D esigned from the ground up for speed, the PreSonus Quantum interface line launched in 2017 and now comprises three Quantum Thunderbolt Interfaces: Quantum (26X32), Quantum 2626 (26X26), and Quantum 4848 (32 line-level I/O on DB25). The Quantum 2626 is the first in its family to incorporate Thunderbolt 3 connectivity. The 2626 features 8 XMAX preamps and flexible connectivity. The 2626 is a more affordable version of the Quantum 1. It does not have Digital Preamp Recall and it's missing a few features from UC that the Q1 model has (like Mirror SPDIF to Main). After plugging in and powering up, I installed and opened the Universal Control application, assuming it would provide a way to create cue mixes and provide other software mixing features, which is usually the case with units that offer this many channels. A Roland GI-20 MIDI guitar converter is hooked up to the MIDI ports and works great. That means one less USB cable as I don't to use a separate MIDI interface. This unit was established after the celebrated Quantum 2632 audio interface. This interface was known to have a progressive approach to how it worked. Released a few years after this interface, the Quantum 2626 is a more innovative development in the Quantum series of audio interfaces by PreSonus.

With Unison preamps and full access to the UAD catalogue, the Apollo Twin MkII does more than just amazing interfacing. PreSonus’s new Quantum adheres firmly to this particular orthodoxy. Elsewhere, however, it makes a decisive break with convention. For as long as I can remember, audio interfaces with more than a couple of inputs and outputs have included digital mixing and routing facilities that allow input signals to be auditioned at the outputs without passing through the computer’s input and output buffers. It’s a way of dodging the issue of latency that works, up to a point; but it complicates the whole recording process, and is no use if you want to hear soft synths or plug-ins in real time.

A glance at their respective specifications reveals that, although the Quantum and the Studio 192 boast an identical complement of audio I/O, there are differences beneath the skin. The Studio 192 already offered better-than-decent audio performance, but the Quantum uses even more highly-specified converters and thus improves on this in most respects. For example, the 192’s line and monitor outputs have a dynamic range of 112dB, but the Quantum raises this to 118dB, and offers the same range on the line ins, up from the 192’s 114dB. Quoted dynamic range for the A-D and D-A converters is 120dB to the 192’s 118dB. (On the other hand, the mic preamp design is the same, so improvements in the quoted EIN figure reflect changes in the test conditions rather than the preamp circuit itself.) The number of situations where you’ll notice a difference in practice is probably small, but it means the Quantum is playing on a level field with other Thunderbolt interfaces like the Focusrite Clarett range. With a barely measurable round-trip latency of less than 1 ms, it's no wonder Sound on Sound magazine dubbed Quantum-series Thunderbolt audio interfaces the "fastest audio interface on the planet." The Quantum 2626 uses the Thunderbolt 3 bus and PreSonus®' proprietary driver to achieve the lowest round-trip latency of any audio interface (as low as <1 ms). Now you can record and monitor with up to 24-bit, 192 kHz fidelity through your favorite plug-ins, without leaving the DAW. Currently, there are only a handful of Thunderbolt 3 interfaces on the market, of which the Quantum 2626 is the most affordable (on a per-input basis). The near-latency-free experience it provides is stunning when you first try it. Being able to monitor through plug-ins with no audible delay and set and forget the buffer at 32 or 64 samples was revelatory.

The PreSonus Quantum offers spectacularly low latency and a simplified way of working. Is it the best Thunderbolt interface you can buy?

Apple Silicon compatibility—standard.

PAE Seth wroteQuantum Series DOES NOT have hardware leveling mixing. At no time have we ever advertised otherwise. People are lying if they say otherwise.