PreSonus AudioBox GO Best Price
The PreSonus AudioBox GO is the latest ultra-compact budget audio interface offering by PreSonus, a company known for making quality recording gear accessible for hobbyists and semi-pro home studio enthusiasts.
Despite its diminutive size and wallet-friendly pricing of well under $80, this sleek little box aims to provide high quality AD/DA conversion for basic 2 channel music production as well as podcasting and voice-over applications.
In this extensive review I will take you through a detailed examination of the AudioBox GO’s characteristics, feature set, recording capabilities and sound quality.
Read on to find out if this pint-sized interface has what it takes to provide cleaner sound on a tighter budget.
Characteristics
The PreSonus AudioBox GO is built primarily out of plastic to achieve a featherweight body of only 230g making it highly portable.
Despite not feeling as robustly constructed as metal interfaces, it seems adequately durable for it’s intended usage scenarios of mobile music production and content creation.
PreSonus AudioBox GO | USB-C Audio Interface for music production with Studio One DAW Recording Software, Music Tutorials, Sound Samples and Virtual Instruments
Its ultra-compact dimensions of 11 x 8.6 x 4.4cm allow it fit into any computer bag or backpack with no hassle.
However, the light plastic construction can cause issues with stability when dealing with connecting multiple cables.
Some form of securing it to a surface is recommended to prevent it shifting around.
All controls are cleanly laid out on the front and rear panels with quarter-inch input and output ports making patching simple.
The unit is powered and communicates with your Windows or Mac recording software exclusively over USB-C, keeping things streamlined.
Overall build quality belies it’s low cost nature but seems good enough provided care is taken with cable management.
It’s size and weight make it an ideal mobile audio interface for recording on the go with your laptop or tablet device.
Features
Despite it’s small footprint, the AudioBox GO manages to provide a respectable feature set for basic music recording, podcasting and streaming purposes:
- 2 in / 2 out USB 2.0 audio interface with USB-C connectivity
- Up to 24-bit / 96kHz resolution
- Compatible with Windows, macOS, iOS and Android devices
- 1x combo XLR-jack mic / line input with switchable +48V phantom power
- 1x 1/4″ high impedance instrument input
- 1x 1/4″ headphone output
- 1x pair of 1/4″ balanced TRS line outputs
- Per-channel gain controls for output and monitoring levels
- Mix control knob for zero-latency monitoring blend
- Bus powered operation
- Bundled with Studio One Prime and Studio Magic Plug-in Suite
The preamps provide a decent +50dB of gain for quieter microphones and instruments.
While that may not be enough for notoriously quiet mics like the SM7B, it allows solid functionality considering the asking price.
The Studio Magic software bundle nets you stripped down versions of useful recording tools like compression, reverb, guitar amp simulation and more to augment the free version of Studio One.
This gives you everything you need software-wise right out the box.
Recording and Sound Quality
For testing recording functionality and sound quality, I ran the AudioBox GO though it’s paces on a Windows 10 laptop and iPad Pro 12.9″ with a variety of microphones and instruments:
Microphone Recording
Using my trusty Shure SM57 and a large diaphragm condenser, I tracked vocals and acoustic guitars through the single combo jack input.
Engaging the +48V phantom power as needed and dialling in a healthy amount of gain, I encountered impressively low self noise allowing clear and accurate capture.
The recordings translated the intricate transients and harmonic details well with excellent transparency.
Certainly nothing to complain about for regular music tracking or broadcasting applications at this price point!
Instrument Recording
I also plugged in both passive single coil and active humbucker electric guitars to test the instrument input.
As expected the unpowered guitar produced a weak signal, but boosting levels with ample gain staging provided full bodied tone with good note separation and articulation.
Using a modeling amp simulator plug-in really brought out the best, making me forget completely I wasn’t playing though a real guitar stack.
The AudioBox GO had no issues capturing the guitars character accurately.
Playback Quality
Playback and monitoring quality was equally impressive with my studio headphones and monitor speakers.
The stereo mix translated nicely with enough headroom for most styles of music outside overly compressed and limited EDM or hip-hop productions.
I didn’t notice any overt coloration or frequency response issues that might fatigue your ears over longer sessions.
Just clean, balanced sound letting your monitors reproduce the full soundstage.
Form Factor and Ergonomics
The compact nature of the AudioBox GO does present some minor issues depending on your monitoring environment.
Due to the light weight plastic housing, attaching multiple cables can cause the unit to shift around leading to occasional noise or disconnects.
Securing it’s position on your desktop with non-slip pads or removable mounting putty is recommended forstability.
This ensures a solid connection at all times and having controls easily at hand.
Conclusion
For the bargain price PreSonus manages to pack pro-grade transparent audio conversion into a highly portable form factor.
Despite a few compromises due to size and cost savings, I came away impressed with both the recording capabilities and sound quality considering the pricing and target market.
If your home recording needs are basic, leaning towards portability and you’re on a tight budget, the PreSonus AudioBox GO should definitely be on your radar.
For just shy of $80 you get clean conversion and decent preamps/drivers for small scale music production and podcasting/broadcasting duties.
It may lack some connectivity and configuration options of larger interfaces but makes an ideal travel sized audio upgrade over your computer’s built in sound card.
Overall great bang for buck that outperforms expectations!
PreSonus AudioBox GO | USB-C Audio Interface for music production with Studio One DAW Recording Software, Music Tutorials, Sound Samples and Virtual Instruments
Review
PreSonus AudioBox GO
The PreSonus AudioBox GO punches well above its lightweight build and cost-effective price point. It provides impressive audio quality and recording capabilities considering the diminutive size and sub-$80 pricing.While the plastic construction feels a bit flimsy for studio use, it's highly portable nature and USB bus-powered operation make it an excellent audio interface for mobile music production and content creation.
PROS
- Extremely compact and lightweight
- Quality transparent audio conversion
- Decent +48V preamps with low noise
- Works with major operating systems
- Great value for money
CONS
- Lightweight plastic build lacks robustness
- Preamp gain may be insufficient for some mics
- No MIDI or additional outputs
Review Breakdown
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Sound quality
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Features
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Specifications
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Design and construction
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Price
PreSonus AudioBox GO Best Price
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$79.97
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