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Product Description
The FireStudio Project a complete 24-bit/96K professional recording system combining eight Class A XMAX microphone preamplifiers, 24-bit/96k sample rate conversion, and a zero-latency matrix router mixer.
The FireStudio Project is bundled with PreSonus Studio One Artist, our groundbreaking music creation program, and over 4 GB of virtual instruments, plug-ins, loops, and samples to get you started making music immediately.
Great for professional studio recording, live sound recording, performance, podcasting and more, the FireStudio Project is designed for flexibility and ultra-high sonic performance. Whether you need to record a live drum set, mic a guitar amp, or a complete band, the FireStudio Project is ready and more than able. With the new FireControl Mixer/Router you can send up to five individual mixes to different musicians during recording so that every band member can have a custom headphone mix.
The FireStudio Project can be daisy-chained with one or more FireStudio Projects or FireStudio Tubes to expand your number of recording inputs. Two and three units daisy-chained in any combination has been tested at PreSonus, however, the total number of units that can be daisy-chained depends on your computer’s processor speed, amount of RAM and computer configuration.
The FireStudio Project is the next-generation of the award-winning FP10/FirePod with the following improvements:
- Improved analog to digital converters (114dB dynamic range)
- Improved syncronization with JetPLL™ (jitter elimination technology)
- FireControl Mixer/Router to send up to five separate zero-latency stereo mixes to musicians during recording
- Three-segment LED input metering on all analog channels
- Internal IEC-based power supply
- PreSonus Studio One Artist bundle with Native Effects plug-ins and third-party instruments, loops, and applications.
8 XMAX Class A Preamplifiers
The FireStudio Project includes eight custom-designed high-voltage, discrete, XMAX Class A microphone preamplifiers for all types of microphones. Many other companies offering recording interfaces add the cheapest possible microphone preamplifier as an afterthought to the interface. PreSonus knows that the preamplifier is a key component in the sonic quality of a recording. The job of a microphone preamplifier is to boost microphone level signals to line level so that the signal can be converted from analog to digital. This mic to line boost is generally a preamplification of over 400 times the voltage of the original mic level signal. This preamplification stage is one of the most important stages that the signal will go through before converted to digital, and is why a high performance preamplifier is important to achieving great results. A cheap "off the shelf op-amp" type mic preamp that is found in most interfaces translates into thin, noisy and harsh results.All XMAX preamplifiers are built with the same three elements:
High Voltage - The XMAX preamplifier runs on power rails of 30V. Most off the shelf op amp based designs run on power rails of 10V to 18V. Higher voltage power rails deliver more headroom, deeper lows, smoother highs and an overall fuller sound.
Discrete - No op amps. Only transistors, resistors and capacitors. Op amps add noise, coloration and harshness to a signal. Discrete designs deliver ultra low noise and transparency.
Class A - When a circuit is running in Class A mode the circuit is always in an "on" state operating at its optimal voltage requirements. Class A mode has zero crossover distortion and delivers purer, clearer and more musical sonics than class A/B designs which are found in most op-amp circuits.
The net result of the XMAX preamp design is high headroom, low noise, wide dynamic range and wide frequency range, and most importantly, musicality and transparency - smooth highs, solid deep lows, and everything in between.
Digital Converters and JetPLL Sync
The FireStudio Project touts A/D/A converters with a dynamic range of over 114dB for unbelievable clarity as well as synchronization using patented JetPLL™ jitter reduction technology. JetPLL™ incorporates noise shaping to virtually remove all audio band jitter. JetPLL™ ensures the highest converter performance possible, resulting in better stereo separation and clearer more transparent audio. JetPLL™ delivers ultra-fast locking to any digital format through a wide range of frequencies and is extremely robust and tolerant of wide variations in clock frequencies. JetPLL™ ensures near perfect clock performance when networking audio devices, thus creating the most stable and robust synchronization to the computer.Universal Control
All members of the FireStudio family of interfaces, including the StudioLive 16.4.2 mixer, come bundled with Universal Control software. Universal Control is a powerful, flexible, and easy to use control-panel application that allows you to daisy-chain to up to 4 FireStudio-family devices for a maximum of up to 52 inputs and outputs.Universal Control consists of the Launch window and the Device window. In the Launch window, you can set the sample rate, clock source, safe mode, buffer size (PC only), and WDM routing (PC only) for all connected FireStudio-series interfaces. Each device is listed at the bottom of the window, along with Device Window buttons that open each interface’s Device window.
The Device window provides level and routing controls for each FireStudio-series interface’s internal mixer, enabling you to set up zero-latency monitor mixes. Input and output metering have been optimized for ultra-fast screen display and minimum CPU usage, and you can give each interface a custom name. You can use any device in the chain as the master clock source, or you can slave the entire chain to an external digital device using any of the available digital inputs in the chain.
