The official manual of this unit says that it cannot accept line level signals, only mic and instrument (as it says on the front). I was interested to buy one so I searched about accepting line level signals, because I saw the writing on the front, and I ended up reading the manual from the site stating that: "Plugging a line-level source into the instrument inputs on the front of the AudioBox USB96 not only risks damage to these inputs but can also result in a very loud and often distorted audio signal". Even the instrument inputs have an impedance of 500kohms but it's required 1Mohm for a good guitar sound and the manual states that if you have active pickups you need a D.I. box first or you'll damage the inputs! More downsides besides the things you mentioned.
If we talking normal audio interfaces (basically every other one), which input should I plugin the guitar with active pickups? What if it has dedicated instrument input (guitar icon)?
@@drakegostream If you have active pickups you plug in the instrument input but with the level lower than passive pickups. Start with input level at 0 and increase slowly from there to avoid loud distorted signal, don't start from the level you had for passive. You may need to activate the line level switch found in other audio interfaces if you can't avoid clipping even when the level is too low.
Could you provide an Excel sheet with all the tested interfaces to downnload for your community? Dropbox or Google Drive would work perfectly and could easily be updated. That would be killer!
I am impressed by just how noisy it is. I guess between my old TASCAM and this, i'd still choose a barely working TASCAM. And those were notorious for their bad noise.
Hi Julian! Just wanted to say that your videos helped me A LOT with choosing my audio interface, your studies, graphs, knowledge, and overall quality of your videos are absolutely great!!
i have the blue one and use it for VSTi in live performance.. the great thing about this interface is the very low latency (4,5ms output in 128 buffer size 48kHz), MIDI i/o and good gain in headphone and output.. i notice the noisy preamp when cranked, but it is still useable and did an album using solely this unit for vocal recording.. there are many better substitute for this unit though.. awesome review Julian! you are the best!
I got the "Limited Edition" black with white trim about 10 months ago. I can definitely confirm a high amount of preamp noise and not enough usable gain. I found it nigh unusable for voiceover purposes and rushed for a SSL2 after selling off the AudioBox. This is one of those cases where I highly advise spending a bit more money for a higher quality interface.
I have the black version with silver knobs. It does what it needs to do--I don't record much with microphones, but when I tried it with an EV N/D 267 dynamic mic, I didn't notice any noise issue. My beef with the unit is that after around 14 months, input 1 crapped out on me (input 2 still works fine).
Great review. It's terrible that I found your video a month after I bought my Presonus 96. I agree with you in everyway about it, which is why I went looking on youtube for a more in depth review. The reviews I found before I bought it must have been done by people who just don't hear very well.
Variable frequency response depending upon control knob setting indicates poor internal impedance matching between the circuits. They really should know better given they have a decent reputation and are not exactly new to the industry.
As a novice who just bought this unit, I appreciated the thorough and reasoned review. Now I know, from an eloquent insider, what I need. Already have a condenser mic so we shall see, Thank you for your work!
Thanks so much for this video, Julian! I don't get how Presonus manages to make my favourite DAW yet anytime I'm interested in any of their hardware it turns out to be... really disappointing. And the chart you show in 9:06 has been a godsend, I was looking for a USB interface with a nice headphone output and I was shocked to see the Focusrite ones had the worst THD, I was considering the Solo 3rd Gen. I've had a Saffire (the firewire version) for some years now and the headphone output was really great, now I'm not sure I want the USB Focusrite interfaces. Might as well save money for the MOTU M2, I keep reading great things about it and it seems to outperform every other interface in this regard in your chart. Greetings from Spain!
Been using this for music production and I havent had any problems at all. I dont know why people complain. I made a beat and put it on spotify. When I tell people my gear, they get surprised. You just have to know your gear.
I mean he highlighted all the issues, the tested them and provided date… idk how you ‘don’t know why people complain’. He just showed you why in a very detailed way.
This information falls into the hearsay category. Presonus software is coded and developed in Germany and the hardware in the US. If that is the case it may be worth moving the design process of electronic hardware to Germany also. I enjoy your analysis and reviews of equipment immensely, it is so good to have reviews devoid of "marketing speak" or influencers getting paid to push products under the guise of a review.
Thanks for the review! I love that you used visuals and graphs to explain your points. You cover so many great points in your analysis and I appreciate your thoughts on this audio interface.
Outstanding review! The 96 has always been a bit of an outlier for them. I wish they would kill it off and reprice the studio 24c for that customer price point. The studio series are so much better.
Great review, Julian. I was trying to decide between a Focusrite Solo & the PreSonus AudioBox 96 & your EIN & Dynamic range graphs cinched my choice. Thanks very much.
Dang! In addition to the usual hiss, there's a low-end rumble, and the same digital artefact that my mom's old TASCAM US-122L had near the end of its operations
You should definitely do a review on the Rode AI-1. I heard the headphone output is really good, delivering what it seems to be 390mw into a 300ohm headphone and 210mw into a 32ohm headphone. Also interested to see how the mic input fares. Danke Julian.
Great video. Its amazing how in-depth you look into the performance of these devices and show all the data from your tests. I have a question though: have you ever considered modifying an audio interface to improve its performance by changing components for example?
My friend, first of all thank you very much for the review. I also saw the Behringer UMC202HD review. I have a question. Which of the two do you prefer PreSonus AudioBox USB 96 - (25th Anniversary Edition) or Behringer UMC202HD? You are the best person to answer. Thank you very much again
I am on the same boat to this right right now. However, after watching a couple of reviews, they're all suggesting tha Presonus 96 creates a white background noise who knows where it's coming from. I'm just a beginner starting of recording, but I think I'll stay clear off Presonus 96 and run with Umc202hd. I just wouldn't be able to stand that background noise. Just my 2cents.
