PreSonus NSB16.8 Stage Box

The NSB16.8 is PreSonus's answer to getting your inputs off the stage floor and onto a network. It sits at the far end of a single Cat5 AVB run and hands you sixteen recallable XMAX preamps plus eight analog outputs — enough to feed a full band's worth of sources and return IEM mixes or wedge feeds without a separate analog snake anywhere in the signal path. In a StudioLive Series III ecosystem, particularly when paired with an R-series rack mixer, it functions as the remote I/O brain of the whole rig, and that single-cable discipline is the point.

In practice, 30 watts nominal draw in a 2U chassis means it won't stress a small power conditioner, and the shallow 250mm depth is genuinely stage-box friendly — it fits in a shallow utility rack without fighting you. The sixteen inputs cover most monitor world scenarios outright, and the stackable AVB architecture means you can add a second unit later if the input count grows without rearchitecting your network. The eight analog outputs are real outs, useful for direct-drive wedges or local hardware that doesn't live in the digital domain. What you are locked into is AVB and the StudioLive III ecosystem — there is no Dante, no MADI, no Waves mode.

If you're already running a StudioLive Series III console or R-series rack mixer, this box is close to a foregone conclusion — the integration is tight, the preamp recall is genuinely useful at changeover-heavy shows, and the price sits at a reasonable point for what you get. If your rig centers on anything outside the PreSonus ecosystem — a Yamaha CL, a DiGiCo, an Allen & Heath dLive — walk away, because AVB compatibility outside StudioLive III is limited enough that you'd be fighting the rig all night. Similarly, if you need more than eight returns at stage level, plan for a second unit from the start rather than assuming you'll adapt.