It just plain works! 
by Rick Faber from St.Paul MN, May 2008
Music Background:  Recording Studio Manager and part time musician

I have to start by saying I have owned a LOT of USB and FireWire audio interfaces and PCI sound cards(Roughly 10 - 15).

Nothing though has been as easy to setup and use and have keep working as the Presonus FireBox.

It just keeps working with no hangups. The I/O is a great mix for a interface this size, I don't do much with external routing to effect but if I needed to there is plenty of outs to feed to and 4 in's to return to.

Its worth every penny maybe more.

I wouldn't hesitate to buy another Presonus again.
Buy one!!

  Honest review 
by Simon from South Africa, January 2008
Music Background:  Producer, engineer, DJ

What can I say about the firebox? Hmm, first of all it has plenty of inputs and outputs for its size and price, thats why I bought it initially. It is a solid piece of gear that I have come to rely heavily upon.
It also has a headphone mix selector built into the software which means you can easily switch to monitor any of the 8 outputs available. Bloody awesome!
Now, before you think I'm an undercover Presonus rep, let me briefly list the things that irritate me about it. This interface was clearly designed for 6-pin firewire iebus powered, the reason I say this is that I use 4-pin and there is no on/off switch on the unit. This means that everytime I power down my system, I need to switch off the wallwart at the wall. Which is a right pain in the ***! (But not if you have 6-pin firewire on your laptop). Secondly,
If you would like to monitor the spdif input, you have to select the spdif word clock for the whole
interface, I have battled endlessly to get it to work. I have given up, although strangely the spdif output works 100%. Overall, I can honestly say its a great audio interface and despite my own personal
dilemmas with it (which are negligible) I can comfortably say that it is really worth every penny.
I sold my m-box 1 to get this thing, and I must say
that I prefer the focusrite pre's a little more,
they were a bit more forgiving IMHO. I would describe the firebox pre's as very transparent overall and have never had a problem capturing detailed synth lines and basses. Hope this helps your decision making on an audio interface...

  The Firebox 
by A. Simmons from Seattle, WA USA, December 2007
Music Background:  Home Studio Musician

I have been using this interface for a few months now and I can say it has made my music production much more efficient and of a higher quality sound! With so many inputs, I can leave all of my gear hooked up to the interface and just start recording when I feel like it . The sounds I get are great and the included software mixer is an incredible tool.

The headphone out jack can get VERY loud but you can lower the volume of the mix through the software mixer. Also, the mic preamps are a bit quiet with my condenser mic but besides the 48v phantom power, there is also a +12dB switch in the software, so it doesn't pose much of a problem. I had some trouble with installation but it turned out to be a faulty firewire cable, not the firebox.

Overall, this is a great deal and a great product! I am very pleased with it!

  Great Product for the Price 
by Anthony from Dunn, NC USA, October 2007
Music Background:  Recording Engineer

This is an excellent piece of audio gear that is perfect for portable recording, small studio, and digital transfer of analog material. The preamps are nice and the included software (CuBase LE) isn't bad either. You'll be hard pressed to find a unit that outperforms the Firebox at this price.

  Still the best mobile interface 
by J.Henderson from Portland, OR, October 2007
Music Background:  Musician

I've tried them all. Even thought that spending more money on a MOTU Ultralite would give me a better interface. Boy was I wrong. This is the most robust interface you can buy without spending over a grand for the RME FF400. There's nothing else that I've found that compares. Great preamps, super loud headphone amp and just plain works! If you are on a mac, it's a beautiful thing.

  Yes Sir, I like it. 
by stevo from tuscaloosa, AL, November 2006
Music Background:  Pro musician, recording engineer

I've had my fire box for some time now. I get great clarity and overall sound quality for just a home studio. The price is right and it fullfilled every one of my expectations. If you're looking for a way to start tracking with a modest budget, all you need is a solid computer and this box! It's made me very happy- I recomend it. As far as coloring up the sound a little bit, I'm looking at separate preamps, but this box was a great investment.

  Transparent! 
by LeEq from Richmond, VA, November 2006
Music Background:  Pro player, semi-pro sound and recording tech.

You gotta hear how this thing shines as a mic pre. Silky smooth! This many inputs, and phantom power? Get outta here! This will take your home demos to the next level without breaking the bank. I've used it on PC with a variety of software, all with great results.

  very clean sound 
by kevin from florida, November 2006
Music Background:  podcaster

I'm a podcaster, so really just using for vocal tracks. Very, very clean sound - I'm recording direct into my Mac G5 thru the Firewire. Highly recommended for that.
Simple to use and no complaints about the Presonus, but can't say the same about Cubase LE. Very cluttered, hard to use program for Podcasting.
A few little warnings: the Firebox is plug and play with some apps - such as Garageband, and SoundStudio (and I'm sure many others). But it doesn't work with Audacity - a popular (free) podcasting software program.

  Little Giant 
by Gokhan , October 2006
Music Background:  musician

If you own a Mac and if you want to have a great recording unit for little money go for Firebox. Excellent compatibility, great sound, easy to use and in minutes you will have your songs recorded. It also has midi in/out capability with a spdif in/out jack. Even the midi/spdif cable comes with the unit. For PCs you may have some compatibility issues at 96khz rates.