Very very detailed and informative! It would be a blast if you could do such a video about Latency and also Real Life Performance Latency, such as testing how many plugins can you load on your PC with the specs shared of course. Best regards and Danke schoen!
*steinberg mic pre noise* heh *presonus mic pre noise* ノಠДಠノ!! Was gonna comment the possibility of a defective unit, to be answered 60 sec later, what dedication to get a 2nd unit! Video suggestion: how to properly read some of those fancy graphs (or all of them), example comparison of two curves, what do bad/ok/good look like. Cheers!
Hey Julian. I really enjoy your reviews, you're awesome. I'd really like If you do more comparative and /or tops of similar interfaces. Greetings from Colombia! 💪🏼
Before watching this (another great vid, Julian) I bought one of these. Yeah, it's not great. I use an Audient in my booth and this is a backup/utility unit for my other workstation, so it didn't have to be great, but from the noise floor, to the brittle sound from the headphone amp, I found myself saying something I NEVER thought I would... "shoulda bought a Behringer..." BTW, was there a full moon when you posted this video? You are getting a lot of bizarre and quite honestly, moronic questions and comments in this thread.
I use only small- and large-diaphragm condenser mics (with low native noise), so these concerns are not relevant for me. This unit works fine and there’s no audible noise in my recordings, even when the sound drops to nothing in moments.
Hi Julian. I have an Audiobox USB 96 (not the anniversary version) and was a little disappointed with the data you demonstrated in this video - although not totally surprised, given the price-point. However, I'm planning on upgrading at some point anyway. In the video, you say that the front inputs can take mic, line and instrument level signals; is this correct? The UI indicates only mic and instrument. Anyway, keep up the good work.
Man, I should've seen your review earlier. I was looking for budget interfaces well after you uploaded your video but somehow didn't come across it. I first got a unit with a defect and it was also very noisy. After RMA I got a second one without the defect but the noise was still as bad. On a personal anecdote, I certainly cannot recommend it either. I'm now eyeing the Motu M2/M4 or Behringer UMC204HD and was looking for data to cross-reference with Audio Science Review's (especially on the latter since their data is quite old). Thanks for the measurements! Especially the headphones measurements are very much appreciated since I'll use it as a single bidirectional interface. Dein Englisch ist übrigens sehr gut :) Meistens kann ich mir Deutsche TH-camr, die Englischen Content machen, nur schwer antun, aber du sprichst wirklich schön klar, bravo! (Mal ganz davon abgesehen, was du Inhaltlich so erzählst; das ist nämlich auch Spitze)
Please consider including into your testing rejection of noise from USB power - for example setup sound card with silent sound playing and do some computer intensive task on computer. After using with recently bought Audiobox USDB96 25th I have discovered when headphone output is set to low gain it picks up noise from computer activity (for example from scrolling pdf file). That noise could be clearly heard when there is no sound played on computer. Strangely enough that noise is most loud when headphone knob is turned to absolute minimum. I have discovered total headphone noise seems to be minimal that when headphone knob turned to approx 2/3 of full scale (when noise from USB is almost gone but at the same time noise from headphone amplifier is relatively small). I am planning to buy USB isolator with external power or maybe using external box to regulate volume. Disclaimer. This is only for information purposes - please never leave headphone regulator to 2/3 on a constant basis - always turn regulator to 0 and gradually increase it afterwards. Another thing I have noticed that this sound card seems to clip sound when very high signal is sent to it - even if headphone knob is set to minimum.
I was experimenting with different ways to connect Presonus Audiobox USB96. For now I have decided to configure it at 48KHz, output all sound from computer via DAW compressor in order to prevent overload, then connected main out via balanced TRS cables to old Soundking mixer and then connected headphones to mixer. In the future I am planning to connect monitors to mixer via balanced TRS cables.
Bought this audio interface with a studio bundle, set it up and installed Ableton, Ableton launched with a example project and oh boy... The cracking noise coming through the headphones was horrendous, it didn't matter what I did to solve it nothing worked, then I found out in the forums that a lot of people had the same issue, I immediately returned it and bought the Volt 2. My recommendation... Never look at this interface.
Hi Julian, and thanks for the great videos. I have just found your channel, and it is already my favorite and most trusted channel for audio interface reviews. I am about to pick up either a PreSonus 24c or Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 3rd gen., to go with my Shure SM58 and Sennheiser HD600 headphones. Since the 300 Ohms of the Sennheisers is right on the limit of what the 24c can use, I am probably going to go with the 2i2. I am about to start making some videos for TH-cam, and I am wondering what your mic and speaker setup is. I love that you don't have a visible mic, and are not wearing headphones, and I am wondering if this setup is also possible for streaming/recording gaming with commentary.
Can't say I'm surprised, I had a pair of Presonus R65 monitors and their self noise was extremely high, I personally found them unusable (no complaints about the sound, but the hiss was just crazy). I think I'll be staying away from anything by Presonus for good.
after test hearing like 20 different monitors ive settled for the personus eris 3.5 because of the incredible price/performance (dont need bigger ones) they have 0 self noise or any other issues, balanced or unbalanced, they produce incredible accurate sound and desipite other people saying, im not missing a sub at all if you set them up correctly. i am hooking them up through a focusrite solo (was able to get a huge discount on it, payed like $70 for a new unit) atm and i have 0 complains!
