PreSonus Firebox - Noisy Preamp?

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htlau

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Hi,

My firebox's mic pre is very noisy and there also some gound looping noisy in one of the mic channel. It would be a nightmare if I use dynamic mic.
I own this unit for almost half an year and didn't notice the problem is serious unit I got a M-Audio Microtrack.
The microtrack is much more quiet than Presonus.
I read a lot about review, which receive good comment, of firebox before I brought it.
So, my question to you are;
Q1. Is you PreSonus FireBox is noisy?
Q2. As I already own it, I may need to buy another preamp, any good suggestion. I am serious consider M-Audio's DMP3 and Mackie 1202VLZ3 (I may take it for gig)

Joseph
 
1. No, my Firebox is not really noisy. But I haven't been able to make comparisons.
2. No comment, don't know.
 
I've been using the firebox for over a year now and have never noticed and "noticeable" noise. I think the pre's sound good and clear.
maybe something is wrong with yours?
 
Well, I don't know. I have returned and got a replacement, however, problem is still here.

We (me & salesman) have test the replacement unit by Rode NT1, sound ok to me. But If I used the AKG dynamic mic, the gain knock have to turn to maximum and result in very serious noise. We thought that recording with dynamic mic may not be good idea and planing to get a condenser later on.
As I said before, until I got a M-Audio's digital recorder, I found that its pre-amp is very quiet even I turn it to maximum.
Hence I arrived in two conclusion; (1) the Presons Firebox is overrated or (2) I got two defective product.
However, either one of above reason, I have to buy a preamp, otherwise, I have to use M-Audio recorder for recording and use Firebox to playback only! :(
 
I have had one for almost 2 yrs now, and I could always hear some noise if I really push the preamps.
 
Hey, are happy with it? What mic you used it without driving hard?
 
Most any preamp will make some noise if you crank it up. The really good stuff often makes less, but the noise floor changes none the less. The M-Audio recorder may be quieter because it is not adding nearly as much gain. You should also test another dynamic mic with your presonus to see if there is a mic issue of some sort. Also, make sure you aren't trying to use the dynamic mic from a distance on a quieter source.
 
Dynamic mics require a lot more gain from the preamp than condensers do. It's not surprising that you have to turn the gain up all the way on the Firebox when you are using a dynamic mic, as the Firebox gives you a maximum 45dB of gain. A better preamp for a dynamic mic would be one that has 60dB or more of gain available. Another option would be to buy a good condenser mic, and avoid using a gain-hungry dynamic with the Firebox.

Pretty much any preamp will not sound its best when run maxed out.

Part of making good recordings is knowing your equipment and matching up the various pieces of your studio to get the best sound out of them. So if you are using the Firebox, then you need to use a the kind of mic that sounds best with it. Which in this case is probably going to be a condenser mic. It's really not Presonus' fault, because they do clearly indicate that the Firebox has 45dB of gain in the promotional material. It's more of a matter of mismatched equipment than something wrong with the Firebox.

That buzz you are getting, that's something different. That shouldn't be happening. But when you run a preamp wide open like that you will hear any flaws it may have, and also any grounding problems you may have in your studio.
 
yes, i agree what you guy said that a condenser should be proper choice. But I still insisted that the Presonus Firebox is noisy as I have tried the line input from my digital piano, noise still brothering me - it is noisy when there are no signal from digital piano. So, I turn to M-Audio Microtrack, It sounds clear and quiet. Hence, my firebox is really a playback device only! Therefore, a better preamp is really needed.
 
Are you plugging your digital piano into the mic/line inputs on the front of the Firebox, or the line inputs on the rear of the unit? Also, have you gone into the Firebox control panel and unselected the +12 gain settings?

I suggest you connect your digital piano to the line inputs on the back of the Firebox and see if that makes a difference.
 
Thanks for advice!

Yes, I did! That is what I can do.
I plug the output of piano to mic input to test whether it is still noisy (including ground looping noise) with such a "hot" signal input.
The noise of ground loop in channel is very uncomfortable to me (compare with while noise in mic pre). I save successfully get ride of it by unplug the firewire and using the power supply.
Someone (including me) may say the ground loop may due to your PC. Well, I tried to hook up the firebox to my Macbook, which is supplied by battery. The result? Still here!
The result are simply prove that there are ground looping noise between power supply pin in firewire and mic pre in channel two and the white noise are exited in both channels.
I think, one day, I will open the case of "noise generator" and troubleshoot by myself. However, I don't have a CRO in my home to view the shape of signal.
 
I have the Presonus Inspire, which I think has the same pres - it sounds great when the gain is low, but there is some noise when the gain is up, and yes, I have to turn it up for dynamic mics. Overall, though, it sounds good. I do remember getting some strange, much louder noise for awhile, but it went away later. Anybody's guess as to why, but I think I was in a location that had a lot of EM interference, and that's what was causing the problem.

I also have a MOTU Traveler, which has pres that have a lot more gain, and run nice and quiet with dynamic mics. At low gain settings, I think I prefer the Inspire for a lot of things, though.
 
Oh really!! The Inspire also noisy!
I think the Presonus Firebox is overrated in various review article as I read a lot of review before I decided to buy it.
The review articles aren't reliable some time.
I becomes more M-Audio's "fans" as it really clean and quiet even being drive hard.
I also read a lot of review that people comment about shure SM58/57 are good stuffs. It is so popular that I don't have to buy it and it was not my cup of tea.
Therefore, I found that for purchasing audio equipment, one have to try before he spend his money. (Well....I read lot of review about Roland AC-60 and really want to buy it.....)
 
The approach of trying before you buy is always a good one with audio equipment. At least as much as is possible.
 
htlau said:
Oh really!! The Inspire also noisy!
I think the Presonus Firebox is overrated in various review article as I read a lot of review before I decided to buy it.
The review articles aren't reliable some time.
I becomes more M-Audio's "fans" as it really clean and quiet even being drive hard.
Click to expand...

I'd be careful with that. M-Audio makes clean pres, but lousy FireWire implementations. See also my long rant about the S/PDIF ports going dead (even for synchronization) when it isn't the only audio device on the bus. I don't know exactly what they did, but....
 
Are you using microtrack as well? may be mine will have problem although i never use the s/pdif to syn.
 
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