Any Firebox users yet??? - UPDATE!

I am very close to ordering one myself but still considering FW-410.
I like the software mixer/router implementation in the 410, but I can't find any info on how this is implemented in the Firebox. I tried checking Presonus website to download a manual, but they don't make it available yet. They don't even really post any specs yet either. From what I can tell they are selling them though. If anyone out there just bought one. I would love to here your experiences and opinions.
Thanks Much!!
Bill

I had the same issue with the Firepod. Ordered it a year ago, it was in the catalogs. Then Sweetwater calls and says it's not shipping yet, but will be within the month. I say OK. They call back again after a month saying, it's gonna be another month. I said "Not OK" and got an Edirol UA-1000. I just couldn't wait any longer!

My bass player has since gotten the 'Pod and it works very well, so the 'Box should be just as good. As for the drivers, it is generally regarded that Sonar seems to prefer WDM. I tried both, and they both worked, but things just felt better (if that makes sense) with WDM, so I stuck with it. Just my findings...

Hope it works out for you - keep us posted!

Hmmm... Originally I though FA101 was out of my price range, but after checking Street (Internet) Price it's not THAT much more than the Firebox. For some reason I haven't seen much feedback on it though (Edirol FA101)- has anyone seen any reviews?

I'd like to get something soon, but I have a hard time deciding. Crap.

I just thought I would give this a BUMP since the Firebox is now Shipping.

Just thought I'd post my opinion as a person who tried out the Firebox. I only had it for 24 hours. Take it for what its worth, YMMV, etc.

Quick background info to put it into perspective: I used a Delta 1010 for about 4 years. Very happy with the sound and the drivers have been solid since 2002. I decided last year to update to take advantage of new technology (i.e, better A/D, D/A coverters) so I bought the Emu 1820m. I think the Emu sounds better than the 1010. However, the drivers for the Emu are a nightmare. Thus, I restarted my quest for a new interface (RME fireface is out of my price range).

The Firebox is a sturdy unit. It seems very well built. I removed my Emu PCI cards, uninstalled the Emu drivers, rebooted and installed the Firebox drivers. The install was easy and painless. I plugged in the firewire and the Firebox came to life. Sonar 4.02 recognized the Firebox without a problem.

I was able to get 6 ms latency before dropouts. My system is Athlon 64 3200, Asus K8VDeluxe mobo, 1 GB ram, UAD-1, IDE drive for programs, SATA for audio storage. The Asio and Wdm drivers seemed to offer similar performance at 24 bit, 44.1 which is what I record at.

The unit has a nice main out volume control which eliminated the need for the small mixer I've been using. I tried the preamps on a vocal overdub. I really would need much more time to reach a definative opinion on the preamps but the quick impression was that they were pretty good. (I'd say better than the Mackie XDRs I used to have, about the same quality as the TFPros on the 1820m but different sounding)

However, I felt that the sound quality on playback was not as good as the Emu 1820m. Also, I felt that the sound quality on playback was not as good as the Delta 1010 either. The sound did not seem as detailed or rich. Given that the box seems to be well designed, I'm guessing that this is due to the converters the unit uses.

Summary: Hassle free, but sound quality on playback not satisfactory to me so I returned the unit.

Hey man, I'm strongly considering the Firepod as my first i/o device and I'm wondering how badly this sample rate fiasco is going to effect me. I'm also about to sound completely uninformed. Why would I need to change me sampling rate? Are different keyboards, synths, instruments, mics etc etc only effective at different sampling rates? Or is this for 'sampling' in the context of cutting slices out of other pieces and inserting them into my tunes, which I have really zero plans to do at the moment. An update would be appreciated. Thanks a lot, otherwise the Firepod looks killer to me!

Thanks Ohhey,
I probably won't need to change sample rates too much, so it's not a dealbreaker for me (if that is also true of the Firebox). My local music store is expecting a shipment of Fireboxes early next week and I asked them to hold one for me . So, I should hopefully have one next week. I'm a little concerned about urocks comment about the output sound quality, but I figure the input side is the most important since the raw recorded matierial can always be remixed elsewhere... you can't fix whats already in the input signal though. Anyway it's my first real sound interface, so I'm not sure I would hear the difference. If anyone could add to this please speak up, otherwise I will post my findings (although I don't have much basis for comparison) as soon as I get it up and running.
Thanks for all of your input !
Bill

