The flagship in PreSonus’ new generation of USB 2.0 audio/MIDI interfaces, the 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 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 effects!
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.
What’s so great about effects and processing on monitors?
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.
Overcoming the Latency Problem
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 monitors, you’ll either hear the original sound slightly before the processed signal, or play a note on your instrument and have to wait a moment to hear the result of your action. Both of which are very disorienting.
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.
Record With or Without Processing
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.
The time-based effects are for monitoring only and can’t be recorded. Of course, most people add reverb and delay effects during editing and mixdown, rather than while tracking, in order to ensure that the effects on all tracks work together. Great processors are a PreSonus tradition
We didn’t invent the first audio interface with effects. We simply did it better and for less money. Sure, some interface manufacturers that don’t normally make signal processors have added a compressor, EQ and a few effects to their interfaces.
But the AudioBox VSL series provides all that, plus a separate limiter, expander, and high-pass filter—and we’ve been making high-quality signal processors since 1995. The AudioBox VSL-series’ Virtual StudioLive (VSL)-based effects and Fat Channel processing have been extensively field-tested and proven popular by tens of thousands of StudioLive™-series mixer users, including many top professionals.
Of great importance, thanks to VSL’s drag-and-drop convenience, adding processing and creating and loading presets is easy. Pro-level processing and superior ease of use mean you’ll get better results and have more fun!
High-end sound in a versatile, roadworthy interface
Versatile and portable, the AudioBox 1818VSL offers 2 convenient front-panel mic/instrument combo inputs and 6 front-panel mic/line 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 AudioBox 1818VSL’s 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.
The AudioBox 1818VSL also boasts PreSonus’ legendary 120 mW headphone output, which is loud enough to explode the oysters in a Po’-Boy sandwich. (Be careful with your level control!)
Built for the rigors of the road
Pause and ponder this for a moment: a great-sounding 18x18 interface with a computer-based mixer and full complement of dynamics processing and EQ, with reverb and delay effects on dedicated buses, plus MIDI and word clock, all in a single rackspace! And there’s more.
The flexibility and power of software
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.
Wireless remote control offers new possibilities!
With PreSonus AB1818VSL Remote, you can control all features of AudioBox 1818VSL software (except Solo and Channel Link) wirelessly from an Apple iPad®. The app provides multiple views of the key AudioBox VSL mixer and processing controls. And it’s a free download from the Apple App Store!
A complete professional system at a stunningly low price
Clearly the AudioBox 1818VSL is much more than a next-generation USB 2.0 audio and MIDI interface. With eight analog inputs and outputs; ADAT optical and S/PDIF digital input and outputs; real-time, a wealth of low-latency processing and effects; word-clock output; rock-solid construction; software mixing; wireless remote control from an iPad; and high-end audio quality, it’s a game changer.
Yet it’s available for a price you have to see to believe. So head over to your PreSonus dealer and check out the AudioBox 1818VSL—the affordable professional recording and mixing system that can take you to the next level.
FEATURES
2 dual-purpose, front-panel, mic/instrument input channels with:Combo XLR mic and balanced ¼" instrument input
Class A XMAX mic / instrument preamp
Individual channel-trim controls with 0 to +35 dBu mic gain range
6 dual-purpose, front-panel, mic/line input channels with:Combo XLR mic and balanced ¼" line input
Class A XMAX mic preamp
Individual channel-trim controls with 0 to +35 dBu mic gain range
2 balanced ¼” main (L/R) line outputs
8 balanced ¼” auxiliary (L/R) line outputs
8 channels ADAT optical input and output (at 44.1 or 48 kHz; 4 channels at 88.2 or 96 kHz)
2 channels (stereo) S/PDIF coaxial input and output
1 stereo ¼” headphone output with level control
1 BNC word-clock output
MIDI In/Out
1 USB 2.0 port
Meters, Controls, and Features
True +48V phantom power for condenser microphones (switchable in two banks for channels 1-4 and 5-8)
Main-output level control
Power/USB sync LED
LED clip indicator for each channel
L/R main output meter (dual 7-segment LED ladder)
Digitalia
24-bit resolution and 44.1, 48, 88.2, and 96 kHz sampling rate
Professional-grade A/D/A converters (+114 dBu dynamic range)
Mac®- and Windows®-compatible, including Mac OS X 10.7 Lion and Windows 7
Supports ASIO, Core Audio, Direct Sound (Windows XP), Windows Audio Session API (Windows Vista and Windows 7)
Physical
1U rack-mountableRoad-rugged construction with all-metal chassis and metal knobs
Weighs 4.6 lb. (2.1 kg)
18 VDC external power supply (included)
Included Software
Studio One® Artist license included, PreSonus’ revolutionary digital audio workstation for Mac and Windows, with unlimited track count and 2 GB content
SPECIFICATIONS
Computer system requirements:
Below are the minimum computer-system requirements for the AudioBox 1818VSL:
Windows
Windows® 7x 64/x86 SP1 or Windows 8/8.1 x64/x86 or Windows 10 x64/x86
Intel® Core™ 2 processor (Intel® Core™ i3 processor or better recommended)
4 GB RAM (8 GB or more recommended)
Mac
Mac® OS X 10.8 or later*
Intel Core Duo processor (Intel Core 2 Duo or Intel Core i3 or better recommended)
2 GB RAM (4 GB or more recommended)
Windows and Mac Systems
USB 2.0 Port
Internet connection (only for activation)
DVD-ROM drive
Monitor with at least 1024x768 resolution
20 GB hard-disk space
Internal or external 7200 RPM storage drive highly recommended
* Please Note: Starting with OS X 10.11, Apple has restricted kernel level mixing access for third party vendors. This means that the included VSL software will no longer function on Mac operating systems beyond version 10.10. On OS X version 10.11 or higher, AudioBox VSL devices will only operate as low-latency, class-complaint audio interfaces.
The minimum system requirements may differ for DAWs other than Studio One. Please check the requirements for your DAW of choice with its manufacturer.
Note that the speed of your processor, amount of RAM and size and speed of your hard drive will greatly affect the overall performance of your recording system. Also, a more powerful system (faster processor with more RAM) will allow for lower latency (signal delay) than you might experience while monitoring audio or MIDI signals. Monitor resolution for both PC and Macintosh should be no lower than 1024x768 pixels.