@@cjgoeson hahaha, funny one /s - if i would be working at presonus dont you think i wouldnt be allowed to endorse my focusrite im using... the audio interfaces are shit, thanks to my local music hardware store (they almost have everything for testing you can find on thomann) ive tried the audiobox 96 and itwo and they produced awefull noise to my dt 770 pro i also hated that the phone jack was on the back.... also tried behringer /km / audient & other interfaces but settled for the scarlet (was on sale aswell haha im cheap o_O and only use the stuff for gaming haha) but after test hearing jbl / presonus / krk / adam / swissonic / m-audio / yamaha / mackie & more under the $200 budget ive settled for the eris 3.5 - ive heared better monitors ofc but they were $100+ per piece which didnt fit in my budget anymore maybe someday i will invest in better ones but they are only used for when im not gaming.... so tldr: no benefits, cause im just a gamer that has an awesome local store for testing stuff & f'off
@@tomeguild so do you recommend the Focusrite over the others? I'm interested in the Focusrite and Steinberg, but I haven't decided yet. However, I have doubts about the Focusrite: I've heard that it doesn't work correctly with PC, and I use Windows; so I wanna know how true that is. Have you had any experience with Focusrite and PC?
Hallo Julian, could you maybe make a video about the use of TRS jacks on the interfaces you test or give information about that topic? This topic is posted in so many forums and there is not really clarity about it. Especially using an external preamp going TRS into a combo jack of USB interfaces. Does it go through the interface preamp again then? Does this influence the sound colouration or add any noise? I was in close contact with the Motu support and they recommended not to use external preamps with combo jacks, since it adds noise. A lot of people do that though. A professional test by you would be wonderful. Thanks in advance. Keep going.
Thanks Julian, really like your scientific approach 👍. I was considering this, but now I know, what is your advice in this price-range ?? You also said even cheaper ones perform better.. which one is that and did you a video on that one ?? Thanks in advance ✌️🤓😎😃
Really like how to take a look at the insides. Wish would would mention the cpu and d/a chips. After opening a zoom brand mixer and seeing a appalling mess, I now open all my gear. Danke.
@@JulianKrause Bro i lost alot of features as far as add on like pro eq reverb fatchannel and cant find them. i tried reinstalling them ad it says i have 4 of them some where. man my files are all over the place now and cannot for the life of me get ez drummer to uploAD to studio 4. i have windows 8 and shitty intenet. im barn buner producer. like minimal skills on the damn routing of each file. i think i need to start all over. can you help? all freaking night and i coulnt get it.
In reference to the output impedance with differing resistance headphones: I was wondering if there was a way to increase the effective resistance of a set of headphones so that the frequency response would flatten out? I'd like the option of using in-ear headphones sometimes but they seem to almost always be
Hey Julian, could you do a full review of the Steinberg AXR4U. It is a beast of an interface! - 2x Rupert Never Design SILK colourisation for the pre amps (wonder how they compare to the older Steinberg RT2 and RT4 designs) - Multiple line outs - 32bit integer and 384khz recording!
My latency on this piece is bananas... I had the usb audiobox first, then I got the 96 due to me having a hard problem with turning my computer off and it just stopped working. But hey I rarely shut my computer off...My main problem was the noise especially with phantom on. Currently I am awaiting the delivery of a studio 26...I swear if I hear 1 drop of noise or latency I will be done with presonus hardware... stay tuned
I have learned so much from your videos; thank you very much! Do you have any plans to review Audient's EVO 16? I would really appreciate your comparison of this interface with the Audient id series before I buy either interface.
Hey there, thanks for this review. I have a question that I’d like to see if you could help with: I have an Audiobox 😕😑 and send my Digital Piano sound to it. I notice a huge change in quality and I am wondering if this has to do with the frequency response? Is that “coloring” my pianos sound in a bad way? Thanks for this review! Awesome channel!!
Great video as always! great info. Im really sad about Presonus, I have a 192 Mobile that works excellent and they release a firmware update that kill my interface... leave me with tons of work left to be done... now I own a iD44 from Audient and is a really step up from presonus hardware.
Strange results here. I've tried to recreate this test with with my 4 year old audiobox and a dynamic mic at full gain and I can't get anything like that amount of hiss. I'm also getting over 100db of headroom from 20--20000hz.
Thank you for the review. I would like to know if I could use a Bluetooth receiver on the midi terminals of the interface. I have a midi Bluetooth keyboard, and it doesn't have the old midi terminals. I know I can connect the keyboard directly to the PC, but I want to use the interface. Is it possible to use a midi receiver adaptor in the PreSonus Audiobox?
Is there any chance you could review something from the Focusrite Clarett series? I'm especially interested in the Clarett 2Pre USB but there aren't many quality reviews of any of the series.
Thank you so much for this review!! I'm looking at buying my first audio interface and was really surprised at the background noise level with the Presonus! Just was wondering, when you did the noise test comparing the interfaces, was that used with a dynamic mic or condenser?
Hey, I used a 150 Ohm dummy load which mimics a dynamic mic. With a condenser mic the preamp noiseof the Audiobox is not that big of a problem as the signal is much stronger compares to a dynamic mic. Cheers!
@@JulianKrause Thank you for replying so quickly! It's really interesting to see the preamp noise mic input chart you made, and now I'm seriously considering the M-AUdio Air! I've previously been using a USB mic for recording, but I'm in the process of switching to an XLR/Interface setup because of all the background noise I've been getting from it. I'd most likely be getting the AT2020 XLR Condenser mic, so, would that condenser mic have even less noise with the M-Audio?
Hey, if you use a condenser mic the noise of the preamp does not matter as you are limited by the noise if the mic. The AT2020 is not the lowest noise mic out there. If you want to get ultra low noise, consider a condenser mic with a low self-noise.
@@JulianKrause Ooh yea! Just did some research and the AT2020 has 20dB! Thanks for saving me from ending up with the same problem! 😂🙏 Do you by any chance have a video with a similar comparison chart of all the self noise levels on XLR mics?
