Presonus Firebox Reviews?, Anyone actually use this yet? Options

[iDraw]

it was great to find this particular forum about the firebox, I was beginning to think it was my personal struggle with SPDIF that was causing my problems in trying to get sound from my DAT into Logic 7 pro. I was having a similar experience of getting sound all the way to the firebox mixer software and right on through to my laptop (in the sound input preferences, I can see the sound and it mirrors the same spikes on my DAT display - so it's coming in) but I cannot get it to play or record in Logic or SoundTrack or any other audio software.

At first I was running 10.3.9 with the new presonus control panel (1.0.3) on my main powerbook drive and, on a separate drive, I had 10.3.7 installed with just the basics (Firebox Control Panel 1.0, LogicPro 7, nothing else). On both drives, the same SPDIF cutoff at the software happened with one difference. I would get a pulsating spike of sound (different from the sound coming in from the DAT - just a crackling surge like a radio frequency of some kind) which went on for about 2 minuted and then silence.

Since it was the weekend, I waited and called Presonus Tech Support and talked with a guy named Jonathon. Very nice chap who listened and didn't give me any run around. I told him all that I had tried and also related some of the posts made here and he agreed that something didn't sound right. He said that, with the old control panel (1.0) SPDIF should be working fine in 10.3.7-10.3.8. With the new control panel (1.0.3) the Firebox SPDIF should work in both 10.3.9 AND he also said that it should work in Tiger (which contradicts an earlier post I read). I do not have Tiger installed so I will take his word for it.

What he said he would do next is set up LogicPro 7 on several different systems and try and duplicate the issues I laid out. He said it would take a day or two but he would email me the results. I will post the reply here.

[khvt]

Hi - I've been reading this post since its inception...was looking forward to the firebox. Have been using it with Tracktion. I have to say I'm not thrilled with my recordings - even simple voice-overs. I'm not sure if it's the firebox or the software. Sold my Digi001 & 002 a year ago. Now I'm wondering if that was the right thing to do. There's lots of hiss & the gain seems to be up way too high all of the time. I'm interested in other opinions about firebox sound. Thank you.

[vickbabu]

I just recieved mine and experienced the same "rice crispies" sound from the mic. I figured it had to do with monitoring. Haven't used the presonus mixer for monitoring, but hope that works better than Live 4. The only thing that I am not comfortable with is the requirements, seem high.
That aside, its seems solid. I purchased mine from JD Sound and it came w/ a free AT2020 Condenser mic. For my single/two track recording and live shows I hope I won't have any complaints, even if reading forums has made me a bit paranoid.

[arvidtp]

Yep - Just ordered mine. I'll share my experiences when she gets here!

[ArchivalAudio]

soa quick reply here
I had many problems wioth the CubaseLE and the firebox
and especially the SPDUIF in
when Presonus mentioned that perhapsI got a bad unit
and suggested thet I swap it for a new unit from my retailer
who was Cascade Media in Portland OR
both Frank and Jeff there were very cool about it
and I had been CC'ing Jeff with my trialsand tribulations
so they shipped me a new on on friday and it worked fine
Still have yet totry the SPDIF inbut both preampins and Line insworked great with Cubase....
my error was I hed cubase set to record in only 16 bit!
but I did manage
to recordmy friends the Ginger Hustlers "ambient"2-Rode nt5's onstage (110° ORTF) and 2 Soundboard PA in 4-track on saturday
and on Sunday at the Willemette valley Folk Fest at the UofO
I recoeded both Taarka and New Monsoon..in the field .battery power
had some sleep issues with my ibook
and I "cheated" I powered the fireboxvia a 12v lead acid battery
to provided pantom power for the mics and cause less draw on my ibook battery

more soon

-- ian

[arvidtp]

Hi - just got my 'box today! I like it.

Installation was long, complicated and difficult I just took it out of the box, plugged in the firewire, and bam! - it worked!

I first used it with iTunes. Sounded really nice playing some radiohead and Miles Davis.

Then i used it with Logic. recordings sound nice, though I havent tried it with trumpet yet. real nice - got all 6 channels in at once including SPDIF from my Mbox! (its really cool that that works - it lets me get the full 6 channels in if i need them, though the Mbox channels, because they are going through the computer, may be delayed by about 1024 samples relative to the other channels. But one can always shift tracks later, as long as nothing latency critical goes though those channels during recording. To do this, i just run Rogue Amoeba's LineIn and patch the Mbox in to the Mbox out with the Digi coreaudio driver - then set the firebox's clock source to SPDIF.) latency/the buffer settings at which things start popping and crackling seem reasonable. Of course it probably could be better, but hey - its a WHOLE lot better than that darn Mbox! The potential here makes me want a G5 again

I have not tried the included Cubase LE - don't see a need to right now as I have Logic Pro, and Tracktion if for some reason i wanted a lower-end sequencer for something Maybe I'll give it to someone who is just starting out in computer music...

The MIDI works great, however it seems to have kicked my Midiman 1x1 off the bus so the computer doesnt see anything coming into it - but that may be solved with a restart since i was switching around USB cables around earlier on today.\

The mixer app is real nice. Only weird thing was once mixer app and firebox control used like the whole CPU when launching (the mixer stopped hogging after launch, but the control did not and had to be quit for me to do anything else useful). But this only happened in one situation and I'm not sure why. I then quit logic (which was running in the background with no session open) and restarted the mixer and control apps and they worked fine - no huge CPU drain.

