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Replacement for a Presonus Tube

PostPosted: Thu Apr 26, 2012 9:41 am
by troutstudio
It turns out that my Presonus Tube (Firewire AI) has a buzz in the right channels. The new service agents, NAS (these used to be serviced by RODE) can't find it. It's out of warranty. I have spoken to Presonus and I'm getting vague responses about assistance. A new main board is $500. But when I began looking for alternatives, I really hit a snag. The FS Tube has 16 analog inputs. This makes it ideal for tracking drums at home, since I don't have to repatch for vocals, ever. I did a lot of searching and there is no external interface with more than 8 mic inputs. Since my budget is - well - pathetic, really; I'm looking at the cheapest possible way around this. I thought that might be the Focusrite Saffire 24 and the Octopre MkII 8. This would get me 12 inputs for about $800. But I have heard a few worrying stories about the Focusrite quality control. It seems no matter what brand I go for at this end of the market; I will need two interfaces. Any suggestions?

Re: Replacement for a Presonus Tube

PostPosted: Thu Apr 26, 2012 1:08 pm
by Drumstruck
M-Audio 2626 are a pretty good f/w ADAC and run up to 192KHz - I think you can connect another ADAC or Octane via Toslink to give you 16 channels at 44.1 or 12 channels at up to 96......

I had one that I was very happy with - robust drivers too - only sold mine because my desk has 32 I/O over f/w.

http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/ProFire2626.html

Re: Replacement for a Presonus Tube

PostPosted: Wed May 02, 2012 11:55 am
by Paul Maybury
Look here
http://www.echoaudio.com/Products/FireW ... /specs.php
I know its only 8 mic inputs, but the quality is excellent and they aren't expensive. No distributor in Australia though.
I have been very happy with our EchoFire 2.
Cheers,
Paul Maybury

Re: Replacement for a Presonus Tube

PostPosted: Thu May 03, 2012 2:24 pm
by lonearranger
Might be worth talking to Rode - even though they are no longer agents - they may have someone on staff who has actually had experience with this stuff.

If you have access to facebook, then post about your issues on their company page, you may find they are more helpful when their user base is looking on, than when you are at the end of an email on the other side of the planet. I would keep on their case as a basic principle of the fact that companies should support their products and the customers who buy them, for longer then the waranty period.

Re: Replacement for a Presonus Tube

PostPosted: Sat May 12, 2012 11:16 pm
by troutstudio
I had quite a conversation with Presonus. In the end, they did nothing. NAS couldn't find the fault. They kept it for a while longer - just got it back. Had a listen and I can't believe how loud the noise is - I really just got used to it I guess. In the meantime, I bought a TC Electronic Impact Twin and a Focusrite Octopre for just over $1000 in total. So I have 12 inputs. However, it's a different world sonically. The Impact seems a substantial step up in audio quality from the Presonus. Strange software - took me a while to work it out but it's really nice to use. The two channels on the front have DSP reverb and compression which make vocals sound really good for tracking (not recorded unless you patch for that) and the Focusrite just does what it should. Less latency than the Tube and so much quieter - no hard drive noise at all, which the Tube had even before it failed. I'm disappointed with Presonus. I asked them to contribute to the part required and they just copped out. I wish I could send it to them for recycling, at least.

Re: Replacement for a Presonus Tube

PostPosted: Mon May 14, 2012 11:32 am
by jkhuri44
lonearranger wrote:=I would keep on their case as a basic principle of the fact that companies should support their products and the customers who buy them, for longer then the waranty period.


tell that to Apogee...