quality of MBOX preamps by focusrite

[92accordlxtuner]

how is the quality of the MBOX Focusite mic preamps?
somebody that i trust told me they are not very good, and im better off getting an outboard mic pre. is that true?

how about the digi002R preamps, are they any good?
trow a number if you can form 1 to 10 perhaps!

[RadioMoo]

For the Mbox, about 7 (if you're familiar with the Mackie consoles with the VLZ pres, I give those a 4); they're not top-notch pres, but they do a respectable job. Like any other pre, the better the mic, the better the output, e. g., vocals done with a C414 will sound better than the same vocals done with SM57s. If you've got the cash, put it into the mic first; the Mbox won't disappoint.

EDIT: here's a thread called "Budget Preamp" that'll give you some other opinions.

[subsonicworld]

Was speaking to a guy from Focusrite about this- He said basically that they are good clean pre-amps, but nothing special... But then he WAS trying to sell us a twin track pro at the time... (We only wanted to know about the Mbox... haha!)

jb