So ive got a problem with my Presonus Firebox.
I havent actually looked into this im just throwing it out there to see if one of you guys can shed some light.
On friday i set up for my gig in the same way but the Firebox wasnt recognised by Traktor and the usual Blue light was flashing a very dim red then blue.
I faffed about trying to get it to work and after 10mins thought feck it ill just drive home and get my Audio 8 but suddenly the blue light of loveliness came on it worked thru the whole 4 hours.
Ive just plugged it in again and the dim flash of death suggesting no external sync is there again but this time with no sign of recovery.
Gonna do a forum/web search when i get back home in a while but in the meantime , anyone any ideas. The red “sync not present” light doesnt come on even when its powered externally so is it the adapter?
Or could it be the Mac not syncing to the Firebox. Id still expect the red light to appear when it isnt connected to the Mac if it is mains powered (right?)
(be good if someone could confirm the above) Then ill just try another adapter.
If the Firebox is on its way out then “oh well” , its done 4 nites a week for 3 years and is thrown in my gig bag with no protection no complaints ill just get another but id rather spend the money on crisps and sweets and beer and music.
I had a Firebox and found it very unreliable. Sometimes it would work for days solid and then it would lose sync and a full restart was necessary to make it work again. I decided to sell it and upgraded & bought an Audio 8 Dj.
Hmm, the Firebox just came to life and after a few disconnects and reconnects it seems fine now.
Tested the FireWire cable, thats fine and used also used a different one.
Gonna use my mates Firebox cable adapter to see if its that.
Oddly enough though now my Audio 8 isnt being recognised ?
Yeah i would blame the power adapter based on what you described.
@Claudek - Maybe your firebox was faulty? I have never had any issue with my firebox except for when I used it on a PC with a shitty 4 pin firewire connecter, have done hundereds of hours on my mac with no problem.
agreed, mine broke soooo easily and I was just shifting equipment around.
it just sounds like you’re having power issues, iirc firebox without power supply + macbook is a map to disaster. Just plug the damned thing in and it should be fine, I found mine to be the most reliable interface I’ve used to date.
…so i pulled the power adapter out of the back of my Vestax mixer and tried it in the Firebox. Wrong voltage, DC not AC, 500ma not 1000ma and it worked .
The blue light of loveliness came on and all is good.
So it seems like the adapter is buggered which is great cus that cost naff all to replace unlike the Firebox.
I still cant understand why anyone could have problems with the actual Firebox. It has been ultra reliable. The adapter ? well after 3 years of wrapping the cable around the adapter and dropping in the bag im not surprised its finally broke.
The UK Stockist for Presonus Spares charges £42:18 (inc vat and delivery) just for a 12volt power supply.
That is scandalous. I just tried another power adapter (the one for my VCI) and that jumpstarted the Firebox as well.
I can get 3 of the same adapter from my local electronics store for less than one from Presonus. Keep one at home and use one and take a spare to my gigs.
Gets me mad when people take the piss with items they know you need.
I had a problem with my firebox, the red light was on with an intermittant flash of blue light. It appears i plugged the firewire in upside down. It was out of warranty and cost me 100 quid to fix… so you got off lightly
I plugged it in upside down on my PC, not the actual firebox. The card I have in my pc was pretty cheap and the sockets are very loose. I didnt really have to force it. I wont make that mistake again though
never heard that one that’s pretty nuts. i’ve had this sync issue before with my firebox, but only a couple times throughout its continuous 10 month use. i’ve found any sync issues like this can be resolved through a restart of the computer. pretty simple fix.
Yeah i picked up my mates Firebox adapter and it was fine tonite.
Ill whizz to my local electronics store and pick up an adapter tomorrow but yeah it was crazy , i tried 2 different adapters with different voltage (one was 9volt) and both started the Firebox just fine. I was a bit hesitant about powering it all nite with an odd adapter hence my panic to get the proper one off my mate.
Many a soundcard has actually been cooked by people putting in firewire cables upside down - it forces the current into the wrong pins and destroys the device.
This isnt the problem with the firebox as such, all firewire soundcards have this same issue.
that’s pretty nuts. i’ve had this sync issue before with my firebox, but only a couple times throughout its continuous 10 month use. i’ve found any sync issues like this can be resolved through a restart of the computer. pretty simple fix.