PreSonus Revelator io24 USB-C Compatible Audio Interface with Integrated Loopback Mixer and Effects for Streaming, Podcasting, and More

OK, I take it all back... (see original review archived below).The good folks at PreSonus contacted me directly. They humbly admitted that the headphone and output noise issue was a grounding problem and promptly replaced my unit after receiving the return. I can say after hours of testing they have 100% solved the problem.As I mentioned, I wanted to love this product because of its built-in DSP functionality and fat channel. Now I can say that I do!I expected the headphone amp to still have a little bit of white noise at full volume (don't they all?), but it is WICKED quiet now. The difference with the new fix is night and day. The inputs also have more life and 'air' to them. That could be because previously the white noise was masking the high-end, but to my ears solving the grounding issue may have also effected overall performance..?As with all PreSonus software, the DSP mixer is clearly laid out and a breeze to use. For the uninitiated, it would be advised to briefly read the manual. My favorite part is that it seamlessly integrates into their Studio One software (included). Without having to leave the program, you can dial up the IO24's fat channel. My favorite parts are its DSP compressors: standard, tube emulated, or Class-A FET.For this price of $200, the Revelator IO24 is an incredible value. It has functionality not seen in other interfaces at this price. It can be used for high quality recording as well as live streaming with its super easy loop-back functionality. Speaking of, one reason I purchased this is to collaborate remotely writing tunes with far-away friends. With 'original audio' turned on in zoom, this thing is an amazing tool.Although the original defects should not have been brought to the market in the first place, a big thanks to PreSonus to listening to its customers. Companies make mistakes and kudos to them for owning up to them, then quickly offering a fix.---------------------------------------[original review 20 Oct 2021]I wanted so much to love this new product - its built-in DSP mixer with fat channel and reverb was just what I was looking for. But I'm in disbelief that PreSonus released this thing with such a noisy headphone amp AND noisy line outs. Many others have complained about this, but it seems PreSonus is doing nothing about it thus far. I would give this thing 1 star if I wasn't such a PreSonus fan - I write reviews for tapeop magazine and after my rave review of Studio One, am now a convert of both their software and hardware.As others have stated, lower ohm headphones have slightly less of a noise problem, but even with my 33ohm Grado SR80s, there's a distracting pulsing noise at low volumes and significant dirty white noise at medium to high volumes. Worse still, when I connected my PreSonus eris E5 monitors to its outputs (told 'ya I was a fan) with the exact balanced cables I use with my other interfaces, the dirty white noise was still there.This noise doesn't get recorded, but the problem is, it's completely disorienting. Because the io24's noise-floor is so high, it will mask any faulty cables, mic noise, etc., potentially ruining hours of work because you couldn't detect it.My suspicion is that PresSonus had to make a lot of compromises under the hood to make this bus powered. Just think: phantom power, hardware DSP, headphone driver, etc... all from a lil' old USB port port. (Yes, it's USB C, but it comes with a USB C to USB A cable. Even when connected via USB C to C, the exact same problems plague it). As a compromise, I could live with an outboard power adapter over the host of these awful problems... OR they could have done what Audient does with their beautiful sounding id14mk2: tell their customers that if you DO connect USB C to A, the performance of the headphone amp is diminished. The io24 clearly is not taking advantage of the higher power delivery of USB C.

This unit is frankly perfect for me and would make a very solid and versatile addition to just about any audio setup. If you've got a basic USB audio interface like the Focusrite Scarlett Solo, this is a fantastic upgrade. If you're considering the GoXLR, especially the mini (as I was), you should consider this device instead. I'll be comparing them a bit below as I speak to a few of the features that are most relevant to me.- Cross Platform: This unit is completely standards compliant, which means it works on both Windows and macOS (and I suspect Linux as well, though I haven't tested it myself yet; I have tested both Windows 10 and macOS Big Sur and Monterey, including with M1 Apple Silicon). The GoXLR relies on their proprietary software so you're out of luck if you use anything other than Windows.- Integrated DSP (digital signal processing): This allows you to add a filter, gate, compressor, equalizer and limiter to the inputs that run on the device itself as well as a few voice effects (Doubler, Vocoder, Ring Modulator, Comb Filter, Detuner, Delay, and Reverb). This means you get all those DSP features without having to run specialized software and waste processing time on my computer (no VST plugins or VoiceMeeter!). This fact is probably the single best feature. The GoXLR has an equalizer, compressor, gate, and the full GoXLR (not the mini) has similar voice effects (Reverb, echo, pitch shifting, gender (formant shifting), megaphone, robot, hardtune, and sampler) but both it and the Mini do not have a filter or limiter from what I can tell.- Virtual Routing and Mixes: Allows you to route different audio streams separately without any additional hardware. This is similar to what the GoXLR does. I haven't tested this extensively but it is very similar so I think they're about comparable.If you'd like to mount it under your desk like in the images I've attached to this review, please search on Thingiverse or PrusaPrints (I cannot link them directly here)My only word of warning is make sure you're plugging this directly into your computer or if you cannot, into a very high quality hub (I discovered the hard way that my hub is apparently garbage, which is unrelated to the issues below). As with many other audio devices, especially those with DSP type features, if the unit is not getting quality power you will have issues.----------------------------------------Note:The above is my updated review, below is my original review. I changed my review from 1 stars to 5 stars. The main reason I gave it 1 start initially is that there was an issue on the outputs (see below) but it that has now been completely resolved; the cause was a bad batch of units. They shipped me a replacement unit which I have been using for about a week now and I can confirm that the issue is completely gone. If anyone else has this issue you just need to contact PreSonus support to get a replacement. In my opinion, PreSonus has done a great job of resolving this issue. I am satisfied with my care.----------------------------------------On paper this unit is perfect for me. However when I received it and gave it a try I immediately noticed a pulsing noise on the headphone output even when nothing was playing from my computer (see attached video to hear what I’m referring to). I thought the unit was DOA so I sent it back and got a replacement shipped. The second unit had the identical problem, so I opened a support ticket with PreSonus and started looking around online for similar reports. Though I did not find very many reports, which I partially chalk up to it only being on the market for a few months, I did find enough reports of the exact same issue that I think people should be wary about buying this right now. If/when it gets resolved, I will update this review accordingly.I cannot link to them here but there is a thread discussing it on the PreSonus forums (topic # 46094, “Noise coming from Revelator io24. Exchange for another unit also generates same noise :(“), and on the r/presonus subreddit (title “Revelator io24 - noisy headphone output?”), and a few comments under reviews on YouTube.PreSonus was very responsive to the ticket I opened, but after exhausting all troubleshooting options they didn’t have a solution and just said their development team will look into it and to hang tight.

I used a Scarlett Solo 4th gen for about a year before this, and honestly, it was a nightmare with driver issues. The bus clock would constantly get out of sync, audio would crackle, games would have problems with the mic, and at one point the audio just started dropping out all the time.Three weeks ago, I switched to the io44 and it's been a completely different experience. I only ran into one small issue where the Stream Mix wouldn't pick up mic audio on PC boot. I reached out to PreSonus about it, and they were incredible - patched the firmware and pushed it out within a week. Since then, it's been running flawlessly. The software is really solid, even if the navigation takes some getting used to. There's even a third-party plugin on GitHub that lets you use it with a StreamDeck!Bottom line: It's cheaper than a Scarlett, more reliable, and packs more features. Getting this audio interface is an absolute no-brainer.