I'm looking for a laptop recording unit with four or more mic pres. I'm looking at running two sets of mics, do soundboard mixes, and eventually experimenting with a homemade ambisonic mic (4-channel surround sound stuff, see
www.ambisonic.net).
So, does anyone know the quality of the Presonus preamps (Presonus Firebox/Firepod)? How do they compare to the UA5 or others? I called the company, but couldn't get detailed info, only that they are transformerless and "dual servo" or somesuch, whatever that means. I don't know how they compare to other Presonus stuff (MP-20, etc) either. I'm also considering an Edirol UA1000 (USB-2.0 interface) that has eight inputs and four mic pres. Apparantly the Edirol is based on the same preamps as the Roland MMP-2 (two channel mic-pre) and VS-2480 (audio workstation). This is likely better than the UA5, but I don't know how much.
Finally, I noticed that the Presonus takes 12 to 24VDC, so *in principle* it could be field powered. The Edirol needs line voltage.
Thanks,
Richard