  Improved clarity over higher-priced priced interfaces 
by Joel Kanning from Great Falls, MT, July 2006
Music Background:  Composer, Engineer

I replaced my Digi 001 with the Firebox and immediately noticed a significant increase in the detail and clarity I could hear in my mixes, or any material for that matter. The preamps in this thing sound infinitely better than the 001. I also have an Mbox2 and there is simply no comparison - the converters in the Firebox are far superior. I actually go S/PDIF out of the Mbox2 into the Firebox for monitoring my Pro Tools mixes because of the huge improvement in detail and clarity. For anything in this price-range you simply can't beat the Firebox.

  Great Little Box 
by Mike Slay from Branson, MO., July 2006
Music Background:  Pro musician

I bought this little box on the adviceof Jeff Barnet. Though I have not heard everything out there in in high range ($2000.00 plus) this box compares to every thing else. I'm sure theres a reason for the big dogs, What sound goes in is what comes out. You can't ask for for more than that. With the Cubase LE that comes with it is a great starter, but I use this with Cubase SX3 and the quaility I get is as good as anything I buy on CD's. You can't go wrong with this unit. Also the pre-amps are unexpected to be this clean. Though I prefer tube pre's going in, these are as good as any none tub I've heard.

  amazing interface 
by industrial-chaos from Jacksonville, FL, May 2006
Music Background:  Hobbyist

I recently needed to upgrade from an M-Audio Mobilepre, and decided to try the Firebox, and I must say "WOW". Easy to use, amazing sound, easy connections, and nice monitor control equals a must have interface that delivers top-quality sound. Love it, Love it, Love it!

Somewhat puzzling 
by Rad from Boston, MA, March 2006

I tested a Firebox against an M-audio Firewire Solo Box and a Presonus Inspire 1394. The Firebox has the quietest preamps of the three and decent gain (you don't hear noise when working at maximum gain). But what I found puzzling is that you'd have to work at minimum headphone gain (5-7%) unless you want to go deaf, and at such low levels slight disbalances between L and R channels occur. Also the headphone channel is a little noisy in a strange way (bizzare high-frequency hum) that doesn't seem to affect the recording.
Main problem with this box is that the sound I got was extremely bass-heavy both in the headphones and the recording. Initially I thought ok, this has a good preamp and it picks up all of the proximity effect from the mike, but then when I moved the mike about 3 feet from my guitar it was still that way, while the AT2020 mic I have is flat at about 2 feet maximum. I couldn't figure it out.
Also, the manufacturing of the buttons and how they fit in the box is a bit cruder than it would have been if it was made in the US (all made in China), so two of the gain buttons were not exactly at the right angle and the Firewire ports at the back were sticking out as if the motherboard to which they are attached was put at the wrong angle. Honestly I've no idea if I got a lemon or all of them are like that.

Firebox & Sweetwater 
by Victor T from Princeton NJ, March 2006

Wow, thanks Craig & Sweetwater, I was new in getting into the digital recording, I use a mac power book g4 1.67 with one meg ram and Logic 7. I wanted to upgrade from my prior gear and Craig did not try to sell me something bigger or more expensive, I usaly just record 1-2 tracks at a time mostly guitar, then drums, bass, syth, etc, This was the pice of Gear for the price 300.00 you cant go wrong. It was up and running in no time. Works great on my Mac, Logic 7, and Garage Band. I run my Pod Pro XT into it, and two mics for recording nylon guitar. I cant get any easier than this and it so portable. Thanks

smoking interface 
by Steve from New York, NY, October 2005

This little box is a huge step up for me over my last USB interface. No cracks and pops and the mic preamps are quiet. Cubase LE is not bad either although I'm planning to move up to SX3. Installation was easy. Great product.

Amazed! 
by Chris-Mar Studios from North Carolina, May 2005

I was absolutely amazed by the Firebox. Easy installation, great sound and flawless recording with Cubase SX 2. Doesn't get any better than that, especially for the price!

Best mobile interface 
by Aaron from Portland, OR, April 2005

I was absolutely blown away at how nice the preamps sound in this box. Plus the extra two line inputs are nice. Don't forget to adjust the +12dB gain in the control panel if you are using a low output mic. (I didn't realize it was there at first.)

This thing hooked up absolutely flawlessly with my Mac. I was recording in minutes. Very nice product.

Presonus FireBox 
by Anonymous , March 2005

This is the best of the "mini" computer digital interfaces on the market today. Its amazing all the I/O they've packed into such a small package. Firewire at this price is a better way to go than USB if you need to handle several channels at more than 24bit - 44.1kb/sec.
The preamps are good sounding, quiet and have great headroom (which is unusual in these types of products).
Installation was easy but my wireless network has to be disabled for smooth music playback.
The included Cubase LE software is a good choice for folks just getting into computer-based recording and mixing (I was using a Fostex VF-80 beforehand).
Since it can be expanded to include another FireBox or even the larger FirePod, its not a dead-end product. Its exactly the product I was waiting to be created.
Presonus hit a home run with the FireBox.
FB- International Whistling Champion & Jazz musician

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