FREE ProPak Software Suite including Cubase LE 4 Audio Production Software.
17 People rated this product : 6 out of 10
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8 People wrote reviews |
Read all PreSonus FireStudio Project FireWire Interface reviews... |
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() 9 out of 10
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Feature:
Class A preamps across the board are wonderful. Worth the extra money it costs above the FirePod just for that.
It comes with Cubase LE - which I personally don't like - I use Sonar. But it's a standard, professional-grade DAW, and the fact that it comes with a professional DAW at ALL is great!
It comes with TWO control panels. One is installed on your Windows taskbar, another you have to go find and open manually from your hard drive. The first is simplified, the second is more in-depth. Both are easy to use.
The plugins it comes with are sub-par, but enough to get an amateur started.
Quality:
The zero-latency software monitoring is AMAZING!
The Vista drivers have issues. I mean, BIG issues. Nothing that can't be totally straightened out with some tweaking, but there are issues nonetheless.
I know someone who uses this in Windows XP and it works flawlessly under that - but for Pete's sake, don't taunt "Vista compatibility" if I have to tweak the drivers a bunch to get standard stability. I know Vista's a total ****, and so it's not completely PreSonus's fault, but I digress.
The saving grace of this is how WELL you are allowed to adjust the drivers. In the simplified taskbar Control Panel, you can choose between FOUR different driver modes, including THREE Safe Modes. I had never tried Safe Mode 3 - and the WDM driver kept crashing. I finally tried Safe Mode 3, and it's been FLAWLESS ever since!
You can also switch sampling rate, buffer size, and input routing on the fly.
Value:
One of, if not THE best for the price.
Desirability:
Knowing what I know now from personal experience, I would look into other interfaces - read through FORUM discussions on these products. Try to get a good idea of how this product and its competitors perform under identical conditions.
This thing should definitely be in your top three, though.
Sound:
The raw sound of this thing is where it really shines. The preamps aren't the best of the best, but they do sound SURPRISINGLY good. My mid-grade condensers sound GREAT through this thing. Dynamic mics such as the i5 and SM57 sound GOOD off the line, and with a knowledgeable tweaking in your DAW, you'll get 'em sounding pretty darned awesome.
The only problem is that this thing is a bit quiet. I have to turn the volume knob halfway up to get a "standard loudness" through my KRK 8's, and to really get my 8's at a "loud stereo" level, I gotta turn the volume knob over 3/4's of the way. These are POWERED monitors that amplify the signal put through them, so they should be screaming loud at halfway - but they're not. Testing volume through my headphones confirms that the FireStudio is the issue, not the monitors.
The headphone amp is noticeably louder though. It's strange. 3/4 volume and your ears will be ringing. Wish I could get that through the standard speaker output!
This issue extends to the preamps as well. I have to crank them pretty good, unless I'm recording overbearingly loud stuff like drums.
I mean, having to turn the knobs way up isn't THAT big of a deal - but I would think that it would stress the hardware a bit more than needed, and affect the overall lifetime of the product.
So other than *slightly* weak powered volume, this thing sounds GREAT!
Ease of Use:
READ THE MANUAL, then it's a piece of cake.
The most important thing you need to know is NOT to plug active instruments into the first two inputs. Other than that, it's totally plug-n-play.
Support:
We've been sitting on the same exact Vista drivers almost since I bought this thing in January '08.
People are having similar driver issues under the Leapord OS, so if you have a MAC, you're not entirely out of the water from some of these issues.
PreSonus has a great product here, but they owe it to their customers to make every effort to solidify their drivers for both MAC and Windows.
Overall:
Overall, this thing was way worth the money! It had its issues, and it took me the better part of a year to straighten them all out, but now it's working flawlessly. I don't expect to replace this puppy any time soon.
Submitted: 10/4/2008
Style of Music: Various
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9 of 9 people (100%) found this review helpful. Did you?
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![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() 10 out of 10
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Feature:
Love the meters. They really help you to see whats happening. The built in software mixer is also a huge help. I did a session with a four piece band and was able to send every musician a separate headphone mix. Kind of wish it had ADAT inputs but then again that's what the other Firestudio is for.
Quality:
The knobs feel sturdy and I love how they are detented as well. The other nice touch is no wall wart. This unit looks amazing in my rack.
Value:
It's simply the best interface that you can buy below an RME that costs twice as much (TRUST ME I'VE TRIED THEM ALL).
Desirability:
Great metering and it looks sexy in my rack.
Sound:
Very beefy sounding preamps. Not noisy like my old M Audio. I'm very happy with the sound I'm getting.
Ease of Use:
Installation took about 15 minutes. I have a PC (Pentium 4/3gHz) and it sync'd up in a few seconds and I was recording within 20 minutes.
Support:
I called Presonus because I was missing a serial number in my software bundle. They were very cool about it. I haven't had any other reasons to call but they seemed to be easy to reach.
Overall:
I think my search for interfaces is done. This one is great.
Submitted: 12/11/2007
Style of Music: Rock
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20 of 23 people (86.96%) found this review helpful. Did you?
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"Another great product at a great price. Thanks!" - customer on December 18, 2008
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