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PreSonus Firebox 6x10 FireWire Recording Interface

The Firebox is the most powerful 24-bit/96k FireWire recording interface that fits in the palm of your hand. The Firebox is a complete 24bit/96k personal recording studio combining two high quality PreSonus microphone/instrument preamplifiers, 24-bit/96k sample rate and Steinberg's Cubase LE 48-track recording software. The perfect hardware and software combination for a professional quality, powerful, yet compact personal computer-based studio. Learn More...

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Overall User Ratings

Overall:
* * * * * * * * . . 8 out of 10
Features:
* * * * * * * * . . 8 out of 10
Quality:
* * * * * * * * . . 8 out of 10
Value:
* * * * * * * * . . 8 out of 10
I Want It:
* * * * * * * . . . 7 out of 10
Sound:
* * * * * * * * . . 8 out of 10
Ease of Use:
* * * * * * * * . . 8 out of 10
Support:
* * * * * * * . . . 7 out of 10

Individual User Ratings

Overall:
* * * * * * * * . . 8 out of 10
Features:
* * * * . . . . . . 4 out of 10
Quality:
* * * * * * * * . . 8 out of 10
Value:
* * * * * * * . . . 7 out of 10
I Want It:
* * * * * . . . . . 5 out of 10
Sound:
* * * * * * * * * . 9 out of 10
Ease of Use:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
Support:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10

Feature:
only 2 xlr inputs, no power button

Quality:
you pay for what you get.

Value:
no

Desirability:
not the most attractive piece of equipment.

Sound:
works for what i'm trying to achieve

Ease of Use:
plug in go

Support:
haven't had to deal with them

Overall:
overall it does what it does.. i believe this interface is great for novice learners like myself. i plan to upgrade one day soon, maybe to a mackie onyx 1220 because it has more inputs and channels. plus i need talk back to let the artist know if they need to step closer or further back from the mic in the vocal booth. www.myspace.com/nicademusmusic

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Overall:
* * * * * * . . . . 6 out of 10
Features:
* * * * * * * * . . 8 out of 10
Quality:
* * * * * * * . . . 7 out of 10
Value:
* * * * * * * * . . 8 out of 10
I Want It:
* * * * * * * . . . 7 out of 10
Sound:
* * * * * * * . . . 7 out of 10
Ease of Use:
* * * * * * * * . . 8 out of 10
Support:
* * * * * . . . . . 5 out of 10

Feature:
All features I needed. I didn't like that the midi inputs were on a breakout cable.

Quality:
Hardware quality seems very good. Obviously, there's some kind of issue with interference in input 2.

Value:
On par with the competition

Desirability:
The unit is not as attractive IMO as other units (e.g. echo audiofire)

Sound:
You will read this in a lot of places...When using a mic with input 2 (only) you will get a whining noise. If the input is loud enough (like a loudly strummed acoustic guitar), you won't notice it too much. Also, I felt the gain could be a little higher when using mics.

Ease of Use:
Pretty easy to use

Support:
Never called support. I'm going to return it though because of the whining noise.

Overall:
I would love this unit if it wasn't for the whining sound in input 2

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Overall:
* * * . . . . . . . 3 out of 10
Sound:
* * * . . . . . . . 3 out of 10

Sound:
Preamps have low gain. Still the sound would be good with a sensitive mic, but there is a very loud whining noise on the channel 2 when (and only when) connected through firewire. This, I heard, is typical when used with a Macbook pro and the firmware update loaded. The first channel has the noise about an octave higher, but it is more quiet and perhaps wouldn't have caught my attention at the early stages of testing this thing.

Support:


Overall:
I will return this gear to the shop. Anyone with a Macbook pro should test it with the latest firmware update before purchase. I learned from the Presonus forums that the company is aware of the problem since September 2007, but no solution has been given.

