mbox 3 pro vs digi 003

[chalz2502]

hey i need some opinions from people who have experienced having both, the mbox 3 pro and the digi 003. i only have a day or 2 maybe on which one should i get? which one is better? i heard plenty of stories from different people who's owned them both. some say the mbox pro is better cause of the converter, some say the digi 003 is better cause the mbox pro has had malfunction problems. i dont know what to believe but i do want the best so im reaching out to all engineers, artist or whom ever has had both or know the difference by witnessing it with your own eyes and ears. not what you heard but what you know. i need to know which one should i get, and tell me why.

[nst7]

I can not speak from the experience of owning one (regarding malfunctions, etc.), but I can speak from having heard them sound quality wise, and it's not even a contest. The Mbox Pro conversion is on a whole different level (better).

However, none of that helps if the thing doesn't work. It does seem there's been some quality control issues, but I don't know if some of the negativity has been from operator error. The Mbox Pro can be a little more complex to set up in that it uses separate software for setting up and routing, similar to many 3rd party interfaces (Focusrite Mix Control, Apogee Maestro, etc.).

Also, as you may know, they are very different in terms of the amount of inputs/outputs.

There are also many nice 3rd party solutions, if you're on PT9 or later. I'm not sure why you have to choose only between these two.

[chalz2502]

yea i dont have a choice to pick one of them 2 because i only have pt8. sorry, i didnt include that in my last post. but yea i heard the mbox 3 pro is better in conversion quality so i think ima go with it. thanks

[albee1952]

You skipped an important question; how many inputs do you need at any one time??? If its 4, then the Mbox would likely serve you well enough. But if you ever want to track a band or a full drum kit, then the 003 is a much wiser choice. The basic 003 starts off with 4 mic preamps that are adequate(plain vanilla), but offers several ways to add more preamps, AND better converters. On my rig, I use the 003 controller and have the setup maxed out to the full 18 inputs with the following:

Focusrite Octopre Mk II Dynamic(analog out to the 003 line inputs)
Focusrite ISA-428 w/digital card(lightpipe into the 003)
Vintech and API preamps(feeding the A>D car in the 428)
DBX-386 2 channel tube preamp(feeding the SPDIF input of the 003).

The Mbox Pro tops out at 8 total inputs, but 2 of those 8 are on -10(consumer level) RCA inputs, so its "sort of" 8 inputs(4 mic preamps, 2 channels via SPDIF and 2 channels via the RCA jacks).

[chalz2502]

thanks dave, sound like you know your stuff and im thankful for that. well to answer your question im using any instruments, just recording audio. so i dont need that many inputs. but from my understanding the converters are about 5 years better then the digi 003. i heard that from hundreds of people, they say thats the main thing that stands out about it. better converter and time clock, which makes sense in allota ways. after hearing more people say the mbox pro is much better i decided to purchase the new mbox. i mean nothin against the 003 because i had the 002 and i feel in love with it. its just that their both 2 old and not even being made anymore. i dont wanna take a chance on some old features that something new could possibly top all day, just because new things happen. upgrades happen. in every area something is gonna mature no matter what it is, and from my understanding the mbox 3 is pretty much better in certain ways. wouldnt say it tops it 100% but because its new i think it'll give me better quality. i sold my 002 control board just to get the new mbox. hey sometimes u gotta move on. plain and simple them digi boards are too damn old

[albee1952]

Don't get me wrong here. I agree that the new 3rd gen Mboxes have better converters than the 003(and better preamps as well, which I am bypassing to a certain degree). My ISA, DBX and lunchbox preamps all bypass those converters for all my "important" channels. The stock converters are only handling snare and toms(where they sound fine), scratch guitars and talkback mics. As long as the Mbox Pro has your IO needs covered, I would go with that. Only reason I chimed in was because I have seen new users buy Mboxes and then whine about not being able to record a drum kit

[chalz2502]

oh ok i see what u sayin, yea i only record audio so it really wouldnt mean too much to me.