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Gear / Technical Help => Battery Boxes, Preamps, Mixers, ADCs, and Processors => Topic started by: Steve J on November 05, 2004, 01:40:27 AM
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Anyone got some info on the new Presonus FIREBOX (http://www.presonus.com/pdf/fireboxcut.pdf). Looks tempting...especially since I've seen it priced at $399.
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interesting!
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Saw over on the Oade board that this is shipping. Anyone have one yet?
http://www.presonus.com/firebox.html
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Most of the places I've checked say they won't be getting these in till after 2/15. Originally, I'd heard that they were to have been "on the shelves" by now. *sigh*
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search gearslutz.com
some info over there
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This looks very cool indeed.
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For another $200 you can get the Presonus Firepod which has 8 mic inputs (1 rackspace). I've been looking at getting a couple of these and daisychaining them together for a small mobile 16 track recording unit to use with my Powerbook.
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Brad,
if you have the cash, the RME fireface 8000 is awesome! it's helps to your own outboard pre's though. I currently run 2 motu828mkII's for my interface but would like to upgrade to teh RME or new Lynks model that has not been released yet in the future. But for hte now the 828mkII's are working out very nice for me. but then again, outboard pre's are necessary.
I have not read great things about any of the presonus pre's other than that they can be modified by presonus to fit the sound you like. you have to buck up though.
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I saw an article on the those mods and cant remember where right now. My understanding was that you can replace the chip yourself as it is mounted in a socket and not soldered directly to the board itself. I looked at the fireface, but for less than the cost of 1 of those (lowest Ive found was $1,499) you could own two of the Firepods ($599) and have twice the inputs. I would be adding a frontend later (Like the Focusrite Octopre's which I have used in the past and liked alot, they also have A/D built in, and Dynamics) so the Pre's aren't as much of an issue for me. If I was rich I would just get a couple of Grace 801's and be done with it ;D
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word.....I actually own an OctaPre as well. I like it for drums and bass. The built in compressor is especially nice for sub-par bass signals. The DI's are great for acoustic guitars in live recording situations as well. Ple the adat out into my motu 828mkII is REAL nice. the a/d's are not the best, but for drums and bass, it's just fine! A lot of "audiophiles" talk a lot of crap on the octapre and all the latest focusrite stuff, but at it's price point, It's definitely a solid unit IMO! but what do I know, i'm a n00b to the professional world ;)
you are correct about the Presonus mods. they are socket mounted and it can be done yourself. I too have forgotten where to find the info but I'm sure a google search or 2 will help. A fellow engineer at school is pretty familiar with the mods. I'll ask him next time I get the chance.
As for Grace 801's........dear lord, i wish!!!! If I have 4 801's and 2 Apogee AD16x's I would be in location recording heaven ;D
+T for the nice discussion. If you ever decide on some multi-channel location recording career or still researching don't hesitate to PM me. I've got a nice rig going right now but am always looking for new gear, upgrades, and people to bounce ideas off of :)
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For awhile I was using 2 focusrite Octopre's into an Alesis HD-24. Recorded a few official releases for a band. 4 or 5 that were internet download only, and one that is in stores. I really like the HD-24 and will most likely get one of those as well. It's great for live recording. I used one for almost two years to multi-track a couple of hundred shows and never had any problems. +T for the good conversation as well. Im gonna try to find that article on switching the chips. It works for the Presonus MP-20 two channel pre as well Im pretty sure.
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yep, as well as the M80 - the 8-channel presonus pre. I'm pretty positive all the presonus pre's are designed that way but i could be wrong.
joeshambro used to own an Alesis HD-24. he recorded my band once with it. It's really cool cause you can transfer straight to a pro-tools computer and the A/D's are pretty good. You also don't have to worry about computer issues during the recording process which is always a plus. Not a bad price either for it's capability. Certainly a lot less than the G4 Powerbook I just dropped a small fortune for.
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has anyone checked one of these out yet?
Matt
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I picked up a Firebox over the weekend.
currently its to be my main output from my Mac as the M-Audio FW Audiophile' midi ports were screwing with my DP install.
I like the way you can record 4 independant (2x mic/instrument, 2x line) and stereo spdif (rca or optical) channels...makes for a small portable 6 channel rig with the diital input. it comes with Cubase LE (Mac AND Win) which is a good multitrack recording app.
havent tried the pres yet..I will at some point.
not bad for $199!
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I picked up a Firebox over the weekend.
currently its to be my main output from my Mac as the M-Audio FW Audiophile' midi ports were screwing with my DP install.
I like the way you can record 4 independant (2x mic/instrument, 2x line) and stereo spdif (rca or optical) channels...makes for a small portable 6 channel rig with the diital input. it comes with Cubase LE (Mac AND Win) which is a good multitrack recording app.
havent tried the pres yet..I will at some point.
not bad for $199!
Where did you get a Firebox for $199???
Also, to other people there, you should note that you *cannot* replace the preamp chips in the Firepod/Firebox. They sound OK (I think), but you can't replace anything...
Richard
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doh, that should say $299!
got it at Guitar Center
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Has anyone run this off of the bus for power and if so how fast did it drain batteries?
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Has anyone run this off of the bus for power and if so how fast did it drain batteries?
FYI unless you have a 6 pin firewire on your lappie it won't run off bus power.
Matt
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I think I only have 4pin, can you run DC power from a battery? You cant geta a 6pin to four pin?