This may sound silly as I'm not sure if it qualifies as audio interface or a mixer or both, but it's so rare to find a true multi track audio interface let alone at a ridiculously low price, but I've had my eye on the TC-Helicon Blender due to being a 12 track(6 stereo) input, 2 usb/4 headphone output mixer/audio interface for $130. There are next to no real evaluation reviews of this device, and It definitely looks questionably low quality/budget, but if it actually functions even half way decent it could potentially fill unique place in the market.
Hi Julian, can you make a review for us? on the new Focusrite 2pre Clarett USB version Interface? I just got one and would like to know all the details on it
I have the Audiobox USB i bought in 2014. I see that not much has changed with the 25th Anniversary edition. It's bad. I also have Tascam US-2x2 and that one is SOOOO much better.
There's something very odd going on with the input section. It sounds like there's some crosstalk from digital circuits bleeding into the inputs in the EIN test...
Hey Julian, any chance you'll be reviewing an RME Babyface Pro FS? It's known in the industry as the best interface money can buy, and I'm really curious to see how it fares against the current top interfaces with your testing methodology. Thanks again for the quality content :)
I used one of these and noticed that in headphones when tracking with phantom power on there was a high pitched whine in the headphones which was not recorded (thankfully). Not sure if it was just the unit I used or this interface in general.
Apples to bad apples in this case. I've had most of them and I can tell you in my experience, this thing underperforms even the cheapest Behringer I had. Presonus really needs to ditch this model.
204HD is gnarly. Def recommend that one. The Audient iD series and Motu M series are also good choices, but I prefer the interface features of the Behringer and the motu more than the Audient.
Hey Julian :) Erstmal ein riesengroßes Dankeschön für deine Videos (y) Nun habe ich eine Frage bzgl. des Interfaces..ich bin gerade dabei mein eigenes Homestudio aufzubauen..ich werde ausschliesslich Rapvocals aufnehmen. Nun ist meine Frage welches Interface du empfehlen würdest aufgrund seiner Specs..ich habe das Focusrite Scarlett Solo 3rd Gen oder eben die Audiobox im Visier (Aufgenommen wird über ein Großmembran-Mikrofon). Würdest du sagen, dass sich das "Eigenrauschen" der Audiobox bei Vocalaufnahmen (um die -10db bis -6b Output Gain) bemerkbar macht oder nicht? Vielen Dank schonmal im Vorraus für deine Antwort & mach weiter so :)
This thing only makes sense in the US market, where it is literally the cheapest 2-mic, 24/96 interface you can buy (unlike in Germany, where the better UMC204HD is marginally cheaper). If you only need one mic, spend a tenner or two more and get something actually decent. @Julian, got some more teardown pics? I would like to know how they managed to end up with a preamp this bad.
Do you have a recommendation for an audio interface that would have similar performance as a dedicated headphone dac/amp unit (something like the schiit fulla, or fiio e10k)? Thank you, and great video!
Thanks for the video! I'm looking for interface for Rode Procaster. Do you have suggestions? Not expensive :) I ordered for test Roland Rubix22 USB Audio Interface
Hey man! ive seen ur videos and there great! i wanted to buy an interface and i wanted motu m2 but in my country its unvaliable. So which interface would you recommend me? (i have ath20x headphones-47 ohms- and i want an at2020 mic) Thank you!!!!
The official manual of this unit says that it cannot accept line level signals, only mic and instrument (as it says on the front). I was interested to buy one so I searched about accepting line level signals, because I saw the writing on the front, and I ended up reading the manual from the site stating that: "Plugging a line-level source into the instrument inputs on the front of the AudioBox USB96 not only risks damage to these inputs but can also result in a very loud and often distorted audio signal". Even the instrument inputs have an impedance of 500kohms but it's required 1Mohm for a good guitar sound and the manual states that if you have active pickups you need a D.I. box first or you'll damage the inputs! More downsides besides the things you mentioned.
If we talking normal audio interfaces (basically every other one), which input should I plugin the guitar with active pickups? What if it has dedicated instrument input (guitar icon)?
@@drakegostream If you have active pickups you plug in the instrument input but with the level lower than passive pickups. Start with input level at 0 and increase slowly from there to avoid loud distorted signal, don't start from the level you had for passive. You may need to activate the line level switch found in other audio interfaces if you can't avoid clipping even when the level is too low.
George Kollaros thank you! Helps a lot!
Thank you for helping, appreciate it! Faced same issue today in a newly bought audio interface and didn't know what to do
@@george.kollaros can suggest an affordable attenuator or preamp for both active and passive pick up guitars......for extreme high gain inputs
Could you provide an Excel sheet with all the tested interfaces to downnload for your community? Dropbox or Google Drive would work perfectly and could easily be updated. That would be killer!
I am impressed by just how noisy it is. I guess between my old TASCAM and this, i'd still choose a barely working TASCAM. And those were notorious for their bad noise.
"What does it sound like? Well, hear for yourself."
Like a fucking jetplane, apparently.
A memorable day for Steinberg; Julian found an even noisier box.
This made my day!
😂
Hi Julian! Just wanted to say that your videos helped me A LOT with choosing my audio interface, your studies, graphs, knowledge, and overall quality of your videos are absolutely great!!
i have the blue one and use it for VSTi in live performance.. the great thing about this interface is the very low latency (4,5ms output in 128 buffer size 48kHz), MIDI i/o and good gain in headphone and output..
i notice the noisy preamp when cranked, but it is still useable and did an album using solely this unit for vocal recording..
there are many better substitute for this unit though..
awesome review Julian! you are the best!
I got the "Limited Edition" black with white trim about 10 months ago. I can definitely confirm a high amount of preamp noise and not enough usable gain. I found it nigh unusable for voiceover purposes and rushed for a SSL2 after selling off the AudioBox. This is one of those cases where I highly advise spending a bit more money for a higher quality interface.
