[CashNotCredit]

Hello all,

I acquired a PreSonus Audiobox USB last Christmas, and although I have very little experience with amps (or headphones, for that matter), am thinking it might be a keeper. At the $130 price point (sometimes as low as  $40 on Guitar Center Used), it has a Cirrus CS4270-CZZ DAC, which offers 24-bit, 192khz of...something. It's no Wolfson...but at least you can listen to all of those HD-CDs that never got made. Apparently, that's a decent number, especially for $50 plus shipping. Plus the mic pre-amps are pretty good, so that's a plus. 

I own a FiiO E5, and while this is not a great comparison, it's the best comparison I have. For starters, this thing gets plenty loud with ATH-M50s...which doesn't mean much, but still. I find myself only turning the all metal volume knob (all metal chassis...actually. Only plastic on it is the ports.) to 9 o'clock (it starts at about 7), and it's plenty loud for me. But even if I turn it all the way to 12 or 1, I hear no static or other noise. Unfortunately, I have no way to measure it, and I have little experience with amps/DACS, so I really don't know if it's good or not, or even what to test/look for.

Does anyone who owns/has listened to the AudioBox USB have any measurements or opinions on it? If anyone is willing to take a gamble on it, it's going for $50 from a Guitar Center in Texas. You have to search for an AudioBox USB, and it'll appear.

Worst case scenario, I'll update this thread with impressions after I attend the Central Michigan Head-Fi meet mid-August.

Hopefully, we have a winner on our hands.

Thanks,
~Will

 

[CashNotCredit]

Impressions from the Head-Fi meet were favorable, and this thing has a deceiving amount of power. I'm adequately powering a 600 Ohm pair of AKG K240 Monitors with it. It doesn't sound harsh, or warm, just flat and neutral. Kind of like a larger FiiO E7, only with a good amount of power and XLR/speaker/MIDI inputs and full aluminium construction (and knobs. WOOT!). There's one going for $59.99 from Guitar Center Online, so if you're in need of a decently powered USB transportable amp, and you're in a bit of a pinch, this thing might fit the build.

 

[manveru]

I've had good experience with pro audio interfaces. The good ones are fantastic deals. Super cheap (compared to a lot of "hifi" stuff), come with solid DACs, USB bus powered (I consider a plus since it's more convenient), good build quality, though the headphone amps can vary. Some are only about as powerful as an iPod, but the Presonus is more powerful than average. Output impedance can vary widely as well, though whether or not that's of any concern depends on what headphones you're using.

 

[Acix]

At $60 new, is probably one of the best options out there!

 

[CashNotCredit]

Quote:

At $60 new, is probably one of the best options out there!

$60 used. Should have clarified. They run about $140 new, but Guitar Center almost always has 3-4 used for under $70.

 

[Acix]

Quote:

$60 used. Should have clarified. They run about $140 new, but Guitar Center almost always has 3-4 used for under $70.

 
 
Well, in this case the NI kontron 1 will be a strong candidate.

 

[CashNotCredit]

Quote:

 
 
Well, in this case the NI kontron 1 will be a strong candidate.

$60 used vs. $120 used. The NI Kontrol 1 isn't made anymore, to my knowledge. But there are always 4+ used Audioboxes at Guitar Center for under $70 bucks. I've seen it get as low as $40.

 

[Logistics]

Have to chime in about this as I just received one of these from a friend, recently. It took me a while to get it set up because I needed RCA to 1/4" Mono Phono plug adapters, and I ordered a good USB cable with 20 gauge power wires for it. But anyway, I've been running a Schiit stack consisting of the Modi 2 Uber and Magni 3, but wanted to see how this Audiobox USB compared. Umm... ahem! This thing sounds significantly better than the Modi 2 Uber. Don't get me wrong, I'm not about to hock my Modi 2 Uber as it has such great connectivity options, and does sound great. But the Audiobox USB is just plain clearer, has more detail, better soundstage. It takes the hash out of many of the sounds, such as guitar strums and cymbal crashes, and reveals more detail. I'm literally, having to listen to my music library, again because I'm hearing new sounds and increased detail in tracks I'm already familiar with. I was hoping that this would be one of those hidden gems that gets tossed because it's the low end of music creation equipment, but that contains a quality DAC that could surpass other hardware, which is marketed differently--turns out that is exactly what happened. I'm thrilled with this thing!

Next, I'm going to upgrade the electrolytics in the signal paths to WIMA films. So giddy, right now!

 

[Logistics]

So over the course of time I did upgrade the electrolytics in the signal path to films. I originally, had ended up with only two of the WIMA radial 1.0uF films I ordered so I replaced the electrolytics between the DAC IC and the output OpAmp figuring that was the most important stage. The sound was noticeably clearer and soundstage improved. It was worth it. Now, many months later I finally got around to replacing the two (Digi-Key messed up for the first time... sent me two momentary switches instead of caps) between the output OpAmp and the output jacks. There is a HUGE difference. I thought that I was done hearing instruments that I hadn't noticed before, but listening to my music library I'm hearing instruments, which were in the background that I hadn't noticed, let alone distinguished from each other. Also, instruments have more texture... or timbre, however you look at it--guitars whose body reverberates more prominently, and string instruments like banjo's (thanks, Little Big Town) have very, very clear strings. I hate using flowery-sounding terms, but when it happens there isn't any other way to describe it. Voices are more defined.

I don't think there's anything else I can do with it. I could try one of those USB de-crappifiers, but without trying one I can't say I believe in them. I have a Supermicro power supply and the previously mentioned 20 ga Belden USB cable. I checked the draw from this unit and it's about 0.25A, which is probably the highest drawing USB component I have.

Anyway, happy listening!