Octopre vs Digimax

[Lars-Erik Dahle]

I need an 8-channel pre with lightpipe out for my studio. So far I've been looking at the Focusrite Octopre and Presonus' Digimax. From what I've heard I gather that the preamps in the Digimax are better-sounding than the Focusrite unit, but I'm a bit thrown off by the fact that the +48v switches on the Digimax are located on the back of the unit.

I haven't been able to A/B-test them yet, but I would like to ask you guys if the sound of the Digimax outweighs the inconvenience of the placement of the +48v switches.

Any opinions?

[darrin_h2000]

My Yamaha MLA7 has those switches on the back as well, but my rack is easy to get to If the presonus sounds better go with it.

[jgourd]

I have two Digimax units. While having the +48 on the back is a pain, I haven't run into a situation yet where having it turned on when using a dynamic mic hurt anything.

I can't comment on the other unit as I have not heard one, but I swear by my Digimaxes.

[mastahnke]

I think the Digimax LT has the switches on the front. Still has lightpipe out, just not AES/EBU, and limiter.

--MIKE