Absolutely nuts this thing costs more than $20.
Even a UM2 has a much better noise floor.
I have the black version with silver knobs. It does what it needs to do--I don't record much with microphones, but when I tried it with an EV N/D 267 dynamic mic, I didn't notice any noise issue. My beef with the unit is that after around 14 months, input 1 crapped out on me (input 2 still works fine).
Great review. It's terrible that I found your video a month after I bought my Presonus 96. I agree with you in everyway about it, which is why I went looking on youtube for a more in depth review. The reviews I found before I bought it must have been done by people who just don't hear very well.
I feel your pain. I did the same.
I got 2
From what I've heard it's that it's static noise. The good thing is, I don't plan on needing much gain
Variable frequency response depending upon control knob setting indicates poor internal impedance matching between the circuits. They really should know better given they have a decent reputation and are not exactly new to the industry.
As a novice who just bought this unit, I appreciated the thorough and reasoned review. Now I know, from an eloquent insider, what I need. Already have a condenser mic so we shall see, Thank you for your work!
Thank you for this review! I was considering a purchase of this unit, but now I think I'll go for the Scarlett Focusrite 2i2 3rd Gen. ;)
Thanks so much for this video, Julian! I don't get how Presonus manages to make my favourite DAW yet anytime I'm interested in any of their hardware it turns out to be... really disappointing. And the chart you show in 9:06 has been a godsend, I was looking for a USB interface with a nice headphone output and I was shocked to see the Focusrite ones had the worst THD, I was considering the Solo 3rd Gen. I've had a Saffire (the firewire version) for some years now and the headphone output was really great, now I'm not sure I want the USB Focusrite interfaces. Might as well save money for the MOTU M2, I keep reading great things about it and it seems to outperform every other interface in this regard in your chart. Greetings from Spain!
Been using this for music production and I havent had any problems at all. I dont know why people complain. I made a beat and put it on spotify. When I tell people my gear, they get surprised. You just have to know your gear.
Exactly!
I mean he highlighted all the issues, the tested them and provided date… idk how you ‘don’t know why people complain’. He just showed you why in a very detailed way.
This information falls into the hearsay category. Presonus software is coded and developed in Germany and the hardware in the US. If that is the case it may be worth moving the design process of electronic hardware to Germany also. I enjoy your analysis and reviews of equipment immensely, it is so good to have reviews devoid of "marketing speak" or influencers getting paid to push products under the guise of a review.
I LIKE YOUR WAY OF VERY CLEARLY DESCRIBING EVERYTHING.
Thanks for the review! I love that you used visuals and graphs to explain your points. You cover so many great points in your analysis and I appreciate your thoughts on this audio interface.
Outstanding review! The 96 has always been a bit of an outlier for them. I wish they would kill it off and reprice the studio 24c for that customer price point. The studio series are so much better.
very informative, i almost bought this. I know what to buy now. Thank you for this
What’d you buy?
Based from ur reviews i got the M Audio Air 192/4 , the preamps are very good while having one of the lowest preamp noise.amazing
Great review, Julian. I was trying to decide between a Focusrite Solo & the PreSonus AudioBox 96 & your EIN & Dynamic range graphs cinched my choice. Thanks very much.
hi!! what did you ultimately end up getting?im deciding between these 2 as well... i assuming you went for the focusrite then?
Was just about to pick one up on sale. Glad I watched this first!
Thank you. A HQ Presentation. Very impressed. Look forward to following you here on TH-cam.
Dang! In addition to the usual hiss, there's a low-end rumble, and the same digital artefact that my mom's old TASCAM US-122L had near the end of its operations
You should definitely do a review on the Rode AI-1. I heard the headphone output is really good, delivering what it seems to be 390mw into a 300ohm headphone and 210mw into a 32ohm headphone. Also interested to see how the mic input fares. Danke Julian.
Thank you very much for your honest reviews on these products. It is much appreciated.
My first audio interface. I don't miss it.
Same, thing died less than a year into it. Garbage.
Great video. Its amazing how in-depth you look into the performance of these devices and show all the data from your tests.
I have a question though: have you ever considered modifying an audio interface to improve its performance by changing components for example?
Very thorough test and helpful review, thank you! I wonder if I will ever find a nice interface without any obvious flaws :) Anyway, keep it up!
My friend, first of all thank you very much for the review. I also saw the Behringer UMC202HD review.
I have a question.
Which of the two do you prefer PreSonus AudioBox USB 96 - (25th Anniversary Edition) or Behringer UMC202HD?
You are the best person to answer.
Thank you very much again
I imagine he prefers the umc202
I am on the same boat to this right right now. However, after watching a couple of reviews, they're all suggesting tha Presonus 96 creates a white background noise who knows where it's coming from. I'm just a beginner starting of recording, but I think I'll stay clear off Presonus 96 and run with Umc202hd. I just wouldn't be able to stand that background noise. Just my 2cents.
Very very detailed and informative! It would be a blast if you could do such a video about Latency and also Real Life Performance Latency, such as testing how many plugins can you load on your PC with the specs shared of course.
Best regards and Danke schoen!
*steinberg mic pre noise*
heh
*presonus mic pre noise*
ノಠДಠノ!!
Was gonna comment the possibility of a defective unit, to be answered 60 sec later, what dedication to get a 2nd unit!
Video suggestion: how to properly read some of those fancy graphs (or all of them), example comparison of two curves, what do bad/ok/good look like. Cheers!
Love how you explain everything dude! Thank you!
