Digidesign MBox 2 USB, Computer Hardware Options

[citypigeon]

i like the fact you get a version of melodyne within..... thats handy

what put me off both the mbox's so far is that the interfaces look like they belong in a toy shop - i know its not pro, but anything over £200 shouldn't need to look cheap.....(its superficial but cheap looking equipment makes me think it will sound cheap)

thats beside the point though since the first mbox did good anyway, but i do think that digidesign needed to bring something new and haven't - its still a fairly good package (audio + midi interface and a sequecer) but nothing new

maybe they didn't want to upset people who just bought the first mbox


cpcpcpcp

[dave-g]

it's funny you mentioned the industrial design (or lack of thereof) the new mbox. I posted on digi's site how they subscribe to the "cheap has to be ugly" approach that car companies use. it doesn't really cost much more to make a product "better" looking, but LARGE companies rarely will do it, after all they want to give you yet another reason to fork over more money to buy the higher-end and better looking product.

I also put on the digi site how "the only way the new mbox would look good is if was covered with a brown bag of shame..."

they deleted my post in less than 2 minutes!

hehe, i actually felt like i made a difference that day

[teleblues]

Well, Ive been waiting patiently for the new Mbox, seems to have been a waste of time, as it is really nothing new (except the price) For $500 bills it would have been the hottest thing on most little studios Christmas lists if it had what is really the standard of the day ( 192, or at least 96Khz, and Firewire) This "new" Mbox doesn't do anything my crappy old Tascam US-224/Garageband studio already does.

You've lost a potential customer Digi...

[thedomus]

You have to remember that design is a personal thing, we all look at that differently. One could say the slimmer look fits better in a bag with a laptop, especially with the handle "off"!
The mistake here, it seems, is that the competition at that price point are offering more to the consumer, e.g. Sapphire, with on-board DSP, surround monitoring possibilities. Now that they control M-Audio they probably felt firewire was already covered and that the M-Box still had a select niche to fill that none of the M-Audio devices could.
I hate to say that snobbery might come into this, you say Digidesign...Pro's go OK, M-Audio ...woaaah thayt could sound crap...yaa!

[ullanta]

(The HD range hasn't been updated in over 18 months either.) They were the leaders for a long time, I wish they would be again.

Regards
Bobbi

Is there something specific you want upgraded in the HD range? Why bemoan lack of updates - they're just frustrations unless you need 'em!

[BobbiStyle]

(The HD range hasn't been updated in over 18 months either.) They were the leaders for a long time, I wish they would be again.

Regards
Bobbi

Is there something specific you want upgraded in the HD range? Why bemoan lack of updates - they're just frustrations unless you need 'em!

HD updates not needed?

The specs of the hardware are 24bit 192khz max, the bit depth of their software mixer is not 64bit, no use of "freeze files", not 32bit file compatible, most TDM's are not 192khz compatible etc.... For the enormous hype and dollar figures you'd expect them to lead the market. I could go on but this is supposed to be about the MBox 2 which I feel everything has been covered by everyone here, even Digidesign via a blatant marketing man's comments, which is exceedingly funny eh?

Let's hope the find many hats with rabbits in this year.... :-)
Laters....
Bobbi Style

http://www.BobbiStyle.com/
http://www.LTLrecords.com/


This post has been edited by BobbiStyle: Mon 12 Sep 2005, 05:58

Any company that releases a USB 1.1 audio interface in this day and age must have been living in (a) a cave or (b) a commercial vacuum for the past couple of years. Pro Tools, schmo tools - the spec of this product, released into a very competitive marketplace in 2005, is beyond a joke. In fact, it's almost an insult to anyone who ends up seduced by Digi's glossy adverts and winds up buying one, only to find they can't use it with any other software and they're stuck with a product that was hardly cutting edge three years ago.

A lot of people like to record everything at home. They won't be transferring to a bigger setup in a big shiny studio, ever. They're only going to buy one interface and they'd like it to be a good one. So, IMHO, Digi are selling these people very short from the get go. Of course, if it's only intended for Butch Vig to knock up a few rough demos on the plane whilst on tour, it's a fine product.

But for a home or project studio, it's sorely lacking in too many areas. For less money, you can have a FireBox, a Saffire, an FA-66, an M-Audio box etc etc and use whatever software YOU want to use. And still be able to record rough demos on the plane whilst on tour.

Also, increasing the internal sample rate of a sequencer doesn't improve the live acoustic audio you've already recorded - it just makes the files bigger. You don't capture more detail retrospectively. You need an interface that captures and converts at a higher sample rate in the first place. The Mbox 2 is not that interface.

Yes, I'm fully aware that the limit of input into the Mbox its internal sample rate. What Bobbi was suggesting is using the Mbox to transfer files. He's got a killer system as is. I was trying to understand WHY. I will say that if wish to mix internally, it's not your interface that is limitation.

Digidesign is not marketing the product as cutting edge. It is marketing it as budget ProTools system with the latest ProTools software.

I see this kind of war going on all the time. ProTools vs. Whatever, PC vs. Mac. You don't have to the latest stuff to make good music. A lot of music is still made with old gear. You guys out there that are software snobs or have a chip on your shoulder about some particular gear are the worse sort. People poo-poo a product because of their fears. I guess there's always got be something to hate, eh?

It just makes me laugh. I read an article about the Beastie Boys' last release. No live instruments and they used Reason for everything except vocals! They're not in a forum bitching about ProTools or some other thing. They're making music with the same stuff that we can buy. I could take a Reason session (96k sample rate max) that I made in ProTools LE and give it to them and they could import right into their killer ProTools rig. Simple. If you don't understand the value in that, you're just plain stupid and have no idea about how things are done.

I don't even have ProTools, either! My mind IS big enough to see the value of that kind of rig. People don't like how it looks? My GOD you're idiots! Do you ever look at music? WTF?!?! The end product is what matters. What your EARS hear NOT what your eyes see. This place must be full of teenagers or something. Small little minds.

This isn't about you, personally. I'm NOT attacking you. People just have to get over the fact that you don't need the latest software or hardware to make good music. 196k sample rate with $hitty music doesn't make the music better! So, people, quit racing your computers, put away your credit cards and make some music!

How do I delete my account on here? I've wasted too much time on this.

[abcdaniel]

Yeah, of course the music is the most important. And good music has been made with the most shitty equipment. What matters for an artist is that you are creative with the equipment you use. ProTools is what many of us use when we are creative, what we feel is most easy on our creativity, and of course we have to bitch about it when it starts to suck. This is our tool, dammit! The people who like PT the most, are probably the people who bitch the most too, and it is a good thing. We have to bitch, so they know at Digi what we want, before we start to search for alternative equipment. Digi, I said it before, I say it again: You cannot throw bedroom artists a bone now and then in this day and age. Bedroom artists are already the future.

[_T2k_]

Two words: ridiculously overpriced.

Asking $500 in Fall of 2005 for a USB 1.1 48K only something with no sync option is ridiculous, no matter how you try to justify it.
Compare it to their own M-Audio FW1814 for $600 or even just to FW410 for $400... both runs PT yet offers a full class higher quality, features, everything.
Heck Motu's Traveler only $300 more and that's two classes higher quality in everything...

As an Avid Xpress Pro HD and Avid MC Adrenaline user all I can say this is the classic Avid/DD arrogance, their arrogant pricing. Screw them and say no to this waaay overpriced ancient piece of crap.

This post has been edited by _T2k_: Mon 12 Sep 2005, 19:15

[rickenbacker]

celticdale didn't last long, did he?