Digidesign 003 or M-Audio Profire 2626

[Ahrue]

I'm curious

[eteam]

Well, I have limited experience with the Digidesign 003...and I have a good friend who uses one extensively. However, I myself own the 2626...so of course, I'm going to give my vote for the 2626. My reason for choosing the 2626 over the digi are two-fold. First....I'm a believer in Logic Pro over Pro Tools (not HD)...now - the latest upgrade to Logic has made it a Mac users dream come true in a lot of ways. The 2626 performs flawlessly (mostly) on my Mac with Leopard. The second reason is because of the inputs/outputs.....and future expandability. The 2626 beats the digi hands down in those areas. 8 preamps on the 2626 that honestly sound surprisingly really really good. I know that's always the sore spot for my friend who has the digi....never enough preamps. I've not actually run the full 26 channels at once yet on the m-audio, so I can't attest to it's maxed out ability, but I've not had a single issue with my 2626 since day one. So, again - my vote goes for the 2626.

[Yung]

as far as i have read the profire uses a upgraded version of m-audio's best pre amp the octane. so i would imagine the profire 2626 would have the better pre amp out of the 2.., but this is all understood from the current available product info. I dont have one on one experience with either of the products.

[The Bucket]

Any more info? Conversion quality? Opinions etc?

[skiltrip]

I'd go with the 2626 easily over the 003.

For Digi's flagship model, the 003 is surprisingly ill-equipped compared to something like the 2626.

8 preamps that many like very much compared to 4 preamps that generally just go unused.

26 ins and 26 outs on the 2626.

But the biggest thing is how much more innovative and proactive M-Audio is with their interfaces. If you look at what Digi has done over the last 8 years or so... it's been the 001, the 002, and the 003, with a bunch of lower qual MBoxes throw about here and there.

M-Audio has jumped far ahead and continue to develop new products, because their user base is not just Pro Tools, it's every other DAW out there, so they NEED to stay more competitive.

So if you decide you need to upgrade, crossgrade, or whatevergrade your interface when running Pro Tools M-Powered, you have a ton of options. If you decide you don't like your 003 with LE, there's really no place to go, but wait for the next generation of 00x interface. And in any way you go, you're buying their hardware WITH the software again so you're paying more money. With M-Audio, say you're running an 1814, and you want a 2626... you sell your old 1814 for a couple hundred bucks and put it toward the new interface. It just make a lot more sense to me.

That last example is basically what I'll probably be doing next year. I have an 1814, which I like a LOT, i just want some useable preamps, and more I/O, (and better conversion, though might debate how much better the 2626 is over the 1814).

I used to use the 001 back in the day. And when it was time to upgrade... I decided to switch over to M-Powered to give me more freedom, and I'm so glad I did. The M-Audio stuff plays nice with any other audio/video software you have on your computer, because it's designed to be used with any and all multi-media software. I doubt I'd ever go back to LE unless Digi put out some undeniably amazing interface. Until then, M-Powered is my pick.

[The Bucket]

Thanks, hearing that sir, but what other options do you have if you want to 'whatever-grade' your interface when running M-Powered? I am leaning towards the 2626 though.

Any more plus/minus opinions for each device?

[confooshus]

Be prepared for many headaches if you go the M-Powered route. I finally got sick of the buggy drivers and bought a used 002, and have been happy ever since.

[skiltrip]

Originally Posted by confooshus

Be prepared for many headaches if you go the M-Powered route. I finally got sick of the buggy drivers and bought a used 002, and have been happy ever since.

In response to this...

I've owned an M-Audio 410, and an M-Audio 1814, and have never ever ever ever ever had any bugginess in my drivers, or problems whatsoever. It's been smooth sailing since the first day I plugged it in. As long as you have the latest driver from the M-Audio site you should have zero problems. I have my configured to run as slave to an RME ADI-2 converter. I was told this might be buggy as well, but it's perfect. No problems, ever.

There's a lot of people spreading this unstable driver thing around about M-Audio interfaces, and I think it's based on a number of years back when it appeared to be true. But I do think it's a thing of the past, as I've not had any trouble. I mean, nothing, nada.

By the upgrade/crossgrade/whatevergrade, i just mean... you can use the 2626, if you find you need a little less IO, you can get the 610, if you find you want no preamps at all, and just pure ADAT IO, you get the Lightbridge. If you want to go USB for a laptop you can go with one of the USB devices instead. And of course, if M-Audio comes out with something bigger and better, you can just unload your old one and get the new one.

[Raincrow]

I am an MBox user who is needing an upgrade, and never really considered switching to M-Audio until this thread....

