Sound On Sound Magazine quotes September 2002 "In use, the mic amps sounded excellent at both low and high gain settings, and DI'ing an electric guitar via one of the Super Channels also gave very good results" "I can see OctoPre owners making a good deal of use of its dynamics... the OctoPre's compressors are more versatile than their single control would suggest. At low settings they are relatively transparent and would be useful for ironing out uneven playing on, say, acoustic guitar; more extreme settings are flattering on vocals and add a healthy 'chunk' to clean electric guitars." "With the OctoPre, Focusrite have taken advantage of a gap in the market, and the unit has surprisingly little competition." "At £149 and £249 respectively, both of the OctoPre's digital options offer good value for money." "I know of no other product that offers the same balance of features at the OctoPre's price, and it must be considered excellent value for money. As a front end for a digital recording system, it's much cheaper than comparable rackmounting alternatives. Meanwhile, compared with the option of using a budget analogue mixer for this purpose, it offers substantial advantages in terms of size, expandability, and (in many cases) sound quality, as well as offering built-in dynamics and A-D conversion. I expect Focusrite to sell bucket loads of them." "Summary: The current gap in the market for affordable multi-channel mic preamps has given Focusrite an opportunity and they've grasped it with both hands. The OctoPre makes an excellent companion to almost any digital recording system." Future Music Magazine quotes October 2002 Jon Musgrave "All knobs and switches are clearly arranged and in spite of it being 1U, are very easy to use" "It's with the optional AD converter board that the OctoPre gets really interesting" "Conclusion: Respect! With the OctoPre Focusrite now have a unit in the Platinum range which is suitable for all who are looking for more than two well sounding class-A microphonepreamps. As an extension for analogue live desks or studio operations or with the optional digital board as a high-class AD converter for HD productions, this unit is a good choice in all cases. The OctoPre saves space, is easy to use and futhermore it sounds great." Soundcheck (Germany), October 2002 "Given that there are eight mic pres crammed into a 1U box you might expect the facilities to be quite basic, but actually Focusrite have been quite smart with what they've included." "The OctoPre is designed to be as simple to use as possible, and once you've sorted out your chosen interconnections this is certainly true. From the simple fact that each channel only gets one gain knob (there's no output trim as such) and that compression is controlled by another single knob, there really is little margin for error. This is great if you're in the process of recording a live session, leaving you more time to sort out mix positions." "It's worth noting that in practice the OctoPre's digital output board interfaces seamlessly using the ADAT and S/PDIF connections, and having the bit rate and sample frequency clearly indicated on the front panel is also a welcome feature." "With so many soundcards supporting the ADAT interface you can't deny the attraction of the OctoPre as a front-end A/D converter for your computer as well as the perfect recording solution for recording multiple sources." "You'd be hard-pushed to find eight quality mic pres anywhere else at such a competitive price." "Verdict: 10/10 sounds & results." "If recording multiple live instruments is part of your music-making process the OctoPre is without a doubt the unit to go for." Interface Magazine quotes October 2002 "OctoPre is a good example of smart design." "OctoPre offers best mic preamp combined with good compression." "Great value for money." Resolution Magazine quotes October 2002 Jon Thornton "Another multichannel preamp with a thing about the number eight? Possibly, but this unassuming unit represents something of a rethink on traditional functionality and the interpretation of 'wow'." "Focusrite has obviously put a lot of thought into this product. The result is ideally suited to a whole host of applications and there is a lot more to it than initially meets the eye." "The front panel of the OctoPre is clear and reasonably uncluttered when you consider exactly how much is going on in the space." "They [the mic pre-amps] proved to be very quiet, and sound open and natural at all levels of gain. There is little obvious colouration of the sound... they perform very admirably indeed. So well in fact, that Focusrite could be forgiven for leaving things there. But it is with the addition of the OctoPre's two other functions - dynamics processing and digital connectivity - that the application for this unit becomes more obvious." "Focusrite allows the compressor and limiter to act on fast transients by only severely affecting the high frequency part of the waveform. This leads to less intermodulation distortion and therefore a more musical response." "As eight channels of decent mic pre-amp alone it may well find a home in many studio outboard racks. With the digital options fitted and the stripped down, yet effective, approach to dynamic processing the OctoPre is also ideally suited as an analogue front end to a DAW, or incorporated into a live recording rig in conjunction with a digital multitrack. In the live recording or project studio DAW scenario, I can see the OctoPre becoming a real alternative to, and taking sales from, the more traditional small format stereo mixer." "...when you consider the capability, compactness and price it becomes a compelling all-round package with a 'wow' factor all of its own." Audio Media Magazine quotes Simon Tillbrook "The Class A pre-amps on the OctoPre are superb. They are extremely quiet and smooth [...] Taking a guitar feed straight through the front TRS jack inputs on Channels 1 and 2 was equally impressive." "Focusrite has put a