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3 CONTROLS AND CONNECTIONS 

17

 

NOTE: Active instruments are those that have an internal preamp or a line level 
output. Active instruments should be plugged into a line input (3 or 4) rather 
than into an instrument input. In other words, don’t plug an active instrument 
into the combo jacks on channels 1 or 2. 

 

3. Input Gain/Trim Control.

 This knob provides the following gain structure for 

each channel: 

Microphone Input XLR: 45dB of variable gain (+14dB to +55dB)  

Instrument HiZ Input TS ¼” (channels 1 and 2 only):  45dB variable   
gain (+8dB to +50dB) 

Clip Indicator.

 The clip indicator will light up if your input signal from the XLR (Mic) or 

¼” (line) r18dBu (0dBfs). At this level, your mic preamp/line trim signal may 
not exhibit signs of clipping such as distortion. However, this level would cause the A/D 
(analog to digital) converters to clip. Therefore it is highly recommended that you do 
not allow your converters to clip (the clip indicators to light up) as the sound quality 
would not be desirable.  

4. Main Level. 

This knob allows control

 

over the output level for the MAIN CR 

OUTPUT 1 and 2 on the back of the FIREBOX. It has a range of -80db to +10dB.

 

5. Headphone Symbol and ¼” Jack.

 This is where you connect your headphones.    

 

6. Phones.  

The Phones knob controls the amount of volume going to the headphone 

output on the front of the unit. Notice the volume indicator goes to 11 (loud).  Use this 
setting with caution. 

 

7. Red-Blue Power/Sync Light.

 This light is a clock (sync) indicator. It lets you know if 

your unit is receiving word clock correctly. Word clock is the manner by which digital 
devices sync frame rates. Proper word clock sync prevents digital devices from having 
pops, clicks, or distortion in the audio signal (due to mismatched digital audio 
transmission). 

 

Blue –

 solid sync 

Red

 – sync not present. 

Flashing Red and Blue

 – external sync not present

 

3 CONTROLS AND CONNECTIONS 

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3 . 2   B A C K   P A N E L   L A Y O U T   A N D  
D E S C R I P T I O N

  

 

12VDC Power Adaptor Input.

 This is where you plug the provided power supply into 

the FIREBOX. Please check the power supply to ensure that it is the correct voltage 
and plug type for your country. Note that you can also power your FIREBOX with a six-
pin FireWire port from your computer instead of using the external power supply. 

 

FireWire Ports.

 There are two firewire ports on the back of the FIREBOX. Both 

FireWire ports are standard 6 pin firewire jacks. If your computer has a six-pin FireWire 
port you can power your FIREBOX from the FireWire connector. If your computer has 
a 4 pin connector, then you will need to get a 4 to 6 pin connector to connect your 
FIREBOX to your computer, and use the external power supply. Either port can be 
used to connect the FIREBOX to a FireWire port on your computer.      

 

MIDI and S/PDIF IN and OUT.

  

 

MIDI and SPDIF I/O can be connected to this DB-9 connector breakout cable 
(included). The S/PDIF I/O allows the FIREBOX to receive and transmit audio from/to 
other digital audio devices. The S/PDIF standard allows for two channels of audio to 
be transmitted at up to rates of 24bit/96Khz. Word clock is the synchronizing signal 
that indicates the sampling frequency or rate of sample words over a digital audio 
interface.  Note: When using SPDIF In, you must select SPDIF in your FIREBOX 
Hardware Control Panel. 

 

3 CONTROLS AND CONNECTIONS 

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MIDI stands for “Musical Instrument Digital Interface”. However, the MIDI standard 
goes well beyond just instrumentation and sequencing. The MIDI inputs and outputs 
allow connection and/or communication with external MIDI equipment. One function of 
this port is MIDI programming. This port can also be used for MMC (MIDI Machine 
Control) and MTC (MIDI Time Control). Please consult the manual of the software 
manufacturer to learn setup and usage of different MIDI applications.    

 

Line Outputs (3, 4, 5, 6). Balanced line level outputs. 

These connectors will accept 

either balanced (TRS – Tip Ring Sleeve) ¼” cables or unbalanced TS (Tip Sleeve) ¼” 
cables.  

Main CR Output.

 The level of this output is controlled by the Main volume knob on the 

front of the unit.  

