Best Home Studio Set Up (2024 Update)

This recording set is very good for price quality & financing is wonderful. They has tremendously helped me & it definitely will help you with your recording & I would recommend this to anybody who wants to elevate their talents as an artist.Zadarius Varner

Received everything. Simple to get started. The only problem that I had was getting pro tools to install correctly. Other than that, I've been creating and composing.Guitarman

Not a beginner level program but Excellat for the novice or pro musician. many easy to use features and love the fact its all in one. Set up was not so simple its not plug in and play 🙂Kaykay

Full Disclosure: I purchased on another site. I bought it because the new iPad Pro does not have a headphone jack and I was using the iRig before, and it was the same price(other site)as the iRig Pro I/O, and it came with a mic, XLR cable, and studio headphones. I figured if it wouldn't work with the new iPad, I would use it on my windows based laptop. I did need an adaptor to run the hardware, and went with the multimedia adaptor from Apple witch has usb-c, usb, and HDMI inputs on it. The new iPad even powers the Audiobox, so I didn't even have to run a separate line for power. Just run the power through the adaptor and I'm good to go. It Worked with AmpliTube software. I haven't tried it with the *FREE* Capture Duo software. My biggest gripe was I couldn't figure out how to get the Bluetooth headphones to work for monitoring. So, I had to use some studio headphones direct into the Audiobox. So I think the other iOS user must have missed something. If you are running an iOS device and are looking for an interface, this one will work.Mevogt

I can't fault the equipment in this package. I've only had it a week but the quality of the hardware looks to be good. Headohones are comfortable and the interface is fine. The only thing I would fault is the lack of intstructions, it took me quite a long time and 4 YouTube tutorials before I got everything set up and working. The software is massive, I have only scratched the surface with what it can do, and every time I want to do something new it's back to searching YouTube for tutorials. If you know what you're doing with music recording great, if not expect to be learning for a while.Reviewed by guitarguitar custome

This product is very easy to navigate through and was exactly what I was looking for! Thanks to RICH and Elliot for all of their help! I will definitely be seeing those guys again!JOHN

Affordable bundle with evetrything you need to start recording. The only issue I have is receiving code for a free software.MARIA

I purchased this bundle, and am surprised how easy everything is to use. It was very easy to set up, and I was able to start recording the same day I purchased it. This is great bundle!Ryan

It's easy to use! Easy to install! Over all great product ?? love it! I own presonus products because they are amazing. The customer service is top notch! Especially if you are a recording artist and on a budget. This is a great way to get going and compete! Recommended 100 %Noe

pretty decent interface. very powerful levels on the knobs. not as high quality in terms of sound compared to higher ends, it's a good mid range interface. sturdy aluminum casing makes it safe to lug around too. here are the specs: Specifications Microphone Preamp TypeXLR Female BalancedFrequency Response (3.0 dB) 20 Hz to 20 kHz Input Impedance (Balanced) 1200 THD+N (unwtd, 1 kHz @ +4 dBu Output, Unity Gain)< 0.008%S/N Ratio (Unity Gain, Ref. = +4 dBu, 20 Hz to 22 kHz)> 95 dBCommon Mode Rejection Ratio (1 kHz, 55 dB Gain)> 45 dBGain Control Range ( 1 dB)0 dB to 35 dBMax Input Level (Unity Gain, 1 kHz @ 0.5% THD+N)-3 dBuPhantom Power (2 VDC)+48 VDC Instrument Input Type" TS Female Unbalanced Input Impedance 0.5 M Line Outputs Type" BalancedOutput Impedance51 Headphone Output Type" TRS Active StereoMaximum Output60 mW/Ch @ 60 LoadFrequency Response (1.0 dB)20 Hz – 30 kHz MIDI I/O TypeDual 5-pin Female DIN Digital Audio ADC Dynamic Range (A-wtd, 48 kHz Sample Rate) 105 dBDAC Dynamic Range (A-wtd, 48 kHz Sample Rate) 105 dBBit Depth24Reference Level for 0 dBFS+4 dBuInternal Sample Frequency Selections (kHz)44.1, 48, 88.2, 96PowerUSB 2.0 bus-powered Physical Dimensions1/3U (steel chassis) Height5.5 (139.7 mm) Depth1.75" (44.45 mm) Width5.5 (139.7 mm) Weight5 lbs (2.27 kg)badasscrusader

