I just bougth one as well and mine has an on/off button. it is on the back of the unit next to the insert for the power supply.

Seriously?

A Central Station with an ON/OFF Switch?...If that is the case, I hope they offer it as a free mod. I just bought my unit last month...No Switch.

I just talked to Chad at Presonus and he said there is no ON/OFF switch on newer models nor is there one planned. If you bought this used it was put on as an aftermarket job by the last owner.

Cheers.

I read the RME manual and it said on the SPDIF output I have to have the ADAT1 checked off. I am not sure if they will correct my problem, but I will try it again tonght before I return the unit tomorrow.

Sorry, I could have swore tht there was one, but I was wrong.

I just got my hands on a Central Station as well. I finally had the time to hook it up last night. I had been using Samson's C-Control for the past few months.

Everything seems to be working fine. I noticed a big difference between the two units. The Central Station definitely has a noticeably clearer sound and better depth of field. The remote works fine as well.

The only issues I've found so far is that, after calibrating the unit with my DAW, I'm still getting overs via the units metering. There's a limiter on my DAW's master channel, so I'm sure I'm not going over 0db there. The other would be that, at first listen, while in Cue mode, the headphone output was very distorted and the talkback function was as well.

I'm gonna give it another try tonight. Anyone else had any problems like these?

Presonus has a "white noise" you can download and put in your DAW on a track. You can calibrate your meters with that.

I have to turn the volume up way more on the remote. If I put both levels to the same setting and switch back and forth The remote volume is way lower than the rack volume.

Same here, though the sound quality doesn't change, just the output.

Hi Folks,

Although there may be a slight difference in volume, you should not experience any frequency loss by using the remote. Keep in mind, in order to keep the signal path passive, you are sending the audio from the main unit to the passive pot in the CSR1 Remote. We tested this on an AP and found that the greatest distance we could have without any problems was 24 feet however the stock cable length is 12 feet.

Cheers,

Confirmed this unit is dead. The only thing that works is when you hit the talk button and it lights up. I hope the next one I pick up today works. Presonus told me that their return rate is pretty low, but I don't know, I have seen many complaints on the CS on this and other threads. I will let you know how the new unit works.

I am not concerned about the remote. I really can't see how you could use the CS without it. Reaching over to your rack and pushing buttons would be a real pain. I like the way the remote layout is.

Ok, I got the new one hooked it up and ............... was unable to get a signal from my RME into the CS. Yes I clicked the input S/PDIF button. I tried the ouput of the RME into my digital mixer S/PDIF and I got a signal into my digital mixer. After reading the manual, I found I had to put either the input or Cue on digital as well. Once I did that, it worked.

The unit works very well. I like the talkback. I route the output of my Cue into my reverb box and from there it went to my headphone amp. That way when I want to have reverb in the headphones when a vocalist is tracking, I have it. When I am monitor the mix afterwards, I will bypass the headphone amp and just go directly into the headphone jacks on the Central Station.

Ok I am on the Low End form right. So it's safe to say I have a Behringer DDX3216. I have been using Mytek A/D, but was using the D/A of the Behringer. Well I did a test between the Behringer D/A to the Presonus D/A. I can safely say that the Presonus has a clearer sound. That is what really stood out when I compared them. It's not a pro D/A but it is a step in the right direction. I will be using my DDX as a controller until I pay off the Central Station and K2 mic. Then I will save for a Mackie controller. My studio is almost where I want it to be.

I talked to Presonus at the AES. In regards to the Central Station, they said about 150 were defective on the first patch. They made improvements to the units afterwards however many still have some of the old units in stock which is why there have been the returns on the old ones. They were very friendly and helpful with all my questions. I was told the Central Station cost more than they thought but they choose to keep the price at $499 even though they would not make hardly a profit on them. He explained how the D/A converter on the Central Station was on par with some higher end converters as well. Not the Lavery mind you, but some more mid line converters that would be impressive to have in our studios. I tried the MXL mic's which are good for their price.

that is the funniest thing I've ever read here.

For right now I want the following

1. Mackie Controller and Expander
2. UAD Perc. EQ, and Per. mastering compressor
3. Rode NT5's.
4. XFL Expansion for my BFD drums.

That's it. I already have the vocal mic's and pre's that I need. Don't need any more compression or EQ.

What will I want in a year, well that's another story.

