Overall User Ratings (based on 30 ratings)
Submitted October 20, 2003 by a customer from rustcycle.com
"Works great for Mac OS X / Logic Audio!"
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works like a charm with Logic Audio under Mac OS 10.2 - seamless :)
Quality
built solidly! knobs feel substancial.
Value
great amount of IO for the price. firewire is THE way to go with a portable rig. i paid $650 - anything under $600 is a great value.
Manufacturer Support
haven't had to call yet, via email i got some great tips on minimizing latency before OS X support was official
The Wow Factor
it looks sexy in my rack to boot!
Musical Style:
rock + electronica fusion
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Submitted November 6, 2003 by a customer from yahoo.com
"Smart buy! A little testy to install but well worth the hassle in the end!"
It'll be the interface I use for at least a decade... it just has everything I need!
Sound
I've been using the Firestation for about 6 months now. I've completed several projects and both my customers and myself are VERY pleased with the outcomes. I am using Windows XP SP1 with Cubase VST/32... great combo!
Features
You name it... it has it. I've used SPDIF inputs from my POD (awesome sounds!)... analog I/O from outboard mixer... tube preamps... MIDI... all work GREAT! I do wish they had more phantom power channels but then again... they do have a whole other unit for this... can't complain!
Quality
Very aesthetically pleasing. Nice curves... sleek design. The product has held up like a champ! Definately road worthy (as long as you don't have to install it on different workstations every time).
Value
The best bang for the buck!
Manufacturer Support
These guys seemed a bit confused with my problems at first, but then they came around and sent me some usefull tips which made my life easier... good guys!
The Wow Factor
It's both a technical marvel and a practical addition to my gear!
Musical Style:
All musical styles
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Submitted June 14, 2003 by a customer from bigpond.net.au
"Great body: Shame about the head !"
I work in a Sydney music shop dealing with high end product. I do have a good and an advanced knowledege than most consumers in realtion to use, installation and limitations of product such as the Presonus Firestation. Its installation process is perplexing, onerous and non intuitive and I believe is the most complex installation process on the market at this time. Most of my customers will not be able to install this unit to their PC. They just wont be able to get around this most complex process and therefore wont buy it. I know that those who have bought from the shop have required lots more support than other comparable products that I sell. Unfortunately this latter point is like building a great car that requires a type of fuel that is rare or almost non existant.
Sound
Sound of the unit is superb but not in line with Apogee, RME, Prism and Pro Tools HD convertors, however it doesn't cost as much. After these 4 brands you would be hard pressed to find competition in sound quality at an equivalent price.
Features
Comes with 2 preamps but unlike competition offers you the luxury of having tube preamps or solid state as a choice. 8 in and 8 out are great. Does not support 96khz rate
Quality
This product is built like a tank and weighs it. There should be no criticism of its build quality as it is on par with high end pre amp builds.
Value
Hard to gaige for 2 reasons. Firstly feautures are unique. 2 The installation process is disgusting. Had this been an easier process its nearest rivals, MOTU,M Audio, Edirol & Aardvark would need to be concerned.
Manufacturer Support
Presonus did not return my email enquiry however their web site did contain helpful advice and alternative versions of the manual to assist. Presonus should be applauded for providing an alternate and easier type manual but should be kicked in the arse for developing an onerous installation that requires a further manual rewrite.
The Wow Factor
The product is appealing and its features, notably the stunning pre amps and great convertors do make it desirable BUT the installation process will deter many people and rightfully so.
Musical Style:
Pop & Commercial
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Submitted November 17, 2003 by a customer from Juno.com
"A solid buy for 8 track recording."
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zZounds has verified that this reviewer made a purchase from us.
I'll keep this for years. In my own music I rarely need more than stereo - but for those occations I do band recording it will really help. A good mobile kit, although you will need more preamps to use it for location 8 track recording. The two preamps are great for the money. If it was lost or stolen I'm hoping there would be a better deal by then.
Sound
Good preamps. Clean, and tubes add some bite. You can dirty up a synth pretty good just with the tubes. And loud (must be the + 4) - most of my other stuff is -10.
Features
It's a mixer. It's a digital i/0. It's a stereo preamp. But wait. There's more. It slices, it dices, it even does windows. Not quite, but it has Word Clock in if you need it and ADAT and digital I/O. The only thing it lacks is 96 KHz - and I don't need 8 channels at once for that.
Quality
It seems sturdy enough - tho I don't plan on giging with it. One of the premap knobs was a little rough and the tube knob dragged against the level knob. A couple of twists solved that problem, for the most part.
Value
So far it is the best deal going for 8 tracks, as long as you don't need 96kHz recording. The tube's set it apart from the competition - tho if I had a couple of hundred bucks I might have gone for the competition.
Manufacturer Support
Shot support off an email tonight. They haven't answered me in the last 15 minutes so I can't really judge it. There are names that go with the e-mail support, which is a first.
The Wow Factor
It looks good but is only a rack unit.
Musical Style:
psyco pop and heroin dance music
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by a customer from trackiepro.com
PreSonus FireStation Firewire Audio Interface Customer Review
Verified Customer
zZounds has verified that this reviewer made a purchase from us.
if you can get the thing to work, theoritically, this is one of the best damn sound cards money can buy. But the drivers s@@k harder than a starving baby. I was only able to get the WDM drivers working, which means only two channels.. left and right. But i wasnt able to get the ASIO drivers to work at ALL! Though tech support was nice and very willing to help, i didnt want to sit on the phone for 3 hours.
Worst of all, i was switching my system config around... and the second time around, i cant even get my computer to recognize the damn thing!
nice peice, but like the other said... the drivers s@@k
dont buy it unless presonus comes out with new drivers
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Submitted July 27, 2003
PreSonus FireStation Firewire Audio Interface Customer Review
Sound
the outputs sound very good, but when i tried to record anything, i got a lot of hissing digital distortion.
Features
8 input/ouput is very cool.
Quality
i got it home and found out that it doesn't work with many common applications, including cubase sx, and peak. do not buy this if you are running mac os x!
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Submitted May 26, 2003
"excellent idea, but its not user friendly at all"
i'm stuck with it... but it'll work for what I need, once I figured it out.
Sound
sound great.
Features
the concept is handy to have a mixer and interface in one.
Quality
its built solid
Value
that's a hard review to give on "Value"... like I said.. the concept rocks, but setting it up has waisted sooooo much time
Manufacturer Support
the guys at the shop were there to help everytime I called, and I called A LOT
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