Hey Julian. I really enjoy your reviews, you're awesome. I'd really like If you do more comparative and /or tops of similar interfaces. Greetings from Colombia! 💪🏼
Before watching this (another great vid, Julian) I bought one of these. Yeah, it's not great. I use an Audient in my booth and this is a backup/utility unit for my other workstation, so it didn't have to be great, but from the noise floor, to the brittle sound from the headphone amp, I found myself saying something I NEVER thought I would... "shoulda bought a Behringer..." BTW, was there a full moon when you posted this video? You are getting a lot of bizarre and quite honestly, moronic questions and comments in this thread.
I use only small- and large-diaphragm condenser mics (with low native noise), so these concerns are not relevant for me. This unit works fine and there’s no audible noise in my recordings, even when the sound drops to nothing in moments.
Hi Julian. I have an Audiobox USB 96 (not the anniversary version) and was a little disappointed with the data you demonstrated in this video - although not totally surprised, given the price-point. However, I'm planning on upgrading at some point anyway. In the video, you say that the front inputs can take mic, line and instrument level signals; is this correct? The UI indicates only mic and instrument. Anyway, keep up the good work.
Man, I should've seen your review earlier. I was looking for budget interfaces well after you uploaded your video but somehow didn't come across it. I first got a unit with a defect and it was also very noisy. After RMA I got a second one without the defect but the noise was still as bad. On a personal anecdote, I certainly cannot recommend it either.
I'm now eyeing the Motu M2/M4 or Behringer UMC204HD and was looking for data to cross-reference with Audio Science Review's (especially on the latter since their data is quite old). Thanks for the measurements! Especially the headphones measurements are very much appreciated since I'll use it as a single bidirectional interface.
Dein Englisch ist übrigens sehr gut :) Meistens kann ich mir Deutsche TH-camr, die Englischen Content machen, nur schwer antun, aber du sprichst wirklich schön klar, bravo! (Mal ganz davon abgesehen, was du Inhaltlich so erzählst; das ist nämlich auch Spitze)
This unit had such great reviews... but I have a dynamic mic. I learned a lot, Thanks!!
Please consider including into your testing rejection of noise from USB power - for example setup sound card with silent sound playing and do some computer intensive task on computer. After using with recently bought Audiobox USDB96 25th I have discovered when headphone output is set to low gain it picks up noise from computer activity (for example from scrolling pdf file). That noise could be clearly heard when there is no sound played on computer. Strangely enough that noise is most loud when headphone knob is turned to absolute minimum. I have discovered total headphone noise seems to be minimal that when headphone knob turned to approx 2/3 of full scale (when noise from USB is almost gone but at the same time noise from headphone amplifier is relatively small). I am planning to buy USB isolator with external power or maybe using external box to regulate volume. Disclaimer. This is only for information purposes - please never leave headphone regulator to 2/3 on a constant basis - always turn regulator to 0 and gradually increase it afterwards. Another thing I have noticed that this sound card seems to clip sound when very high signal is sent to it - even if headphone knob is set to minimum.
I was experimenting with different ways to connect Presonus Audiobox USB96. For now I have decided to configure it at 48KHz, output all sound from computer via DAW compressor in order to prevent overload, then connected main out via balanced TRS cables to old Soundking mixer and then connected headphones to mixer. In the future I am planning to connect monitors to mixer via balanced TRS cables.
Bought this audio interface with a studio bundle, set it up and installed Ableton, Ableton launched with a example project and oh boy... The cracking noise coming through the headphones was horrendous, it didn't matter what I did to solve it nothing worked, then I found out in the forums that a lot of people had the same issue, I immediately returned it and bought the Volt 2. My recommendation... Never look at this interface.
are you happy with the Volt 2? i was thinking of getting rid of my Audiobox piece of shit in favour of a Volt 2
Hi Julian, and thanks for the great videos. I have just found your channel, and it is already my favorite and most trusted channel for audio interface reviews.
I am about to pick up either a PreSonus 24c or Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 3rd gen., to go with my Shure SM58 and Sennheiser HD600 headphones. Since the 300 Ohms of the Sennheisers is right on the limit of what the 24c can use, I am probably going to go with the 2i2.
I am about to start making some videos for TH-cam, and I am wondering what your mic and speaker setup is. I love that you don't have a visible mic, and are not wearing headphones, and I am wondering if this setup is also possible for streaming/recording gaming with commentary.
Can't say I'm surprised, I had a pair of Presonus R65 monitors and their self noise was extremely high, I personally found them unusable (no complaints about the sound, but the hiss was just crazy). I think I'll be staying away from anything by Presonus for good.
after test hearing like 20 different monitors ive settled for the personus eris 3.5 because of the incredible price/performance (dont need bigger ones) they have 0 self noise or any other issues, balanced or unbalanced, they produce incredible accurate sound and desipite other people saying, im not missing a sub at all if you set them up correctly. i am hooking them up through a focusrite solo (was able to get a huge discount on it, payed like $70 for a new unit) atm and i have 0 complains!
@@tomeguild How are the benefits working at Presonus?
@@cjgoeson hahaha, funny one /s - if i would be working at presonus dont you think i wouldnt be allowed to endorse my focusrite im using... the audio interfaces are shit, thanks to my local music hardware store (they almost have everything for testing you can find on thomann) ive tried the audiobox 96 and itwo and they produced awefull noise to my dt 770 pro i also hated that the phone jack was on the back.... also tried behringer /km / audient & other interfaces but settled for the scarlet (was on sale aswell haha im cheap o_O and only use the stuff for gaming haha) but after test hearing jbl / presonus / krk / adam / swissonic / m-audio / yamaha / mackie & more under the $200 budget ive settled for the eris 3.5 - ive heared better monitors ofc but they were $100+ per piece which didnt fit in my budget anymore maybe someday i will invest in better ones but they are only used for when im not gaming.... so tldr: no benefits, cause im just a gamer that has an awesome local store for testing stuff & f'off
@@tomeguild at least you’re passionate
@@tomeguild so do you recommend the Focusrite over the others? I'm interested in the Focusrite and Steinberg, but I haven't decided yet. However, I have doubts about the Focusrite: I've heard that it doesn't work correctly with PC, and I use Windows; so I wanna know how true that is. Have you had any experience with Focusrite and PC?
