Presonus AudioBox Interfaces

Started by Elantric, April 04, 2013, 08:05:20 AM

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supernicd

That's a real shame to hear that, as they are such a good value and nice interface.  If they will work with your machine, that is.  Still working like a champ on my Windows 8 Core i5 machine and couple year old MBP.

Makes you wonder what Apple could have changed that broke just this one interface, from this one manufacturer, and they can't fix it.  Seems odd, and slightly fishy.

Nonetheless thanks for the heads up.
Strat w/ GK-3, Godin LGXT
VG-99, GR-55, GP-10
---------------------------------------------------------------

Elantric

#26
QuoteMakes you wonder what Apple could have changed that broke just this one interface, from this one manufacturer, and they can't fix it.  Seems odd, and slightly fishy.

No doubt its the USB 3.0 port chipset employed on recent Apple products.

Luckily my 2012 Macbook Pro Retina running Mountain Lion OSX 10.8.5 runs everything - (MOTU 828 MKII, Focusrite Scarlett 18i20, Fishman Tripleplay. GR-55, VG-99, N.I. RigKontrol3,    ( except the Presonus AudioBox 18181VSL) like a champ!


http://createdigitalmusic.com/2012/06/usb-3-0-backwards-compatible-in-theory-but-some-audio-drivers-arent-cooperating/

supernicd

Ah, that makes sense.  I know my iConnectMIDI2+ won't work on any USB 3.0 ports and neither will the 1818VSL.  Suspect a lot of other audio interface type gear won't work on it either.  I was careful to buy my most recent DAW machine so that it had both.  Probably a good option to look for if you are buying a new computer, though I'm guessing you won't have much choice with notebook machines, and the USB 2.0 options will probably disappear completely soon.
Strat w/ GK-3, Godin LGXT
VG-99, GR-55, GP-10
---------------------------------------------------------------

Elantric

#28
Quoteand the USB 2.0 options will probably disappear completely soon.

I think availability of USB 2.0 ports ended on most all laptops in 2013

Reviewing Todays latest 2014 Laptops   (regardless of vendor ) very few still come with USB 2.0 ports anymore.
http://www.ezvid.com/top11laptops


QuoteI know my iConnectMIDI2+ won't work on any USB 3.0 ports

Ah Ha! That probably explains why the iConnectMIDI 4+ has never shipped yet - they are probably trying to tame the noise and work on compatibility for the iConnectMIDI 4+  USB 3.0 Driver

Elantric

#29
http://forums.presonus.com/posts/list/45504.page

davidrupert wrote>
I have an Asus G75 laptop with the Intel Ivy Bridge chipset and got the well-known distorted sound from my AudioBox 1818VSL until I disabled the eXtensible Host Controller option in the computer BIOS.
That solved the distortion problem but limited all my USB 3.0 ports to run at USB 2.0 speed - Unacceptable.

Today I installed an updated motherboard in the laptop so it would have a working Thunderbolt port, then connected a StarTech Thunderbolt Docking Station to that.
The dock from StarTech works better then the ones from Belkin and Matrox.
It's essentially the same device as the dock from Caldigit, but costs less and comes with a Thunderbolt cable.
I got mine here:
http://www.rakuten.com/prod/startech-com-thunderbo...on-hdmi-or-mini/258726387.html

I reconfigured the computer BIOS to reactivate the eXtensible Host Contoller functionality and all the built-in USB ports are back to 3.0 speeds.

Then I plugged the AudioBox into one of the USB3 ports on the StarTech dock.
- No more distortion.
- No additional latency as far as I can tell.
- It's not cheap, but it works perfectly.

Your mileage could vary.

If you're using a Mac with built-in Thunderbolt, this should work for you.

Not many Windows laptops have Thunderbolt, but there are a few models that do.
If you're in the market for a new laptop, try to get one with a Thunderbolt port if you want to use one of these docks.
(We don't seem to be able to trust Intel to care about full USB 3.0 compatibility, but Thunderbolt seems to be OK.)

