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Hatsubai « Decent entry level pre »
Published on 06/17/11 at 07:14The Mbox 2 is probably the most popular pre that Digidesign has offered throughout the years. This model is meant for the beginning recording artist due to its price point and features. The preamp features 4 inputs, 2 outputs, MIDI, USB, phantom power, S/PDIF and a few other things tucked up its sleeve. One of the biggest things this one comes with is Pro Tools LE.
UTILIZATION
Dididesign did a decent job with this preamp. On the plus sides, everything is contained in a nice, small box. There are no breakout cables for certain connections like other preamps on the market. That means mininal wiring mess and less overall strain on the ports. The device is also very easy to set up, so no issues there. On the down side, it has USB. I'm not a fan of USB preamps due to latency issues once you start adding plugins in the DAW. You'll constantly be adjusting the buffer size or just recording without any serious plugins on the buss.
GETTING STARTED
The device is very easy to use. Simply plug in the components into their corresponding ports, install Pro Tools LE and you're good to go. Pro Tools LE might be a bit daunting at first for those who have never used a professional DAW before, but there are some nice quick start guides that'll help you throughout the process. There shouldn't be any compatibility issues out there with this device as it works on both PCs and Macs.
OVERALL OPINION
I generally don't recommend this pre as much as others simply because it has USB 2.0. The pre itself sounds decent for the price, but there's still some congestion going on, and if you can afford a nicer preamp with firewire, I'd check that one out instead. However, if you're working on a limited budget and can only use USB devices, this isn't too terrible to use.
UTILIZATION
Dididesign did a decent job with this preamp. On the plus sides, everything is contained in a nice, small box. There are no breakout cables for certain connections like other preamps on the market. That means mininal wiring mess and less overall strain on the ports. The device is also very easy to set up, so no issues there. On the down side, it has USB. I'm not a fan of USB preamps due to latency issues once you start adding plugins in the DAW. You'll constantly be adjusting the buffer size or just recording without any serious plugins on the buss.
GETTING STARTED
The device is very easy to use. Simply plug in the components into their corresponding ports, install Pro Tools LE and you're good to go. Pro Tools LE might be a bit daunting at first for those who have never used a professional DAW before, but there are some nice quick start guides that'll help you throughout the process. There shouldn't be any compatibility issues out there with this device as it works on both PCs and Macs.
OVERALL OPINION
I generally don't recommend this pre as much as others simply because it has USB 2.0. The pre itself sounds decent for the price, but there's still some congestion going on, and if you can afford a nicer preamp with firewire, I'd check that one out instead. However, if you're working on a limited budget and can only use USB devices, this isn't too terrible to use.