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PreSonus Audio Electronics Monitor Station Review

Dec 2, 2009 12:00 PM, By Gary Eskow

Great connectivity from a small desktop monitoring system.

If you've set up an isolation booth in your studio, you'll appreciate the fact that the Monitor Station has a built-in talk-back microphone. If you're working at ridiculous levels and, as a result, no one can make out the signal coming through the mic, you can plug a dynamic microphone into the Monitor Station. But this device lacks phantom power, and as I say, the internal mic will be more than adequate for most situations. Other handy features include Mute, Dim, and Mono buttons.

Following the manual's instructions, I dutifully set out to calibrate the Monitor Station's inputs and outputs. Running a sine wave from Steinberg WaveLab 6 through the outputs of my Fireface 800 and into the Control Station, I was able to get the meters to sit comfortably. I also had success calibrating my Adam Audio A7 and Mackie HR824mk2 loudspeakers on the output side. In reality, you should be able to dispense with this calibration exercise and trust your ears to help you determine and set proper levels.

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I have only one problem with the Monitor Station. Passive circuitry, which Presonus uses in its more expensive Central Station, does not color audio. Active circuitry, which is incorporated into the Monitor Station, does affect the sound. The slight loss of detail and clouding of the low end would deter me from using the Monitor Station. In fairness, however, many project studio owners will not notice, or be disturbed by, the effect.

If you're working live audio sessions with multiple musicians and/or actors, have several sets of loudspeakers that you need to switch between, and need to connect record players or DAT machines into your studio, you would do well to investigate the Monitor Station. It offers a big bang for the buck.

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bottomline

Company: Presonus Audio Electronics
www.presonus.com
Product: Monitor Station
Assets: Lots of connections; easy to integrate into a DAW; attractively priced.
Caveats: Active circuitry imparts a slight coloration to the audio path; no phantom power.
Demographic: Audio professionals working with multiple inputs and outputs.
Price: $299.97 (street)

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