Topic: 4 or more mic pres: Presonus Firepod vs. Edirol UA-1000 vs. ??

[poorlyconditioned]

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

[bluegrass_brad]

according to the head designer at the company, Presonus makes their pres so that they can be easily modded by the user (and they were designed to be that way).  They put the chips in sockets instead of directly soldering them to the board, so they are easily switchable by the end user to try to get the sound they are looking for.  I read an interview with one of the founders and he encouraged folks to give it a try.  Also according to him, It doesnt void the warranty either...a big plus. It is my understanding that the firebox and firepod are designed this way, but havent used one or opened one up so cant be sure.