great deal of time and effort into this design and it really does show operationally." "As you rotate and introduce more compression, the effect smoothes out and you really start to appreciate the amount of control that you actually have." "Setting up the dynamics to an input source was very simple indeed, with very pleasing results. Both experienced professionals and home studio users will find the OctoPre a real joy to use." "Even with competition, the OctoPre's versatility and sonic qualities represent quite a reference point for other manufacturers. With the mic pre-amps alone this would be a great addition to any rack." "With the digital option fitted, the Focusrite OctoPre represents the most cost effective and sonically pleasing stand-alone input stage for digital users, and another good option for both live and studio applications." Sound and Vision (Germany) Magazine quotes "Once again the English company Focusrite has provided a product that is perfectly suited for all users looking for a unit that provides more than just two efficient class-A mic pre amps for audio productions. Whether as an extension for analogue recording in both studio or live applications, or as an high-class A/D converter for DAW productions, paired up with the optional digital board this unit is certainly impressive, providing easy handling, brilliant technical specs and a great price/performance ratio." Music Mart Magazine quotes March 2003 Chris Martin "The mixer's pre amps sound fine, but when I A/B'd it against the OctoPre, it was as if a veil had been lifted (sounds corny but it's true). It brought out the best in all the mics and sources I tested it with. All subtle nuances of the source material were revealed, whether breathy female vocals or the string overtones of an acoustic, with nary a hint of harshness in upper mid range, where many pre amps fall down; highs were open and the bottom end was solid. The entire frequency spectrum was extremely well balanced, and noise not an issue." "I plugged both bass and guitar straight in, and again the sound was well balanced and superb." "The dynamics worked better than any single knob has a right to, whether on vocals or guitars, and while it wouldn't do away with a 'character' compressor, it could make other compressor/limiters used for gain control redundant. It was easy to 'dial in' a setting to suit, and the limiter was unnoticeable in virtually all sensible settings." "When you take into account the exceptional dynamics of this unit, which more than equals many stand alone units, the price per channel comes down to more reasonable levels." "If you often record more than one channel at a time (in which case a voice channel may be a better option) you really should try the OctoPre out. Chances are that it will be a lot better than the preamps on your board, and you'll end up with noticeably better results." Recording Magazine quotes May 2003 Bill Stunt "On spec, this one looks like a knockout bruiser with a list of stats thatwill make competitors train a little harder. It's also got a pedigree - the Focusrite name alone makes this one worth getting a ringside seat." "Tests on a variety of sources gave great results. I recorded guitars, voices and percussion instruments and the results were more than acceptable. I have an oddball acoustic guitar that is particularly difficult to capture...This is a big-sounding, rich, but not exceptionally bright guitar. I got some of the best results I've ever had recording this instrument with a Rode NT3 mic and the OctoPre. This combination captured the mellowness of this old beauty exceptionally well, with an admirable depth of field. Transparency is an audio quality that is hard to define but easy to hear - I definitely heard it in this test. Voices fared equally well. A nice openness, combined with good detail, were the characteristics of the recordings I made. Percussion instruments sounded rich and full bodied. The amount of gain in the design left me lots of room to capture the transients without distortion." On the dynamic processing: "Whatever it is, it's quite musical and useful. At its lowest position, limiting only, you've got built-in protection for occasional transient spikes. In the digital world this is a good thing. In compressor mode a little bit goes a long way, but it does sound good. I really liked it on voices and on direct-injected guitars. It's got a nice punch to it and it seems to alter the frequency response in a way that's flattering." "All in all, it's a far better sounding dynamics processor than those found in other units of this type that I've tried." "I liked this unit a lot. Enjoyable as it is in the studio, I'd be happy to have it in my live recording rig. I know I would make good use of the dynamics function. In the likely chaos of a live recording, a limiter is a godsend. Eight of them on eight good-sounding Focusrite pre-amps is a miracle. And an affordable one - even with the addition of one of the digital output cards, the OctoPre is incredibly good value for the money." Studio Magazine (Germany) quotes Dieter Kahlen "The equipment offers a very high functional value, using minimal space at an exceedingly attractive price. The OctoPre is small and light with capabilities up to 96kHz. When one can avoid the extreme tax liability of setting up, there is in our opinion, at this time, hardly an alternative in this price range." "In comparison to the microphone pre-amps of the already installed ADT mixing desk, that we have been using for a long time already, the pre-amps of the OctoPre sounded (on the tested voices) immediately attractive and presentable. The sound image was open and soft..." "In conclusion, the OctoPre is exceedingly good value for money, has flexible possibilities and many microphone paths fabricated to good quality. Even if good periphery equipment is used and especially as there is no shortage of DAW front-ends today, market niches still keep cropping up and Focusrite has obviously found one."