Are you happy with your Mbox 3 Pro?

[Steve Marcotte]

I would like to hear from people that are happy with the Mbox 3 Pro.

I sold my Mbox 2 Pro today and bought an Mbox 3 Pro based on reviews saying the 3s were much better than the 2s.

After getting it home (and before opening the box) I found some threads saying folks are having problems with the 3s and are very unhappy.

I think the one I bought is an older unit because it comes bundled with "Pro Tool LE" instead of PT 9 (I already own PT 9 so don't need the software). I'm in Hawaii and I think sales are slower here and it may have been sitting on the shelf. The copyright date is 2010 instead of 2011.

So now I'm wondering if I should return this unit before opening it and maybe buy one from Sweetwater or someone like that assuming I'll get a more recent model.

I travel a lot so need a unit that is portable like this.

Advice?

[evilberg]

I don´t think there is any difference between the models shipped in late 2010 & the ones that shipped early this year. However there is a HUGE difference between the MboxPro2 & the new one. You can´t really compare the two.

I bought the same model you just bought & I could not be happier. I love this interface! The preamps & converters are great and very transparent.

I have recorded 2 albums using the Mbox Pro. One big rock album & a soft acoustic album. Both albums sound fantastic.

So just plug it in, you are in for a treat.

[Steve Marcotte]

Thanks evilberg for the reply. That is encouraging.

[Will Russell]

It sounds awesome. Excellent feature set. Great price.

Drawback- it must be first in the firewire chain to work at all. This means that you slow your FW800 drives to fW400 speeds, which doesn't really affect audio work but makes moving files and backing up between drives half it's potential. Also, you cannot run a bus powered drive with this system. These might not be issues for most users but I'm returning mine for these reasons.

[chrisdee]

Originally Posted by Steve Marcotte

After getting it home (and before opening the box) I found some threads saying folks are having problems with the 3s and are very unhappy.

I suspect many of the issues you read about here are user related.

I got the Mbox Pro some months ago, also coming from the old Mbox 2 Pro.
As already said, there is a big difference in conversion quality between the two (like night and day).

The new Mbox Pro is many, many steps up. It's much more clear and detailed compared to the Mbox 2 Pro.

Also there is near zero latency when monitoring though it's mixer. So delay when tracking is no longer an issue.
Especially when tracking at 96 kHz or above.

I also like the mic/line input switches. Easy accessable and handy when switching between tracking and listening.
Also very nice is that the line inputs on the backside goes directly to the A/D and not via the preamps or HPF.

[chrisdee]

Originally Posted by Will Russell

Drawback- it must be first in the firewire chain to work at all. This means that you slow your FW800 drives to fW400 speeds, which doesn't really affect audio work but makes moving files and backing up between drives half it's potential.

I don't think this is an issue if you have two fw busses.

Originally Posted by Will Russell

Also, you cannot run a bus powered drive with this system. These might not be issues for most users but I'm returning mine for these reasons.

True, but seem like all professional quality soundcards use external power and not bus power.

[Steve Marcotte]

Thanks for the replies.

Good to hear more confirmation about the difference in the quality of sound on the MBP 3 vs 2. I was reluctant to give up the 2 because it was bus powered but the truth is I always use it in my home studio so that isn't an issue.

It is troubling that it has to be first in the FW chain. The MBP 2 wasn't like that. And Apple in their infinite wisdom chose to only include one FW port (an 800) on the new MacBook Pros.

I wonder if there is a Firewire bus splitter like the USB ones?

[Will Russell]

A FW800 hub won't work with the MBoxPro3. The MBoxPro3 must be first in line on the bus. The only way around it is of you have a MacPro and install a separate FW800 bus card.

[Steve Marcotte]

Originally Posted by Will Russell

A FW800 hub won't work with the MBoxPro3. The MBoxPro3 must be first in line on the bus. The only way around it is of you have a MacPro and install a separate FW800 bus card.

Okay, great, thanks. I was just researching hubs. I'll look into the card idea instead.

[Steve Marcotte]

The expresscard route to get a couple of FW800 ports isn't too expensive. However, I wonder if there is an Avid/Digi issue with having the audio drives hooked up that way?