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I think I only have 4pin, can you run DC power from a battery? You cant geta a 6pin to four pin?
bus power is strictly 6pin>6pin...and they have to be native 6pin ports, not add-ons like a pc-card
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If your computer only has a four pin than it is not capable of bus power. Only 6 pin are capable of it. So a 4 > 6 pin cable wouldn't help.
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I think I only have 4pin, can you run DC power from a battery? You cant geta a 6pin to four pin?
bus power is strictly 6pin>6pin...and they have to be native 6pin ports, not add-ons like a pc-card
If your computer only has a four pin than it is not capable of bus power. Only 6 pin are capable of it. So a 4 > 6 pin cable wouldn't help.
good catch guys... I should have said that. I can'tremember if this is dc powered or not... I think it is. If not you may be able to find a powered hub. I have one for usb that has a wall wort and it would be easy enough to hack a bat to that.
Matt
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So I went ahead and bought one, it will run on 12vdc however I was told by presonus it would not, way to know your product guys. I'll post updates when I get to run it. So far just some tests infront of the home stereo. Glichless 24\96 so far.
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Anyone got any updated information on the Firebox? More and more I'm liking the idea of building a laptop rig.
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Hey,
I've been using this box as my pre for my applications of 4 channel with the laptop and then mics only analog out with my microtracker. I am real pleased using this thing to record 4-6 independent channels through cubase. With the laptop I power the thing with firewire as my Dell has a six pin firewire out. I have never used it as firewire out using a valence or onboard laptop battery. I will most likely have power if I patch out of a board, if not I'll use the r/c batteries for power.
I like the sound of the firebox as a pre only with my 184's,analog line out to the microtracker. I use two 7.2 volt r/c batteries wired for 14 volt and with 48 volt activated I get 2 hours and 40 minutes. I use a total of 4 batteries if I need more time. , I carry everything in a Lowe nova 4 with the mics in a pelican and the 184's in a pelican, firebox sits vertical. Very portable to carry in the field. To me on my budget it was the perfect solution, a front end that would allow me to matrix 6 independent channels and mix down after the fact and I could use it as a stand alone pre with the neumans with 12-24 volt power. I know Dirk ran his for a show using the valance to power the firebox and at 18 volt it dropped on bar on the meter
Good Luck,
Tom
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I use two 7.2 volt r/c batteries wired for 14 volt and with 48 volt activated I get 2 hours and 40 minutes.
I recently did a search of the archives to figure what kind of battery life I could get out of a Firebox and an external battery pack, and this was all I could find. Now I have a couple data points to add for anyone else facing this same question.
Using my AT U873R mics with 48V phantom (spec'd at 3 mA) and running analog out into my recorder, I got 2 hours 45 minutes out of 12x2000mAhr NiMH AA batteries, then managed to record 3 hours 6 minutes of music off 12x2650 mAhr batteries at a live show followed by ~30 more minutes of recording my stereo at home the next day to finish off the batteries.
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Has anyone run this off of the bus for power and if so how fast did it drain batteries?
Powering with batteries is *very* difficult. This thing burns power (ie., gets hot!). It sounds great, but it gets hot. The PSU is +/-15V inside, which is great for sound quality, but...
Before I knew better I just plugged a 5V battery into it. The battery actually got too hot to hold. Then I learnt that a firewire interface *can* suck up to 1.5A at 30V. That is 45W. This one says 10W on the back I believe. That is 2A at 5V or almost 1A at 12V. Too much power IMO. OK, you could do it, but you're carrying a lot of battery.
If you need battery power I strongly recommend either a VXpocket 440 (in the YS for cheap!), or a standalone unit like an R4. Too bad, because I love the sound of this thing!
Richard
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Has anyone run this off of the bus for power and if so how fast did it drain batteries?
Powering with batteries is *very* difficult. This thing burns power (ie., gets hot!). It sounds great, but it gets hot. The PSU is +/-15V inside, which is great for sound quality, but...
Hmm, it got a little warm off my 12xAA battery pack but nothing I'd describe as "hot!".
Running it off the firewire bus power of my laptop I don't notice any heat issues, it does knock down the laptop's battery life from about 3:30 if just recording to 2:30 if recording and running the Firebox.
Edit: I should note that I have always run the Firebox out in the open air rather than inside a bag, which I'm sure helped it to dissipate heat.
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Has anyone run this off of the bus for power and if so how fast did it drain batteries?
Powering with batteries is *very* difficult. This thing burns power (ie., gets hot!). It sounds great, but it gets hot. The PSU is +/-15V inside, which is great for sound quality, but...
Hmm, it got a little warm off my 12xAA battery pack but nothing I'd describe as "hot!".
Running it off the firewire bus power of my laptop I don't notice any heat issues, it does knock down the laptop's battery life from about 3:30 if just recording to 2:30 if recording and running the Firebox.
Edit: I should note that I have always run the Firebox out in the open air rather than inside a bag, which I'm sure helped it to dissipate heat.
2h30 with a laptop is good. I am just nervous using anything that drains power off an already taxed laptop. I've done shows where I keep looking over at my 'battery' symbol on the laptop and it is not fun...
Richard
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It will run for more than 4 hrs on a 5amp hr 12 v battery, most people carry a 7.2 amp hour batter for units like the v2, v3, or other units this is the standard sive that eco charge makes them in.