For sure, it's quite a deep box for its diminutive single rack space size! I received the DigiMax FS for evaluation and found it to be a 'jack of all trades' expander in my Pro Tools studio or for any studio with LightPipe I/O like the Digidesign 002, and 002 Rack, Yamaha DM digital mixers, and RME recording interfaces.

First of all, the DigiMax FS added eight, high quality Class-A mic pre-amps to my studio. Instantly I am able to record a whole drum kit--impossible with only my two mic pre-amp channels. At 44.1/48kHz rates, these eight new channels connect to my Pro Tools HD 192 I/O unit via a single ADAT LightPipe cable. For higher sample rates and systems S-Mux equipped, you would use two LightPipe cables--one for channels 1-4 and the second for channels 5-8.

With effect inserts on each mic channel, it's easy to connect a compressor or EQ processor to any mic channel. Sometimes for recording, I like to compress the kick drum mic so I just connected a dbx 160S compressor to the kick drum channel's insert--works great! The eight balanced analog direct outputs make sense for live recordings when you'd like to route the microphone signals also to the PA system as line level signals--your FOH mixer will show his love for you for this capability by setting up all the recording mics on stage.

The eight analog outputs expand you present DAW's analog I/O by converting eight tracks sent down an ADAT LightPipe from your system to analog audio signals. This is a big plus for this unit since it expands both the input and output channel count of any DAW.

I found the DigiMax FS a wonderful adjunct to my Pro Tools studio. The DigiMax FS is perfect for expanding smaller DAW systems, adapting them to interface mixing consoles, or for adding live digital recording abilities to an existing live sound system. DigiMax FS sells for $799 MSRP. More info at: www.presonus.com