Purchased a month ago. Came w/everything I needed to get started. Easy to understand. The setup was quick and easy. I'm new to audio engineering. Currently in school and needed equipment to be able to work at home. PreSonus was recommended by a friend. Checked it out for myself and made the purchase. I'm very glad I did. I've been recording assignments for school as well as recording vocals at home and sending to independent artists for their music projects. During this pandemic, we have remain apart so having, learning and using the Audiobox USB 96 Studio Bundle has not only increased my educational experience but has allowed me to record for others independently and record for myself as well. This has opened new doors for me. The sound quality from the mic is great and my room is not treated well at all. I would definitely recommend this to others!Karen B.

Super cool per il podcasting e i video di supporto EVO sono davvero chiari nel mostrare quanto sia semplice ottenere un suono eccezionale quando si utilizza la fantastica funzione loopback per il podcasting a patto che si conosca l' inglese. Ottimi i consigli dell' eccellente assistenza tecnica di musicalstore005!walter B.

Not user friendly, very confusing for first time users. It’s just sitting here cannot seem to get it to work properly. Even with the directions. Maybe I’m just slowChard

I am just getting started. I installed this as well as Reaper, and Bias FX 2. Followed the instructions from FocusRite and went to internet as well. I did not use the Protools or Ableton. I am still in the learning phase. My computer is a Dell with an i3 processor and a standard hard drive. The hard drive can interfere with the audio. I moved the input to the rear of the computer and it eliminated a lot of "popping" induced by the spinning HDD. I would recommend a better processor and a solid state drive to try. I am enjoying it, and my improvement in playing guitar is audible.Danno

The microphone and the interface are ideal for my songwriting and my composing. I have recorded a few demos with them, that I'm already so excited to master. These are the best headphones I've ever heard. The quality of sound is ideal for the stereo output into other speakers and audio sources. This helps me clean and polish tracks! Also, very useful DAW bundle. I love that I can try out Ableton without having to buy the standard ver. Very satisfied with my purchase 🙂MARIA

This is the only audio interface I've owned, it has worked well for me so far. Used with Garage Band on Macbook Pro to record direct electric guitar. The Scarlett has an instrument button to use with DI instruments like electric guitar and bass. Comes with ProTools First however this didn't work for me as it seems to be incompatible with MacOS Catalina. Also comes with Ableton Live which I haven't tried yet. I purchased Bias FX 2 Standard separately and have used it with this too. It's been great so farCarl

The RODE NT1 has long been a mainstay for any recording studio. This was my chance to get one and I have to say it's reputation has not been overstated. I have and have worked with many microphones in the last 50 years and the RODE NT1 has just become my all around "go to" mic. From it's almost noiseless "floor" (4.5) to it's crystal clear warm overtones, this microphone is pure joy to work with and at an affordable price. Top that off with RODE's 10 year manufacturer's warranty and you'll be hard pressed to find a better deal. I couldn't. Thank you Sam Ash for being close by and having my order in record time. KUDOS, Navy House Studio, Richmond, VA.Budmoe

Note the pop filter is no longer the same steel one pictured in the product photos, RODE uses a more standard circular mesh filter compared to the steel mesh. Nonetheless, still works amazingly and for the price/bundle + quality for a starting XLR set, it’s fantastic. Sounds clear, professional, there’s a reason the NT1 has been popular for so long now. Only gripe I have is the USB power – using my M1 iMac (which has only USB-C), even using a dongle in the thunderbolt port didn’t seem to power the mic enough which resulted in a LOT of crackling. Had to buy a USB-C cable capable of 100W and plugged in directly to my iMac, solved the issue. If you’re a Mac user, I recommend swapping the cable unless you have a USB type-A port capable of properly powering this mic. However, that’s just my experience, your experience may differ especially if you’re using PC, which I can’t vouch for. Overall though, highly satisfied.WhoelsebutCoop

