PreSonus FireStudio Audio Interface, FireWire

Web Item #PRSFIRESTUDIO

This product can only be ordered by phone. Please call us at 866-SHIP-SDM (744-7736).

Overall User Ratings

Overall:: 7.9 out of 10
Ease of Use:: 7 out of 10

Features:: 10 out of 10
Value:: 10 out of 10
Sound:: 8 out of 10
Manufacturer Support:: 1 out of 10

User Reviews for PreSonus FireStudio FireWire Recording Interface

Overall:: 6 out of 10
Features:: 10 out of 10
Value:: 10 out of 10
Sound:: 8 out of 10
Ease of Use:: 7 out of 10
Manufacturer Support:: 1 out of 10

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By a customer from charter.net

Submitted: 10/24/2007

Style of Music: Gospel, Modern Christian

Experience: Professional Musician, Recording Engineer

"Vista users: get something else you can actually use!"

This reviewer purchased this item from Same Day Music.

Sound:

I haven't gotten a chance to really put it to use, but the few times it worked on my XP machine, it had a nice, clean sound to the output. Seemed to have a boost in the high mids, but it was pleasant to me and seemed to make the mix clearer. Maybe the built in audio card was scooped in the HM's.

Feature:

Included firewire cord and DC adapter. My favorite feature is the screw-on DC terminal in back so the cord won't get stepped on and kill it in the middle of tracking, and the fact that there's no wall wart, which makes it Furman-friendly.... I wish it had better hardware metering, but that's what the software is for. There are clip indicators. Handy headphone jack, could use two on different mixes, though. The zero latency is great, but only works for live sources, not tape sources.

Ease of Use:

Can't use period. See my rant on Presonus support.... When it did work, the routing assignment had a steep learning curve, and can't really be explained well. Took me a little while of staring at the screen and trial and error, but once you understand, it is logical.

Quality:

Seems to be good. Gets hot normally, which may determine placement. After installation, my XP machine became unstable (think bsod) so I upgraded with a new PC with Vista. Bad idea. Still no drivers available, and it's well past deadline.

Manufacturer Support:

So... I don't know what's going on in Presonus' heads, but while those of us with Vista are waiting on drivers, Headquarters is pumping out new versions of the same machine... which STILL won't work on Vista!!!! They promised updates with a deadline months ago but I haven't seen one driver update in months. Believe me, I know - their driver download page has been my homepage for good long while now, seeing as the firestudio won't work on my machine till they do something about it. I would think they would cater to their high end users first, but apparently this machine is last in line. It's even behind the el cheapo firebox.

Value:

Price is one of the cheapest for what it does, and it does it well... when it can do it, period.

The Wow Factor:

I love the blue and silver scheme, and the blue led's. I just like blue. Good looking knobs, modern, not vintage looking. The more I look at it sitting useless in the corner, though, the more I feel disdain.

Overall:

If I can get it to work, I will probably be using this for awhile. I can't afford much more yet, but once I get used to it, I'll probably want to stay with a sound I know how to accomodate.