The preamps are open and natural. Decent amount of head room and detail in both the high and low end. I prefer them to the Mackie Onyx preamps, which had been my favorites for a while.

The unit is well made, not a rugged as the Mackie Onyx (400F, 1200F) units, but nicely constructed. Metal knobs would have been a better choice for both units. The editor software is fine, nothing spectacular, but workable. The DSP reverb is a nice, easy to edit plug-in that works well in the headphone mix.

The unit itself is fine, but the software is another story. Installation is difficult and a bit buggy. The editor software works well enough to set up a control room and headphone mix, but the Cubase AI 4 does not interact with the unit the way they have advertised. I can not get the "Quick Connect" feature to work and the "Headphone Mix" still requires that I use the Editor to mute the control room feed ( instead of using the "Master" knob on the unit. (Something they said you would not have to do.) Perhaps I can configure it later to work properly if I can ever get Cubase AI 4 to interact with the unit.

This is really the whole point. The preamps sound good, what I play into the unit is very close to what comes out. It seems to keep the depth and width of the sound ( sound image ) intact. So I think it is worth holding on to for that reason alone. Eight preamps that sound good for less than $100 each is a good deal.

Again, it's all about the preamps. If it worked with out having to fuss with the software so much, the value would be higher.

So far the updates have helped, but I am still waiting on some activation problems for the software. Fortunately the unit works with my other DAW software, so not having Cubase AI 4 isn't really a problem, although it hampers my access to some features.

I bought this in order to try it, as it was not available locally. I wanted something with eight mic preamps, this has them and they sound good. But it's a tool, so I don't get to excited about it.

Recording Engineer

Whatever the client brings me.

This is an update to the first review. I have since resolved the software issues, and the "Quick Connect" feature now works, I figured out how to set up a cue mix ( no thanks the PDF manual... ) but still find it faster to make adjustments in the MR editor than using hardware knobs, but time will tell if there is a better way to do that. So expect some set up headaches, but the thing sounds great.

See original review.

See original review. It is easier to use when the software works properly. One odd feature is you can't use the MR editor and Cubase at the same time ( to control the unit. ) I guess it makes sense, but it was the first time I couldn't use the interface editor and my DAW at once.

See original review.

See original review.

See original review.

Recording Engineer

Whatever the client brings me.