good price ,good sound ! 
by Ali molaee from IRAN, September 2008
Music Background:  sound engineer-vocalist-composer

clean and warm sound,with my neumann tlm 193,but a litttle brittle! saturation is good but useless in most of my recording because its muddy effect.
I found EQ and COMPRESSOR useless because I love my MERCURY WAVES plugins!! I prefere to capture sound without using it`s EQ and COMPRSSOR and then edit it with my high quality plug-ins later .in acoustic and nylon guitars it shines!its singnals sit in the mix well with a little effort.
eureka`s price is very good.
I love its output.
thanks presonus.

  Excellent 
by Carl from Dayton, OR USA, January 2008
Music Background:  Recording Engineer, Musician

This piece of equipment takes my project studio to the next level. The pre amp is awesome, from completely transparent to add color and warmth with the saturation control. The compressor is very easy to use going into the DAW and is a real help with vocalists that have a little trouble controlling their dynamics. I use a TLM103 for most vox so seldom need EQ for that mic, but it’s handy for getting the best out of acoustic guitar. I couldn’t be more pleased with this piece of equipment and I highly recommend it.

  Didn't do much for me? 
by from North Carolina, October 2007
Music Background:  recording engineer, Pro musician

Everybody seems to really like this thing, but honestly I have found it to be useless for me. I run a DAW studio, and like to do everything inside the box though.
If you know a lot about Compressors, go for it. If you like me and don't, and like doing everything in the CPU. don't do it.
That's just my opinion, and I could be wrong.

  Great Product 
by Anthony from Houston, Texas, September 2007
Music Background:  Pro Musician, Singer, Producer..

I just out together my home studio and I wanted to make sure that beyond all the other equipment I had, that my mic pre was top notch... I had hopes on purchasing an avalon or universal audio channel strip and was going to chose between those two.... My sales person asked me to try this product so I said hey, half the price and still a great sound... Ok Ill try it... Well I say great sound indeed... On vocals, guitar and anything else its great.. I purchased two more to use on my midi setup..... Great Product!!!!!!

  personus eureka 
by dereck brothers from cocoa fl, August 2007
Music Background:  investor pro musician

i bought the personus eureka and was blown away by the sound and how clear the vocals was. I suggest this unit to anybody starting a home project studio.
i call this unit the best unit for its great price
this preamp will compete aganist any preamp, In the 500 dollar range on up.

  WOW!!!! WOW!!!!! AND WWWOOOOWWWW!!!!!!! 
by Joe ''Masterjoe'' Abrego from Montreal, Canada, August 2007
Music Background:  SOUND TECH

I can't believe that non expensive, very good sound quality, and profesional results preamp!!!! This preamp is a great creation from Presonus, I used with my Firepod and both of them working together is a good exemple of team work. The compressor is very useful, the EQ is excellent, with the -20dB pad. I Record instruments and use it for my 7 year old son that sings and his voice shines through this machine.

PRESONUS, YOU're THE BEST!!!!!

  "Eureka" 
by C.E.P. from Dallas, TX, June 2007
Music Background:  Producer

Where do I start. I have a home setup and used a Bellari tube pre. Now if you don't understand pre-amps or even going to the big studios asked any real questions of substance about the equipment. Then you want know anything. Let me say this first when I was setting up my studio. My engineer friend told me "Get a mic-pre". He just didn't educate me. So, that is how I ended up with the Bellari. A few mixes "hear" and there and I begin to notice noise, hiss, KRUD to be exact. So of course I purchased Hi-end cables and conditioners and realized my pre-amp was not the best apple. So began my search. I wanted the AVALON, or NEVE, or Solid States of the world. However my budget just laughed at me. So I do research and came across the Eureka. I took all of your moments to heart. Well to make my story short. I purchased my Eureka at a great price. An offer I couldn't refuse. All I can say is WOW, I love it.I recorded a song last week and the vocals are on point. I can actually say now it sounds like I purchased a CD and the preamp was a hi-end top of the line pre-amp that was used. Besides that what really & truly impressed me. With my old pre-amp I could not run the air conditioner or heater. It appears everytime they came on the Bellari picked up the spike. This happened even with my hi-end cables & power conditioner. With my Eureka, I have air folks, it does not pick it up at all. I would tell anyone if they want a nice sound for their vocals at an affordable price the Eureka is for you.

