics sound so warm and rich...I was looking for a Tube somewhere. No kidding,I ran ART top rack gear for years,which i know is still poor mans equipment. I couldn't believe my ears..I now run tube mics directly into the Firepod...I have such a clean rich sound...you would think i'm running much a higher expencive preamp gear. I got rid of all my Art stuff...too much noise is what it comes down to.If i do purchase a Preamp,it would be an Avalon or something like that...But if you have a fast computer that can handle some good VST's like WAVES VST..I'm serious you'll be amazed

Well it seems well built, but i suggest putting it in a Rack or SKB travel case. The pots are kinda just floating off the mother board..,I can't believe they cheeped out in that area...So the unit is a little delicate in that area. But if your not a demanding,pounding heavy on the buttons type of person..No prob. I have mine in a SKB case,plus the laptop and i away i go. People freek when i record tracks at their house. Theres nothing to carry. I also added a 6 channel headphone preamp along with the FirePOD..That's it. I've used it for some time now and it has not let me down. VERY RELIABLE ..Don't bother buying tube preamps...save your money and buy this thing with a couple of good tube mics and away you go.For guitar...or bass...just buy a POD and plug straight in using SPDIF connection...less noise. You'll love this thing..

Never had to call them yet

I play a couple of styles of music....Rock in my kick ass mood,and classical guitar when i'm feeling lonely....LOL.Truthfully i do like classical alot...But i do record alot of musicians,so i'm very open minded to different styles of music. I know a good muscian when i hear one, no matter what style it is. I've been playing and recording music for 20yrs and i now have less stuff to carry than ever,and for sure the best sound i ever had.Don't be a gear nutt like i was for years and blow all your money. Just buy this thing,running off a fast computer ,3gig processor,1 gig of ram and a 7200rpm hardrive... and you'll have lots of fun. That's what i have in my laptop. I'm running a AMD64 bit ML-30 processor. It's alot more stable than INTEL.And it's quick and snappy.Isearch through Ebay for that 7200rpm drive though. Most laptops today are from 4200 to 5400rpm. They work very well, but you will have limitations on how many tracks you'll play back. A gig of ram,gives you pretty good real time VST,...so i recommend this setup or higher of course and you'll be amazed what you can do..I run Cubase SX 2.0 right now.

The Firepod is relatively easy to initially set up but it's important to turn the Firepod on before opening the recording software in order to not change the sampling rates to the ones on your computer soundcard ather than the Firepod. If you mess this up resetting the Firepod settng is a minor hassle. Other than this minor gripe the actual use is easy, I'm using it with HomeStudio 2004, and it works well. The manual is very basic.

I'm using the Firepod to record a 4 piece electric/acoustic band, with one mic on mandolin, one on acoustic or electric guitar (depending on track) and the bass direct-in. We use two condensor overheads with dynamic kick mic on the drums. Of the remaining two inputs we use one omni mic as a room mic, and one is the line-out from the PA for the guide vocals. It's relatively easy to get good settings and good quality recordings with the Firepod.

It has been very reliable so far. It gets a little warm but not overly hot.

Haven't had to bother Presonus because it's such a good easy-to-use product, but i read good things about their customer support.

I bought the Firepod from Musicians Friend when they first came out and got the great promo deal of the Firepod, an AT 20/20 mic, and a 80 gig firewire hard drive for the $600. They sell the Firepod alone for $600 now. Very happy with the recordings our band is making.

As others have noted, it uses the native OS X drivers, so you just plug it in.

Knobs have a good, solid feel and are easy to adjust -- although the gradations markings are small and very hard to read, so it's difficult to write down level settings for future use. On top of that, the position indicator on the knobs is printed only on the front, not down the side, which causes some parallax problems when reading levels. This is a minor quibble, though.

Inputs and outputs are plentiful and clearly labeled.

Software integration is flawless.

The manual is quite clear, though largely unnecessary.