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Overall:
* * * * * * * * . . 8 out of 10
Features:
* * * * * * * * . . 8 out of 10
Value:
* * * * * * * * * . 9 out of 10
I Want It:
* * * * * * * * . . 8 out of 10
Sound:
* * * * * * * * . . 8 out of 10
Ease of Use:
* * * * * * * * * . 9 out of 10
Support:
* * * * * . . . . . 5 out of 10

Feature:
Wall wart alert! Well, only if you don't have 6-pin firewire. To use the spdif input I've had trouble, but the spdif output works like a charm! At the time of writing though, the Inspire 1394 is daisy chainable for up to 4 units, the Firepod, or FP10 is daisychainable for up to 3 units, and the Firebox is not daisy chainable at all. Presonus say they are still working on the drivers... I wish they would hurry up so I could just buy another one. One thing I really like about this thing is that it works as a mic pre when its not plugged into a pc. That means I can just switch on my synths and my firebox and start jamming without having to mission with my laptop. It doesn't get a 10 because getting the spdif input to work is a big mission, and although other presonus products support daisy chaining, this one doesn't.

Quality:
This thing gets quite hot, which worries me.

Value:
Its worth it!

Desirability:
Steel chasis and knobs with pretty blue lights. Awesome if they bring out daisy chain support, I'd buy another tomorrow!

Sound:
Very transparent recordings! I use it to record my Virus B and My Supernova.

Ease of Use:
It doesn't get a 10 because there is no on/off switch on the unit, which means when I want to switch it off, I have to do it at the wall. I find this thing easy to use, and easy to achieve decent recordings with. I use it at 44100hz

Support:
Not daisy chainable like presonus's other units!

Overall:
I want more inputs! Daisy chaining is sorely needed. I'm a bit pissed at myself for not getting the FP10 for that exact reason.

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Overall:
* . . . . . . . . . 1 out of 10
Features:
* . . . . . . . . . 1 out of 10
Quality:
* . . . . . . . . . 1 out of 10
Value:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
I Want It:
* . . . . . . . . . 1 out of 10
Sound:
* . . . . . . . . . 1 out of 10
Ease of Use:
* . . . . . . . . . 1 out of 10
Support:
* * * * * . . . . . 5 out of 10

Feature:
Dont know, it never worked.

Value:
Great value, got all my $ back.

Desirability:
Not sexy at all... Bad software is like an STD!

Sound:
It was all the glowing reviews that helped me decide the Firebox was the tool I needed to do the job. But when I tried to install the software, it wouldnt read! So after I beat myself in the head for a while I go to Presonus Tech Sppt FAQ's. Item 1, top of the chart... "SOFTWARE THAT WONT READ?" (Clik here to recieve a new disc) Obviously this has happed before. While the Firebox may be a great interface, and I may be missing out on the chance to work with it and Cubase... Mine is going back whence it came. This is not the way we should start a relationship with a new product. Perhaps they should hunt down and recall all the defective software. Oh yeah, before you say it's my drive thats defect... I have 3 computers here, 1 PC and 2 MACS. It worked on none of them. No matter how well it works, when it works... With regret, I gotta give it a thumbs down.

Ease of Use:
Software defective

Support:
Sppt seems to know about this and had set it up so you can recieve new software easily. But didnt I just buy buy software?

Overall:
Keep lookin...

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Overall:
* * * * * * * * . . 8 out of 10
Features:
* * * * * . . . . . 5 out of 10
Quality:
* * * * * * * * . . 8 out of 10
Value:
* * * * * * * * . . 8 out of 10
I Want It:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
Sound:
* * * * * * * * . . 8 out of 10
Ease of Use:
* * * * * * * * * . 9 out of 10

Feature:
Hardware: 10 midi spdif breakout cable included, 2 firewire ports are extremely handy, very tidy. Software: 0 came with a woefully outdated driver, had to download the new one and update firmware. came with cubase LE 1.10 which limits you to 2 VST instruments. earlier versions of LE (1.09 > release) will give you more VST. do not rely on the included software if you plan to use VST instruments.

Quality:
metal, has weight, solid, just reefed on it then. no flex. you could probably hit it with a hammer and it would still work.

