Occasional headphone out problems with Mbox 3 Pro

[tuyun]

IS A SOFTWARE PROBLEM OR A HARDWARE PROBLEM?

[jbasil]

Originally Posted by aenigma

I might be wrong, but my guess is it's hardware. I've used other Mboxs with ProTools 8 and have never seen this problem.

I believe it's software, because the mBox Pro 3, unlike all the other mBoxes AFAIK, is the only one that uses a separate software control panel, outside of PTools, for routing and settings. And the kind of random, unexplainable jumps to incorrect behavior while being set up properly that I've seen just don't feel like hardware.

AVID probably farmed out part of the programming to get it out when they did, because there are so many issues with it I can't imagine it being an in-house job. If it was then there are worse problems going on then just a loose wire. I'd love to have it explained to me by someone involved with it. But they should have done it with all the settings taken care of from the box with no extra software in the computer. It just doesn't work reliably enough.

[aenigma]

Originally Posted by bedfordstop

i kind of want to do a fresh reinstall of my OS and PT 9 at some point to see if i can shake the gremlins out.

I also played around with my output routing, and it hasn't changed anything. I also did a fresh install of OSX last night and still no luck.

I've played around in 4 different sessions today, and the only one to have the headphones working properly was the first session after the install. I have now gone from having the occasional cut out, to having static in everything I listen to through my headphones. This is so frustrating. I've had this thing for only 5 days and approximately 90% of the time I've used it, I've have this issue.

Is it worth waiting for Avid to do something about? I'm really ready to just box it up and take back and go for Saffire Pro 40 or something.

[anackman]

so from time to time the master volume knob behaves strangely i.e. random volume levels suddenly jumping to much higher or lower volume instead of gradual increase and/or decrease. Very Nasty! Any thoughts?

...Yup me too. I turn the master volume knob up and nothing happens, then it suddenly sky-rockets to like 11. When turning the volume knob down, it's leaps down to absolute zero with no fade action whatsoever...extremely frustrating. This happened on my last MBox 3 Pro...I've had 4 units total.

[jbasil]

Well, you could use up your one single phone support call, which is the only way to get through regarding mBox Pro issues, since, with all due respect, they don't get answered by AVID here or anywhere else on the the entire site. What they'll do is probably give you an answer and then say your tech support ticket will be open for one month. After that it's considered solved. And you are out of support! For a box that was released not working. AVID is basically having a last ditch fling at this end of the production niche, because, seriously, no one I know who bought one would consider sticking with and AVID product when they move up unless some big changes happen. And since I've been a witness to it since December my hopes are not high that they have their finger on that pulse.

Why have the only tech support avenue a USER group of users who can't provide fixes, just commiseration? Obviously,the DUC has little ties to AVID tech support, as evidenced by the fact that whoever is responsible for monitoring this has no response to these questions. And again, it's not a flame, just the truth. This is the only AVID place we can bring these issues up and yet it's just us begging for answers from each other. Why would anyone invest in a system and only have no company support when it doesn't work EXCEPT FOR ONE PHONE CALL ONCE FOR ONE ISSUE?!?!?!

To use this thread's issue as an example, I've personally seen this happen since December. It has been posted here before. Tech support responded here one month ago that they are aware of it and a fix is "in the queue", which is bad on two fronts, the first that it's not a sudden, little known and hard to reproduce quirk, it's been killing users since for six months with no response. If it was in the queue a month ago with no word could mean a hundred things, none of them good. The sudden jumps in delay between the Control Panel and PTools? The sudden "no sound" issue which happens in the middle of sessions? Where the fix is to run this, record this, play this, stop this, and it's back until the next time it happens (though the inspiration (or client) might not come back).

I'm not a troll, I've been spending money on Digi products since SoundTools in 1990 and have happily worked with every Digi hardware at every level from the highest TDM and HD to the lowest home rig, most of them in my own spaces, with my money. I'm just begging for the support to rise to the occasion before I just tell people looking to get a rig to buy something else.

[chrisdee]

I'v experienced the white noise issue once so far, but that's one time to many.
I was tracking and suddenly a nasty burst of white noise in the headphones.
Are you trying to destroy my hearing AVID ???


Kudos for the Mbox Pro AD/DA quality Avid. Many steps up from my old Mbox 2 Pro.

[jbasil]

The mBox Pro sounds fantastic. The audio quality they've nailed with it is no subtle nudge up, it's alongside the best you can use at three times the price. But they need to include the fine print disclaimer "Not suitable for working under time constraints or with others in the room waiting for something to happen. Sessions may or may not ever get completed. AVID is not responsible for self inflicted injury due to the unit's abilty to occasionally cause recording sessions to be cancelled and not rebooked"

[chrisdee]

Originally Posted by jbasil

The mBox Pro sounds fantastic. The audio quality they've nailed with it is no subtle nudge up, it's alongside the best you can use at three times the price. But they need to include the fine print disclaimer "Not suitable for working under time constraints or with others in the room waiting for something to happen. Sessions may or may not ever get completed. AVID is not responsible for self inflicted injury due to the unit's abilty to occasionally cause recording sessions to be cancelled and not rebooked"

Just for fun, I would be nice to se an independet AD/DA shootout between the Omni and Mbox Pro.
But I guess one would need the Omni to be able hear any difference.

[jbasil]

Well, regardless of whether solutions can be worked out with firmware or software updates, the undeniable fact is that the mBox Pro is such a low priority to support that it's still nearly off their radar six months later.

Oh well. Not what I had predicted or wished for, but the facts are the facts. Officially on my "do not recommend" list.

C'mon, AVID! Make me wrong! I sincerely want that!

[mesa3077boogie]

I need answers! this freakin mbox 3 pro is pissin me off. Only left headphone amp works and the master volume knob jumps around. no fixes in 9.0.3 , no better with latest driver update.

FIX IT AVID!