Static With Mbox 3 Mini and Macbook

[JKard]

Hey Friends,

I just picked up a Mbox 3 mini, and installed the software and hooked it up to my Macbook Pro, and it is outputting nothing but tons of static. Sounds absolutely awful.

I then installed and hooked it up to a iMac (about a month old), and it seems fine, no static when recording or listening. Everything sounds good.

I just flattened the Macbook and reinstalled OSX 10.6.6 (Same version that's on the iMac), so it's a really clean environment right now.

Any ideas of what the issue is?

Thanks
Jay

[Chris7514]

which USB socket did you plug your MBox 3 Mini to ? It's a known problem with MBox series an Mac Book Pro. You can only plug it in the USB next to the power input. The other USB outlet for some reason causes tons of problems with MBox. I hope it helps.
Chris7514

[JKard]

Thanks Chris,

I actually plugged it into both ports, and both had the exact same issue. Was there any kind of discussion on this? I did a search and am not finding anything.

Best
Jay

[JKard]

Adding System Details:

Macbook Pro 2.2 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
Macbook Version = MacBookPro 3,1 (circa late 2007)
OS = 10.6.6
Pro Tools Version = 8.0.4cs2
Memory = 4 GB 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM
Boot ROM Version = MBP31.0070.B07
SMC Version = 1.16f11
USB = USB High-Speed Bus

Digi Support, you there??

[Chris7514]

It looks like everything is fine with your setup. I have identical MacBook Pro (2.16 GHz- precisely). The only reason besides USB sockets or bad cable lies in hardware itself. Connect another MBox 3 device to your laptop ( borrow it from a friend or the local music store etc.) and check if it works fine ( use the same cable). If it does, than it eliminates your laptop. Than the "bad guy" is MBox itself.
It happens with the hardware. After all everything we use these days is chinese junk...
Welcome to 21st "corporate" century ! :-(
Chris7514
By the way, speaking of "chinese" way: my friend and I both have Mackie studio monitors. Mine are approx 9 y.o. His are brand new. Mine are made entirely in the USA, his are made in China.
The difference is tremendous ! Mine are in a completely "different league" compared to his ( we've tested back to back). Pristine !! His are just average sounding.

[JKard]

Yeah, I had thought of that, and am going to go test with a Mbox 2 to see if it works.

The only thing that makes me think it's not the Mbox is that it works fine on the iMac (which is a lot newer). I would think that if the Mbox is messed up, I would be hearing the static (hiss) on the iMac too

Getting kind of upset at the silence from Avid (even opened a paid ticket with them), and have not heard anything.

[Chris7514]

It's the laptop then...
I would test the laptop with variety of hardware though...
Just to make absolute shure. It can simply be the combination of these particular pieces of your hardware that for some reason refuse to pair properly.
Good luck with your research.
Chris7514

[JKard]

Good idea. I actually hooked up a Mbox 2 this weekend, and it worked just fine, so kind of confused now.

I may go to the local Guitar Center and see if they have one I can attach and see if it works.

Thanks again man
J

[Chris7514]

Yeah. Believe me- we had tons of headaches because of hardware problems with Digi (now Avid) products in the past. Every time Apple released new product for some reason there were difficulties with properly pairing Digi hardware with Mac computers.
The newest iMac issue is a good example of a "corporate war" between Apple and Avid. Many of us - PT users couldnt use iMac- MBox series combination with USB.
The same issue was with MacBook Pro and MBox via USB. Only the socket next to power supply worked fine.
Both cases have been reluctantly acknowledged by Digi corporate reps.
iMacs as a result are " not qualified" to using with Avid products (!).
The war between Pro Tools and Logic continues... Avid gave up, and allows using PT 9 software with variety of audio interfaces now ( it was only Digi hardware before). We'll see where this " war" goes next.
On the other hand : both companies Apple and Avid manufacture their products in China ( as does everybody else). No jobs for us - Americans in this "business".

[JKard]

UPDATE:

So I went to Guitar Center, and hooked up a Mbox 3 (the big one) to my laptop, and it worked fine, no issues at all. Then I hooked up a different but still brand new Mbox 3 Mini, and same fracking, hiss, pops, static. Doesn't work.

Seems that the Mbox 3 Mini does not work with a Macbook Pro. Not sure what the difference is between the two Mbox models, but obviously there is some kind of difference.

Needless to say, this pisses me off greatly. What a waste of time and money. Great work Avid, and good job to your QA team, you all are doing wonderful jobs!! I know it's tough to test every computer out there, especially one of the number one selling Mac's to date, so please don't fret. Now, stop reading this and go back to sleep.

J