If you are considering the purchase of your first condenser microphone, then I highly recommend the Rode NT1 Kit. – High build Quality – Everything you need comes in the kit – Strong signal – Low noise – Perfect on vocals and acoustic guitar When broadcasting on JamKazam and micing my acoustic with the NT1: someone that I play with frequently on JamKazam asked me; "What guitar are you using?", before answering I asked why do you ask? They said it sounds amazing. Then I told them its my Ovation elite that I always play, it is just that I am micing it with my new Rode NT1. To which they replied…Wow it sounded like you had a different guitar…it sounds so full and rich. I have had this microphone for a couple of weeks now and it has met and surpassed my expectations. Before buying I did my research into all condenser mics in the $300 range; compared specs, product reviews like this one. If you are on the fence about which condenser mic to buy to get started with, get off the fence and get yourself the Rode NT1 Kit. Trust me, you will not be disappointed.David

Sound: I finally upgraded from the rigged up home stereo, and headphones. That Bass is so clean. It doesn't rattle my windows, or walls, or anything for that matter. The sound stays inside the speakers. That's always been one of my biggest problems with Bass. It travels and vibrates everything, kind of annoying and distracting when your hear stuff rattling WITH your music. This is my first pair of studio monitors. Not speakers but monitors. Improvise and make due with what you have until you're able to upgrade right? I've had some gnarly sound systems, but never any actual studio monitors until I got these. Honestly they're perfect. They are the perfect monitors for the home studio. Features: I love the digital eq parameter on the back of each monitor. It allows ultimate flexibility for dialing in the sound exactly how you want it. The general aesthetic of it is pretty dope too. They also have an app for iphone/android so its literally made for anyone who's anyone. I love that universal compatibility. It simplifies a lot. Ease of Use: It was pretty self explanatory. For being my first set of monitor speakers all I did was unbox them, hook them up to my interface, cranked them on, dialed in the sound. Boom done! It doesn't get any easier. Quality: You can tell they took their time engineering these speakers. They're very well crafted. I see me using these for several years before I even think about getting another pair. It's got an 8 inch speaker, and a little 1 inch tweeter. Don't let that fool you. These speakers were much bigger than I expected. All the sound stays inside the speaker. It makes a huge difference when it comes to canceling out all the excess noise& vibrations. Windows, stuff on shelves, doors, etc. Very well crafted. Value: The price is fair. In my honest opinion. I wouldn't say they're overpriced, and they're definitely not cheap. Thanks to zounds, guys/girls like me can get their hands on some amazing equipment. The Wow Factor: I didn't NEED the speakers, but I was getting tired of just my headphones. Sometimes I can spend all day in my studio, especially when im off work. Or half a day at the least. After a while those headphones start to hurt and become uncomfortable on the tops of my ears. I generally just wanted to upgrade my studio.Of course I love the general aesthetic of the speakers too. They seriously look bad a$$ just sitting there on my desk with all of my gear. It looks very nice. Gives me more of that "studio feel" and it feels good. It's nice to finally have the option of headphones or speakers. And not just speakers, but speakers that were specifically made for this kind of stuff. Overall: These speakers are the SH!T!!!! They sound so good and they're much bigger than I expected. Clean bass. Literally nothing vibrates or rattles. All that Bass and sound stays inside the speakers. Did I mention that they sound amazing? Shipping was extremely fast. I had them 1 day after ordering. Super happy with these krk8s. I got 1 step down from the krk 10-3. I just need to get my hands on the sub now. This is the prefect size for a home studio. The eq on the back of each monitor is an awesome addition as well, so you can dial in that sound just right. Krk did amazing with these. I can see why they're universally loved. There's nothing to dislike about them. 10/10 perfect studio monitors. You won't be disappointed. As always zZounds rocks, and makes my life so much easier. Aside from local music shops, zZounds is the only place I order from. They've been nothing but good to me. Thank you zZounds for helping me bring me dreams to life!!!!J.

I spent a lot of time to read and watch reviews on these monitors before deciding to purchase them from Andertons who offered them in the best price around for an overseas customer. They were replacing a pair of Yamaha HS80m (yes, this is not a typo!) Due to moving to a smaller place, I needed to downsize and replace my big monitors with something much more compact that would still produce decent quality sound. The plan is to pair them with a small sub (Eris sub8). What can I say about these small beauties! No hiss at all, except you stick your ear to the twitters, something that HS80M is not famous for. Sound wise, I put them next to the Yamahas and was alternating between the 2 pairs. Yamahas had of course more low end and depth due to the larger woofer, but I could now hear an annoying boost in middle / middle high bands that made them sound a bit plasticky compared to the RP5 G4's. The G4's on the other hand, sounded more natural/neutral, less-fatiguing for longer sessions and very nice for regular listening apart from mixing work. What I hear is in line with the results of the Audio Science Review tests. Their looks are great, now upgraded with KRK grills, and their construction looks very strong and long-lasting (time will show of course). Super happy with my purchase, Yamahas are already gone and I am waiting for my sub8 to complete my new dream studio 🙂Reviewed by Andertons Music Co.

