Gearslutz.com - View Single Post

voiceaddict · 9th December 2006

As a voice talent, the DigiDesign 002 and MBox (backup) have become two products that are indispensable tools for my work. I wanted to take a moment and post my comments on the modification Black Lion performed on my 002 which I received yesterday, December 8, 2006. Like many others, I asked numerous questions prior to committing myself to the upgrade. At the time I was preparing to purchase an A/D unit from another manufacture when a friend mentioned the Black Lion upgrade. I figured for the cost, it was worth checking out and after my experience with Black Lion's timely email responses, I had very little issue making the decision.

The unit was shipped over night to Black Lion on November 28th for work scheduled on the 30th. I received notification that the unit had arrived on November 29th and was set to go. Black Lion was kind enough to repair the broken headphone jack which had been snapped "in" to the unit years earlier when the back of swivel chair grazed the headphone plug inserted at the time. Upon completion of the modification, I received a notice with the UPS tracking information and the unit arrived as scheduled. After opening the unit, I could smell the work, something I personally enjoyed. I also heard a rattle inside so I opened up the unit to check it out before plugging it in. It would appear the the cold winter weather caused some excessive internal glue to become so brittle it cracked and broke off in transport, but this had nothing to do with the upgrade. Black Lion also stated a two year guarantee on work performed ... glue is glue, the unit was connected and powered up.

My typical setup involves a Sennheiser MKH416P48 or a Neumann U87 into a Buzz Audio Elixir/Essence or Requisite Audio PAL+ to the DigiDesign unit, in this case, the 002. While the session in ProTools was opening I slipped on some headphones, then hit the record button on the controller and read some copy. The result of the Black Lion upgrade is absolutely stunning to put it lightly and I still find it was hard to believe it is an 002, period. I tried the U87 with the modded mic inputs and had a similar reaction. The preamps no longer sound hollow and week. They sound beefy, given the changes made, if I had to buy four preamps like this, I would probably have to start with a Focusrite Red One. Does it mean I may stop using my external preamps? On vacation, yes, I have no reason to pack anything else now.

Overall, I would say many of us have been effected by the "lowest bidder" mentality for which most companies have become known. This upgrade fixes that problem with this particular unit (the DigiDesign 002) and with the money I saved by not buying an external a/d, d/a and clock, I could probably get away with selling the MBox on Ebay, buy a second 002 with upgrade as well.

Kevin

9th December 2006	#1
voiceaddict Gear nut Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: New York / Los Angeles Posts: 131 Thread Starter	Black Lion DigiDesign 002 Mod As a voice talent, the DigiDesign 002 and MBox (backup) have become two products that are indispensable tools for my work. I wanted to take a moment and post my comments on the modification Black Lion performed on my 002 which I received yesterday, December 8, 2006. Like many others, I asked numerous questions prior to committing myself to the upgrade. At the time I was preparing to purchase an A/D unit from another manufacture when a friend mentioned the Black Lion upgrade. I figured for the cost, it was worth checking out and after my experience with Black Lion's timely email responses, I had very little issue making the decision. The unit was shipped over night to Black Lion on November 28th for work scheduled on the 30th. I received notification that the unit had arrived on November 29th and was set to go. Black Lion was kind enough to repair the broken headphone jack which had been snapped "in" to the unit years earlier when the back of swivel chair grazed the headphone plug inserted at the time. Upon completion of the modification, I received a notice with the UPS tracking information and the unit arrived as scheduled. After opening the unit, I could smell the work, something I personally enjoyed. I also heard a rattle inside so I opened up the unit to check it out before plugging it in. It would appear the the cold winter weather caused some excessive internal glue to become so brittle it cracked and broke off in transport, but this had nothing to do with the upgrade. Black Lion also stated a two year guarantee on work performed ... glue is glue, the unit was connected and powered up. My typical setup involves a Sennheiser MKH416P48 or a Neumann U87 into a Buzz Audio Elixir/Essence or Requisite Audio PAL+ to the DigiDesign unit, in this case, the 002. While the session in ProTools was opening I slipped on some headphones, then hit the record button on the controller and read some copy. The result of the Black Lion upgrade is absolutely stunning to put it lightly and I still find it was hard to believe it is an 002, period. I tried the U87 with the modded mic inputs and had a similar reaction. The preamps no longer sound hollow and week. They sound beefy, given the changes made, if I had to buy four preamps like this, I would probably have to start with a Focusrite Red One. Does it mean I may stop using my external preamps? On vacation, yes, I have no reason to pack anything else now. Overall, I would say many of us have been effected by the "lowest bidder" mentality for which most companies have become known. This upgrade fixes that problem with this particular unit (the DigiDesign 002) and with the money I saved by not buying an external a/d, d/a and clock, I could probably get away with selling the MBox on Ebay, buy a second 002 with upgrade as well. Kevin __________________ Kevin Genus