Value:
extremely well balanced. this will give great sound for the price. you may prefer similar units with other features but it's easy to use and i bum it.

Desirability:
it is small, sleek and shiny. the blue lights are sav. works well, does great sound and it's very cool.

Sound:
fantastic for the price

Ease of Use:
truly heard my guitar for the first time within 10 min of getting this unit home.

Support:
havent needed

Overall:
great unit. i will certainly keep it around after the next upgrade. it sounds awesome and is great for the laptop.

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Overall:
* * * * * * * * . . 8 out of 10
Features:
* * * . . . . . . . 3 out of 10
Quality:
* * * * * * * * . . 8 out of 10
Value:
* * * * * * * * . . 8 out of 10
I Want It:
* * * * * * * . . . 7 out of 10
Sound:
* * * * * * * * . . 8 out of 10
Ease of Use:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
Support:
* * * * * * * . . . 7 out of 10

Feature:
WARNING - this product has one feature too many. We are using this for a permanent audio installation with high powered amps. We process the mic inputs in software. When we restart the computer the FireBox is powered up but not controlled by the computer for about 10 seconds. During this time it routes the mic inputs directly to the outputs 1 & 2!! This results in a horrendous feedback. We almost did not discover this until it was too late. As a workaround we only use outputs 5&6. They call this feature "no-sync auto routing". I call it a dangerous assumption about how the device is being used that could result in blown ear drums or blown speakers. Other than this design flaw it is a great box.

Quality:
The case feels solid. The knobs feel sturdy but the detents make it a little hard to do fine adjustment.

Value:
It seems reasonable given the quality of the device.

Desirability:
It looks attractive but it is just an audio interface. If you are lusting after an audio interface then you have serious problems. Although I must admit the little blue sync light was cute.

Sound:
Sound is fine. Our audio content has a limited spectrum so we are not pushing it.

Ease of Use:
We plugged it in and it worked. The drivers were already installed on the Mac. It could only be easier if we didn't have to plug it in.

Support:
I used the support forum to get help for the "no-syn auto routing feature". They told me I should not have microphones where they can hear the speakers. We use the mics to monitor the speaker outputs and it works fine except when we lose sync.

Overall:
If I had known about the "no-sync auto routing feature" I would probably not have bought it. But I don't know of anything better.

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Overall:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
Features:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
Quality:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
Value:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
Sound:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
Ease of Use:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
Support:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10

Feature:
Features are great for the price, phantom power,headphone volume, and instrument level- its all you need really on the interface. Everything else you just go with software.

Quality:
Durable and strong

Value:
amazing for the price

Desirability:
For the beginer recording eniginer it is great.

Sound:
It sounds better then I expected it to.

Ease of Use:
Plug in and play, very easy.

Support:
never had to deal with them

Overall:
It's amazing, see for yourself how it sounds at my myspace- www.myspace.com/jordanpreisinger

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Overall:
* * . . . . . . . . 2 out of 10
Features:
* * * * * * * . . . 7 out of 10
Quality:
* * * * * . . . . . 5 out of 10
Value:
* * . . . . . . . . 2 out of 10
I Want It:
* . . . . . . . . . 1 out of 10
Sound:
* * * * * * * * . . 8 out of 10
Ease of Use:
* * * * . . . . . . 4 out of 10
Support:
* * . . . . . . . . 2 out of 10

Feature:
Everything was included to put this unit into full use out of the box.

Quality:
The unit itself was nicely built, easy to access knobs, lots of in/outs. Small enough to fit inside a laptop case for road use.

Value:
Anything that doesn't work, regardless of the price, is worthless.

Sound:
When it works, it sounds pretty good. Sound quailty was better than other USB interfaces I had used previously.

Ease of Use:
Not enough trouble shooting guide. Answers for specific problems didn't work and there were no other options for a fix.

Support:
What support? To be fair, it is Christmas week, but I was on hold for 20 minutes before being asked to leave a message, that was not returned. I got no support, so back it goes!

