Presonus Firebox Reviews?, Anyone actually use this yet? Options

[ArchivalAudio]

wondering if anyone has actually used the new PreSonus FireBox? Its been available in Europe for a month now... and just became available here in the US. I am wondering if any has tried this unit out... I am strongly considering gettting one. I would like to hear any reviews of this new interface.

any opinions?
power consumption in the feild? etc.

thanx
-- Ian

[iDraw]

it was great to find this particular forum about the firebox, I was beginning to think it was my personal struggle with SPDIF that was causing my problems in trying to get sound from my DAT into Logic 7 pro. I was having a similar experience of getting sound all the way to the firebox mixer software and right on through to my laptop (in the sound input preferences, I can see the sound and it mirrors the same spikes on my DAT display - so it's coming in) but I cannot get it to play or record in Logic or SoundTrack or any other audio software.

At first I was running 10.3.9 with the new presonus control panel (1.0.3) on my main powerbook drive and, on a separate drive, I had 10.3.7 installed with just the basics (Firebox Control Panel 1.0, LogicPro 7, nothing else). On both drives, the same SPDIF cutoff at the software happened with one difference. I would get a pulsating spike of sound (different from the sound coming in from the DAT - just a crackling surge like a radio frequency of some kind) which went on for about 2 minuted and then silence.

Since it was the weekend, I waited and called Presonus Tech Support and talked with a guy named Jonathon. Very nice chap who listened and didn't give me any run around. I told him all that I had tried and also related some of the posts made here and he agreed that something didn't sound right. He said that, with the old control panel (1.0) SPDIF should be working fine in 10.3.7-10.3.8. With the new control panel (1.0.3) the Firebox SPDIF should work in both 10.3.9 AND he also said that it should work in Tiger (which contradicts an earlier post I read). I do not have Tiger installed so I will take his word for it.

What he said he would do next is set up LogicPro 7 on several different systems and try and duplicate the issues I laid out. He said it would take a day or two but he would email me the results. I will post the reply here.