The Presonus Quantum 4848 is a pro level interface for a relatively low price. A 48 in, 48 out interface with 32 analogue in and outs and 16 ADAT in and outs which can offer latency close to that possible with Pro Tools HDX or UA Apollos. Is there a downside? Paul Drew takes it for a spin and gives his conclusion.
You would be forgiven for thinking that this unit is more geared towards the bigger studio with an analogue console, but with todays hybrid workflow this unit is also perfect for the studio that has external hardware such as EQs and Compressors.
The front panel has no external controls only small LED’s that give you a representation of signal level by either turning green for -50dBFS, yellow for -20dBFS and red for 0dBFS. All of the controls can be monitored in the Universal Control App.
Pro Tools Standard limits your I/O access when you use third-party audio interfaces. The Quantum 4848 resolves this issue by providing three Channel Profile modes that allow you to adapt the input and output channel configuration when the application you’re using limits you to 32 inputs and outputs or fewer.
You can set the Quantum 4848 to use 32 analogue inputs with 16 channels of ADAT, 24 analogue inputs with 8 channels of ADAT, or 16 analogue inputs with 16 channels of ADAT to customise the assortment of analogue and digital inputs and better accommodate your needs.
One of the benefits of using the Quantum interfaces is the sheer speed. In Studio One I was amazed by how unnoticeable the latency was, it was almost as though I was using a Pro Tools HDX rig.
The round trip latency is below 1ms, you can easily monitor performances — including plug-in processing —through your DAW with no performance-killing latency.
In terms of audio performance the unit sounds Stellar, to be honest all mid priced interfaces sound great nowadays so I wouldn’t have expected anything else. The Quantum audio interface operates at up to 192 kHz for ultra-high definition mixing and recording.
High-quality converters on every input and output provide 120 dB of dynamic range.
Ins And Outs
The 4848 has D-Subs for its ins and outs. I’m guessing this is the only way it is possible to get so much IO into a 1U rack. While this is fantastic for space saving, you will need to spend a fair amount of money on D-Sub cables. The other connections are 2 in and 2 out ADAT connectors, which will allow a further 16 IO into your session.
Computer system requirements:
Below are the minimum computer-system requirements for the Quantum 4848 interface.
Mac
Mac® OS X 10.11.6 64-bit or later Intel® Core™ i5 or better
4 GB RAM (8 GB or more recommended)
Windows
Windows® 10 64-bit or later Intel Core i5 or better
4 GB RAM (8 GB or more recommended)
Mac and Windows Systems
Thunderbolt™ 1.0, 2.0, or 3.0 port (Note: Your computer's motherboard must support Thunderbolt. Thunderbolt 3 requires an adapter, not included.)
Internet connection (required for Studio One Activation and Content download)
Internal or external 7200 RPM storage drive highly recommended
30 GB hard disk space
Monitor with 1366x768 resolution
Conclusion
The Presonus Quantum 4848 is a professional choice interface for a relatively low price. I cant think of another interface of this quality for this price.
My only gripe with the Quantum interfaces are the external power supply. In my opinion a professional unit like this should either have an inbuilt power supply or a substantial external unit that you can lock into the unit like a Universal Audio’s Apollo - but, apart from that this unit is just about perfect.