I have used the CS for about a year and it's been great for me. The first one I got did have digital input problems but the one I have now has been flawless. I use it with the s/pdif out from my digi 002R and it sounds better to my ear than the 002R converters. I don't have the remote and am a little bummed that all these free remote deals started shortly after I bought my unit. No love for those who believed in the unit from the beginning! :-) However, I justify not having one by telling myself how much better it sounds without the extra wire length.

I would recommend this as it makes life way easier.

Edwin

Get the remote, you won't be sorry. I played with it at the AES show. It's so much nicer having a small remote to work with that is right in front of you.

i've had alot of exposure to the presonus gear and here is what i've come up with.

Presonus is great for the money (especially Central Station). However working for
an evil large music corporation I found many being returned(all presonus gear).

The main things were usually noisy jacks, headphones, inputs etc.
Non-Working pots, led displays etc.

I really don't think that there is alot of consistency in their production. I would say on average 4 of 10 units sold were returned due to faulty mechanics/electronics etc.

great products for the money, but watch out.

subsequent to my whining about how the remote colours the sound....
the amp i use to drive my LS3/5a monitors is a single ended, output transformerless tube amp. it seems as if the lowish input impedance of this amp and the added capacitance/impedance of the remote in this passive design magnify the differences between the unit by itself and the unit w/ the remote plugged in.
passive devices, when implemented in a compatible signal chain, can be very good at presenting a fairly transparent rendition of the signal. but sometimes an active circuit is needed to swing the voltages needed in complex setups.
in terms of the ergonomics of having something close at hand.....
the rack containing my dangerous music stuff is on a trolly next to me.
but that doesn't mean that i don't lust after the sexy dangerous music remote that i see on their website.

After working with the Central Station for a while now, I must say that I love it! It is dead quiet, works very well, the volume knob feels great, and the D/A is pretty good. Much better than the D/A on my Behringer DDX which I only use as a controller now.

I know the SPL is another unit that is also very good, but no one can say why the SPL would sound better when the CS has no opt circuits or IC chips in it. It is very transparent, and I like the meters on it as well.

Presonus confirmed they received my free remote paper work and the remote has already shipped to my house. Can't wait to get it. I will let you know if I hear any difference with using the remote vrs. the main unit.

Ok I received the remote yesterday. I really did not hear any difference between the remote and main unit in regards to audio quality. The unit is really pretty small, and is slanted towards you. Talkback works great, and the feel of the volume knob is good. Oh yeah, there is blue lights on it which look cool.

The only issue is at very low volumes, the left and right speaker due not fade at the same time. My left speaker holds out a little longer. I was told it does that due to the non amplified setup.

In a way, sort of ... but that's not he whole story. It does that because inexpensive passive attenuators do that.

The Coleman M3PH II does not do that, but in that case one pays $900, and a fair chunk of that price is for the stepped attenuator which is accurate to +/- 0.05 dB across channels.

With the CS, you are getting meters, D/A conversion, talkback, and a few other bells and whistles, plus the passive non-stepped attenuator for $500. They had to cut costs somewhere.

I talked to the engineer of the Coleman products. A very nice guy who was friendly and answered all my questions. I think his products are very good, however one product with talkback does not have all the other important features. The one with the good features lacks the talk back. He does not have them all in one package. He then said, it could not fit in a one rack and he would have to re-engineer a two space rack. The other issue is no remote. I guess if your rack is within arm reach it would be ok. but now that I have a remote, I cannot imagine working without one.

Hey Dawgear, how do you use your Coleman M3PH II. If I was going to get one of his setups thats the one I would of got. What do you do a talk back though?

SPL has a decent monitoring system as well. It is a little bulky looking and has no metering or D/A. If you don't need either and don't mind the way it looks, it is a good option. Not sure if you would really hear a difference between the 3 units. They are all passive systems. However I do agree that Coleman uses better quality stuff inside over the CS. Cannot comment on the SPL

You can see my setup in this thread: https://www.gearslutz.com/board/showthrea...849#post455849

The M3PH II is beneath the ISA 430. Definitely within arm's reach.

I rely on the stepped attenuator to calibrate my monitor levels as described in Bob Katz's book (K-14). I always try to mix primarily at the same SPL (77) and it is exactly repeatable with a stepped attenuator. I run from Lynx Two -> M3PH II -> HR824s.

You can see from my setup that talkback isn't a concern for me.