Ohhey,
Will Do... BTW, The Firebox PDF manual is now online at http://www.presonus.com/firebox.html under downloads.
The DSP mixing looks pretty flexible - similar to FW-410.
Also, from talking to the guys at PreSonus on the phone, it sounds like DSP mixing is in the works for your FirePod now that they've (hopefully) got it working in the Firebox. Probably similar options - just more inputs. It will likely be a driver/firmware update, I thought he said in the next few months - but the Firebox seemed to take longer than they've been predicting also.
I'll post my findings when I get the FireBox.
Bill

Okay, It's been over a month, but my local music store finally got the Firebox in stock. I picked it up yesterday and after calling tech support I found I needed a patch for SP2. After downloading it and reseating my Firewire PCI card, it appears to be working.

Ohhey, The Firebox does let me change sample rates without crashing. When you click (In Sonar) Options-Audio you can change the default rate for Sonar, but also at the bottom it lets you click ASIO Panel and change the sound card to match. No restart required. It doesn't automatically change to match the sample rate of the demo file, but once you change it manually it plays without crashing or having to restart Sonar as you described for the Firepod.

Now I have a rainy weekend ahead of me to put this box through it's paces. The store is giving me 7 days to return for full refund if I want, so I would like to be thorough and test everything. Since I'm kind of a newbie and barely used Sonar 4PE, I'd like some ideas from those of you who have owned or tested several sound cards as to what you do to test the card. So far, I've been able to record my voice at 24bit 88.2 khz although I only have an SM58 Mic right now. I didn't hear any noise, but I'm not shure if this mic will let me hear the full sonic range. I don't really have anything previously recorded other than the cake demo stuff and some smartloops drumloops CD's I bought. Any suggestions on putting this box through it's paces would be appreciated. I will post my findings for everyone when I'm done.
Thanks,
Bill

What about the +10 and -4 settings (Balanced/unbalanced)............JDW

Well, I tried it this morning because it was bugging me all night. This time I tried it with my old cable and the signal was a lot better. I had the gain for the xlr pre set to around 3 o'clock (the max being about 5 or 6 o'clock). The signal was a lot clearer...but I can not seem to get the signal up to around 0db in my software. It hovers around -30db...I assume that 'around' the 0db mark is what you want.

If I turn the preamp to 6 o'clock, I can get it much closer to the 0db, but I also get a lot more chain noise/ ambient noise on the track.

Can anyone help...especially the Firebox/ pod users?

thanks

For those of you who know the Firebox, you would be familiar with the 12db boost in the control panel. I never had that turned on because I thought my condenser mic would be fine with the 48v on the Firebox.

2 different things

I can only guess that the numbers -10 to +30 on the gain knob refer to the gain for 1/4" cables?

Just to dail in your gain

............................JDW

Hey whats up. After we have kinda got to know each other here. I think there are a series of books I'll recomend. I have like 8 of them, they fit in a back pocket they are great IMHO. They are like $8 (US) for each one. By a guy named Paul White. They explain everything in "musician" terms and they tell you the techie name for what you are doing, with examples. Here is a LINK to his books. Here is an EXAMPLE of his writing style. Check them out. They have really helped me at 4 O'clock in the morning...........................JDW

montezuma, play guitar while your doing all this. My music is my testing ground so to speak. You got to remember I play live for a living. This NG and my studio are actually my relaxation. I stay busy. What I do is take my ideas and develop them in my studio and as I do that I get better at everything. Like I got my own loops for just practicing. I just read and play with stuff till I get it right. There's guys on here like Donnyair and Chaz that are outright experianced producers and engineers. Yjey post, read and take it to heart. speris is like that also. Then you got like Yep he's always right on. Ohhey (Frank) I think kinda does what I do. But he will give you a knowledgable answer. Point being your in the right place. I was looking through my Paul Cook books after my last post (I went to go play, I get their early so I'm at ease when I walk on stage) the only one I don't have is Basic digital audio. So I just ordered it. I I don't think I go a week without picking up one of those books. I have others, to many to name. But they are far more technical and really the best way is to just do it. Thats whats nice about those "Basic" books is with them you can make sure you are not totalaly screwing up. They have some nice wiring diagrams in them also. Well I been up 20 hours with nothing but Pepsi and a fellow band member is coming to get me in 6 hours to go talk to a Pub owner about future engagements. So I'll see you on the return. Play some guitar relav, best teacher there is......................JDW