Digidesign Mbox 2 Pro Review
You knew it had to come. The MBox with Firewire. I was surprised when Digidesign came out with the new MBox a couple years ago and it was USB. The common complaint with these USB computer interfaces is latency, which could be a problem with the original MBox and MBox 2 standard.
Personally I avoided this latency issue simply by-passing the MBox as the monitoring source and using a small mixer as the monitor source. The latency problem has been eliminated pretty much with the Firewire based MBox 2 Pro. It's about time Digidesign!
If you're thinking about getting into Pro Tools via the MBox then it's a no brainer between the MBox 2 (standard) and the MBox 2 Pro. The pro is a bit more money but gives you much more:
- Front and rear views of the MBox 2 Pro
- Firewire instead of USB
- higher audio resoluthion (up to 96kHz)
- 4 analog inputs (2XLR, 2 1/4")
- 6 analog outputs (1/4")
- 2 instrument DI inputs
- 2 S/PDIF digital channels
- 16 channels in/out of MIDI
- BNC word clock I/O
- Dedicated studio monitor outputs
- 2 stereo headphone outputs with independent volume
All these upgrades along with the low-latency monitoring make the MBox 2 Pro much superior to the standard MBox and MBox 2.
It also still includes mic pre-amps but they don't seem to be the Focusrite's that came with the original MBox years ago, oh well, I suppose some cutbacks had to be made somewhere to get all these features in at this price level.
Getting up and running is quick and very simple with this little piece of hardware and will comply on a Mac as well as a PC. It's front panel is stylish and sleek although the buttons and volume knobs are quite small. As expected with an interface of this size, there is no level metering but each channel does have a clipping light.
The real thrill comes from the Pro Tools LE software which comes with the MBox 2 Pro. Digidesign was never famous in the past for it's MIDI capabilities which has never bothered me since I rarely use MIDI but Pro Tool's latest version 7 comes with a fully integrated MIDI sequencer with 256 simultaneous tracks.
Thirty two audio tracks and 128 virtual tracks. Some people will complain that Digidesign is a bit skimpy offering only 32 audio tracks when other recording software on the market will have much more than that but considering that most people will use their MBox home studio set up to record a single mic to a small group situation , 32 tracks is plenty.
Also included in the software is the Ignition Pack which has an impressive array of plug-ins and virtual instruments. You also get the fairly decent Digidesign DigiRack plug-ins and the Bomb Factory family of plug-ins as well. There is much more 3rd party software on the market that will integrate into the Pro Tools LE system but the stuff already included will be more than enough for most home recording studio enthusiasts.
Overall, pretty tough to beat the audio quality and software capabilities with any other computer based recording program in this price range.
Digidesign Pro Tools Mbox 2 Pro Factory Bundle
If you're in need of a few extra's for your home studio you may want to consider this factory bundle which will give you some extra goodies:
- a decent AKG condensor mic
- M-Audio monitors
- a ton of extra plug-ins
Digidesign Pro Tools Mbox 2 Pro Factory Bundle