PreSonus StudioLive 16R 16-channel Rackmount Digital Mixer Reviews

I bought my first one 4 years ago. I used it primarily for home studio recording. When my band started gigging heavy, I started using it for live stage work. At this point, I have used it in so many different situations. As a live mixer, as in-ear distribution, as a stage snake for Studiolive consoles. I think it really shines as a live recording interface while mixing live (refer to the video links below). I bought a second one this past year so I don't have to dismantle my studio room to play out live. One in the studio, and one in the live rack. cant's say enough good things about this mixer.

I bought this to replace a heavier system for my Open Mic Night that I host. It has great features for a one rack space unit. Fairly easy software to navigate. Very pleased so far.

The presonus mixers have a lot right with them for a live band. I have owned other digital mixers, xr18, cq-20bt, dl1608, but this one is largely the best overall for what I need. The UC surface app takes some getting used to but it's all there including the ability to link aux channels for stereo mixes all in 1u. Add a headphone amp and a cheap split snake and you are ready to give the foh either a whip or LR, and your in ears are setup the same as you practice with. Great small club solution.

This unit has made me love live recording. I have no complaints

Great piece of gear

This product is everything I expected it to be! A great mixer with many capabilities. I'm also happy to have come back to sweet water as they always come through with great products and great service!

These mixers have been a hidden Gem since they first came out with the RM16AI mixers, they have come a long way. Great for small to mid sized Houses of Worship. I've used many rack mixers, Behringer, Soundcraft, Mackie and so on and none offer the level of quality, ease of use and stability as Presonus has with these Rack Mixers. And the best part is the price, I believe for what they offer it is a great deal. Also, being able to use Dante with the AVB-D16 bridge for $ is hands down the best upgrade price out there on any brand. I have installed these on many churches including my own and it has never let me down. If you are looking to venture into Rack mixing and touchscreen controls this is the mixer for you..

I have been doing the live stream at our small rural church since 2010. By default, I'm also what passes for the IT and sound guy. My wife calls me "Microphone Boy." I use OBS with three HD cameras, and the streaming computer is connected to the PA system. One of the eight channels on our 30-year-old mic mixer was no longer working, and several of the pots were scratchy. Cleaning and lubricating them helped a little, but I finally decided the old beast had to go. I decided on the StudioLive 16R because it wouldn't take up a lot of space, and might not be quite as intimidating to volunteers as a console. Look, just one knob! How hard can this be? Heh heh.
In my amateur estimation, the 16R is a superb piece of equipment when coupled with UC Surface. Overkill to be sure, but we now have plenty of room to grow and improve. I have nine inputs connected. Several of those are mic jacks in various locations that seldom get used. I have sub-mixes for OBS and a cry-room TV in the church basement.
Our sales engineer Keith was very helpful as always, and PreSonus support has been excellent and very responsive. My only complaint is that when I search for how-to articles/videos for church applications, they almost always assume that I will be miking up a drum kit and running stage monitors for half a dozen vocalists. I like drums as much as the next guy, but we have never had them in our church and probably never will. We have traditional liturgical services, and most Sundays our only instrument is a fabulous 54-year-old pipe organ (which replaced a who-knows-how-old one after a fire in 1969). The church was built in 1896 and has plaster walls, hardwood floors, and hardwood pews. No audio challenges here!
After a rocky start the first two Sundays, the audio on yesterday's stream was wonderful. I'm getting a handle on compressors, gates and limiters, and have only started to tweak things with EQ. Before next weekend I want to fiddle with the main output to the PA so I can ease up the volume without fear of feedback. I'm confident that I'll be limited only by my ability, and never by this mixer.

Recently purchased the Presonus Studio Live 16 (thank you Randy) and I gotta tell ya', WOW!!! I am using it for my duo with my wife. Even though we are only two people, we use 14 channels of guitar, bass, keys, vocals, external effects and a Beat Buddy for drums . The Presonus is replacing a Midas MR 18. This unit is light years better in ease of use, warmth of sound, routing flexibility, and headroom. The vintage processors that came with it are really good and useful. On top of the 14 channels we are using, we are also using individual stereo IEM mixes. I really loved the Midas when I bought it and will still use it with our smaller rig, but it is not even close to the Studio Live.

This by far outperforms the Behringer digital mixers at the same or lower price point. I don't understand why more people won't use Presonus products. I have never been let down by there quality and ease us use in all the years we have run there mixers and speakers. The Ipad app for this is so simple to use that I handed it over to a friend at a gig recently that had never used it before, and within less than 5 min he had it figured out! If your looking for high-quality ease of use and something that can grow as your needs do this is the best option!

I am an audio engineer with 20 years experience and used many mixers over the years and lately I have been on a hunt for the best digital small form factor mixer that I can take on a small job but still have Proffesional quality and all the features of the large mixers, and I have tried most of the small digital mixers available today.

I must say that this packs a punch and is by far the best small digital mixer ever! It"s very clean and full of features and great effects and I love it. Go get one and enjoy.

After using 3 other audio interfaces for pro live events and recording, it was time to get a more scalable solution for live events.

PROS -
- This unit has a lot to offer: Lower latency than other units of a lower price point such as Focusrite.
- Flexibility for use with higher quality live performances with the goal of studio quality in live performances.
- Works exceptionally well with the Presonus ecosystem, extending features and low latency into the Show Page and automations.
- The 16 channels and 6 outputs allow for a 1-unit solution and eliminating a physical mixer altogether.
- A big thanks to Paul Koehn. He was patient with my 5 weeks of research and helped to reach a true 'best solution.'

CONS -
- Documentation from Presonus is lacking for real world setups, so this proved problematic with complex setups, and required 3 trips to Presonus support for answers. Got them solved.
- EQ'ing outputs to speakers from the r16 in Show Page has no documented solution. However, we created mix buses, EQ'd those, and sent them to the outputs. Now we have EQ for mains, mids, monitors and sub speakers. MUCH better than prosumer solutions.

SUMMARY -
The r16 let us elimate physical mixers, substantially improve live sound quality, and eliminate latency nuisance, even while adding 2.5 ms wireless transmitters with all the guitars. I believe this wouldn't have happened without the help of Paul Koehn at Sweetwater. Give this man a raise. I wouldn't have purchased from Sweetwater without his help.