Which Interface???

[DustySpuds]

Hi guys,

Ok, so I was all set to rid myself of my 001 on G4 Powermac and mBox on G4 Powerbook to consolidate to one simple set-up, Macbook and mbox 2. I was once quite into keeping upto date with all the goings on in the budget recording world (about 2 years ago) but now I'm well out of it.

So I started looking into mBox 2, no firewire, no real improvements over the mbox? Whats goin on?

So now I've looked into PT M-Powered, and opened another can of worms... theres so many interfaces to choose from.

I think I've narrowed it down to just a few, but am not sure which one to pick...

The most important thing I'm looking for are d/a conversion quality (its bad on mBox, I think, sounds muddy, has no power... Although I thought it was decent enough on Digi 001) as I will be mainly mixing on my new set-up. I suppose in the short term, I do not plan to record anything with it. I also would prefer to have a firewire interface.

Here are my choices:

mbox 2 (really unsure of quality because of original mbox)
mbox mini (same as above)
firewire audiophile
Transit (really portable but usb and prob not very good d/a converters)
Firewire 410


Soemthing which I may consider is getting an 002r on the cheap (but I'm worried about support being pulled within 6 months) or perhaps a refurb Project Mix i/o?

If any one has any advice on these products or first hand experience with them (especially your opinions of the d/a quality) I'd love to hear your opinions.. I'm really not sure what I want. But i know that I'm looking for at least Digi 001 quality d/a conversion.

Thanks for reading,

Dave.

[RC99]

MBox Pro not a possibility? There's someone who does mods to MBoxes and 002s, forgot who. He puts in better converters and preamps, as I recall. May want to look into it.

[Stiff]

MBox Pro not a possibility? There's someone who does mods to MBoxes and 002s, forgot who. He puts in better converters and preamps, as I recall. May want to look into it.

Thinking of Black Lion Audio perhaps?

[letrev]

I've been pretty happy with my Mbox 2 Pro. The firewire i/o works well and I just ordered the Black Lion mod which will improve the clock, pres and output stage.

[RC99]

Thinking of Black Lion Audio perhaps?

That's the one, yeah.

[The Dougfather]

I just picked up a new 002R and in terms of cost it was a bargain, i got it for less than an Mbox Pro because of the 003 release. The good thing is if down the line i want to add more suitable pre's the ADAT wil allow it (Octopre) etc. Can't really give you an idea of the Pre's because i've only had it a few days haven't recorded with it yet.

Cheers