  Very clean 
by Mark Montanez from Lombard,il, April 2007
Music Background:  Hobbyist

Great sound on vocals ,acoustic and bass.I even used it for my bass drum and got lots of punch.Knobs to small and saturate only seems to work on full setting.Eq usefull compressor ok preamp is the best function !!!

  solid preamp 
by Greg from Ft Wayne, IN USA, April 2007
Music Background:  pro musician, worship leader, home studio geek

The eureka has a very quiet and transparent mic preamp. The soft knee setting and band pass on the compressor really help recording large body acoustic guitars. The sound is very smoothe, not "squashed". My high end acoustic guitars sound rich and full with detailed harmonic overtones. The EQ is not overly aggressive-but useful in making fine adjustments. My only complaint is that knobs are rather small and a little hard to read. This preamp is an excellent tool for getting a high quality signal into your DAW.

  Great bang for the buck 
by Dave from Hollywood, CA, October 2006
Music Background:  Pro Sound Engineer

If you are looking for a mic pre/channel strip for under $500 that sounds like it cost $1000, you should check the Eureka out. I own 2 and have used them for acoustic guitars, vox, electric guitar amps, and drum overheads. They perform great through many different applications.

  Ok starter peice. 
by Randy Biddle from Akron, Ohio, July 2006
Music Background:  Recording Engineer, Studio Owner

This was my first preamp and it blew my mind at how much it could be used to alter the sound. After a year I found it to be very brittle sounding and not for use on everything 'but what is'. I upgraded to a 6176 and find my sounds to be warmer and bigger now and I still can use the Eureka as a secondary preamp.

  This unit is SWEET!!! 
by Jeff D. from Nashville, June 2006
Music Background:  Recording Engineer, Producer, Writer,Instramentalist

Straight out of the box it was calling my name, I checked out the factory suggested presets in the manual and made a few tweaks to my needs and it sounds superbly clean and in your face. Thumbs and elbows up on this piece.

amazed! 
by Mark Miller from Yonkers, NY, January 2006

I called Dan Van Amerongen at Sweetwater to ask for some recommendations for a channel strip for my Digi rig. When he suggested the Eureka I was concerned because of the low price, but took the advice anyway. Having received the unit, all I can say is 'amazing!' Whatever you plug in sounds great pretty much right out of the box. When I first plugged in a mic (a moderately priced large diaphragm condenser), I checked the level with my acoustic and ended up standing there and playing for an hour and a half just because it sounded so nice. Then I tracked clean, open, and warm lead vocals, backing vocals, and mic'd acoustic instruments with minimal tweaking. I plugged an acoustic/electric bass into the front panel instrument jack and, again, with minimal tweaking, a great deep, fat bass sound. The adjustable impedance and transformer make the unit amazingly versatile. I can't wait for the FREE A/D card so that I can bypass the analog section of the 02R completely. This is a great value.

sad 
by Ronald Davis from St.Philip Barbados, December 2004

When I received the Presonus I plugged it up acording to instructions in the manual-It worked for 5 mins only.I am going to send it back.Hopefully they can repair it.I am disapointed-nothing comes out of this box. Here's hoping that someone can offer some advise because I would like to use it with my VS2480CD.Any advise is welcomed.Thanks Ronnie Davis from Sunny Barbados in the Caribbean.

GO GET THE PRESONUS EUREKA 
by Tmagic from BayArea Memphis, May 2004

If you do hip hop on a budget save up and get this... This pre pushes the vocals to the front of mix...EQ here if needed it's there for you ...Avalon is the only thing i see touching this unit... Only thing is it's mono so.. If all you do is cut vocals you got to be retarded not to get this unit... THIS IS THE BABY AVALON>>>>>OF PREAMPS

Moving up in the world. 
by Anonymous from Portland, OR, March 2004

I have to start by saying that I am in no way affiliated with the other reviewer.

I am a critic if there ever was one. When I took this unit out of the box I simply expected an updated VXP. However, it didn't take me long to discover that this is really a different box inside and out.

I really dig the Avalon-esque appearance (silver faceplate and oval VU meter in the center) and the blue LEDs are as practical as they are beautiful. This thing is well built and very quiet. It may not have every bell and whistle of the VXP, but the features that are there are better, and provide more exact control. For example, the VXP had only semi-parametric EQ bands, whereas the Eureka has fully parametric EQ bands.

Don't let the low price fool you. It's not a flashy piece of junk. The Eureka blows away everything anywhere near its price range. Rather than buy a compact mixer, get this and do overdubs. Your recordings will be dramatically better. This is the best new product I've seen in some time.

