DigiDesign Mbox II Pro vs Mbox II or Mbox I (latency, quality etc)

marcnyc · 25th January 2007, 07:11 PM

Hello,
I have a recording studio but I need to be able to sometimes take something with me on the road or home or on a trip to do some work. Since I am a ProTools user and DigiDesign finally has something that will open my 88.2/96 sessions, I was wondering if any of you can share some real world experiences about the Mbox II Pro.

Aside from the obvious differences that you can read on the website, are there differences in the quality of sound between an Mbox II Pro and the Mbox II and I?

Most importantly, it's FireWire, does that mean less/decent latency?

I used an Mbox I (usb) on a trip once and I was recording something and it was terrible. It made it hard to record rhythm-sensitive material for the musician than was using headphones.

Any advice would be great.
Thanks

nbattist · 25th January 2007, 08:46 PM

I havn't used the MBox 2 line yet, but to my understanding, all three (Pro, standard and Mini) have zero-latency. It doesn't have anything to do with the USB vs. FireWire, but rather they have a built in mixer like the 002. The reason the Pro would have firewire is just because it has more ins/outs, it needs the higher bandwidth over the USB 1.1.

terminal3 · 25th January 2007, 09:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nbattist

I havn't used the MBox 2 line yet, but to my understanding, all three (Pro, standard and Mini) have zero-latency. It doesn't have anything to do with the USB vs. FireWire, but rather they have a built in mixer like the 002. The reason the Pro would have firewire is just because it has more ins/outs, it needs the higher bandwidth over the USB 1.1.

the Pro doesn't have a 'mix' knob, instead it uses the software-based 'low latency monitoring' option [like the 002/002R]. the standard mbox 2 & the mini do have the 'mix' knobs to get zero-latency monitoring, there is no software-based option for LLM. so, technically, the Pro isn't zero-latency, whereas the other ones are.

marcnyc · 25th January 2007, 09:39 PM

how LL is it though? compared to an HD system... can one record rhythm-sensitive material on it?

terminal3 · 25th January 2007, 09:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by marcnyc

how LL is it though? compared to an HD system... can one record rhythm-sensitive material on it?

Not as quick but decent. The advantage of LLM over the mix knob is you hear your other recorded material as well 'in sync' with your input, just without plug-ins.

in the case of whether you can record rhythm-sensitive material, I think it depends on the player. it can be done, I've done it, but you have to think ahead just a *touch* ...

marcnyc · 31st January 2007, 05:20 AM

so with an Mbox 2 Pro I won't be able to record, say, a guitar with AmpliTube plug ins for distortion or something like that?
That's what I was doing with Mbox I and the latency was horrible... my player was having a real hard time

terminal3 · 15th February 2007, 12:44 PM

it'll be a bit better than with the original Mbox simply due to the fact that it's firewire and not USB. but it won't be perfect, you won't be able to use 'low-latency monitoring' as that disables plug-ins. it depends how good your guitarist is I guess, and how low you can get your buffer.

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25th January 2007, 07:11 PM	#1
marcnyc Gear nut Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 121	DigiDesign Mbox II Pro vs Mbox II or Mbox I (latency, quality etc) Hello, I have a recording studio but I need to be able to sometimes take something with me on the road or home or on a trip to do some work. Since I am a ProTools user and DigiDesign finally has something that will open my 88.2/96 sessions, I was wondering if any of you can share some real world experiences about the Mbox II Pro. Aside from the obvious differences that you can read on the website, are there differences in the quality of sound between an Mbox II Pro and the Mbox II and I? Most importantly, it's FireWire, does that mean less/decent latency? I used an Mbox I (usb) on a trip once and I was recording something and it was terrible. It made it hard to record rhythm-sensitive material for the musician than was using headphones. Any advice would be great. Thanks

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25th January 2007, 08:46 PM	#2
nbattist Gear interested Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Halifax, NS Posts: 11	I havn't used the MBox 2 line yet, but to my understanding, all three (Pro, standard and Mini) have zero-latency. It doesn't have anything to do with the USB vs. FireWire, but rather they have a built in mixer like the 002. The reason the Pro would have firewire is just because it has more ins/outs, it needs the higher bandwidth over the USB 1.1.

25th January 2007, 09:39 PM	#4
marcnyc Gear nut Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 121	how LL is it though? compared to an HD system... can one record rhythm-sensitive material on it?

31st January 2007, 05:20 AM	#6
marcnyc Gear nut Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 121	so with an Mbox 2 Pro I won't be able to record, say, a guitar with AmpliTube plug ins for distortion or something like that? That's what I was doing with Mbox I and the latency was horrible... my player was having a real hard time

15th February 2007, 12:44 PM	#7
terminal3 Lives for gear Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: London, UK Posts: 1,652	it'll be a bit better than with the original Mbox simply due to the fact that it's firewire and not USB. but it won't be perfect, you won't be able to use 'low-latency monitoring' as that disables plug-ins. it depends how good your guitarist is I guess, and how low you can get your buffer.