Hallo Julian, could you maybe make a video about the use of TRS jacks on the interfaces you test or give information about that topic? This topic is posted in so many forums and there is not really clarity about it. Especially using an external preamp going TRS into a combo jack of USB interfaces. Does it go through the interface preamp again then? Does this influence the sound colouration or add any noise? I was in close contact with the Motu support and they recommended not to use external preamps with combo jacks, since it adds noise. A lot of people do that though. A professional test by you would be wonderful. Thanks in advance. Keep going.
Thanks Julian, really like your scientific approach 👍. I was considering this, but now I know, what is your advice in this price-range ?? You also said even cheaper ones perform better.. which one is that and did you a video on that one ?? Thanks in advance ✌️🤓😎😃
The fact is these Presonus interfaces are among the best selling on Amazon.
cause is cheap and presonus have a good reputation but yeah looks like hot garbage to me...
Yep, and McDonald's sells the most burgers.
Julian, Presonus says the front inputs are not for line-level devices, only XLR or instruments.
Really like how to take a look at the insides. Wish would would mention the cpu and d/a chips. After opening a zoom brand mixer and seeing a appalling mess, I now open all my gear. Danke.
Just bought one today. I subscribe for your honesty. Keep that up bro. I'm still gonna rock the shit out of this interface though.lol peace
Nice, enjoy!!!
@@JulianKrause Bro i lost alot of features as far as add on like pro eq reverb fatchannel and cant find them. i tried reinstalling them ad it says i have 4 of them some where. man my files are all over the place now and cannot for the life of me get ez drummer to uploAD to studio 4. i have windows 8 and shitty intenet. im barn buner producer. like minimal skills on the damn routing of each file. i think i need to start all over. can you help? all freaking night and i coulnt get it.
Julian, your videos are so helpful. Thank you so much for the great work!
In reference to the output impedance with differing resistance headphones: I was wondering if there was a way to increase the effective resistance of a set of headphones so that the frequency response would flatten out?
I'd like the option of using in-ear headphones sometimes but they seem to almost always be
After this video i change my mind to PreSonus Studio 24c :) THAKS !
Hey Julian, could you do a full review of the Steinberg AXR4U. It is a beast of an interface!
- 2x Rupert Never Design SILK colourisation for the pre amps (wonder how they compare to the older Steinberg RT2 and RT4 designs)
- Multiple line outs
- 32bit integer and 384khz recording!
HI, Thank you, I cannot upgrade, but I do have a condenser mic... Will give it a try now.
My latency on this piece is bananas... I had the usb audiobox first, then I got the 96 due to me having a hard problem with turning my computer off and it just stopped working. But hey I rarely shut my computer off...My main problem was the noise especially with phantom on. Currently I am awaiting the delivery of a studio 26...I swear if I hear 1 drop of noise or latency I will be done with presonus hardware... stay tuned
Hey ya. How was ur experience with studio 26?
I have learned so much from your videos; thank you very much! Do you have any plans to review Audient's EVO 16? I would really appreciate your comparison of this interface with the Audient id series before I buy either interface.
Thank you for the video. Just a question, do you have problems with discord?
Thank you. I agree totally with your findings. Good work.
Hey there, thanks for this review. I have a question that I’d like to see if you could help with: I have an Audiobox 😕😑 and send my Digital Piano sound to it. I notice a huge change in quality and I am wondering if this has to do with the frequency response? Is that “coloring” my pianos sound in a bad way? Thanks for this review! Awesome channel!!
Great video as always! great info. Im really sad about Presonus, I have a 192 Mobile that works excellent and they release a firmware update that kill my interface... leave me with tons of work left to be done... now I own a iD44 from Audient and is a really step up from presonus hardware.
Would Love to see a review on the old M-Audio Firewire 410 and why M-Audio put out a product that doesn't work.
You explained very efficiently
Great vid! Does the noise problem also occur when plugging electric guitar directly into “instrument input” ?
Will you be reviewing and measuring the new UAD stuff I can’t find any IRL measurements anywhere
Strange results here. I've tried to recreate this test with with my 4 year old audiobox and a dynamic mic at full gain and I can't get anything like that amount of hiss. I'm also getting over 100db of headroom from 20--20000hz.
Thank you for the review. I would like to know if I could use a Bluetooth receiver on the midi terminals of the interface. I have a midi Bluetooth keyboard, and it doesn't have the old midi terminals. I know I can connect the keyboard directly to the PC, but I want to use the interface. Is it possible to use a midi receiver adaptor in the PreSonus Audiobox?
@Julian Krause are you planning on trying the PreSonus PD-70 mic?
Is there any chance you could review something from the Focusrite Clarett series? I'm especially interested in the Clarett 2Pre USB but there aren't many quality reviews of any of the series.
Your Reviews are simple great.
The table at 8:00 , is that available as a google sheet doc so we can filter by a specific specification :) Great video as usual, friend 💪
Thank you so much for this review!! I'm looking at buying my first audio interface and was really surprised at the background noise level with the Presonus! Just was wondering, when you did the noise test comparing the interfaces, was that used with a dynamic mic or condenser?
Hey, I used a 150 Ohm dummy load which mimics a dynamic mic. With a condenser mic the preamp noiseof the Audiobox is not that big of a problem as the signal is much stronger compares to a dynamic mic. Cheers!
