PreSonus AudioBox USB96

A classic from PreSonus

The American brand Presonus has eaten more than one dog on inexpensive audio interfaces, and their Audiobox has not dropped out of recommendations for home studios for a decade. AudioBox USB96 is a logical continuation of the original Audiobox, which was slightly modernized, but the hardware was not touched. This is a compact and heavy sound interface in a metal case, equipped with a pair of A-class preamps that are excellent by the standards of the low-cost level and converters with support for 96 kHz / 24 bit sampling rates. Actually, the increased frequency of discrediting became the reason for the upgrade, the old AudioBox USB supported only 48 kHz.

iOS support

Support for iOS was another important update point. After releasing several specialized mobile interfaces a la iBox, Presonus decided to take a simpler path and added iOS integration where possible. Given the sheer number of unique music apps, samplers and loopers (Loopy Pro, AUM, Drambo, MiRack, Samplr, Patterning, etc.) this is a powerful bonus to a well-established audio interface. A pair of balanced 6.35/XLR inputs allows you to simultaneously record several instruments, the presence of a MIDI interface makes it possible to connect hardware such as a synthesizer and a drum machine, USB power simplifies the connection process, and the iron part (Cirrus Logic CS4270 chip + ST Microelectronics TS464 + amplifiers microcontroller NXP LPC4320FBD144) produces high-quality sound for a low-cost level. However it colours a little, making it brighter. That is, on another audio interface, the demo may sound a little less festive and rollicking.

Bonus Software

Another strong point of the audio box is a powerful bonus software package, which, according to the manufacturer's idea, is able to cover many needs of a novice musician. At least at first. Firstly, the package includes the current version of Studio One Artist - this is a lite version of a very cool DAW from Presonus, for which in recent years many have abandoned the familiar Cubase and Pro Tools. Moreover, the Artist version is a completely complex product, which lacks some of the branded Studio One Pro chips (for example, MixFX or Chorrd Track support). In addition to the DAW itself, the Studio Magic software package includes a lightweight set of software synthesizers from Arturia, a mini-modular system from Cherry Audio, a small set of effects from Brainwox, Lexicon and iZotope, as well as several sample packs.