Does anyone use either of these interfaces for USB 2.0 audio recording in SONAR?  What are your thoughts on quality and performance?  How about Latency?  
 
I searched through forum history but didn't really find a lot of current threads on these, particularly their quality and performance.  I'm actually a little concerned the Presonus will suffer latency and audio popping/crackling issues from what I read.  I don't want to get too obsessive over specs but I also don't want to buy complete junk.  
 
This will be used exclusively for a mic'd acoustic drum kit.  I would like to add another for guitar, bass, vocals and all that.  

I have a 44 VSL...in the closet. The mic pres are pretty good, but PreSonus dropped support for the VSL (mixer) component. The original drivers weren't super stable under Win7 and useless for me under Win10. I can't speak about the stability of the current UC drivers. I do recall from a couple of years ago (when I got banned from the PreSonus user forum for one too many nice complaints about their complete lack of interest in supporting current owners) that the 1818 VSL was all kinds of problematic, and I still see the occasional post on their forum (yeah, I still read it; I have S1v3 and Notion 6) about issues with it.
 
I just don't trust PreSonus to support their hardware for very long. They seem so marketing driven that my guess is the devs just get overwhelmed. Got a Studio 192? Got problems? Too f'ing bad, the new Quantum is out!
 
By the time I get a PC with a supported, stable Thunderbolt port on it, the Quantum will be a doorstop.
 
YMMV.

Take a look at the Tascam US-16x08 if you need more than 8 mic pres. One neat feature is if you run it with no USB connection, it defaults to 8 mic pres (XLR In 1-8 to Line Out 1-8). You could then feed those eight Line Outs to Line In 9-16 on a second US-16x08 connected via USB to your DAW. Also note that Line In 9 & 10 are on the front panel and are switchable between Line and Instrument levels. I use Line In 9 for guitar and Line In 10 for bass.
 
http://tascam.com/product/us-16x08/overview/
 
Sits at a slight angle on a desk. Comes with rack mount ears. Only one headphone out.
 

I've had two Focusrite units, a Saffire Pro 40 and currently by backup interface is a 6i6 2nd gen.  Focusrite is still supporting the Saffire Pro 40 that came out in the Vista days.  
 
I've tried several Presonus units, 3 different Firewire units and they all had a problem, new (and were returned).  Last year when I was upgrading I tried the Studio 192 unit.  Latency with their "automatic" setup was over 35Ms total, manually I got it down to around 6 ms for recording.  However, the 192 only lasted one day.  On the second day I powered it on, did some testing and tried to power it off but it would not power off with the power switch.  It went back and I bought my current unit, an MOTU 896Mk3 Hybrid.

TheMaartian
I have a 44 VSL...in the closet. The mic pres are pretty good, but PreSonus dropped support for the VSL (mixer) component. The original drivers weren't super stable under Win7 and useless for me under Win10. I can't speak about the stability of the current UC drivers. I do recall from a couple of years ago (when I got banned from the PreSonus user forum for one too many nice complaints about their complete lack of interest in supporting current owners) that the 1818 VSL was all kinds of problematic, and I still see the occasional post on their forum (yeah, I still read it; I have S1v3 and Notion 6) about issues with it.
 
I just don't trust PreSonus to support their hardware for very long. They seem so marketing driven that my guess is the devs just get overwhelmed. Got a Studio 192? Got problems? Too f'ing bad, the new Quantum is out!
 
By the time I get a PC with a supported, stable Thunderbolt port on it, the Quantum will be a doorstop.
 
YMMV.

Thanks, I was afraid of that.  
 
And I'm giving up on Thunderbolt.  Too much trouble - and money - just to bring down latency, when it can be resolved to basically 0 with monitoring at the interface.  Not something I'm used to doing, but everyone seems to be comfortable with that solution from what I'm reading.  
 
That Tascam US-16x08 does look pretty sweet, and a very nice price, thanks for the tip.  I'm trying to resolve how I would deal with still retaining a couple of line level inputs for electric guitar and bass (Palmer DI or something similar).  This unit is so close, but I'm not sure it can solve everything.  The focusrite 18i20 looks like the best bet at the moment.
 

fireberd
I've had two Focusrite units, a Saffire Pro 40 and currently by backup interface is a 6i6 2nd gen.  Focusrite is still supporting the Saffire Pro 40 that came out in the Vista days.  
 
