PreSonus Studio 24c 2x2, 192 kHz, USB Audio Interface with Studio One DAW Recording Software

After nearly two months with the PreSonus Studio 24c replacing my broken Zoom U-24, I can confidently say this interface delivers where it matters most whilst revealing some frustrating design choices that hold it back from perfection. The Good Stuff The sound quality genuinely impressed me. Those XMAX-L preamps aren't marketing fluff - they're noticeably cleaner than what I had before, with enough headroom to handle my dynamic microphone without needing a cloudlifter. For content creation work like voiceovers and streaming, the clarity is spot-on. The 24-bit/192kHz capability means my recordings have that professional sheen that makes editing a pleasure rather than a chore. USB-C connectivity feels properly modern, and the bus-powered design means one less wall wart cluttering my desk. The metal construction feels reassuringly solid - this isn't going to fall apart if you're lugging it between locations. Where it gets frustrating The control layout is genuinely maddening. Five knobs crammed together on the front panel with the phantom power button squeezed in between - it's like they designed it for people with fairy fingers. I've accidentally knocked settings whilst reaching for the mix control more times than I care to admit. The headphone jack being round the back is another head-scratcher for anyone who actually uses headphones regularly. Against the competition Having researched extensively, the Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 consistently gets more expert recommendations, and I can see why - its layout is far more sensible. However, the Studio 24c has proper MIDI I/O, which the Scarlett lacks. For the same money, you're getting more connectivity options, even if they're packaged less elegantly. The Behringer alternatives cost less but reviews consistently mention more electronic noise. At this price point (around £70 used), the PreSonus hits a sweet spot between the budget options and the premium interfaces. The software bundle Studio One Artist is genuinely useful - far better than the basic DAWs usually bundled with interfaces. I didn't bother with most of the other included software, but having a proper DAW included adds real value. Bottom line This interface does exactly what I bought it for without fuss. The sound quality justifies the price, the build feels professional, and it's been completely reliable. Yes, the control layout is annoying, and yes, there are more user-friendly options available. But if you can live with reaching round the back for headphones and being careful with those cramped controls, you're getting excellent audio performance that'll serve you well for years. It's not the most elegant solution, but it's a proper tool that gets the job done without breaking the bank. After using various budget interfaces over the years, this strikes the right balance between price and performance for someone who needs clean audio without the premium price tag. Just wish they'd sort out that control layout in the next revision.

I originally submitted a review of this device slating the manufacturer. However, I am going to update the review... This usb interface is actually pretty ok. Maybe It felt shy or something the first time I tested it, but I have tested it again both on an sm7b (with Cloud lifter) and an SE X1S The Preamps- have a very clean -deep sound The Gain is 50db on this unit, the Focusrite Scarlett range boast 56db so slightly better gain and again a different sound. The 26c report 80db which, for sm7b users, may be the better option. Can't fault this device, Apologies for the initial poor first review ;-) Update: 19th January 2019 SO I upgraded to the 68C - Oh My Days!! Absolute brilliance. Beautiful set of Pre-amps All +65 Dbs - It's like comparing a focus and a jaguar, no comparison, these pre-amps drive my mics powerfully and no noticeable mic noise at all. The headphone amp is super powerful. and brings a real lively tone to my music The USB Interface works perfectly, I had issues with getting 'stereo' sound when using the 26c but the drivers for the 68c has sorted everything without complication for Windows 10 users. So I can run webinars, record videos, run FB Lives etc and have no concerns with sound at all. Using Adobe Audience is wonderful and mapping the channels is really easy. Presonus state the USB quality is 24bit @ 192KHz using USB C - I am getting 32 Bit Recording quality from this unit (it actually states 32bit @ 192Khz) - What more can I ask for??? Solid 5 stars for the 68c - It takes the Presonus into a completely different league It drives the Shure sm7b Dynamic mic wonderfully. It's the best sound I have achieved to date and do not need a Cloudlifter at all, as the levels are perfect for my voice. I may consider re-enforcing with another pre-amp, just to get more headroom, but I do not have to rush, it can do the job effortlessly as is. If you are considering a solid, Audio Interface to drive ANY mic, and have brilliant sound quality for a very competitive price, with USB C delivering 32Bit quality recording @ 192KHz, then look no further than the presonus 68c!

Edirol outbox went south. Needed to get my Mac talking to synths. This is a really good audio outbox. I'd say it's about spot on for the price. Not a lot wider than a Mac mini, records into Logic flawlessly, MIDI works well and the phantom power doesn't have any fluctuations or drops like the damned Edirol this replaced (a moment of silence please). I've tried a couple of apps for latency, I've dropped all the way down to 4ms on Logic and got no clatter or cutout, so it's as low as needed. Oddly, I've not used the bundled software. I'm sure there's nothing wrong with it, but I'm used to what I've got already.