It would cost me about 700 for the interface....
.....what is the crossgrade from LE to M-Powered?

[skiltrip]

There's no "official" crossgrade, aside from just selling your mbox and LE license on ebay. (i did that with my 001 and PT6.4).

Then you get get the PT M-Powered software which is $249, and whatever interface you want. The ProFire's are the latest and greatest in a lot of ways, the 2626 and 610 depending on what kind of I/O you need.

[lpettipoole]

Originally Posted by skiltrip

...if you find you want no preamps at all, and just pure ADAT IO, you get the Lightbridge...

I want to pull the trigger on this but the aforementioned driver issues seem to be an unpleasant reality for this unit.

[slaphappygarry]

Originally Posted by confooshus

Be prepared for many headaches if you go the M-Powered route. I finally got sick of the buggy drivers and bought a used 002, and have been happy ever since.

I used to be m-powered too and went through a 410, 1814 and one of the wee solo boxes. Each had major driver issues and two packed in altogether and had to get repaired.

Their customer services are disgusting (you know who you are) and the pre amps and conversion were very poor.

The 003 i replaced that with has been perfect (pre's and conversion could still be better). M-Audio, IMHO, make consumer level crap for kids with laptops.

Good luck.

Garry

[The Bucket]

More conflicting opinions please.

[confooshus]

Originally Posted by skiltrip

There's a lot of people spreading this unstable driver thing around about M-Audio interfaces, and I think it's based on a number of years back when it appeared to be true. But I do think it's a thing of the past, as I've not had any trouble. I mean, nothing, nada.

I dealt with dropped firewire connections, clocking issues, and random crashes until 4 months ago when I bought the 002. Congratulations on your trouble-free operation, but I'm pretty sure you're in the minority.

Originally Posted by slaphappygarry

M-Audio, IMHO, make consumer level crap for kids with laptops.

Exactly.

[skiltrip]

Another case of depends who you ask. And keep in mind the majority of posts you read are people with problems. Not as many people stop what they are doing to report that everything is working. They come and post when they have trouble and are trying to work something out.

[wannabeengineer]

Here's the main reason to go with LE rather than M-Audio's gear: M-audio's unnecessary, redundant middleman mixer. M-Audio uses a middleman mixer in between it's gear and PT MP. And the vernacular they use to label the i/o is way outdated and will be confusing to most users. LE doesn't have this mixer. One less thing in the chain, far less of a headache.

I bought the 2626 as a replacement for my 002. Gave it a good week, learned it, but it was still like "why do i need another mixer when all these choices are redundant and built into PT already?" That plus it wasn't compatible with my Apogee PSX-100SE. Lame. LE hardware sucks hard too relative to other manufacturer's gear, but it's less of a hassle and is the way to go over MP.

[TheHatGuy]

If you ask me, i would rather go through one more piece of software to get better converters and more pres for less money than to deal with crap hardware like the 002 and 003. Some of us happen to be on a tighter budget than others.

As for the supposed bugginess, I think those issues should be easily fixable with a little in-depth troubleshooting. There is a weak link somewhere in the chain, and I am more than willing to bet that it probably nothing more than a hardware compatibility issue. Replace a $20 card and you're done.

I'll be ordering my 2626 on Friday, got a killer deal on one for less than $300. I'll post up my thoughts once I get the chance to use it on a session or 2.

[redredstudio]

m audio yes
003 no.

if you want more interface features, better sound, more pres for less $$ then go m audio.

seems like a no brainer to me.

[Matterbator]

Lol, like with so many conversations about mic pre's/etc on these forums, yet again we have a plethora of totally opposite opinions =O. I don't know whether to pick and choose who I believe, or to just not believe anything.

In any case, from a ton of the complaints I've seen by people saying that M-Audio has terribad drivers that never work correctly, they never seem to give a real clear description of what exactly is going wrong, or what they may have done/tried to do to fix it. I think a lot of people want to plug their device in and expect it to work flawlessly, but sometimes it takes some moving around to get things working right. Hell, a lot seem to be picky about what type of FW card you use, and a new 20$ one could make all the difference.

I'm also thinking about the 2626 =X.

[weezul]

been very happy with my Profire 2626 , i'm not going to lie I don't use enough equipment to claim i can hear which mic pres are good or bad, but to me moving up from an MBox 2 mini, everything was much much clearer. And of course the rediculous increase in I/O means i won't need another for a few years hopefully! Had no issues with the drivers, as long as you have a TI Firewire card (I bought one specifically) you should be fine. Im on XP SP3, Pro Tools 7.4

[ForgottenG]

Originally Posted by slaphappygarry

I used to be m-powered too and went through a 410, 1814 and one of the wee solo boxes. Each had major driver issues and two packed in altogether and had to get repaired.