Physically, the box is well built as everyone says - nice and metal - color matches my powerbook blue chrome knobs are hot, as are the blue LEDs. Non-recessed Firewire ports on the back look possible a little flimsy? but maybe not.

I am hopeful that this will work out! It is such a cool box so far. But I have yet to test it with my complex and CPU intense MaxMSP patches. So soon we will see its true mettle.

[arvidtp]

Firebox - DAY 2

Well, today I did some real work with the thing. It is great to have an audio interface that you dont have to hope works 50% of the time you press the record button. The firebox seems to just work. - so far.

No more crazy CPU drain with the control/mixer software again. Dunno what that was all about that one time. But I have noticed that the +12dB settings on the control panel only seem to take effect after a restart of the computer. Is this normal? seems odd. But that's not a major problem.

It tried the firebox with some demanding MaxMSP patches - it pops and clicks a little more (at a lower CPU use) than does the internal card - but not by very much. i guess this is to be expected of any interface in this price-range due to the larger # channels and being 24 bit maybe. But after a very little optimization of my patcher, I was able to get down to 128 samples buffer with no artifacts - a very respectable latency for performance - especially one sorta off-the-wall like that patch

And - the Firebox works well with Jack - I built a buffer-looper in MaxMSP (controlled by a tilt-gamepad), ran the audio from that out to Logic via Jack and recorded it there, while listening back to the rather hefty session i was recording it in and watching the movie it was sync'd to - and this at a 128 sample buffer (as specified in Jack for the firebox - a pretty good latency for the soft-instrument playing) - all without a hitch. I'm lovin it!

So far, i would recommend the firebox for anyone who wants a good quality, low cost box that can do most anything that u throw at it without complaint. I'm sure the RMEs and Metric Halos of the world are better and get lower latency/better CPU usage, but for the price I am very happy with what I have got and I am hoping this opinion will not change unfavorably any time soon.

The next tests (for tomorrow) are the portable battery recording test (how long can i go for? does it "just work"?) and maybe the long duration recording (how many hours straight can it go without a glitch? so far I have done 1/2 hour with no problem.)

peace!

[entfred]

Hi,

I just ordered a Mac Mini with extra memory, the Presonus Firebox,
and I plan on using Garageband. I am new to recording on a
Mac (currently using Fostex VF08) and had some questions:

1. I read some of the previous posts on the Presonus Firebox.
Is this latest Mac OS going to work ok with the Firebox or am I
going to have a lot of problems just getting the Firebox to work?

2. I guess the included recording software in the Firebox will not
work with the latest Apple OS?

3. Anyone use the Mac Mini with the Firebox?

4. Does Garage band work ok with the Firebox? I have some friends
who plug directly into their Mac when recording guitar into Garageband
and I am hoping the Firebox will eliminate most, if not all of the
latency.

Thanks for any tips in getting started on using the Firebox with
a Mac Mini. I should receive the Mac Mini within a few weeks.

entfred

[arvidtp]

hey - sounds cool entfred.

1. it should! the drivers are built right into the OS and firebox is class-compliant.

2. I hear cubase LE will run under 10.4, it just will not install under 10.4 yet cause the installer must be weird.

3. no, but it should work great

4. It should! not tried it yet. The Firebox will get latency (when going through the computer) about equal to the internal card (which is actaully really good for performance/monitoring when turned down to 128 or 64 samples buffer). But with the Firbox you can monitor a no-latency dry signal to your headphones (or main outputs) without going into the computer and back out which is what causes the latency. What i do usually is monitor that direct no-latency signal into my headphones, and put a reverb on the track i am recording to that is completely wet, so then I get to hear 0 latency dry signal along with some nice inspiring reverb while I am recording (or whatever effect u want to use). Then I turn the dry back up no the reverb after i have recorded (or get rid of it sometimes)

What you really get with the Firebox is MUCH better audio quality. I have been very happy with it so far in that regard. best of luck.

As for my 3rd day of fireboxing: Took it out into the woods and recorded 52 min mono audio on just the powerbook battery using one Phantom powered condenser mic. Played some trumpet out there - the recording quality was very nice. Not one hiccup. not bad i'd say. The battery went to 0% though, so i dont think you could get any longer recording with phantom power on, though i did have to turn the screen up to full brightness sometimes to see it in the sun, though most of the time the display backlight was switched off. Energy saver was set to highest performance. One might be able to get away with reduced CPU power for just like 2-track recording. That might allow for some slightly longer unplugged sessions.

Also I am using the firebox as my system alert sound out and I have experienced none of the glitches others have referred to.

The gain for the mic pres seems weird however - it seems like they are not hot enough when not boosted but 12dB, but are too hot when boosted... oh well whatever. I mean you can get a satisfactory setting either way, its just at one extreme end of the dial or the other where the gain seems right for most stuff. But this may not be bad at all. Or i may just not have enough experience with the box yet to know where i should set levels for things.

[hahaworld]

Firebox Rox!

I have officially left ProTools in the dust. They have been historically sluggish about supporting Mac OS updates, and their software will only work with their hardware as far as I can tell. I upgraded to Tiger and bought a Firebox, and yes, it works with GarageBand and Logic. Get one! It's a solid, reliable piece of equipment.