 

Line Inputs (3 and 4).

 These connectors will accept either balanced (TRS – Tip Ring 

Sleeve) ¼” cables or unbalanced TS (Tip Sleeve) ¼” cables. The Line Input can also 
be used as a standard line level input for devices that do not require pre-amplification 
(such as a CD player, drum machine, sampler and etc.).  

 

4 MIXER 

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4 . 1   M I X E R  

 

The FIREBOX includes a software MIXER/ROUTER for flexible monitoring and 
routing of the audio signal before it hits your software program. This is helpful to avoid 
the time it takes to process the audio you are recording – called latency. Therefore, 
you can mix the input signal going into the FIREBOX with the playback from your 
software for zero latency recording and monitoring. 

 

NOTE:

 The default settings (pictured above) for the FIREBOX mixer has all faders set 

to 0dB and all pans set to center, with the Software Playback set to channels 1/2, the 
Mixer Output set to Bypass, and the Playback to Phones set to channels 1/2.  

 

 

 

 

Summary of Contents for FIREBOX

Page 1: ...l damages so the above limitation or exclusion may not apply to you This warranty gives you specific legal rights and you may also have other rights which vary from state to state This warranty only applies to products sold and used in the United States of America For warranty information in all other countries please refer to your local distributor PreSonus Audio Electronics Inc 7257 Florida Blvd...

Page 2: ...te If at any point during installation a Software Installation message appears from Windows regarding Windows Logo testing click Continue Anyway to continue installation 2 INSTALLATION AND SETUP 7 Macintosh OSX 10 3 7 or later The audio drivers for the FIREBOX are included in the CORE AUDIO of Macintosh OSX 10 3 7 and later Once you have verified that you are running OSX 10 3 7 or later connect yo...

Page 3: ...ter Processor 1GHz to 2GHz Low Computer Processor 800MHz to 1GHz 2 4 F I R E B O X M I X E R WINDOWS XP Once you have successfully installed your audio drivers the FIREBOX Mixer will be available in your program files You can launch the Mixer by clicking Start Program files PreSonus FIREBOX MIXER For details on the FIREBOX Mixer see chapter 4 Macintosh The included CD ROM disk contains Macintosh s...

Page 4: ...inberg net 3 CONTROLS AND CONNECTIONS 16 3 1 F R O N T P A N E L L A Y O U T A N D D E S C R I P T I O N 1 Microphone Instrument Pre Amplifier Your FIREBOX is equipped with two custom designed PreSonus microphone instrument preamplifiers for use with all types of microphones including Dynamics Condensers and Ribbons as well as instruments and line level signals The award winning PreSonus preamplif...

Page 5: ...your computer has a six pin FireWire port you can power your FIREBOX from the FireWire connector If your computer has a 4 pin connector then you will need to get a 4 to 6 pin connector to connect your FIREBOX to your computer and use the external power supply Either port can be used to connect the FIREBOX to a FireWire port on your computer MIDI and S PDIF IN and OUT MIDI and SPDIF I O can be conn...

Page 6: ...ine will reset the pan to the center Holding down ALT or CTRL or SHIFT while dragging PAN puts PAN into fine mode for more accurate adjustment of PAN Level fader Adjusts the input level of each input Double clicking on the blue fader automatically sets the fader to full gain Solo by pressing Solo all other input channels are muted Mute Mutes input channel Link links the input gain of adjacent chan...

Page 7: ...nit might not be connected properly If the unit is flashing red and blue the unit is not receiving external sync This would be caused by the clock source in the FIREBOX control panel being set to S PDIF with no S PDIF sync source coming in Here are the three different light modes broken down once again Blue solid sync Red sync not present Flashing Red and Blue external sync not present Pops and cl...

Page 8: ...uts Impedance 51 Ohms Headphone Output 150mW Ch 20Hz 20kHz Phantom Power 48V 2V Power Supply Ext line Transformer Internal Switching Bus Power Six pin FireWire Port Analog to Digital Converters 24 bit up to 96khz ADC Dynamic Range 107db DAC 24 bit up to 96kHz DAC Dynamic Range 110db IEEE1394 Speed 400mbps As a commitment to constant improvement PreSonus Audio Electronics Inc reserves the right to ...

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