Question

Hello,

I recently switched from a different USB audio interface that had a "Direct Monitor" on/off switch and now am using the Audiobox USB 96 that has the input/playback mixer knob.

One of my first observations is that when I have the mixer knob all the way over to the playback side (clockwise), I can still directly hear my instruments plugged into the inputs. It is at a comparatively low level in the mix but it is still present.   I would have expected that when the knob is turned all the way to playback, direct monitoring from the inputs would be completely removed from mix on the device.

Is this normal behavior for this device and if it is, would this not affect monitoring in Studio One when trying to carefully monitor tracks with effects etc?

As it stands now, it seem that as long as a source is plugged into the Audiobox USB 96 (analog synth, guitar. mic etc), there is no way to NOT hear it, even with the knob is turned all the way to playback. This can't be correct.

Thanks

Answer 1

Mine does the same thing. My M-Track Plus had the same kind of knob and did NOT have any crosstalk with the knob turned all the way. I suspect either a subpar potentiometer part or just some sort of bad circuit design.

Answer 2

Its sad that Pre Sonus cant answer this question. I have the same problem. Such bullshit. I need to use a mic for Sonarworks Reference 4 with direct monitoring off and its not possible for god knows what reason.

Answer 3

I have the same problem. I asked presonus support about that:

Me:
When I turn the mixer knob on the front panel of my Audiobox 96 USB completely to the right ("playback"), away from "inputs" , I can still hear the input singal directly in the output signal, although very softly, subdued. Does every Audiobox 96 has this slight deficiency or is my Audiobox slightly defective there? Everyting else works great.

 

Support:

Hello Matthias,

 Thank you for reaching out to us, sorry to hear of the issue.

 It seems the unit is in need of repair.

 Please contact the retailer to arrange a repair of the unit.

 If you have any other questions, please let us know.

 Kind regards,

I then contacted the retailer via phone, hoping that they could try out on another device whether that's normal or not . The man on the line seemed to know his stuff. He offered to take it back, as the manufacturer himself said it's not okay. But he has quite some experience with mixers like that and said that with cheaper devices in general, this effect is quite common (a switch is a different story) - although varying in strength from device to device. So despite the presonus support answer, I think this is normal.