The sound quality of the converters is superb: noise floor is astonishingly low, response is rich across the whole spectrum, and I cannot detect any colorings or conversion artifacts even with very careful listening.

I've heard other say that more expensive preamps sound better. I've never had the chance to work with a $2000 preamp, but the Firepod's sound darned fine to me.

It's been wonderfully reliable for me, with two caveats:

(1) It sometimes gets confused if you flip it on at the same time the computer is waking from sleep. The solution to this is to unplug it, wait five seconds, and plug it back in.

If I remember to let the computer wake first, then flip it on, it works quite reliably.

(2) There is a problem on Macs where, if the clock source is set to "Mac" instead of "Device" in 10.4, sometimes no sound comes out. This caused me a bit of a headache one afternoon, though support sorted it out quickly (see below). It looks like it may be an OS X problem, and not a Firepod problem, but I'm counting it as a point against them all the same.

Knowing about these two issues and how to work around them, the Firepod comes through for me consistently.

I contacted support by email about problem (2) I mentioned under "Reliability." They:

-- read my message carefully, paying attention to everything I said,
-- didn't suggest any stupid catch-all solutions (e.g. "reinstall the drivers"),
-- asked specific, to-the-point questions about my setup,
-- immediately diagnosed the problem correctly, and
-- did this all swiftly, clearly, and politely.

I only get support like this once in a blue moon. Other companies should hire these folks to give them support lessons.

I'm primarily recording classical piano music in a home studio, running a Groove Tubes and an AMT into a Powerbook running Logic and Peak. I've also taken to using the Firepod as my home stereo system, because it sounds so much better than my CD player! The Firepod works great, sounds great, does exactly what I need, and would have been worth the money at $1000. I'd get another one in a heartbeat.

The firepod is extremely easy to use. You do not need to be a rocket scientist to plug this thing in and be recording in multiple channels within minutes.
As previously mentioned, the Manuel is useful to kindle a fire on a cold day, and that?s about it. In saying that though, you don?t really need a manual to operate this thing if you originally have any idea why you purchased it in the first place!
Analog gain controls allows you to move a home studio around the place and keep settings constant minimising setup time!

These units preamps and converters are excellent for their money. They are clean and excellent for the home engineer!
I have used two firepods (to make up 16 channels of anaolg in's) on a couple of projects now and have had fantastic results. I have been tracking onto laptop without any loss of connection, with the system beeing totally stable! I have also used the firepod in conjunction with an Avolon and Trident Pre which tests out the converters!

With any firewire gear, make sure you do not bump or accendently rip out the firewire cord . .

I have only given this a 7 out of 10 for sound quality because there are pre-amp animals such as Avolon, Neve, Trident etc and many a/d converters which are better that I would give 10 for sound quality! The thing about this unit that is REALLY good is it's value for money - not that you are getting the best preamp and converter on the face of the planet!

Always works well and is dependable! Have had no hassels

Put it in a rack unit if you plan on dropping it!
Looks and feels solid enough.

Presonus are excellent. They have given great support both before I purchased the unit and with supplying beta updates!

This is an excellent unit. Easy to use and puts recording in the hands of musicians. The benefits are that it is so easy to use yet unlike some other companies with similar 'simple products' this has been built well and creats a good clean and clear recording!

The Firepod challenges much more costly interfaces and has defently reated waves in the world of DIY recording

It's been said time and time again, but you just plug this baby in and play. No need to install drivers on newer Macs, btw. Manual explains things real well, real cut and dry.

Recorded sound quality is clear as glass. My slight issue is I wish the headphone signal could be cranked higher. No matter; a full band poject will need a seperate headphone monitor anyway.

I've had mine for 3 weeks only, so take my high rating for what it's worth.

Due to the fact that this thing juiced up so fast and clean, I thought I did something wrong, I swear to God. When I emailed Presonus they got back to me within 24hrs; I had figured it out anyway. They were also helpful before I bought it when I was uncertain if my computer rig was compatible. They answered the phone and gave me my answers immediately. That meant a lot to me.

