Dangerous D-Box

[TREMORS]

I just read the write up in TapeOp about this, and they had nothing but good things to say.
It really seems perfect for my modest setup: some summing, better DAC than the 002, and monitor/talkback features.
Seems to cover a lot of ground for one box, and I am always wary of a product that does several different things, but not one of them very well.
I've never owned a DangerousMusic product, but I know they make quality stuff.
Anyone in slutland have one of these yet, and hows it working for you? TapeOp had glowing review....anyone concur?

-D

[bannerj]

I just read that review this week too and asked a question about it a few days ago. My biggest question is about summing in general though...if 8, why not 16? I guess it depends on how many tracks you are using overall. There are a few threads on here about it if you look them up though.

[russellwolff]

i got one and it is all that i dreamed of :-)

let me know if you have any questions.

-rw

[kwilliams]

Originally Posted by TREMORS

I just read the write up in TapeOp about this, and they had nothing but good things to say.
It really seems perfect for my modest setup: some summing, better DAC than the 002, and monitor/talkback features.
Seems to cover a lot of ground for one box, and I am always wary of a product that does several different things, but not one of them very well.
I've never owned a DangerousMusic product, but I know they make quality stuff.
Anyone in slutland have one of these yet, and hows it working for you? TapeOp had glowing review....anyone concur?

-D

It's a great unit. The onboard convertors are quite good (as good or better than most quality D/As out there). The monitoring section is very transparent. The summing section is identical to a Dangerous 2bus but you only get 8 channels instead of 16. You can select multiple inputs simultaneously and it has a great talkback section......great all in one box!

[TREMORS]

Cool! Confirms that this might be my next purchase!
I have been away for awhile.

[muziksculp]

The D-Box is on my list of items to get for my project studio. It seems to fit my requirements, and budget perfectly.

For monitoring applications, headphones, talk-balk, ...etc. the D-Box has it all, and I'm confident it is a big step up from the quality I'm gettng out of my Presonus Central Station. which is quite good.

The part that I have not been able to evaluate clearly so far is how good, and useful is the analog summing part of the D-Box, could I use it for summing an orchestral score ?i.e. by routing 4 stereo stems (Strings - Brass - Woodwinds - Percussion) to the D-Box's 8 inputs. Mainly to get more headroom, clarity, imaging, and any additional outboard DSP I could apply to warm up, or add a special character to my mix.

I have never used an analog summing unit, I have been doing all the mixing ITB so far, but if there is a significant improvement in going OTB using the D-Box that would be great, besides the other great features it offers. Currently I use an Apogee Rosetta 800 audio interface (A/D-D/A), which I Love.

Any feedback on this would be appreciated.

[bannerj]

Originally Posted by muziksculp

The part that I have not been able to evaluate clearly so far is how good, and useful is the analog summing part of the D-Box, could I use it for summing an orchestral score ?i.e. by routing 4 stereo stems (Strings - Brass - Woodwinds - Percussion) to the D-Box's 8 inputs. Mainly to get more headroom, clarity, imaging, and any additional outboard DSP I could apply to warm up, or add a special character to my mix.

I'm a Metric Halo 2882 user here and it does all the things you are talking about plus it has its own set of processors (limiters, comps, EQ etc) all in an onboard DSP and it has its own eight preamps.

That being said, I'm still very curious about the D/A on the d-box and am considering it for the school studio as a kind of second mixing suite in another room.

As far as your question. I wouldn't worry too much about the summing abilities of the unit since you haven't had any previous experience summing OTB. It is such a controversial topic with so many varying opinions that you can't be too sure about it until you personally have spent plenty of time trying it out for yourself and comparing some OTB mixes through it with some of your previous ITB mixes.

I'd look at it like this: you get a great monitoring unit with high quality D/A conversion and talk back etc. That alone is worth the money they are asking for it. If in time you learn to sum your mixes through it and like the results...well, that'll be a huge bonus later.

[muziksculp]

Originally Posted by bannerj

I'm a Metric Halo 2882 user here and it does all the things you are talking about plus it has its own set of processors (limiters, comps, EQ etc) all in an onboard DSP and it has its own eight preamps.

That being said, I'm still very curious about the D/A on the d-box and am considering it for the school studio as a kind of second mixing suite in another room.

As far as your question. I wouldn't worry too much about the summing abilities of the unit since you haven't had any previous experience summing OTB. It is such a controversial topic with so many varying opinions that you can't be too sure about it until you personally have spent plenty of time trying it out for yourself and comparing some OTB mixes through it with some of your previous ITB mixes.

I'd look at it like this: you get a great monitoring unit with high quality D/A conversion and talk back etc. That alone is worth the money they are asking for it. If in time you learn to sum your mixes through it and like the results...well, that'll be a huge bonus later.

I totally Agree.

Thanks for the feedback.

[el cochino]

I love my D-Box!

[muziksculp]

Originally Posted by el cochino

I love my D-Box!

That's Great to hear.

Are you also using the analog summing features of the D-Box ?

If you are, it would be quite helpful to hear your comments about the results you are obtaining using the OTB summming from the D-Box, and how it seems to compare to ITB mixes done in your DAW ?

Thanks.

[nine99nine]

Originally Posted by bannerj

...My biggest question is about summing in general though...if 8, why not 16?...

My guess would be that at 16, the cost of the unit would be out of the price demographic they are trying to attract. Another 8 channels would also mean they would have to fit the electronics of another 8 channels of summing into the box. They may have enough room for the db25 on the back, but could have made the unit entirely crammed or even larger than it is now.

[el cochino]

Originally Posted by muziksculp

That's Great to hear.

Are you also using the analog summing features of the D-Box ?

If you are, it would be quite helpful to hear your comments about the results you are obtaining using the OTB summming from the D-Box, and how it seems to compare to ITB mixes done in your DAW ?

Thanks.

I'm not mixing ITB so I can't comment on this - sorry.