Awesome Results 
by Vince Leffler from Memphis, TN, December 2007
Music Background:  Recording Engineer, Pro Musician

An awesome addition to my home studio. Now I can record comfortably and easily a 5 piece band all at the same time on my Digi003 and not worrry about having enough inputs and getting good mic-pre signals to my hard drive! The Digimax FS Rocks!

  Solid Unit - Great buy for the money. 
by Alan Moon from Macon, GA, December 2007
Music Background:  Producer, Recording Engineer, Live Sound Engineer

In the past I have used many of Presonus' offerings and have always found their units like the Firepod and especially the Central Station, to be reliable, good sounding, well thought out and well supported. For the most part, the Digimax FS is no exception.

I added this unit to my Digi002r setup. The audio-stage in ProTools was noticeably improved by referencing work-clock from the DigimaxFS, though not as dramatically smooth and wide as when I have referenced an Aardsync II in the past.

Overall, the preamps are fine for recording. However, you'll miss out on some of the "refined" sound of a true high-voltage preamp if you are used to them. The Digimax pres are not even in the same ballpark as Neve, API, A-Designs, Grace, and certainly not even on the same planet as GML preamps, nor should we ever believe clever marketing that tries to convince us that we can get the sounds of those units for pennies on the dollar; it just ain't going to happen. Still, they deliver a usable sound into the box for the appropriate cost/benefit ratio. You might get a little more mush than clean punch on some dynamic and bass-heavy sources like kick drums. However, when I have mated a Radial JDI (passive DI box) between a bass and the Digimax FS, it produced much better results for me than the stock pre-amps on the Digi002r.

And if you should use this box as an upgrade to a standard house live mixer's inputs, then you are going to get a much more full and dependable sound... especially if you run into lots of "Eurodesk" units or something with a similarly horrid sound.

My only legitimate gripe about this box (in light of the true economics of what this offers for such a low price)is the layout. Since I use it for live recording (with my 002r) the inputs are on the front panel and the pots are over to the right in some sort of staggered arrangement that is hard to sort out on the fly when you need to make a fast adjustment. Though I have not used one yet, the Mackie Onyx800r is laid out in a much more user-friendly fashion... Inputs on the rear and linear adjustment on the front. If Presonus were to employ such a design in the future, it would keep us from having to stress the snake breakout by stretching 8 of the inputs over and through our rack to reach the front.

Lastly, this unit does have BNC Word Clock OUTPUT which the Mackie does not (Why on Earth Mackie skimped on this, I'll never know?). So, the Digimax wins for some added configurability. But, by the same token, it doesn't have the AES/EBU DB25 outs present on the Mackie. But, if you consider that the Digimax has Digital INPUTS for Digital to Analog conversion (something the Mackie, again, lacks...), then this box wins again for configurability. Still, it makes me wonder... "Does the Onyx 800R win for sound quality?". My gut tells me, "Probably". There is a reason why the Mackie has fewer features and costs $400 more. It probably has something to do with why a single Chandler Germanium Preamp is roughly 9 times the cost per channel as the Mackie; they ain't the same thing.

Overall, it's a great box for the money. If you are going to use it to expand your home or project studio I/O on a tight budget, then you won't be disappointed. However, if you are using this in the live arena, you'll be happy with your sonic results, but you might be pulling your hair out trying to determine which-knob-is-which-input when seconds count thanks to the layout.

  A good set of pre's whether you're studio is project or pro. 
by The Electronic Innkeeper from Studio: The Cold Cell, Sudetenland, Kalifornia, July 2007
Music Background:  freelance producer, composer, engineer, teacher

I purchased the Digimax FS, as I didn't want/need the EQ or Limiter options. I'm using the FS with the T.C. Electronic Konnekt 24D. It's quite a good compliment to the 24D. The pre's are fine, and one of the FS's selling points, the JetPLL, does do a decent job at keeping the audio "un-smeared". I tested that very aspect with a metal string acoustic, nylon acoustic, some hand percussion, and some reading from a text. I used a BLUE Dragonfly for that. The results were wonderful and very usable in a pro situation. I have my project studio at home, and I take my tracks to a studio I work at, and the audio is quite pristine. And having 8 direct outs, 8 inserts, and 8 DAC outs...thats pretty cool. Those inserts were exactly why I didn't want onboard EQ and limiting. Oh! I also really appreciate the power cables ability to be screwed on to the chassis - no chance of getting pulled out.
Now, for a price of $599, I would expect a tad bit more. This is a budget priced device, obviously. The pre's equal about $75 a piece, or a "few" dollars less for the word clock and the JetPLL. I think they could have added stereo S/PDIF and made it more flexible. I do a lot of field recording and a S/PDIF would have been great. Just my opinion. Also, the trim knobs are a bit "tight", and would have liked them a bit "quicker". For these reasons, trifle as they may seem, I gave it a four out of five.

  Great Product 
by Jim from South Carolina, USA, March 2007
Music Background:  Recording Engineer, Live Sound Engineer, Pro Musician

I added this unit to my digi 002-rack system just to add 8 more inputs via toslink adat. Just one cable from the Digimax fs to my digi 002 was all that was needed to set this unit up. It has built in word clock, and the pres absolutely BLOW AWAY the 002 rack preamps.
I immediately noticed a difference when plugging in a Mic or Guitar to this unit. Pro Tools noticed the unit and added 8 more adat inputs that can be selected within any track just like the digi 002 inputs. If you buy one of these, you will use it for your 8 most important inputs and go into the 002 only if you need more than eight simultaneous inputs. I had some questions while setting up the unit about the world clock as I am new to digital recording. I called Pre Sonus and the rep I spoke to was incredibly knowledgeable, polite and, took as much time as necessary to explain everything to me. You will not be disappointed if you purchase the ProSonus Digimax FS.

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