PreSonus 1818VSL Audiobox Computer control question

J

Jack Arnott

Senior
Jan 29, 2011
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Hello All,

I have been on the lookout for a replacement for my smallest digital board, the Ederol, which is no longer made.
(I still have it, but it is in a permanent install.)

My main concern is a digital snake. In fact the PreSonus line has been out for me because of no digital snake.
I do like the sound of the board, despite my trepidation because of my use of the 8ch comp/gates.

Anyway, someone emailed me a link to this. I called my dealer and talked some to him.
I want to use it for live, he is completely stuck on this being used for recording, and that I should get a StudioLive if I want to do live work.
I have determined that this (VSL) is completely in line with what I want or need.
But I have one question that I cannot find the answer to.

Is the computer part of the signal chain, or only a controller?
As in, can I set it up, and then disconnect the computer and the same mix continue?

(My dealer gets completely stuck at this point, and states that the recording or playback would stop then.)

http://www.presonus.com/products/Detail.aspx?ProductId=65

Regards, Jack
 
Re: PreSonus 1818VSL Audiobox Computer control question

I spent some time on the presonus forum to answer this very question for myself, it appears that all the DSP is dependant on the PC. If you disconnect your computer your audio will cease. I found this disappointing, but the folks at Presonus seemed proud of this fact, since it kept cost down and since "an i5 or i7 processor has way more processing ability than audio device DSP" (paraphrase).

They did also say that the latency was between 3-5 ms from analog in to analog out (sampling rate dependent). Not any details what system produced these results, but that's better than any firewire recording device I own.

Also they mentioned there are 18 channels of DSP control in the software, so presumable (I'm inferring here) if you add 8 more channels via ADAT you can use those just like the on board mic inputs.

I'm on the verge of getting this for similar application to what you described, so if you pull the trigger before I do please post your results. I'll do the same!
 
Re: PreSonus 1818VSL Audiobox Computer control question

Jack,
I'm not sure if you've looked at MOTU products at all, but I think you may find what you are looking for in the MOTU 896. I own one 896Mk3 and two 896HD units that get used as recording Pre/Interface combos as well as seeing use as small format live mixers for certain situations. The only really functional difference between the Mk3 and the HD models is that the Mk3 adds effects (a basic reverb engine) along with a second set of optical ADAT inputs, giving you 16 Channels (Bi-directional) of ADAT connectivity vs. the single (8ch) ADAT connection that the HD offers. With this setup, I connect the Mk3 unit via firewire to my computer as the "interface" and then connect the subsequent HD units to the Mk3 using the ADAT ports to get 24CH total.... this is required as Apple's Core Audio can only use one device at a time as the input device.

For setting up each of the 896 units for other uses, I simply connect the one I want to configure via (firewire), open up CueMixFX and select the device... you configure as you need and once you are set you can remove the computer from the picture and things will continue to operate as you set it.

I will admit that if purchased new these are not the cheapest units around, but they are readily available on the used market. Typical pricing is somewhere in the $400-600 range each used depending on the model, but I recently picked up 3 of the HD models for only $200/ea. Unfortunately, I already sold off the extra one that I was not going to need.


FWIW: Both of the models I own are firewire, although the newer "hybrid" model does offer USB as well as firewire.

I hope this was helpful, these units have been great tools for getting a whole lot done in a very small package. I actually had the Mk3 pressed into action for a while as a way to mix in-ears for a small band by feeding it 16Ch of ADAT from an 01v96, worked very well for what they needed, although that application was pushing the envelope of what you can accomplish with the CueMix software.

Good luck!
 
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