I've tried several Presonus units, 3 different Firewire units and they all had a problem, new (and were returned).  Last year when I was upgrading I tried the Studio 192 unit.  Latency with their "automatic" setup was over 35Ms total, manually I got it down to around 6 ms for recording.  However, the 192 only lasted one day.  On the second day I powered it on, did some testing and tried to power it off but it would not power off with the power switch.  It went back and I bought my current unit, an MOTU 896Mk3 Hybrid.

 
Ugh...Presonus is definitely out, for me.  That MOTU unit sure is nice.  A little out of my range since I would need two of them, but a boy can dream...
 
Let me ask you..how do you think your Focusrite mic-pre's compare to the MOTU mic-pre's?  

They are very similar.  I've only tested the Focusrite 6i6 to make sure its setup correctly and will work if I need it, but the little testing I did I didn't really hear any difference in the recorded audio (my Pedal steel guitar direct).

I don't doubt that some have had problems with Presonus interfaces. I must have been one of the lucky ones. I bought a Firestudio Tube over 5 years ago. It's the one with real tubes in the first two channels. Not to be confused with the Firestudio which doesn't have tubes.I don't know how much the tubes really help. If you drive the volume up  they can add some coloration.
 
Being the spendthrift I am I bought it as B stock. When I received it one of the channels had static in it. Since I could send it out for repair under the same warranty as new, I did. They had it for a few days and sent it back. "Knock on wood", I can't seem to kill it. Been over 5 years and it's still kicking. 
 

TheMaartian
I have a 44 VSL...in the closet. The mic pres are pretty good, but PreSonus dropped support for the VSL (mixer) component. The original drivers weren't super stable under Win7 and useless for me under Win10. I can't speak about the stability of the current UC drivers. I do recall from a couple of years ago (when I got banned from the PreSonus user forum for one too many nice complaints about their complete lack of interest in supporting current owners) that the 1818 VSL was all kinds of problematic, and I still see the occasional post on their forum (yeah, I still read it; I have S1v3 and Notion 6) about issues with it.
 
I just don't trust PreSonus to support their hardware for very long. They seem so marketing driven that my guess is the devs just get overwhelmed. Got a Studio 192? Got problems? Too f'ing bad, the new Quantum is out!
 
By the time I get a PC with a supported, stable Thunderbolt port on it, the Quantum will be a doorstop.
 
YMMV.

I'm sorry you had that kind of an experience. I hope Presonus will continue to support their new stuff. Like everyone else I guess they made a lemon here and there. They have made some great stuff too. I have a similar opinion of Line 6, or what was once Line 6. I'm not sure what they are now. 
 
 
 

Starise
I don't doubt that some have had problems with Presonus interfaces. I must have been one of the lucky ones. I bought a Firestudio Tube over 5 years ago...

The Firestudio line are Firewire.  IIRC, the vast majority of the driver issues were with the VSL line (USB).

fireberd
I've had two Focusrite units, a Saffire Pro 40 and currently by backup interface is a 6i6 2nd gen.  Focusrite is still supporting the Saffire Pro 40 that came out in the Vista days.  
 
I've tried several Presonus units, 3 different Firewire units and they all had a problem, new (and were returned).  Last year when I was upgrading I tried the Studio 192 unit.  Latency with their "automatic" setup was over 35Ms total, manually I got it down to around 6 ms for recording.  However, the 192 only lasted one day.  On the second day I powered it on, did some testing and tried to power it off but it would not power off with the power switch.  It went back and I bought my current unit, an MOTU 896Mk3 Hybrid.

I had the exact opposite experience.  I went through THREE of the MOTU 828mk2's, they kept burning some transistor that would literally start to melt a part of the IC board.  I eventually gave up on getting replacements because I had to keep paying for shipping and waiting forever.
 
I ended up with a Focusrite Saffire Pro 40, and I'm completely satisfied.  It's been supported through countless versions of OSX (now Mac OS, still supported).  The preamps are good enough if I need more than I have external preamps, and the converters are above average.  Tons of inputs and outputs, reasonable price.  
 
I did love my MOTU and even was becoming brand loyal to them, and recognize it was likely just that one run of 828mk2's with the problem.  They have such a cool name, Mark of the Unicorn, that I want to love them that much more.

I have got a Scarlett 18i20 which I use on another machine and it is excellent.  It all works perfectly, sounds great and can also provide blistering fast latency when needed as well.