Presonus AudioBox 22VSL 24-Bit/96 kHz 2x2 USB 2.0 Audio Interface

Makes recording a whole band a breeze

*** Edit: 2014-09-02 ***I bought this unit, the Presonus 1818vsl, again recently. The original bug, the incompatibility with the USB3 chipset, described below in my original review, is most definitely fixed in their latest driver. No more digital distortion on playback when plugged into the USB3 Intel eXtenisble Host Controller chipset.However, I am encountering other driver problems with the 1818vsl now. I can't use its ASIO driver with my favorite DAW (an old out-of-date Logic Audio Platinum 5.5 for Windows). It doesn't work, makes no sound. It does work with more modern software such as Reaper. But I've got existing projects in Logic that I still want to finish, so I can't easily make the move to another DAW right now. I have a support ticket in with Presonus and I am awaiting a reply. If they cannot help me, I will be forced to return this one (second time I will have had to return one of these due to driver problems). I've got until 09-27 to return the unit.Before you start telling me that I'm running old software and should upgrade, keep in mind that every other audio interface I've used (including the prior version of driver for this 1818vsl) had no troubles working in ASIO mode on Logic 5.5. I've still got the Tascam US-1800 and its ASIO driver works great with Logic 5.5. The ASIO spec hasn't changed in a decade, so there's no reason any working ASIO driver should stop working suddenly, unless there is a bug.*** Original product review below, describing the original problem. ***I went to a lot of trouble to get this PreSonus AudioBox 1818vsl interface. Previously I had owned PreSonus' FireWire version of this type of interface (the Firestudio Project) and I was very happy with that one. When it came time to move to USB, I thought, I should get the same thing, only, with USB instead of FireWire.The reason for going to all this trouble, is that I was upgrading to a computer that did not have FireWire, only USB. I jumped through some hoops to see if I could get some kind of USB-to-firewire conversion working first, and it turns out that you can't do that, there is no such thing. Also, the new computer is a laptop without any kind of card slots or docking station, so it doesn't have any way to add firewire at all. So, I was resigned to switching to a USB interface. So I bought the PreSonus AudioBox 1818vsl. This was the most comparable device to my existing beloved FireStudio Project. It looked like it had all the features of my last interface and more, so I was looking forward to using it.I received the 1818vsl before receiving the new computer, and I tried it out on the old computer's USB ports. It worked, so I went ahead with the new computer purchase.Well, it only worked because the old computer had USB2. The new computer only comes with USB3 ports, and they use a particular chipset called the "Intel eXtensible Host Controller". This is a very common chipset, so I expect a lot of potential customers for this 1818vsl will be in the same boat.On this new computer, with the Intel eXtensible Host Controller, all audio input and output is plaged by a constant digital distortion. It is a continuous crackling noise interrupting playback, like a digital version of static.After days of troubleshooting the system and doing online research, I finally found a knowledge base article at the Presonus web site. Turns out: no, the Audiobox VSL is not compatible with USB 3.0. Well, at least, it's not compatible with the most common USB3 chipset anyway.None of their work-arounds listed on that page are available to me. For instance, disabling the xHCI chipset is not an option in my BIOS, I can't upgrade the drivers because they're already the latest, I can't plug it into a USB2 port because I don't have one, and plugging a USB2 hub inbetween the computer and the 1818vsl doesn't solve the problem.I've got a support ticket in with Presonus, and I'm going to follow up with a phone call. If they give me a workable solution, I'll update this review and change it to five stars. But for now, this device does not work, and the KB article makes it look like they simply aren't willing to fix their drivers, so, one star. If I could give it negative ten stars for wasting all of my time and money, I would.Everyone: Stay away from this interface. Find a competitor's product, a competitor who wants to update their drivers to support new computers. I'm going to start shopping now.*Update*Their tech support is terrible.I created an online support ticket at their web site (no response yet) and called their tech support phone line where they put me on hold for 30 minutes, then, after 30 minutes of hold time, their automated system gave me a message saying that I had no choice but to leave a message and hang up (I was not given the option to continue holding, 30 minutes is their limit).I eventually got replies back from their tech support (via email, not phone), and they were friendly, and confirmed that the problem I encountered does not have a solution at this time. I asked if there was perhaps a beta version of the driver I could try, and while they said they would be happy to put me on their beta team if I signed an NDA, they couldn't confirm that this driver was being worked on at all, let alone if it had a fix in place for this particular problem. Since I'm on a timeline and I need my studio up and running again, I chose not to continue down that line.I'm returning the 1818vsl, and I've bought a Tascam US-1800 instead. I like the Tascam US-1800 so far, and it works glitch-free on my Windows 8 system with the Intel eXtensible Host Controller. It's not nearly as feature-rich as the Presonus unit, but at least it works.