Their customer services are disgusting (you know who you are) and the pre amps and conversion were very poor.

The 003 i replaced that with has been perfect (pre's and conversion could still be better). M-Audio, IMHO, make consumer level crap for kids with laptops.

Good luck.

Garry

The Profire 2626 is totally different then the FW410 The conversion is significantly different then the old consumer M-Audio pieces and the pres as mentioned are a step up.You are talking about a company that is growing leaps and bounds and will soon replace Protools LE and Digi Lite. Be careful about writing off a company because you had issues with equipment that is outdated. Technology changes and grows. I applaud M-audio for staying in the game and upping the anti. I'm tired of Digi limiting my work flow.

Profire 2626 = 8 pres with the ability to lightpipe in 16 and better conversion.

003 = 4 pres and 8 lightpiped in

$699 vs. $1199

The profire 2626 is definately worth looking at. I ordered 2 of them.

[slaphappygarry]

Originally Posted by ForgottenG

The Profire 2626 is totally different then the FW410 The conversion is significantly different then the old consumer M-Audio pieces and the pres as mentioned are a step up.You are talking about a company that is growing leaps and bounds and will soon replace Protools LE and Digi Lite. Be careful about writing off a company because you had issues with equipment that is outdated. Technology changes and grows. I applaud M-audio for staying in the game and upping the anti. I'm tired of Digi limiting my work flow.

Profire 2626 = 8 pres with the ability to lightpipe in 16 and better conversion.

003 = 4 pres and 8 lightpiped in

$699 vs. $1199

The profire 2626 is definately worth looking at. I ordered 2 of them.

I appreciate this all but my experiences with the whole lot of M-Audio's last line has put me off them and their products.

And for the record, M-Audio is Digi. Both are owned by Avid, one is consumer and the other is their pro (the way i see it anyway). Your claim that one is catching up with another will never actually happen, it poor business practice to make your cheap kit better than the expensive stuff.

Once again, I must stress, if your M-Audio works then great. If it doesn't then its a nightmare.

Good luck with whatever you end up buying, if it works for you and you make music with it, COOL!

G

[slaphappygarry]

$699 vs. $1199

One last little point. The M-Audio stops being such a great deal when you add the cost of M-Powered to the equasion which seems to be around $300.

So, for a pro tools set up its fairer to be saying: $999 vs. $1199

G

[skiltrip]

Originally Posted by slaphappygarry

One last little point. The M-Audio stops being such a great deal when you add the cost of M-Powered to the equasion which seems to be around $300.

So, for a pro tools set up its fairer to be saying: $999 vs. $1199

G

Actually, M-Powered is $249, so it's a savings of $250. That's pretty significant to my ears.

But... you can get a bundle...
Buy M-Audio ProFire 2626 & Pro Tools Bundle Free Upgrade to Version 8 online at GigaSonic.com for $799.

So $799 vs. $1199, a savings of $400. Not too shabby. That's a nice microphone or compressor right there.

There's even another seller on Ebay with a bundle for $749.

[slaphappygarry]

Well, cool. Sounds like a bargain.

But, using the same logic the 003 can be found for $900 new online. I have the 003 and am very happy with it. Sure there are things I would change but it is rock solid and gets used everyday pretty solidly am very happy. In general (and, in the past) I was really unhappy with M-Audio stuff. If they have sorted this then muchos kudus to them.

G

[ForgottenG]

In regards to M-audio fazing out Digi LE keep in mind that Digi laid off over a hundred people, very few of them were M-Audio guys because M-Audio is making a profit. All I am saying is stay tuned.

[Micah Tolentino]

are there any software differences between LE & MP, or is just the I/O?

[Andysw]

I just wanted to chime in here because I recently faced the same hard decision you did between the same bits of gear.

My advice is to just make a decision..
You can agonize (as I did) over which might have better conversion etc, etc but at the end of the day it's not going to be a night and day difference in that price range...

As far as issues..
Don't get caught up in this,
Make your decision based on what software you're using and what I/O capability you need.
M-audio does not = Consumer compared to 003,
They are in the same league..

I had some really awesome folk on here tell me exactly what I needed to avoid any problems with drivers/setup, so don't worry about that at all.

I went for the 2626 because I don't really want to use PT anymore, but ... I can if I want to.
Not to say that you can't use the 003 with other software, the 2626 just seemed more attractive, and was cheaper

And... it sounds really nice!

[ckreon]

Doesn't peeder use the 2626 in combination with an 003?

I'm curious how this is done if it's true.