After a bit of setup, the PreSonus 1810c is working great on my Fedora 41 system with ADAT (using the Behringer ADA8200). I'll detail some of the things I had to do to get things working below, but your Linux system may have varying results. At first the sample rate was stuck at 88.2kHz, and therefore I was only able to use 4 of the 8 additional ADAT inputs. However I quickly found you can change it to 44.1kHz by adding "snd-usb-audio vid=0x194f pid=0x010c device_setup=1" (no quotes) to "/etc/modprobe.d/alsa.conf" (create the file if it doesn't exist). After that, reboot, and you should find all the ADAT inputs available at 44.1kHz. You can change device_setup's value to choose different sample rates. I also made sure to pick the 1810c Pro Audio profile in KDE's audio settings, rather than the Surround 7.1 option, so that applications know I'm in stereo. After sorting those things out, I added all the inputs and outputs I needed in Bitwig under pipewire, and it's been smooth sailing so far. The interface itself is nice too, it feels solid and I like how the knobs feel. As far as I know, the next cheapest interface that has ADAT, and is known to play nice with Linux like this one does, is the Behringer UMC1820, which might not appeal to those looking for something that has better build quality and reputation. For those people I highly recommend trying this out.

I initially bought the 24c version of this. The unit is well built, well packed and a great price, the free software is great and a step about audacity. I had to return though - why? The key as to which you buy will need to really depend on your microphone. I am using the Rode NT2 and the 24c is just woefully underpowered to make that mic work. At Max gain I was only just getting the mic to clip, so the headroom to play with the settings on the unit were virtually nil. Using some software gain helped, but it’s not the solution. As my mic needs about 50hz to activate and this unit maxes out at 50 (and in some tests nearer 44) it just did not work for me. Shame, becaise for a simple cheap 2 input unit, is nice. Swapped then for a 68c. Which works perfectly. A smoother sound due to the higher spec amps and with a gain that goes to 65 much more room to play. The unit build is same but it’s larger and the signal indicators on the front seem to work better as well. I managed to get a warehouse deal, which was even better and not then a huge difference in cost for the performance. Note you have to plug in the 68, which might also account for the ability to power better and the 24 is usb powered. My main challenge with the 68 was it came stinking of cigarette smoke. Pretty sure this was the driver and not the warehouse but had to leave the packaging outside for a day to get rid of the smell.

Fabulous piece of kit. Great quality, great price.

I've hooked mine up via a USB switch so I can use it with a Pi5 running Raspberry Pi OS Bookworm or a tower PC running Kubuntu LTS, and it runs flawlessly with both. No jumping through hoops to get it working as the Linux kernel immediately recognised it on both computers. Sound quality is as amazing as the specs imply, and noise is virtually non-existent when driving the inputs with line level signals. It's capable of driving my 64 Ohm Sennheiser HD280 Pro headphones nicely up to an unbearably loud volume level with no audible distortion, so no complaints there either. I got mine when it was on sale recently for just £74 and consider this to be outstanding value for money for the level of performance it delivers. Overall performance matches that of some other manufacturer's offerings costing over twice as much, so definitely give PreSonus a look if you haven't already.

Fantastic addition to our church's production equipments. We purchased this to boost the sound being received from our digital mixer for our online streaming and made a lot of difference. It distorts sometimes so not advisable to put up the gain too much if you are using this for that purpose. All I all, happy with this product.

Perfect

Estoy encantado con este Audio-Interface de Presonus. La Studio 68C con su 4 entradas con previos de micro (2 linea - 2 instrumento) y 4 salidas a un precio realmente bueno, me resulta muy versátil y me ha sorprendido la calidad. Yo diría que incluso mejor que la Scarlett 8i6 que es la otra que tengo. Se nota sobre todo en la salida general y en la de auriculares, mucho mejor en la Presonus. En fin, en esta gama tarjetas de sonido estamos experimentando una estupenda relación calidad/precio.

Scusate se è poco, ma Studio One 5 Artist sono 99 euro di software compresi nel prezzo. Compreso trovate anche Ableton Live lite, che è una versione parecchio limitata e che poco ha a che vedere con la versione Artist di Studio One. Nella mia inesperienza l'ho trovato molto più intuitivo nell'utilizzo e grazie ai tutorial in rete in 10 minuti stavo registrando. La cosa che più mi interessava era poter utilizzare AmpliTube e BIAS FX 2, ma in rete ho scoperto che con la versione Artist bisogna sborsare 80 euro per poter utilizzare plugin esterni. Mi ero quasi rassegnato ad acquistare l'add-on, ma nelle specifiche era menzionato Studio Artist 3 e 4 ma non il 5. Così ho provato ad usare i plugin esterni con il semplice drag and drop sulla traccia e .... felicità! Con Studio Artist 5 i plugin esterni funzionano. Un bel Bonus. Al di la delle caratteristiche tecniche, comunque notevoli se non per il fatto che con il cavo aggiuntivo in dotazione abbiamo anche ingresso e uscita sia MIDI che S/PDIF, la costruzione impressiona subito per la solidità: veramente massiccio, con i fianchi laterali blu in alluminio pressofuso e lamiere spesse. E' pesante e tutto dà l'idea di un oggetto di qualità, dai potenziometri alle prese, che agguantano un jack con una tale solidità che non lascia dubbi sulla bontà del collegamento. Sono rimasto meno impressionato dall'alimentatore, ma per ora sono molto soddisfatto dell'acquisto.

I purchased this to downsize from an old Presonus FP10. They just make good products, period. The only issue I had was that there is no hardware mixer (i.e. knob on the unit itself) between the two outs (main and line out) but Presonus told me how to achieve the same result with Audio Midi Setup in my Mac's OS.

المنتج جاني مستعمل