PreSonus Digimax D8
This new mic preamp from PreSonus (www.presonus.com) features eight Class-A XMAX preamplifiers with trim control, eight direct analog outputs and ADAT optical I/O offering 8-channel or dual-SMUX operation. The Digimax D8 ($499) will convert at up to 24-bit resolution at 44.1/48/88.2/96kHz sampling rates, and features JetPLL jitter-reduction technology. Other features include direct outputs and inserts on every channel, and word clock I/O.

Samplebase.com
Soundseekers worldwide will want to check the samplebase.com Website that features a growing community of artists, many of whom are both contributors and users. Many top-notch artists provide instrument sets and construction kits for download, including Catalyst Audio, Kaskade, Def Jef, Peter DiStefano, Midihead, Heatseekers, Vienna Symphonic Library, Ilio, John "Skippy" Lehmkuhl and others. More than 150 SoundBlocks are currently available on Samplebase, and there is a free sample synth player called Satellite that loads Samplebase SoundBlocks. The free version offers a basic set of features but can be upgraded to Satellite Pro ($149), which loads REX, WAV and ACID files and includes a range of additional features.