Forget everything you know about the KRK Rockits. The G3's are critically panned and most pro audio customers worth their salt have steered CLEAR of the KRK and the Rockits because of admittedly how awful the Gen 3's were. KRK has fixed everything that was wrong with the G3's. No more flabby overwhelming bass. No more "clamped" sound. Headroom is stellar even from the 5's, and the 7's and 8's are great steps up. Larger front porting is necessary, and the app integration that allows you to set up your monitors for your room is a game changer. I would have never previously recommended anyone buy the G3's over even Yamaha monitors, and especially not over the Adam Audio T5V's or the LP6 Kali's. These monitors show just how much KRK wants to bring a better product to market and how much they listened to feedback. I highly recommend the Gen 4's. Steer clear of the Gen 3's, no matter how deep of a sale they end up on. The Gen 4's are an entry level monitor that punches well above their weight, and you can feel great about picking up a pair to use for years to come.Donny Two Thumbs

Good sounding compact studio monitors. If you manage to get hold a working pair then they are quite good. There are better sounding speakers out there but these are not terrible. I always use an EQ instead of sending a flat signal so there are always some enhancements. There are significant design issues. Zener Diodes on the PCB burn out due to immense heat generated. They are easily replaceable but would you really want to? Additionally, the rear switch for deciding which speaker is Left/Right is cheap and can become faulty. This will affect the output sound. Again, not a difficult fix for the competent electronics hobbyist. I am not sure but I think the newer X series have those two issues resolved which makes them a better purchase than the old CR4 version. That said, a second hand pair of CR4 that have been properly repaired should last a long time with zero faults, which makes them worth every penny (at used price)g_thirteen

I purchased these as computer speakers for my desk at work, back in January of 2016. I work in an office, where I can't get too loud, so it's not like I was working them hard. I even turned them off every night when leaving the office, so they had a really soft life. At low volumes, I found that they performed very well at providing great sound up close, while still being effectively inaudible to my coworkers. So for my needs, they worked perfect. Then, one day back in June, I noticed that the left hand speaker had no sound. I checked wiring, everything was hooked up, I swapped the R and L RCA inputs at the back of the speaker and the problem stayed with the speaker, so the cable was fine. Then I touched the speaker position selection switch on the back of the RH speaker and suddenly the sound came back. It was clear the selector switch had gone bad. With time, I found that the LH speaker would fall out more and more frequently. wiggling the switch, I could usually get it to come back for a while, but eventually that stopped working too. I was able to flip the switch, so that the channels were reversed and got them to work again for yet a little while longer, but now after 4 more months of trying to finesse it, it's next to impossible to get it playing both channels at the same time. The speakers only carry a 1 year warranty, so I wasn't getting any help from the manufacturer. I was hoping that the switch might be serviceable, but after taking the cover off the back of speaker to look, I found that they glue over all of the components on the board, to ensure that you can't fix anything on these speakers. So instead of being able to continue enjoying the speakers, I'm going to give someone, other than Mackie, my money to replace them. There really is no reason these speakers should have started braking down so quickly.Tom

I am simply trying to record guitar riffs through my scarlet solo. I owned these for 2 weeks. These monitors also had to replace my everyday computer speakers. These Mackie monitors were absolute garbage! Sounded like manure. Also had a constant hissing noise. I called Mackie 3 times and left 3 messages for technical support. they never got back to me. I could twist a cable in the back, and it was obviously a bad cable that came with the product. but even had I bought a new cable, they still sound horrible. Adjusted all my sound settings and equalizers, it could not handle any kind of music. DO NOT BUY THESE!!Mark

