Focusrite or Presonus Audiobox solo 96

Greg Lambert · Post by **Greg Lambert** » 6 Sep 2021 6:57 pm

I have seen reviews , pros and cons , for each of these but none mention audio quality. Has anyone had experience with these ?

I have been using a Lexicon Alpha never had a problem but I want to add another interface to another computer.

John Hyland · Post by **John Hyland** » 7 Sep 2021 12:11 am

I have a Focusrite Scarlett 4i4 and am very happy with it

Jack Stoner · Post by **Jack Stoner** » 7 Sep 2021 2:15 am

I am not a Focusrite fan.
I had a Focusrite Saffire Pro 40 and thought it sounded good. The power switch failed and I had to fix a steel track so I used my backup unit, an MAudio Fastrack Ultra 8R. The fixed steel track portion sounded much cleaner and full frequency compared to the sort of dull sounding Focusrite parts - or like it had the tone rolled off. I repaired the Focusrite unit and it was traded in on a Roland Octa-Capture unit and the Octa-Capture sounded identical to the MAudio. I later, in downsizing my recording studio tried a couple Focusrite Scarlett units, both Gen 1 and 2 and they sounded identical to the old Saffire Pro 40. For this reason I will not use a Focusrite unit.

I ultimately settled on MOTU for my downsizing. It has the same full frequency sound and lower latency than both Focusrite and Presonus.

ajm · Post by **ajm** » 7 Sep 2021 6:46 am

If you don't get many responses and/or the answers you're looking for, you might want to try asking this question in the Recording section of the forum.

David Ball · Post by **David Ball** » 7 Sep 2021 10:30 am

I have a Focusrite Scarlett Solo with a Mac and like it a lot. I can detect no latency at all setting it to be both the input and output source as they recommend. If you leave the output set to built in Mac audio and the input source to the Focusrite, there is some latency. Sound quality is very good to my ears.

I had an older MAudio interface that I used for years and was happy with it too, but I went one MacOS upgrade further than MAudio provided drivers for and had to change. I like the Focusrite better, but it's a significantly newer box, so I can't say that I like one brand better than another.

Dave

Matthew Walton · Post by **Matthew Walton** » 8 Sep 2021 7:04 am

I've always used Focusrites and have been quite happy with them. I've helped a friend with his setup and he went for Presonus, and those also sounded good. I think you'd be happy with either.

If you're on Windows and want the best, get RME. From everything I've read, their Windows drivers are second to none (I think the macOS drivers are also great, but less of an issue). Of course that's more than a little bit of a price jump, which is why I don't have RME either.