Presonus AudioBox 22VSL Audio Interface Review

In the world of budget-friendly audio equipment, finding gear that’s inexpensive yet does the job nicely can be tough.

When it comes to home recording studios, having the right audio interface can make a huge difference in the end quality of your recordings.

The AudioBox 22VSL by Presonus offers all the necessary specs and features, for just under $150. Let’s see exactly what makes it so good!

Presonus AudioBox 22VSL Audio Interface Review

With over 2 decades of experience, PreSonus has been making some of the top-rated audio interfaces and related studio gear.

Whether it’s DAW controllers, studio monitors, mixers, or interfaces, you can count on them to be reliable, longlasting, and to sound amazing.

The AudioBox 22VSL caters to the needs of both beginner audio engineers, as well as more advanced ones while maintaining a surprisingly compact form factor.

Key Features

• 2 Combined instrument/mic inputs
• Easy to reach extensive controls on the front
• LED clip indicators for both channels
• Included DAW and control software

The good folks at Presonus know what a home studio audio engineer needs, so they made the AudioBox 22VSL not just easy and straightforward to use, but packed amazing specs and features in it as well.

Sure, you might not get a lot of inputs, but the recordings sound as if they were recorded in a professional environment, using top-notch equipment.

Pros:

• Crisp and natural sound
• Very low latency
• Straightforward and easy to use
• Supports MIDI
• The included software is very handy

Cons:

• Could be a bit more versatile
• Updating the software and firmware can be somewhat tricky
• The back facing headphone output may be inconvenient for some

Who is the AudioBox 22VSL for?

By the compact form factor and number of available inputs and outputs, it’s pretty clear that the AudioBox 22VSL mainly focuses on musicians that don’t really have much room for a giant audio interface in their home studio.

The overall usability and excellent performance make this interface a must have for any beginner or slightly more advanced audio engineer that needs a crisp and clear recording for a reasonable price.

What makes the AudioBox 22VSL stand out from the crowd?

The 2 combined inputs on the front make for easy recording sessions, meaning you can record 2 separate devices at the same time without any hassle. There is even a 48V toggle button for those condenser microphones that need that extra juice.

The front interface isn’t overcrowded yet gives you all the necessary controls at hands reach. The knobs include separate level controls for each of the 2 inputs, as well as main, phones, and mixer levels.

Having a visual cue of the channels, and whether they’re clipping or not means you can adjust the levels on the fly without even having to look at your computer screen.

The included Studio One Artist DAW and Virtual StudioLive (VSL) give you a beginner-friendly, yet detailed enough environment for recording, so you can do it right out of the box!

User experience

The Presonus AudioBox 22VSL received a majority of positive feedback from its users, and here’s what they have to say:

“I’ve personally used many other audio interfaces, but the AudioBox 22VSL provides a natural, uncolored tone, with almost no background noise”

“It’s amazingly simple to use, just plug and play, and the recordings sound detailed and clear”

Most of the problems people encountered with this interface had to do with the software and connectivity:

“It worked fine at first, but after updating the software, it wasn’t really reliable”

“When I use the interface, I can’t use any other USB devices on the bus”

You may be wondering…

The AudioBox 22VSL is both PC and Mac compatible.

The device connects via a USB cable.

Both a USB and power cable are included.

Final words

So, is the AudioBox 22VSL worth the money?

If you’re looking for an affordable yet great sounding audio interface, sure. Just make sure you do your research in terms of the software, updating the firmware, and any issues that may appear due to doing that.

That pretty much wraps this article. I hope you found it informative.

Thank you for reading, and I’ll catch you in the next one!