Overall:
I returned this item. If in this day and age, why should I not be able to take a produce like this out of the box and use it? I don't write computer code, or design programs, but I'm not completely stupid about computers and the usage of products of this nature. Buffers, latency, sample rates, and the like. If I can't make it work, chances are the average guy doesn't have a shot.

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Overall:
* * * . . . . . . . 3 out of 10
Features:
* * * * * * * . . . 7 out of 10
Quality:
* * * * * * * . . . 7 out of 10
Value:
* * * * * . . . . . 5 out of 10
I Want It:
* . . . . . . . . . 1 out of 10
Sound:
* * * * . . . . . . 4 out of 10
Ease of Use:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
Support:
* * * * * . . . . . 5 out of 10

Quality:
The unit itself feels solid and looks pretty good.

Value:
Not a solid enough card for the high $300 tag.

Desirability:
I'll pass on getting another Firebox.

Sound:
This card has low quality preamps. The headphone jack sounds ok, but when hooking the card up to powered studio monitors, the noise/feedback it puts out is some of the worst I've ever heard. I tried a few different audio cables, tried grounding the monitors to the same ground as my computer, tried plugging in the A/C adapter along with the firewire, and nothing helped at all. I may have got a lemon, but this is a common thing with this card. You can search many forums to see that others are having the same issues with the card.

Ease of Use:
Piece of cake to set up.

Support:
I never used their support, I went on the Presonus forums and found what I needed to know. But what they say to do to eliminate that noise didn't work at all.

Overall:
I'm very unsatisfied with the quality of the Presonus Firebox. When you depend on a good soundcard for DJ gigs and things like that, you can't have a noisy/unreliable card. Other people might have good/working Firebox cards, but this one sure isn't.

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Overall:
* * * * * * * * . . 8 out of 10
Support:
* . . . . . . . . . 1 out of 10

Support:
MacBook Pro owners take note! The Firebox does *NOT* work in with firewire bus power on the new MacBook Pro (including the Revision A 17" and the Revision B 15" and 17" models). The MBP firewire port features an overcurrent protection circuit which is tripped by the Firebox on power up. In the design of this device Presonus did not comply with IEEE 1394 spec with respect to maximum current draw. As of writing (11/17/2006) they have no plans to fix this flaw in the Firebox. So, you will be forced to use the wall-wart adapter with your Firebox.

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Overall:
* . . . . . . . . . 1 out of 10
Features:
* . . . . . . . . . 1 out of 10
Quality:
* . . . . . . . . . 1 out of 10
Value:
* . . . . . . . . . 1 out of 10
I Want It:
* . . . . . . . . . 1 out of 10
Sound:
* . . . . . . . . . 1 out of 10
Ease of Use:
* . . . . . . . . . 1 out of 10
Support:
* . . . . . . . . . 1 out of 10

Feature:
sad, sad ,sad. Not a 96kc device

Quality:
no firmware fix!!

Value:
not worth the money M-audio is far better

Desirability:
If it worked

Sound:
Not a 96khz sampling device , horrible dynamic range, Bleed through

Ease of Use:
broken right out of the box. bad firmware

Support:
The worst I have ever seen, They do not care and they will tell you this!

Overall:
We test pro audio gear for a living.

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Overall:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
Features:
* * * * * * * * * . 9 out of 10
Quality:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
Value:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
Sound:
* * * * * * * * * . 9 out of 10
Ease of Use:
* * * * * * * * * . 9 out of 10
Support:
* * * * * * * . . . 7 out of 10

Quality:
It's a rock. Not that i'm throwing it against a wall but I'm using a Ibook to record and mix so it goes different places with me. Just the other day i took it to a church to record the piano so i could get the big room sound.

Value:
A friend has the Mackie Spike and was having problems with latency which was one thing that I would not tolerate so I went with firewire instead. It works great, all in one package.

Sound:
I am definetely a beginner in the home recording field but so far it has done everything I wanted it to with ease.

Ease of Use:
It has a getting started manual an