Advanced 18x18 USB 2.0 Audio Interface

Presonus AudioBox 1818VSL takes hardware/software integration to the next level and delivers a combination of features, audio quality, and value that is unprecedented in this product category. Using your computer CPU and PreSonus Virtual StudioLive™ (VSL) software, AudioBox VSL-series interfaces provide reverb and and delay effects and the same Fat Channel compression, limiting, semi-parametric EQ, and high-pass filter, as the PreSonus StudioLive™ 16.0.2 digital mixer— all with inaudible latency. It's a great choice for project studios, performing bands, school music labs, and a wide variety of corporate installations and other contractor applications.

This is a pro product all the way, with high-end 24-bit, 96 kHz converters; Class A XMAX™ preamps; ADAT optical I/O; S/PDIF coaxial I/O; word-clock output; and MIDI I/O, housed in a heavy-duty, rack-mount metal chassis.

Furthermore, thanks to the power of VSL, the AudioBox 1818VSL includes a 26x8 software mixer. As a result, with just an AudioBox 1818VSL and your laptop or other computer, you can mix a studio session or live show featuring a full band—all while monitoring and recording with or without real-time processing! And you can do it simply and easily, with no hardware mixer, no outboard effects rack, and minimal wiring, thanks to the tight integration between PreSonus hardware and software.

Tracking without hearing effects and signal processing is like playing a video game with your eyes closed. Musicians rely on aural cues when performing, and their performance can vary depending on what they hear in their monitors. Adding just the right amount of compression, EQ, and reverb can make a huge difference in their ability to hear themselves clearly and to experience their performance as if it occurred in a natural space rather than in the artificial sonic environment of the studio. The result is a better performance and ultimately a better recording.

You have plenty of effects plug-ins for your DAW, but processing audio with a DAW takes more time than you might think. True, we're talking milliseconds, but it's long enough that if you put DAW effects in your studio monitors, you'll hear the original sound slightly before the processed signal, which is very disorienting. That much delay might be acceptable for live gigs, where the band is playing together in an ambient space that has natural delay. But you can't record that way in the studio.

Fortunately, our engineering wizards have dramatically reduced processing delay in the AudioBox VSL series. The result: dynamics processing, EQ, reverb, and effects that feel real, with no audible delay.

And if you like what you hear, you can record with AudioBox VSL-series effects, too! These are the same high-quality StudioLive 16.0.2 Fat Channel dynamics processors and EQs that professional musicians, engineers, and producers record with every day.

Versatile and portable, the AudioBox 1818VSL offers 2 convenient front-panel mic/instrument combo inputs and 6 front-panel mic/instrument combo inputs, true 48V phantom power (switchable in 2 banks), and 8 line-level outputs. ADAT optical I/O provides 8 more channels of input and output (at 44.1 or 48 kHz; 4 channels at 88.1 or 96 kHz). S/PDIF coaxial digital I/O adds 2 more channels, bringing the total to 18 audio input channels and 18 output channels.

 The sound is pure PreSonus, with the same high-headroom, Class A solid-state XMAX preamps found in our StudioLive mixers and high-quality, 24-bit, 96 kHz converters with 114 dB dynamic range for clear, clean audio. And it boasts PreSonus' legendary 150 mW headphone output.

VSL enables you to easily manage the processing and mixing from your Mac® or Windows® PC and provides editor/librarian functions, making it simple to create and use a library of presets. To get you started, we've included the same library of more than 50 Fat Channel presets that comes with StudioLive mixers. These presets were created by professional musicians and engineers and let you instantly set up dynamics processing and EQ for vocals, guitar, and much more.

Seamlessly integrated with the included Studio One™ Artist DAW and VSL, the AudioBox 1818VSL interface works with virtually all Mac and Windows audio-recording software.

Presonus AudioBox 1818VSL Features:

• 24-bit / 96 kHz 18 x 18 USB 2.0 recording interface
• 2 dual-purpose, front-panel, mic/instrument input channels - Combo XLR mic and balanced ¼" instrument input
• 6 dual-purpose, front-panel, mic/line input channels - Combo XLR mic and balanced ¼" instrument input
• Individual channel-trim controls with 0 to +35 dBu mic gain range
• True +48V phantom power for condenser microphones
• Mixer control (blends the input signal with the computer playback stream for zero-latency analog monitoring)
• Headphone jack with level control
• Main-output level control
• Studio One™ Artist digital audio workstation software included
• Virtual StudioLive™ (VSL) control software included
• Near-zero-latency monitoring with extensive signal processing
• 26 x 8 DSP mixer
• MIDI In/Out