This thing is amazing. I was using a FastTrack MkII by M-Audio, as well as a MXL MicMate Pro. The issues I was having with them was that I was getting noise from my mics (both ribbons and condensers, and even a dynamic, especially on the FastTrack). I was having to use noise removal, and it was making the audio sound really artificial. With the 22VSL, no noise! And the gain works awesome!I've became an instant fan of PreSonus. The Studio One software is rock solid crash proof, and the VSL portion of this is beyond description (no joke, once you get the hang of it, and pick your jaw up from the floor, you'll wonder how you ever got along without it).I was looking for something with better pre-amps than what I had, and from other reviews, I knew these where really good. But, I was totally unprepared for just how much better these were. It's not just marketing hype, these "xmax" pres are, for a lack of a better word, perfect.The device appears to be indestructible. Everything about it appears to be a testament to good engineering. For instance, the knobs have ticks so you can perfectly restore a position when switching mics, and you can exact match between two identical mics. The connectors are all top-of-the-line, and the phantom power switch is lighted, so no disastrous mistakes. I am confident this device would survive being in a gear bag, but it's sexy enough for your desktop with clients.The only reason not to get this is if you are opting for the 44VSL instead.One issue I had, though, was a clicking in Sonar X1 Producer on songs that had more than 9 or so tracks. This was caused by my not selecting ASIO (Sonar choose some stupid defaults when I switched interfaces). Once I did that, latency dropped to darn near 0, and fidelity became perfect regardless of how many tracks I threw at it. I mention this because Sonar's forums suggest increasing the buffer sizes, which should have been a last resort type thing. It only happened in Sonar, all other DAWs selected the right driver settings first shot.

PreSonus Audiobox 44VSL Interface is a great travel preamp for recording on the road or home on your laptop or computer. It arrived in 2 days being a prime member. The software and driver installed quickly and everything works perfect. The unit is made well and all the connections are perfect. I didn't use the disc that was in the box, i downloaded the software and driver from the Presonus website for my PC. The 44VSL has a 48v phantom power switch for condenser microphones and 4 inputs on the front. You can plug a pedal chain into a Tube Amp like the Hughes & Kettner 18w with Red Box Out plugged into the front of the Presonus Audiobox for direct recording. Line 4 is a line input for Active instruments or can be used as a microphone line just as well. This line works great for a guitar and bass with active pickups. This box works for drums too. Snare input 1, Toms input 2, Bass drum input 3 and Overhead or Overheads in 4. Yeah the toms have a Y cable and 1 overhead can work. Or Y cable for the overheads if needing 2 mics, just keep them in phase. If the toms are good drums / heads / and tuned right and the cymbals are nice B20 Bronze or cymbals you or the artist likes, this can be workable not saying it's the best. The DAW (Digital Audio WorkStation) you choose will be up to you, it comes with Studio One Artist 3 and you can purchase a upgrade from the website so you can get as many free 3rd party plugins as you want. It's 24 Bit and the sample rate is 96kHz. The controls on the front are Mixer- control fades between input and playback monitoring, Main- output level control, Headphone- level control. The PreSonus Audiobox 44VSL works great for me and have no problems so it's 5 stars from me.

Buen producto. Estoy comenzado mi pequeño estudio en casa y me ha sido demasiado útil y versátil. Los manuales hacen muy práctico su uso.

StudioOne3+winにてvo宅録用に使用中レイテンシー、音質共に満足の行く出来でした本体のサイズもコンパクトな為デスクスペースを圧迫されず助かっていますヘッドホンのジャックが後ろにしかない為自分の環境では問題ないのですが一応－1ですが気にしなければ良い品だと思います

imac(OS10.8.5/i7/3.4Ghz/8GB)+STUDIO ONE 3にて使用。相性は言わずもがな、ノイズも少なくクリアな音質でRECできます。付属の内部ミキサーソフトは使用しなくても、USB接続で即使用可能。(むしろ、あれは必要ないですな)ミキサーつまみでDAWからのオケ音返しとMicインの音量バランスが調整できます。バランス取りでテストRECしてツマミの位置を決めてしまえばDAW側のフェダーでいちいちイジらなくて済むので、プレイバックでテイクのクオリティー確認しながら、次から次へと快適にRECできて重宝しております。※MICはAKG C214とオーテクAT4040を使用(本機とマイクの間にはcomp/limtなども通しておりません)

音質が良いというレビューがあったので購入した。まず第一に気になったのは、レイテンシー。ギターやベースの宅録に使うつもりだったが、正直うーんという感じ。この手の商品では仕方がないのかな？今までは、USB接続可能なミキサーやギターのマルチエフェクターをIF代わりに使っていたためか、レイテンシーはゼロだった。(おそらく、PCからのフィードバックではなく、機材自体が音を鳴らしてくれていたため。)今回初めてオーディオインターフェイスを購入したが、これには正直困った。ASIOドライバーの設定で最小限には抑えられたが、それでも、テンポの速い曲なら32分音符に相当しそうなくらいのレイテンシーはある。とはいえ、音質は今のところ満足度高いので、そこは充分買ってよかったとは思うものの、返しで出力した音が潰れます。たまーに音がラグったりも。USB3.0ポートに繋いだら改善したという情報もどこかで見たので、おそらくパソコンとの通信がうまく行ってないのだと思いますが、モニター環境としては良いとは言えないし、安くない買い物の割には満足度は低かったかな？と。

まだ使い始めて2週間ぐらいだが、音質が非常に良いのに驚いたが、星二つマイナスは、2週間で2回POWERランプが青く点滅(正常時は点灯)そのたびにドライバーをインストールし直している。一度目は突然ノイズがひどくなり、USBを抜いてから点滅、二度目はこちらの都合でUSB抜いて入れ直すがそれで点滅。又、ドライバーのインストールが一筋縄で行かない。3～6回目でようやくインストール出来る。疲れる機器、正直、長く使えない気がする。