Any PreSonus Quantum thoughts/experience?

Heartfeltdawn

@goldtop ;

The BFP FS arrived a day early. 

Easy installation, easy setup, then out with my usual standard reference track: Rhapsody in Blue, 1959, Bernstein and the Columbia Symphony Orchestra. Headphones on. 

Fuck. Me. 

The clarity is astounding. The Crimson is a warm sounding interface and I totally understand now why some reviewers/users said it was like using tape compared to straight digital. Sounds mesh so well with the Crimson. With the BFP, you can hear everything so well and it knits together but it has slightly better top end. 

As ever, the driver performance is superb. It's halved the latency readings I was getting on the latop with LatencyMon and the Crimson. 

Absolutely blown away by it. Trying to remember how much I paid for my first proper soundcard, the Soundblaster Platinum all those years ago at uni. Amazing to think of what you can get in a box for £600. Top marks to KMR Audio for getting it here so quick. 

goldtop

Excellent. I didn't have the FS version, but the BFP is a great little interface. I've twice had and sold RME, but always seem to end up back again.

I'll be putting my (old) RME FF400 on to the M1 Macbook Air this holiday. Fingers are crossed... Even though I hate the clagnuts I've got to use, the 2626 plan can wait.

WiresDreamDisasters

Heartfeltdawn said:

@goldtop ;

The BFP FS arrived a day early. 

Easy installation, easy setup, then out with my usual standard reference track: Rhapsody in Blue, 1959, Bernstein and the Columbia Symphony Orchestra. Headphones on. 

Fuck. Me. 

The clarity is astounding. The Crimson is a warm sounding interface and I totally understand now why some reviewers/users said it was like using tape compared to straight digital. Sounds mesh so well with the Crimson. With the BFP, you can hear everything so well and it knits together but it has slightly better top end. 

As ever, the driver performance is superb. It's halved the latency readings I was getting on the latop with LatencyMon and the Crimson. 

Absolutely blown away by it. Trying to remember how much I paid for my first proper soundcard, the Soundblaster Platinum all those years ago at uni. Amazing to think of what you can get in a box for £600. Top marks to KMR Audio for getting it here so quick. 

KMR are great. They really went above board for me when I got my Apollo, I even got a cuppa tea whilst I waited for my credit card to be authorized by the bank!! Doh!!!

There's a dude on Gearslutz absolutely tearing apart the Apollo, saying that his RME interfaces sound better, and he's been torn a new arsehole many times in the thread, but maybe there is something to it... honestly don't know. But what I love about the RME interfaces are the stability at low latencies, the latency amounts themselves at small buffer sizes, and also TotalMix - which can be a headfuck at first - is really great software. I like the loopback functionality too, which for making videos where you're combining audio inputs and DAW/software audio outputs, can work really well.

I used to have a Hammerfall PCI years and years ago, and it was great. Now I'm looking at the Fireface UFX+.


Good news on LatencyMon btw - I'm not 100% sure, but if the Crimson is using the off-the-shelf Thesycon driver, then that would explain the piss poor latency performance. So many devices use that driver, because basically they don't have the technical skills in-house to write their own drivers, and it ends up really hogtying otherwise impressive interfaces.

Heartfeltdawn

WiresDreamDisasters said:

KMR are great. They really went above board for me when I got my Apollo, I even got a cuppa tea whilst I waited for my credit card to be authorized by the bank!! Doh!!!

There's a dude on Gearslutz absolutely tearing apart the Apollo, saying that his RME interfaces sound better, and he's been torn a new arsehole many times in the thread, but maybe there is something to it... honestly don't know. But what I love about the RME interfaces are the stability at low latencies, the latency amounts themselves at small buffer sizes, and also TotalMix - which can be a headfuck at first - is really great software. I like the loopback functionality too, which for making videos where you're combining audio inputs and DAW/software audio outputs, can work really well.

I used to have a Hammerfall PCI years and years ago, and it was great. Now I'm looking at the Fireface UFX+.


Good news on LatencyMon btw - I'm not 100% sure, but if the Crimson is using the off-the-shelf Thesycon driver, then that would explain the piss poor latency performance. So many devices use that driver, because basically they don't have the technical skills in-house to write their own drivers, and it ends up really hogtying otherwise impressive interfaces.

Very happy with KMR, must send them a little email of thanks. I can't imagine the Apollo sounds shit so does Apollo versus RME fall into that usual subjective sound quality? I've had the Audient interfaces on loan and they sounded different to the Crimson, bit more hyped in the top end, not as warm. To someone else, they're clear and clean and the Crimson is woolly. Just got to find what suits you, I suppose. The BFP just sounds right to me. The low end isn't quite as rounded but the clarity evens it out. 

SPL don't use Thesycon. They've got Ploytech doing the drivers. When the Crimson first came out, the driver was buggy but got reworked really quickly. I wouldn't say the Crimson drivers are piss poor, it really is more a case that I've simply got a slightly shit laptop when it comes to latency. When I had the Audients on loan, their Thesycon drivers were noticeably less effective than the Crimson Ploytech ones.

Decisions have been made though. I'm currently doing a clean install on the little Acer and I'm going to sell that. Worked long and hard on the PCS laptop. W10 1903 is horrible for latency connected to the NT kernel. 1909 is better so that is now in place. It's now running at a decent level with both the Crimson and BFP. Going to have a good clear out of the parts bin over the next week. The Crimson's going in the cupboard and will come out for use with the desktop next year. 