I play vintage rock and roll in a 3pc band, nothing flashy but we need something clean and reliable. I have this thing going into an Imac, G5, 1.8 with I Gig of RAM. Basic mic set up. Fender guitars and basses, Fender and Behringer guitar and bass amps and Ludwig drums. The Firepod has been a dream--so far. It comes with Cubase LE which is an excellent starter recording software. It would seem to be the ideal "band" interface with the 8 pres and I can't imagine a value like this with anyother converter.

Very straightforward. You plug it in, follw the installation instructions, load the cubase software, and after 5 minutes you're recording. I've had a project studio for several years and was already familiar with Cubase, but I think a person just getting started would be pleasantly suprised by the ease of use of this unit.

The manual is OK - pretty much tells you all you need to know on setting it up and using it.

I've recorded vocals, acoustic guitar, bass (direct), and electric guitar (direct via POD). The pre-amps on the unit are nice, especially for the price. I upgraded to the firepod from an M-Audio Delta 44 with an M-Audio DMP-3 for pre's. The difference is noticeably better with the firepod. I'm not sure if the improvement is due to the pre's or the A/D conversion - I sold the DMP-3 before I acquired the Firepod, so I didn't get to compare the mic pre's. I would assume they would be pretty equivalent. It's a great sounding unit - good quality recordings are easily attainable, even with budget gear.

If you'd like to hear it in action, visit www.feelslikefridaymusic.com and go to the "music" page. Anything under the "Feels Like Friday" name is recorded with the Firepod.

Just to give you an idea what I've got to record with:

Mic's: Studio Projects C1 (vocals), stereo pair of MXL 603s's (mostly acoustic guitar), and an sm-57 (electric guitar amp - when I get one).

Guitars: Takamine FD-360sc (acoustic), SRV Custom Strat (electric), Yamaha bass

Amplification: POD (original)

I'm giving the Firepod a 9 because of the quality vs. price factor. Obviously you can do much better, but you have to spend much more. I'm very happy with the unit for what I invested in it.

I've never taken it out of my bedroom studio, but I wouldn't hesitate to. It feels very sturdy and well-built. Everything is solid. I'd love to get a laptop for recording and be able to have a portable studio. I give it a 10.

I called them once with a question about the firewire connection - seemed very friendly and I got the info I needed within a minute of picking up the phone. I've only heard good things about them.

With so many audio interfaces out there form so many manufacturers, it is hard to narrow down to just a couple to choose from. I think PreSonus has done a great job and offered something that nobody else seems to offer at this price point. You get 8 phantom powered mic pre's, 2 digital inputs, good software, good drivers, and good converters all for $600 or less. Nobody else touches it, in my opinion.

The only drawback compared to other units is the lack of a lightpipe or other digital inputs to get 8 more channels in. Currently, you can daisy-chain 2 of them for 20 inputs (16 analogue and 4 digital via spdif). Rumor is that PreSonus is working on a driver update that will allow you to use more than 2 simultaneously.

The sound is great, its easy to use, and it makes a very decent recording set-up affordable even to poor students (like me). I recommend it.

Very easy to install and use. 8 great preamps. Great to have MIDI too.

My complaint is about direct monitoring: The 8 inputs cannot be routed directly to the 8 outputs, they just can be routed to the stereo mix output. So it's very difficult to adjust the volume to monitor the inputs.

A guy from PRESONUS tell me that the team id aware of this problem and that they are working to fix it in a future drivers update...

Poor manual... they didn't tell you that direct monitoring is unavailable. Otherwise it's ok. But it's so easy to use the FIREPOD that you don't need a big manual to operate it.

I'm using a PC laptop (PIV) with 512mb RAM to record 8 mics and it's working well.

The sound is great.

Phone amp is a little weak... not too bad but just a little weak.