@@JulianKrause Thank you for replying so quickly! It's really interesting to see the preamp noise mic input chart you made, and now I'm seriously considering the M-AUdio Air! I've previously been using a USB mic for recording, but I'm in the process of switching to an XLR/Interface setup because of all the background noise I've been getting from it. I'd most likely be getting the AT2020 XLR Condenser mic, so, would that condenser mic have even less noise with the M-Audio?
Hey, if you use a condenser mic the noise of the preamp does not matter as you are limited by the noise if the mic. The AT2020 is not the lowest noise mic out there. If you want to get ultra low noise, consider a condenser mic with a low self-noise.
@@JulianKrause Ooh yea! Just did some research and the AT2020 has 20dB! Thanks for saving me from ending up with the same problem! 😂🙏 Do you by any chance have a video with a similar comparison chart of all the self noise levels on XLR mics?
which one should I buy ? i'm between this and the presonus 24c, btw fantastic channel with a fantastic quality ¡
This may sound silly as I'm not sure if it qualifies as audio interface or a mixer or both, but it's so rare to find a true multi track audio interface let alone at a ridiculously low price, but I've had my eye on the TC-Helicon Blender due to being a 12 track(6 stereo) input, 2 usb/4 headphone output mixer/audio interface for $130. There are next to no real evaluation reviews of this device, and It definitely looks questionably low quality/budget, but if it actually functions even half way decent it could potentially fill unique place in the market.
I'd love to see your review of Mackie Onyx Producer 2.2. Just gotta make sure I got the best interface.. :D
Hi Julian, can you make a review for us? on the new Focusrite 2pre Clarett USB version Interface? I just got one and would like to know all the details on it
Thanks Julian. It is helpful. Could you please create tutorial on how to setup MG10XU to PC. Thank you
I have the Audiobox USB i bought in 2014. I see that not much has changed with the 25th Anniversary edition. It's bad. I also have Tascam US-2x2 and that one is SOOOO much better.
excuse me , could you tell me your specker name ??
There's something very odd going on with the input section. It sounds like there's some crosstalk from digital circuits bleeding into the inputs in the EIN test...
Hey Julian, any chance you'll be reviewing an RME Babyface Pro FS? It's known in the industry as the best interface money can buy, and I'm really curious to see how it fares against the current top interfaces with your testing methodology. Thanks again for the quality content :)
Hey Jul,
are you going to make a video about monitor calibration for mixing using the SPL-meter?
I used one of these and noticed that in headphones when tracking with phantom power on there was a high pitched whine in the headphones which was not recorded (thankfully). Not sure if it was just the unit I used or this interface in general.
What about a comparison of prices among these units? Apples and oranges. Don’t expect an inexpensive interface to match an expensive one.
Apples to bad apples in this case. I've had most of them and I can tell you in my experience, this thing underperforms even the cheapest Behringer I had. Presonus really needs to ditch this model.
So because of the noise I should buy the Behringer umc204hd?
204HD is gnarly. Def recommend that one.
The Audient iD series and Motu M series are also good choices, but I prefer the interface features of the Behringer and the motu more than the Audient.
I really wonder how the preamp on the iTwo performs
What I'm curious is if the StudioLive 16R/24R/32R is plagued by similar noisy preamps...
Hey Julian :) Erstmal ein riesengroßes Dankeschön für deine Videos (y) Nun habe ich eine Frage bzgl. des Interfaces..ich bin gerade dabei mein eigenes Homestudio aufzubauen..ich werde ausschliesslich Rapvocals aufnehmen. Nun ist meine Frage welches Interface du empfehlen würdest aufgrund seiner Specs..ich habe das Focusrite Scarlett Solo 3rd Gen oder eben die Audiobox im Visier (Aufgenommen wird über ein Großmembran-Mikrofon). Würdest du sagen, dass sich das "Eigenrauschen" der Audiobox bei Vocalaufnahmen (um die -10db bis -6b Output Gain) bemerkbar macht oder nicht?
Vielen Dank schonmal im Vorraus für deine Antwort & mach weiter so :)
Kauf dir ein Apollo Interface
Hello Julian, Could you make the test of UAD Apollo Twin USB? This audio interface will crush them all.
Thanks for the information.
This thing only makes sense in the US market, where it is literally the cheapest 2-mic, 24/96 interface you can buy (unlike in Germany, where the better UMC204HD is marginally cheaper). If you only need one mic, spend a tenner or two more and get something actually decent.
@Julian, got some more teardown pics? I would like to know how they managed to end up with a preamp this bad.
Missing audio last few minutes ... maybe you can fix it. Good review, just cannot hear the final verdict entirely. JT
Couldnt use solder in a filter capacitor to the board to
filter that niose? I know you shouldn't have to, but for people who already have this one.
I know it's not very budget but since it's the cheapest Universal Audio interface I would like to see your review on the new Apollo Solo. Thanks.
Do you think you could get your hands on and review the GoXLR?
Do you have a recommendation for an audio interface that would have similar performance as a dedicated headphone dac/amp unit (something like the schiit fulla, or fiio e10k)? Thank you, and great video!
Very good video thanks! Can you make a video on the Rodecaster pro? Thanks!
Please also review super budget interfaces like the Muslady 422A. Thanks!
Hi. Nice materials... Somthing about Tascam Series 102 soon?
Thanks for the video! I'm looking for interface for Rode Procaster. Do you have suggestions? Not expensive :) I ordered for test Roland Rubix22 USB Audio Interface
Hey man! ive seen ur videos and there great! i wanted to buy an interface and i wanted motu m2 but in my country its unvaliable. So which interface would you recommend me? (i have ath20x headphones-47 ohms- and i want an at2020 mic) Thank you!!!!