Tune Up: Presonus FireStudio 2626 Review
posted in: Features • Reviews & Playlists
It’s been a few months now on this Tune Up column, and I’ve spoken a lot about recording techniques, studio equipment and gear reviews. While I reviewed the Line 6 TonePort, I haven’t given you a review of any large recording/audio interfaces yet. Well, this week I will oblige fellow recording nerds with a review of one of the current interfaces that I use in my own home studio. The PreSonus FireStudio 26×26 is a firewire-connected recording interface with a complete arsenal of inputs, outputs and features.
PreSonus FireStudio 2626
” 24-bit/96kHz sampling rate
” 8 preamp mic inputs
” 8 channel ADAT (ins and outs)
” S/PDIF ins and outs
” Surround mode (quickly switch from this and stereo)
While there are obviously a lot of other really in-depth control options (both through included software and on the device), these are the ones that I really want to draw attention to. To begin, the FireStudio 2626 has the highest bit depth/sampling rate that I would ever need for recording (much too high for the human ear to hear any bad artifacts).
The most attractive feature, to me, is the amount of parallel mic/line inputs. They are combination TS and XLR inputs (two of which are Hi-Z instrument inputs, and the rest are line; all the XLR’s have phantom power). The XMAX preamps are some of the best I’ve used. They are very clear and are even a little warmer than normal, dry interface preamps, eliminating the need to use external preamps in most cases. The ADAT in/out can easily extend your microphone inputs by connecting it with other ADAT devices that have more XLR ins (commonly referred to as lightpipes). The device is rounded out with S/PDIF and surround sound options.
I’d like to close this post by mentioning that the FireStudio and FirePod lines contain many different options at different pricepoints. The FP10 and FireStudio Project contain all the preamps and line ins/outs but don’t offer the ADAT flexibility. Beyond this, PreSonus also offers a FireStudio lightpipe (connected using ADAT). Just grab two of these and you have an interface with 24 parallel mic inputs, all seen separately on your DAW even if recorded simultaneously. The units can be a little expensive (anywhere from $399“$699), so I would only recommend this for at least a mid-level home studio. It’s great for drums, vocals and live instruments, though. Even PreSonus advertises it as a means for recording full bands at live shows. With such versatility, I recommend looking into this for your project studio.