The Presonus StudioLive AR8c packs a clever combination of analogue and digital features into a compact mixing desk that is built like a standard small analogue mixer with eight channels but houses a digital effects processor with 16 reverb, delay, and chorus effects as well as an SD card recorder/player and a fully-fledged USB audio interface under the bonnet. And as an added bonus, the AR8c also has a built-in Bluetooth 5 receiver, and it additionally features four XMAX microphone preamps of the same kind that Presonus uses in its high-end studio equipment. Despite its diminutive dimensions, the AR8c can absolutely be used to create high-quality audio content, be it in the form of music, podcasts, or live streams for a YouTube channel.
The Presonus StudioLive AR8c is like the Swiss Army knife of audio interfaces: It is extremely compact and incredibly versatile. Presonus has cleverly integrated the digital features into the analogue console workflow, and even novice users will find their way around the StudioLive AR8c in no time at all. In addition to the main XLR outputs, the signal can be routed to the separately controllable FX and AUX outputs, which enables a variety of routing scenarios such as running signals through an external effects unit or creating a headphone mix for musicians. The highlight, however, is the "Super Channel": Four stereo sources can be routed to stereo input 7/8 - the stereo RCA and stereo mini jack inputs, the SD card player, and the Bluetooth receiver.
The Presonus StudioLive AR8c successfully balances ease of use with a comprehensive range of features and functions, which makes it the ideal tool for musicians, podcasters, and YouTubers who don't want to delve too deeply into the technical stuff but still need a versatile audio tool. The StudioLive AR8c is just as suitable for use in a home studio as it is for mixing live events, where background music is often required in addition to vocal microphones. And users must not be deceived by the AR8c's small footprint: This compact mixer is completely on a par with its larger siblings in the StudioLive series when it comes to operational reliability and sound quality.
Presonus is a US company founded in 1995 by Jim Odom and Brian Smith in Baton Rouge, Lousiana. The firm designs hardware and software at both professional and more affordable levels for musicians and producers. Presonus first made a splash in the mid-1990s with the DCP8, an eight-channel analogue compressor/limiter/gate with fader and mute automation that could be digitally controlled by MIDI. In the early 2000s followed a series of microphone amplifiers and the first audio interfaces for the then-emerging home studio scene. Today, the company's product range includes audio interfaces, microphone preamps, digital mixing consoles, and studio monitors as well as the established DAW software Studio One.
Many a piece of studio equipment can be accurately described as a one-trick pony - but there is no danger of that for the Presonus StudioLive AR8c. In addition to its obvious applications - as a mixer and USB interface for recording podcasts or streaming on YouTube, for instance - it is also a great companion for singer-songwriters, who can use the AR8c to mix and simultaneously record their live shows and to capture ideas on the go and continue to work on them later in their home studio using the Studio One Artist software. Drummers can use the AR8c for practising, e.g. by recording their playing to a backing track from a smartphone (via Bluetooth). This compact StudioLive model is also a great choice for solo entertainers or duos, because thanks to the Super Channel, no valuable channels are sacrificed for playing background music during breaks in the performance.