I moved my home studio to a new room recently. I had some Alesis Monitor 2 speakers, which are good for filling a room, but not good for monitors at the desk, so I picked up a couple Rokit 6's. I also have plans to eventually add some Auratone monitors as well. The problem then is, of course, that you have two or three sets of monitors and need to switch them. I could switch the power easily enough, and already had an American DJ power switch box I had used in the past, but decided to get one of these. Okay, for switching between three sources and three monitors this box is a bit of a luxury, but I spent a lot of money on the room, so that luxury was worth it to me and I really love this box. I generally work on video, with some music work as well, mostly backgrounds/ambiance. It's great to have that volume control right there on the desk. The box is rather small and hides between my two monitors. It has a mute button and a dim button. I love dim. Someone walks in and wants to talk to you, you just hit that and chat. I'm my myself, so I don't have a use for talkback and the headphone monitor stays on main, though I could see a use for cue later on. One thing that is not clear from the description: you can have multiple inputs on at the same time. So, my computer audio and mix audio generally both stay selected, but you can turn any off at any time. One thing I have to say about Presonus: Their products are beautiful. I have an 1818VSL as well and they clearly have someone with great talent for design, since both look fabulous around my desk.Charles

Love love love this product. This is my 2cd monitor station from Presonus. The first one my children broke it and I went a year or so without it but now I have some projects coming up and I need to come T all my monitors and sub woofers so I purchased again. Easy to set up. 3 monitor sources 4 separate headphone jacks with built in headphone amps so this covers a lot of area in a small desktop build.#TooMuch

I had the previous version of this unit and it lasted for 10 years. It failed, was no longer supported for repairs, and I looked at what was out there. The new version is sleeker-looking with a black finish and was a really good option for replacement. As I use two pairs for speakers for checking my mix and have a sub, I really like that I can put a pair on the "A" speaker select, another on the "B" speaker select, and the sub on the "C" speaker select. It makes it really easy to take them in and out without having ot mess with volume controls. It also drives my booth headphones.vanhalen26505

Compact solid unit. Well designed and made. Great provision of inputs and outputs. Sits on the desk nicely alongside the computer. Really good price with masses of usable software. Be aware the software is a mixed blessing. There is so much it is tedious to download. I am really happy. It can do much more but I just wanted it for basic multi-track recording at the work desk.Geoff F.

My application is a dedicated MIDI/audio interface for a VirTual Theater Pipe organ. A MIDIfied console from an actual 1920's Theater pipe organ drives a complex MIDI switching system which in turn drives a sample player. MIDI information is transferred to and from the console, utilizing the USB 96. The audio from the sample player is also output to reverb and power amps via the USB 96, so it has a lot of work to do. The USB 96 never misses a beat with 8-channel two-way MIDI as well a very clean audio stream duplicating all the complexities of a WurliTzer theater organ. The unit replaces both a MidMan Anniversary 2 x 2 which would occasionally give MIDI glitches and a Creative Labs sound card, a necessary move when organ operations were transferred from a desktop to a laptop and from Win7 to Win10. Installation was seamless, and the unit performs perfectly in its application. It works so well, I got a second one for music production on my DAW, which is also used for sample processing for the organ. These devices are rock solid.Les

I'm very happy with my purchase, the sound is nice and clear if you tune the knob levels correctly to avoid any static noise. I have tested it with my guitar, Keyboard and microphone and the static noise was minimum (also depends on device connected) You can also filter out the noise using noise reduction feature in any DAW or audio editor such as Audacity or Reaper.so your recordings are noise free. Bear in mind that if you want to use both mono inputs and separate the channels into stereo, one left and one right you have to do this through your DAW or Audio editor, because the headphone outputs each channel as a stereo channel when monitoring the inputs. I also love the Midi interface feature which works great with older keyboards and midi notes don't get stuck if you play chords in both ways (in and out) Overall it's a good budget sound box, exactly what I needed to use it for simple audio projects.dg-systems

Integrates well with Cubase but not a requirement. Great bargain and a ton of power with a small footprint. Of course the limitation is two inputs, but sometimes depending on application that is enough. Good sounding with quality preamps and zero-latency monitoring of input signals. Cubase AI comes free with it and is also very powerful, although it's a bit complicated to set up. User just needs to be patient and follow the instructions. MacPro Video offers some very good instruction at a reasonable cost, but there are other instructional videos out there that are free via YouTube. Be willing to start off slow and you should have little or no problems.dpuc_0

Looked for what seemed like ages for a confirmed working and decent quality audio interface for the usb c ipad pros. A lot of manufacturers are pretty non-committal. Paired it with a usb c hub and everything works immediately and well. High quality hardware, great sounding pre and latency is not to be found of any concern. If you are looking to make music on the ipad pro with a usb c then this is a viable option to consider. Works with garageband too with no issues. Comes with some software but not worth trading garageband for. I did not buy the 50 buck version of their app. Maybe better?KC