Studio One Artist—Plus Gigabytes of Creative Resources
The FireStudio Project is bundled with an exceptional software package, featuring PreSonus Studio One Artist, the amazing new DAW software for Mac OS X and Windows XP and Vista that makes producing high-quality projects easier than ever before. As part of the Studio One Artist package, you get 20 new PreSonus Native Effects plug-ins and virtual instruments and a generous bundle of third-party loops, software, and instrument sounds.Compare Studio One Artist and bundled extras to what comes with competing mobile interfaces:
- All-meat, no-bloat, music-creation software with an intuitive, practical, single-window interface
- Unlimited tracks, insert effects, sends, virtual instruments, buses, and effects channels
- Powerful drag-and-drop functionality
- Content browser with convenient sort options and preview player
- Full-featured, flexible automation
- Powerful real-time auto/manual time-stretching and resampling engine
- Control Link™ (advanced MIDI mapping made easy)
- Twenty 32-bit Native Sound™ plug-ins, including reverbs, amp modeling, and EQ
- Four new virtual instruments, including a sampler and an analog-type subtractive synth
- Ability to control the software mixer in any FireStudio-series interface to create zero-latency cue mixes.
- Gigabytes of third-party resources, including Native Instruments™ Kore™ Player with custom SoundPack (150 instruments), Native Instruments™ Guitar Rig LE, Toontrack™ EZDrummer Lite, and over 1.4 GB of loops!
Computer system requirements:
Below are the minimum computer-system requirements for your FireStudio Project.
Windows
- Windows 7, Vista, XP (32-bit and 64-bit)
- Intel Pentium 4 1.6 GHz processor or AMD Athlon 64 (Turion) (2.5 GHz or faster recommended)
- 1 GB RAM (2 GB or more recommended)
- Mac OS X 10.5.2 or later (32-bit and 64-bit)
- PowerPC G4 1.25 GHz or Intel Core Solo 1.5 GHz processor (2 GHz or faster recommended)
- 1 GB RAM (2 GB or more recommended)
- IEEE 1394 FireWire 400 Port
- Internet connection recommended
- DVD-ROM drive
- Internal or external 7200 RPM storage drive highly recommended
Customer Reviews
The external LEDs are a huge plus for setting your levels, and the eight XLR/quarter-inch inputs are very convenient. You also have phantom power available for all inputs.
The latency with this unit is minimal with a PC running Vista in a stripped down form as recommended by one of the major music retailer web sites.
Cubase LE is fairly simple to use, and it's easy to export your individual tracks for use in other DAWs like ProTools, if you intend to mix in a studio. Another note regarding Cubase: out of the box the program defaults to 16-bit recording, and you will definitely want to change the bit depth to 24-bit, particularly if recording in a noisy home studio environment. The noise floor, especially on vocal recordings with high gain on a condenser mic, is considerably higher with 16-bit. So, make sure you have a computer that is beefy enough to handle 24-bit because it does use more system resources.
The FireStudio also comes packaged with some nice VST plug-ins including instruments by Halion, some of which are pretty passable like the Jazz Piano.
When researching interfaces, my biggest concern was compatibility with hardware, as I had read some horror stories about interfaces not working with FireWire drivers correctly on certain PCs or Macs. This one worked perfectly out of the box with a store-bought HP desktop, so my experience was great in that regard.
My only complaint is that this unit was supposed to come with the Presonus EyeQ software - a multi-band EQ and spectrum analyzer, which was pictured on the box, but not in the box. I've read that others got left out of the EyeQ party as well, and I have e-mailed tech support but not yet gotten a response after one week.
-If you are only going to be recording 1 or 2 mics at a time, get another interface. There's LOTS of great 1 and 2 input preamps out there.
I got this because I needed 8 mics on my drum kit, or thought I might try recording my band live.
-This has eight inputs on the front with the first two capable of accepting mic or 1/4 inch plugs from a guitar, bass, or keyboard. I use that first input a LOT! I use the other 7 only when recording the drums.
- This PreSonus is VERY clean sounding, imparting NO sound of its own. This is both a good and bad aspect of the unit. Many engineers want a color, a particular sound imparted to their recording that some preamps give. Other engineers want NO color, but will try and add it later. I'm quite happy with no sound coloring.
I have had my Firestudio for almost a year with NO problems once I got the drivers installed and the kinks worked out in the first couple days of its arrival. Only one call to PreSonus did the trick. I can't say they were all that nice to me, but they did their job and helped. I think PreSonus gets a bad rap from many reviewers and writers on audio forums simply because it's the UNhappy buyers that do the writing. Happy buyers don't write. MOST of the bad reviews I've read regarding this unit have been from folks that simply have not taken the time to make sure their computer is a good match with this unit. Period!
Do your homework before buying. I did and haven't looked back.
This Firestudio Project has upgraded preamps, which sound very good. It's got 10 inpurs, which is fantastic, and it works very smoothly. It's also an attractive unit that doesn't take up much space. I've been running it on a Macbook (not Pro) using Logic Studio 8 and it's been handling everything very, very well.
One minor complaint: the dials on the front are not all put on the same way, meaning that if you turn everything down to zero, some of the pointers are higher than the others. This could be a bit confusing if you want two inputs to be at the same level, you can't do it by eye. I think that's a quality control issue, so that's one negative. But that's the only thing I've found thus far (after about 10 days or so of daily use). I'm very pleased, and if you can get one in the low 400's, that is an incredible price for this level of functionality.
[UPDATE: Purchased Roland Octa-Capture, which is just about the only USB-based unit in this category and costs about... Read more
I have been in contact with them both by e-mail and through the support forum for over 3 MONTHS and... Read more
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