Dont Happen Often 
by Sean Martin from Woodland Hills, Ca., March 2004

This peice was brought to us about three weeks ago for a vocal session and the client insisted on using it ( Often a sure sign of disaster! ) I dont like to track with any kind of channel strip unless I know it well like our Avalons. I set this thing up very cautiously just knowing I would have to go back latter and try to undo everything. No EQ, a tiny bit of comp for the peaks (the client was a good, and dynamic singer ) and set the imput impedance to match our 4060.
Well, I guess it dosnt pay to judge a pre-amp by its cover/price. The sound was way above what I was expecting. Our 1 hour session turned into a three hour session while we put this thring through its paces. The fact that you can tap the transformer on this thing is pretty amazing for the price. Even with relatively low end mics (NTK, CAD 350, 414, C1) we got a huge variety of colors to play with from no color at all to fat and exciting. As you change the impedance you can alter the drain and deliberately mismatch the mic combination..very cool. The instrument input is on the front with its own level meter so you can use the VU to gage gain reduction while you use the LED as a peak meter. This is really great for bass tracking or re-amping. Line level input on the back that can be swithced from the front but bypasses the preamp section when engaged. The compressor is worth the price of the unit alone if used with common sence. Extreem settings are pretty apparant but very musical and transparent otherwise. To be honest..it beats the snot out of our Avalon's compressor especially for accoustic guitar. The Avalon is way too slow to be effective and the Presonus nailed it beautifuly. We were able to match the Avalon's color very closely with the Eureka and the right Mic/impedance combination but more importantly, were able to produce a much wider range of sounds with the Presonus. Unaltered, its clean and open. The digital option thing is cool and will definately put this thing in another league. This dont happen very often around here, but in this one case, the client was dead on..this things rocks.

Sean Martin
Sound Smith Post
Woodland Hills, Ca.

MONEY WELL SPENT! 
by Anonymous from Nashville, TN, USA, March 2004

I have been needing a decent dedicated 'single channel front end' for a while now and I was really surprised at how many options there are on the market. I have tested pretty much all of the ones under the $1000 price tag...and to my ears the Eureka really offered the best quality for dollar.

My top 3 came down to the Tampa, the Voicemaster Pro & the Eureka.

Up against the Voicemaster Pro, I thought the Eureka had a decidedly better compressor and I thought the mic preamp in the Eureka had more character. I also felt that the Eureka had a more flexible EQ, which makes up for not having a de-esser.

Up against the Tampa, I liked the compressor in the Tampa quite a lot, but it is was definitely easier to get good results with the one in the Eureka, the mic preamps in the Tampa and Eureka both had a good balance of character, but the Eureka definitely seemed to have more detail - it has a very classy pre-amp.

In the end, I would say that the Eureka was the perfect balance between musical character and a decent set of real world features.

And I have to mention that the build quality, look and feel - and the in-dented knobs are fantastic! This really is the best unit of its kind under $1000...I bought two! Money well spent indeed!

A Nice Surprise 
by Michael Hart from Portland, Or, February 2004

We purchased this unit for the sole purpose of adding a channel strip for a DAW in our main tracking room. Expecting primarily a glorified Direct Box with tube effect, we did'nt have lofty expectations of the Mic pre as a vocal front end. For this purpose our Avalon 737 has served us well.
Our first application was to warm up a direct bass send. The result was really impressive. The tube control was actually useful and added a pleasing and punchy effect that warmed the track nicely. The next thing we were surprised by was the ability to match the mic with the transformer impedance...very cool for our Royer's and unheard of on a mic pre/channel strip in this price range. This inspired us to try a vocal track. Setup the U87 and matched the impedance and setup a soft knee setting to get started. Wow, it did'nt suck. In fact, it actually sounded really good. The female vocalist was a soft spoken session singer with control and the tube effect really helped warm her whispy highs while the soft knee comp settings reingned in the peaks with surprising transparency for a strip in this price range. The EQ is serviceable but no comparrison to our Avalon and we did'nt expect it to be. The biggest surprise was the sound of the unit itself. It has an open and clean sound that, combined with the transformer choices, produced a truly amazing range of applications. With the digital output card installed ( we dont have it yet ) this unit will be a serious tool in our tracking enviroment ( unlike the budget Forcusrite products or ATR stuff. Pretty dissapointing )
Conclusion: if your looking for a channel strip with the kind of control that units costing three times the price offer, this is a serious option...a real tool.

Pleasantly surprised,
Michael Hart
Portland, Or.

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