If you're have a desktop computer, you can just install a USB3 adapter card that uses the NEC USB3 controller and plug the AudioBox into that.

I hope this helps someone...


I'm definitely using the dock for other things as well; currently utilizing the HDMI port for another monitor and the network adapter for some VM's I have on my laptop, so it's not money wasted.

The real point is that it succeeds as a workaround for the Intel eXtensible Host Controller problems that are experienced but not actually caused by the many manufacturers of USB audio interfaces (Presonus, Focusrite, RME . M-Audio, Steinberg, Behringer, et al)
The two components together are still much less expensive than one of the Motu Thunderbolt-based interfaces for example, and I get to use the interface of my choice, from any manufacturer, with excellent performance.
I don't have to buy a much more expensive new laptop or give up portability and use a desktop PC.

I consider the compatibility problem to be completely Intel's responsibility.
Unfortunately, it affects a ton of new audio interface buyers who find out too late that the problem exists.

One other very helpful side-effect of using the USB ports on the Thunderbolt dock is that is seems to act as a USB ground isolator.
I was getting some significant noise from the all too common USB ground issues; to the point where I couldn't turn up the input volumes on the AudioBox any higher than about 2/3 full without hearing quite a bit of hiss and hum.

Now that the AudioBox is plugged into the dock, things are dead-quiet even with the knobs set at maximum volume (except for microphone self-noise and ambient stuff of course).

For me, the $200 I paid for the dock was worth it because it worked when nothing else did.

The original post is not an attempt to defend Presonus, but was intended to provide some potential assistance to people who already own AudioBox units and choose to keep using them.

There are plenty of complaints on the Internet (possibly later resolved) from RME and Focusrite hardware users who had problems that were probably related to the Intel USB chipset flaw.
I doubt anybody escaped completely.
More power to those companies if they eventually managed to avoid the problem by tweaking their drivers, but I wonder if the workarounds they implemented add latency to their signal path because functions that should legitimately be handled in hardware have to be done in software instead, which is usually slower.
It's a shame that Intel made any of this necessary.

The USB drivers for Presonus hardware (and many others) were actually written by these guys: www.thesycon.de
http://www.thesycon.de/eng/usb_audiodriver.shtml

I corresponded with them to see if they were working on a driver-based solution, but they basically said "probably not" and referred me back to Presonus.
I reminded them that others seem to have done this, but they don't really deal directly with end-users so they would not provide any additional information.

I enjoy using Studio One Pro and got it at half price during the "Black Friday" sale.
It does some things I like when used with AudioBox hardware, which I got at a discount and decided to keep.
I don't appreciate Presonus' lack of progress on this, but I'm not holding my breath waiting for them to fix their drivers.

That said, what I have with the addition of the Thunderbolt dock meets my needs now, and might satisfy others in similar situations.
Overall, I still got the features and performance I want at a fair price.

Just my "two cents" worth...



http://www.rakuten.com/prod/startech-com-thunderbolt-laptop-docking-station-hdmi-or-mini/258726387.html#



Elantric

#30
Problems with Static noise / crackles in Audio recording for Presonus 1818VSL continue in OSX Yosemite:
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/6672564

sloblue

#31
I really liked the 1818VSL on my iMac, but it just will never work on my macbook pro.  Sad, but gotta save pennies for a different interface for my new system

sloblue

anyone tried the focus rite claret 8pre?

sloblue

i am trying out the focusrite 8prex now.  really sounds nice so far

nix808

AudioBox 1818VSL working stunning here.
There was a driver update 3 weeks ago, but it was working fine before that
I have had it and it's worked fine for maybe 4 years at least
Low latency, no discontinuities- I have been lucky for some reason

Win10 Dell PC
Rock and Rock my boat, as long as you don't rock and rock my boat!hehe