I've had this for two years, windows 10 no troubles at all. I love the built in amp sims and reverb. It allows you to record your guitar direct and hear it through a virtual amp latency free. The amp sim effects can be sent to the mix or not. This is great if you want to experiment with amp/cab sims later. My unit came with the proper usb C cable. I love itRyan

It was a birthday gift for my husband who is into composing music. It was an upgrade from his previous device. He is enjoying working with it and funds it easy to adapt to. It's compact compared to previous ones and the colors are quite bright. Anyone into music I'm sure would enjoy it.skittlebird714

This product is amazing. It arrived in 2 days, as promised by American Musical, who I'm forever grateful for all my music-related items. The item arrived and it was an easy carry (I'm a strong man, so it wasn't really hard to carry. It was about 32 Kg, or 60-ish pounds give or take). The table itself came very neatly packaged, everything was perfect and nothing within it had any imperfections. Be careful when building the table! It gets scratched very easily! The instructions were very easy to follow, and all the components worked perfectly and were complete. After a week with this table, it definitely has helped my workflow and is very ergonomic. This has been the best decision on furniture I've taken in a while now. Thank you so much On Stage for creating this table.Oscar

I got this workstation to be able to have both my computer keyboard and my synth in front of me when producing, and it does a fantastic job at that. I don't even use the keyboard tray for the keyboard as I find it a bit too low for me so I just use it as extra storage, but the fact there's an upper platform for the screen and such gives me SO MUCH ROOM that I can put both the synth and the computer keyboard in front of me on the main surface. The upper platform is pretty big as well, I can easily fit my 23 screen as well as 2 studio monitors. I was worried it would be a bit cramped there but it's not! And it's pretty deep as well so I still have plenty of room on the top platform to put random stuff there if I need to. I like that there is two possible positions for the upper platform (closer or further back). I put it closer to me because I'm in a pretty small space, but if you have the room, you can put it further back so it opens up a bit more the main surface. It was pretty straightforward to build, only the keyboard tray required me to think a bit but the rest was dead simple. I really like the color, I find that it looks even better in real life than on the photo. Lastly, it shipped and arrived super fast even though it ships from the US (for free!) and I'm in Canada, so that was a great surprise!Valerian

So, as a broadcaster, I felt this product would be perfect to have. My old setup was a much smaller desk that I could only fit one monitor on, my mouse, and a mixer. The desktop and keyboard had to sit on the floor. Now, I can fit a desktop and two monitors on the top board, while on the main one, I have my mixer, game consoles and controllers to go with them. As a finished product, it's absolutely fine. No problems here so far after I finished building it three hours before writing this review. However, it took me five total hours to build since not only was I by myself, but also due to the fact that QA didn't seem to be on the minds of the manufacturer. The locking nuts were a complete pain to thread any bolts through, so I had to thread each one on another side of the nuts with the provided minimalist tools, having to unthread them before attaching the cross bars to the z legs. Then, there was the keyboard tray assembly. The bolts had to practically be pushed into the holes with force to get through the overlapping top coat that covered the wood, and even then trying to thread them was a pain. Though, once that hurdle was clear, I was able to tackle the main board with ease, attaching the keyboard tray assembly to it, then attaching the rest of it to the rest of the build was easy compared to the total pain from the previous steps. So, would I recommend this? Yes, but only if you have someone to help you and if you're experienced with building kits like this.Chris of Midnight Owl Radio