Now to wait for Live 11 to come out... 

 

WiresDreamDisasters

Heartfeltdawn said:

Very happy with KMR, must send them a little email of thanks. I can't imagine the Apollo sounds shit so does Apollo versus RME fall into that usual subjective sound quality? I've had the Audient interfaces on loan and they sounded different to the Crimson, bit more hyped in the top end, not as warm. To someone else, they're clear and clean and the Crimson is woolly. Just got to find what suits you, I suppose. The BFP just sounds right to me. The low end isn't quite as rounded but the clarity evens it out. 

SPL don't use Thesycon. They've got Ploytech doing the drivers. When the Crimson first came out, the driver was buggy but got reworked really quickly. I wouldn't say the Crimson drivers are piss poor, it really is more a case that I've simply got a slightly shit laptop when it comes to latency. When I had the Audients on loan, their Thesycon drivers were noticeably less effective than the Crimson Ploytech ones.

Decisions have been made though. I'm currently doing a clean install on the little Acer and I'm going to sell that. Worked long and hard on the PCS laptop. W10 1903 is horrible for latency connected to the NT kernel. 1909 is better so that is now in place. It's now running at a decent level with both the Crimson and BFP. Going to have a good clear out of the parts bin over the next week. The Crimson's going in the cupboard and will come out for use with the desktop next year. 

Now to wait for Live 11 to come out... 

 

Good to hear that the Crimson doesn't use Thesycon. That puts it on my "be interesting to try that out one day" list.

Sounds like a plan though! I'm still torn between Quantum and RME. I lean Quantum for the simple fact that I could get 16in-16out for a pretty decent price, and selling my Apollo would cover it.

Heartfeltdawn

I think Quantum is the way forward for you. Make it so!

Freebird

Heartfeltdawn said:

The BFP FS arrived a day early. 

Easy installation, easy setup, then out with my usual standard reference track: Rhapsody in Blue, 1959, Bernstein and the Columbia Symphony Orchestra. Headphones on. 

Fuck. Me. 

The clarity is astounding. The Crimson is a warm sounding interface and I totally understand now why some reviewers/users said it was like using tape compared to straight digital. Sounds mesh so well with the Crimson. With the BFP, you can hear everything so well and it knits together but it has slightly better top end. 

As ever, the driver performance is superb. It's halved the latency readings I was getting on the latop with LatencyMon and the Crimson. 

A great choice, with excellent latency performance, and the transparent preamp/converters are useful if you like to add some sonic colours from within the DAW. The Crimson is also a decent interface with it's own (analogue?) sound, and a headphone amp with plenty of juice. I do all of my general music listening through the Crimson, while using the BFP for the more analytical stuff such as mixing and sound design, etc. And of course the BFP is bus powered and very portable, which is great for trackng in the garden 

Freebird

goldtop said:

I've got some time to plan my i7-iMac-to-M1 migration. Part of that is about driver updates for the M1 and Big Sur. I'm in no real rush, but wondering if I should also migrate from the Fireface 400 (Firewire 400!) interface to something that plugs directly into Thunderbolt 3.

I like RME stuff and can use the FF400, but it requires a series of 3 clagnut adaptors:

• Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt 2 (£50!)
• Thunderbolt 2 to Firewire 800 (£30!)
• Firewire 800 to Firewire 400 (£10)

Whereas the PreSonus Quantum 2626 would plug straight in and (once drivers are available) give the big benefit of really low latency and easier workflow (no digital mixer to setup - just the DAW).

Any thoughts?

Maybe have a look at the MOTU 828es too?

goldtop

^ Will do, but from first glance, that's also TB and not the TB3 of the M1/2626?

And a search of 'M1' brings up: "MOTU products are not yet qualified for use with the new M1-powered Macs."

Freebird

Heartfeltdawn said:

...and now there's a Babyface Pro FS on the way.

I'm thinking of ordering  something from K M R, what are their delivery times like?

Heartfeltdawn

Freebird said:

Heartfeltdawn said:

...and now there's a Babyface Pro FS on the way.

I'm thinking of ordering  something from K M R, what are their delivery times like?

Ordered at 1036 on Thursday 17th December. It was here before 10am on Friday 18th. They use UPS and the tracking did say it'd be there on Monday so I was a little surprised to get it that early. Of all the couriers recently, UPS have been having the most problems. 

Freebird

goldtop said:

I've got some time to plan my i7-iMac-to-M1 migration. Part of that is about driver updates for the M1 and Big Sur. I'm in no real rush, but wondering if I should also migrate from the Fireface 400 (Firewire 400!) interface to something that plugs directly into Thunderbolt 3.

I like RME stuff and can use the FF400, but it requires a series of 3 clagnut adaptors:

• Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt 2 (£50!)
• Thunderbolt 2 to Firewire 800 (£30!)
• Firewire 800 to Firewire 400 (£10)

Whereas the PreSonus Quantum 2626 would plug straight in and (once drivers are available) give the big benefit of really low latency and easier workflow (no digital mixer to setup - just the DAW).

Any thoughts?

(If it matters, I'll almost certainly be using Logic, although the Quantum comes with a licence for the middle version of Studio One which I might try out.)

What did you get?

goldtop

I decided to stick with the RME and hide those awful clagnuts behind the desk. The M1/TB3 stuff will shake itself out in the next year or so, I expect, and then I can rethink then.