I can gig with the FIREPOD but not if I need to monitor the inputs. The update of the drivers to allowed direct monitoring should be taken very seriously by the PRESONUS team.

Very great support, easy and fast.

Great machine to record with 8 mics

The day I bought the product I made a recording gig (with a backup...) and record over 2 hours of music without crash.

I it were stolen I'll check for a machine that include direct monitoring... but I want to assure you that if direct monitoring would be available I would buy the FIREPOD again without hesitation.

Very easy to use. drivers are straightforward. Everything nicely laid out.

This thing is crystal clear. I have tried ART and Focusrite pre's in the same price range and the Firepod is by far a better sounding product to my ears. I'm using ribbon mics alot, and I wasn't sure if the F.P. would have the gain and clarity I needed, but I was very happy to discover that it handled the job wonderfully.

Very dependable. The F.P. gives me no cause to worry.......my computer on the other hand. Well, that's probably my next purchase!

Hey, 8 discrete mic pre's, firewire, etc etc for about 75 bucks per. Awesome value. For me, this thing has worked great. I'm glad I took a chance and got the Firepod because I actually didn't realise how much of it's features I would eventually be thankful it had. Also, having Cubase LE is cool too. I don't use it, but it would be a better choice than Sonar imho.
All I can say is, get the Firepod. You will not be dissapointed!

Couldnt be easier to use..Install drivers and go.

The sound quality of this unit is great. I upgraded from an old gadget labs unit. What can i say ...this thing does professional quality recordings.

Wouldnt know...havn't had any problems yet

Don't know

Its a keeper ..I was gonna go with an echo layla, but this thing is just a better sounding unit. Firewire is the way to go. when i use my laptop its a portable recording studio.

The FirePod is one of the growing number of firewire computer sound interfaces. I'm putting it in the effects sections since there is no section for recording and I've seen Moto interfaces here.

The FirePod is a 10-channel line mixer that uses Firewire to get audio and midi in and out of your computer. Two channel is digital, while the other 8 have mic/instrument pres. 2 of these channels include inserts for compressors or such. Phantom power is switched in groups of 4.

It is very easy to use and almost everything is placed right. The inputs are on the front, along with all physical controls and the headphone out. The inserts are on the rear along with the outputs. All that is how it should be. A nice touch is the main and sub outs (on channels 1 & 2), as well as the normal line outs.

The sound quality is really good. The preamps are better than you'll find on many mixers (the affordable ones, anyway). The ADDA convertors are nice - it is really amazing how the sound quality of all convertors have advanced the last couple of years. The FirePod is good enough for Pro use. You can spend more and get more, but it is a matter of degree, not kind.

The FirePod has just come out (tho it has been advertised for a while). It is small and light, but seems well put together despite the like of weight. My previous FireStation was reliable. I don't know why the Pod wouldn't be, tho it is not nearly heavy.

Like I said above, I had a FireStation, which used Firewire, but the Yamaha mLAN protocal. When Yamaha "upgraded" mLAN to mLAN 2 (which required a non-reversable firmware upgrade), my Firestation stopped working with the computer. The support from Presonus was great - they walked me through all the possible solutions, staying with me multiple times for hours on the phone. mLAN 2 requires massive CPU which I didn't have at home. So Presonus offered to upgrade my Firestation for a Pod (which they will do for Firestation owner who can't get it to work anymore).

So, I can't say enough about PreSonus their people and culture. Mega Yamaha screws up their product and they make good.

The Pod is a great "all in oner." As it is, its replaced my computer and midi interface as well as my mixer (the preamps were better anyway). It is also small enough to throw into a gig back to take over to a friend's house etc to do some recording. In the Firewire interface race it is a home run. It has all you need at a great price and with good quality. The Yamaha i88x (which I also checked out) has better mic pres, but only 2 of them (and mLAN to boot). But for difference in price between the you could get a nice pair of preamps, or one better than the Yamaha.