Took awhile to get these. I was on a wait list for about 3 months with 3 different companies and got lucky one night when it showed available on the Sony website. I bought the sub from best buy. Opened box for $100 off. It was the only one available about 15 miles away. I had random drop outs and scooted the hta9 receiver about a foot further away from my router (which in now about 5 feet apart) and now no drop outs. I get the occasional drop outs when someone walks in between speakers but it is wireless so it makes sense. Deal with it. But so far so good. My living room is pretty big and the hta9 fills the room. The phantom center is the highlight of the system. The dialogue is clear and bright. No more subtitles….. finally. Coming from a traditional atmos 5.1.2 setup with SVS PB200 sub setup, I’ll give this sound system a solid 8. If Sony ever patches and implements an option to adjust tone such as treble etc or even add our own sub then it’ll be 10. I’ll throw in a few more: better volume response (it’s slow/delayed) and an option to increase atmos up firing volume. Until then it’s an 8. These speakers are bright (a tad bit high-pitched). Give us an option to correct it and it’s golden. If you’re coming from a soundbar with wireless sub setup (or soundbar with rears + sub) then it’s a 10. They look great too. Blends in well. Wifey approved. I was on the fence to return these at one point due to the fact there’s minimal tonality adjustment options. The reasoning that tilt the scales to keep them were cosmetics and wireless capabilities. My wife would not want my traditional floor standing speakers in our new home living room. But hey… that’s life. We can’t have everything.PeterParker

Let me start off by saying that i have a traditional 5.1.4 setup in my bedroom and this thing is impressive! I watched alot of 4K blurays and never have i heard immersion like I am with the sony. I’ve compared this to many soudbars(Sonos Arc + Sub & Ones, Sennheiser Ambeo, Q990B, Bose 900 w/ sub and surrounds). None of them come close to this with the level of immersion however the Ambeo is a beast and does a fair job for being a soudbar. If the speakers arent too far apart the phantom center does an excellent job, i have them about 8 ft from each other. The atmos is so good and very close to a proper atmos setup. The roar in jurrasic park will send chills down your spine. The moment batman starts up his batmobile in new batman movie will put a smile on your face. Dune will completely make your jaw drop. Hereditary will have you looking over your shoulder.. and so on. The level of immersion this system provides blows me away, i havent had any disconnect issues and it’s worked great so far. HOWEVER, if you buy this system make sure you get the SW5 sub, if you fail to do so you will not have the same experience. With that being said, I highly recommend this for movies 100%.iimprovisee

I orignally purchased the A7000 along with sw3 sub and rs5 rear speakers. My living room is a open layout connected to the dining area. While I enjoyed this setup with great center cannel dialogue and rear atmos speakers, it wasn’t as immersive as i expected which I belive is due to my open room layout(understand sound bars will never provide true front separation) Missing a side wall to reflect acoustics doesn’t fully utilize the A7000’s abilities. Those with smaller rooms and side walls could have a better experience. After much research, HTA9 seems to fit the part, better front separation. While, these systems can never replace a true HT Setup, it really serves its purpose and provide more flexibility to without wires. Sound quality is fantastic and with the right content, you really feel the full immersion. It’s as if you are wearing a headset. The phantom center does a great job at simulating the center channel but this would be the only negative. Ive paired this with my A80J as the center channel which is certainly helps with center dialogue. This will be personal preference based on how it sounds. Between the sw3 and sw5 sub, the latter provides deeper bass and wider range to suit your needs. SW3 at level 10-12 is equivalent to a 3-4 on the SW5. If you live in a small apartment, recommend the SW3, other wise go for the Sw5.Rich

I have two AVID Mboxes that I have used for years. The Focusrite Solo 3rd Generation is so much better. I bought the Recording package with the CM25 MIC and Headphones at least half the cost of my MBOX mini and MBOX2. The Preamps are amazing, The MIc is great, the flat response headphones for mixing are very clear and The interface is very easy to install and set up. Most importantly the recording freq of 192KHZ gives you a very pristine recording for acoustic guitar and vocals. The other recording interfaces being sold in this price range are 96 kHz or 48 kHz. The Air button gives your recordings a live sound which is very cool. The stock plugins are also good and there is enough for your mixing needs. It also comes with a Few free DAW options. You Can download free plugins, join the Focusrite plugin collective and start on a project within a few mins. thus is a good ProductDavis Roy Wilbury

I bought this to record my band using a single condenser mic setup. It seems to work very well. Drivers are recognized by Windows (11). Solid metal casing. Provides phantom power for the condenser mic. I use Audacity to control the recording and edit the results. It comes with several free downloadable software packages, but I have not tried them. I had a Behringer U-Phoria UM2, but is kind of clunky and does not have a good ASIO driver. Plastic casing.g-oracle

