PreSonus announces Quantum - Flagship Thunderbolt Interface

PreSonus has announced the 26x32-channel Quantum, its fastest and best-sounding audio/MIDI interface, taking advantage of the high-speed Thunderbolt 2 bus and a no-frills, direct-to-DAW signal path to achieve extremely low latency. 24-bit, 192 kHz converters with 120 dB of dynamic range and PreSonus' recallable XMAX microphone preamps combine to deliver superb audio quality. For more I/O channels, stack up to 4 Quantum interfaces via Thunderbolt to create a 96x96 system.
The Quantum offers two combo mic/instrument/line inputs and six combo mic/line inputs, each with a digitally controlled XMAX preamp and +48V phantom power. You also get two ¼" TRS main outputs, the aforementioned eight ¼" TRS line outputs, and two independent headphone outs with dedicated volume controls. With ADAT Optical I/O and S/PDIF stereo digital I/O, you can have up to 18 additional digital inputs and outputs for a total of 26 in and 32 out. BNC word clock I/O ensures your Quantum and other digital audio devices operate in tight sync. Of course, you get MIDI I/O, too.
Designed to be the central hub for any recording studio, the Quantum offers two main and eight auxiliary balanced line-level outputs that are great for monitor mixing. An onboard talkback mic can be routed to any mix, and you can listen to any mix from either of two headphone amps. You also get Mute/Dim and Mono controls.
With the Quantum, your audio interface is an integrated extension of your recording environment. Launch the included PreSonus Studio One Artist DAW, and you'll find full preamp control functions integrated into your recording environment. Most of the Quantum's features can also be controlled in PreSonus' free UC Surface control software, so even if you use third-party recording software, you can remotely access the features. To top it off, Quantum owners get the Studio Magic plug-in suite free and can upgrade to Studio One Professional for 50% off.
The Quantum interface is expected to be available in the second quarter of 2017 at an anticipated MAP/street price of $999.95.
 
Read more at  [link=http://www.presonus.com]www.presonus.com  [/link]

Nope. No more Presonus for me. My next interface will be an RME.
 
Dan

I've been eyeing the MOTU 624 for a few months now. I like having a rack mountable device for some reason. Probably the same reason I still have passive monitors lol. Call me old school plus I already have a mobile solution with the focusrite 6i6.

Save your money
 
wait 6 months till Behringer clones it and it sells for 1/2 the price

8 buffers w/1 ms latency possible, just to name a couple reasons.
 
https://forums.presonus.com/viewtopic.php?f=124&t=25178
 

Ham N Egz
Save your money
 
wait 6 months till Behringer clones it and it sells for 1/2 the price

this is already "cloned" and half price compared to the same spec'ed units from RME and MOTU. so there must be a trade off somewhere ...
 
yet, behringer can always produce the units even cheaper ...

They stopped their forums as they are not even linked on their site any longer. The communication from them about the decision indicated the forums would still be available however via link only in addition their resources to maintain would minimal.

Starise
Presonus makes good stable interfaces.... 
Can you get an RME with this much i/o for this price? This might not be a factor for you. In all fairness, if the factory support, reliability and specs are all close Presonus might come out on top for me.

I think you'll find that there are many users who don't share your opinion of Presonus' hardware.  
 
As far as the competition, both Focusrite's Clarett 8Pre (26x28 I/O) and MOTU's 828x (28x30 I/O) are at $1K or lower, so no big "breakthrough" there.
 
Regarding support, reliability and specs -- again, I haven't heard any "nightmare stories" about Focusrite and MOTU, but the same can't be said of Presonus.

I can't get any support on the Presonus forums.  I have a copy of Studio One 3 that I got buying a Presonus Studio 192 that was returned due to hardware problem.  I've "toyed" with Studio One 3 but can only get two channels out of 8 on my MOTU for recording.  I can't even get support for that on their forum.

JonD I'm sure some experiences have been different than mine. Awhile back when Presonus and others were concentrating on firewire, there were a lot of issues mostly related to firewire chip compatibility. 
 
I can only say I have had my Presonus interface for a long time with no issues. The RTL is high compared to some others, true dat. I have been very happy with it concerning stability. Presonus had some driver issues concerning their FW mixers. I'm hoping maybe this most recent interface ups the ante for them.
 
I did have issues with motu interfaces. Mainly FW comm failure . The Presonus worked fine with the same chipset.
 
So my OP is mostly my own personal situation and satisfaction with their products. YMMV. For me, form factor is also important. I like the two pres on the front of the Presonus. Others make you either use a patch bay or crawl behind your desk for those quick takes.
 
Dan I can clearly understand your logic. RME is a no brainer for quality. I would like to see Presonus come out with a winner on this one. I hope they finally deliver something I might seriously look at for vsti work and have lots of i/o.
 
If I were trying out the Quantum I wouldn't throw away the receipt. Hopefully they have heard the complaints and delivered.