How can system specs or firewire cable be an issue when the Mbox 2 Pro is no longer connected to the computer?
First I had it connected to my computer. Got pops and crackles, even in Windows (Windows sounds / Windows Media Player). Then I thought I should try sending a signal straight through the Mbox, isolated from the computer, therefore I disconnected the firewire cable.
Currently, DC Power is connected (included from Digidesign), monitors are connected, and an input source is connected for testing purpose. Still, I get (the same kind of) pops and crackles. That's why I'm about to conclude with faulty hardware.
Anyway, here is my system specs:
Asus P5K-Premium Motherboard
Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 2.4 GHz
4GB Corsair DDR2 PC2-6400 RAM
Geforce 9500 GT GPU
Onboard OHCI compliant firewire chipset
Western Digital Raptor 73,4GB System drive
Western Digital Raptor 150GB Audio drive
Seagate 1TB storage drive
Samsung 2x500GB (Raid 0) storage drive
I haven't purchased a "Digidesign qualified Firewire card" yet, since my onboard FW chipset works perfectly with an Echo AudioFire 8. But for now I'm not too concerned about this.