Thankfully they have changed the rear power input to USBC, which is great news. My last one never got used because the input was broken, it ran a similar cable to a printer. Warranty runs out after one year and I never even got to use it. It costs the same amount to post out and repair as to buy another new one. Definitely make sure you're getting USBC. Don't wrap the cable around when storing and transporting. Unplugging is absolute must. Take care of your gear. Quality wise, it does the job. If recording directly you will need to have a DAW with VST3I, VST, VST3 files to augment the sound virtually. It basically turns your computer into an amp. Only for those who wish to record at home and avoid studio costs. Don't waste your time if you don't have a computer. Check for Mac compatibility.AeonOvTerror

1. You cannot use it in standalone mode, so computer is always required (It will not take power from USB power supply). This become a problem when I was trying to feed output to the camera which is connected by USB to the same computer. It creates vary bad case of ground loop. 2. It is not going to give you good sound on high impedance headphones. My Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro 80 Ohm work, but have weak low freq. 3. Preamp for dynamic mic might be noisy. I am using Rode PodMic and for effective gain I am on edge of introducing noise. You may need to use something like Cloudlifter ($150) depends on your gain requirements.Roman

This audio interface was easy to set up and came with a lot of really cool free software. It’s pretty simple but does great for what it was designed for. I’d give it an A+ If you’re using it for a pod cast or recording instrument/vocals. I personally got this and a cloudlifter for my sm7b. The Scarlett 2i2 gen 3 does not provide enough gain for my specific mic and a cloud lifter was needed. If you’re looking at this for a twitch style streaming set up, it works as an interface, but I would recommend for around same price to get a goxlr mini. You gain more features like separate controls for chat/game/discord with the sliders and the goxlr mini has enough preamp power that you don’t need a cloud lifter for mics like the popular sm7b. Pro: * Gen 3 comes with a usb-c connector on the back. Very nice as most devices are moving from usb a+micro into a more standardized usb-c. * comes with great free DAW in form of ableton live lite. Comes with a a suite of other free software but this one was nice enough to highlight. * quality metal build * simple and intuitive!Cheddarsharp

I replaced my 2nd generation Scarlett 2i2 with the 3rd generation 4i4. I was a bit skeptical of the software application required to set the inputs to line/instrument, but it turned out to be fairly intuitive. The unit comes with a pad and air feature. Pad is self explanatory (gain reduction for loud recordings), the air setting is supposed to model some classic microphone preamp or something to that effect. I'm not totally sure what the difference is, but I've left the Air feature on anyways while recording and I've been pleased with the results, how much of that satisfaction is a result of the Air setting is hard to say since I haven't actually done any objective testing but it certainly doesn't seem to hurt anything by having it on. Initially, when I got the hardware going on my iMac I experienced significant lag while using Logic at various times, particularly when I was trying to copy logic drum tracks or expand the timeline but also while trying to do basic functions as well. I was concerned that I would have to get more RAM for my Mac which is problematic because the model I have makes it both difficult and expensive to increase RAM. However, after a few repeated uses the issue seems to have subsided, so I don't really know what that was about or whether the change in hardware even had anything to do with it, however it definitely was not an issue while I used my 2i2 so it's something to consider. I mainly upgraded because I wanted to start using midi with my electronic drum kit and that was basically as easy as plug and play (aside from a couple added steps in Logic which didn't have anything to do with the 4i4). However, for some reason the midi tracks seem to cause Logic to experience errors during playback when I close and then reopen a project. Again, can't say that this is a result of the 4i4 but I've been able to resolve the issue by simply quitting Logic entirely before reopening a project which isn't much of an inconvenience at all.Kab

Focusrite has high quality products. The built in pre-amp will make any vocalist happy. Plug in an instrument for simultaneous or direct recording. This can be used to catch a live take and still separate vocals from the instrument for easy post production. The included software is easy to use as well. For a newbie in the recording world or someone just looking for an easy on the go system, this interface is top notch. This is a real hand on product review from Zak at Sam Ash.Zzz

Everything works great and its what you would expect from Focusrite. My one and only issue is that there is no gain control for the direct monitoring. While this may not be a big issue its something I overlooked when buying as its very important to me. The 2i2 has it so I should have purchased it instead but never noticed at first. All in all Im still happy and I can find ways around the issue I haveforeverexclusivex

This interface is compact for easy on the go recording. Uses easy usb connection. The free plug ins are incredible and worth buying it just for those. Besides that the DI/line input is very clear for great recordings. Overall great inexpensive interface. This has been a hands on review by Branden at Sam Ash Buffalo Grove.Branden