User Reviews at zZounds

"MBox: almost perfect for laptop recording." submitted May 9, 2003

By a customer from peacesongscd.com

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Features

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The Wow Factor

Music Style: Acoustic

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Sound: Phantom power and Focusrite preamps in this small package offer great, clean sonic quality. Feature: OK, no master volume or MIDI, but for its size it has enough punch for on-location recording. The inserts are stellar. I use 'em all the time for compression. USB-powered! There are many other similar units for much less, but the Mbox comes with Pro Tools. Ironically, Digidesign released Core Audio drivers for OSX, and now I use the Mbox primarily with Logic Platinum 6. Quality: Excellent quality device. Very sturdy and road-worthy. My biggest caveat? It is funny-shaped and doesn't pack well. Value: If you don't need or want Pro Tools, there are many other less-expensive products in this category. The Focusrite preamps are nice, but the competitors' preamps are probably just as good. Pro Tools LE is OK, as a scaled-down version of the TDM software, but compared to Logic, PTLE is not that great. The Mbox needs to be plugged in to open Pro Tools. Oftentimes I need to edit music out in the field, and can't always carry the Mbox with me. That's one of many reasons why I prefer Logic. The Wow Factor: The Mbox is very popular and has the blessing of pros who use it to record in the field, then finish their projects in the studio. Overall: I expect to keep this product for a long time. I use it professionally and although the Core Audio driver for OSX has bugs, once that is cleared up in future releases the Mbox will just about be perfect. Again, if not for Pro Tools, I would have bought a lower-priced competitor. But the Mbox offers Pro Tools at the lowest possible price. Any serious audio engineer should know Pro Tools.

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"mbox- but it!" submitted October 21, 2003

By a customer from mac.com

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Music Style: soul/rock/pop/country/r&b

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SPOTLIGHT REVIEW

Sound: the a/d converters are excellent, and the preamps are very good- much better than the pres on a mackie/spirit/yamaha, for example. acoustic instruments and vocals (which are acoustic instruments, after all!) really shine thru this box- i also own the digi001, and i can testify that the mbox is sonically superior right out of the box. by making the front end hi quality, it's easy to get great results... tho it will also require good mics, good mic technique, good mixing, ect, which is up to the user. Feature: the box is well thought out - inserts on both channels, mono sum switch, hi-impedance inputs as well as mic/line. i wish it had word clock in as well as optical for adat (it wouldn't have been hard to put in full 8 channel adat in- i certainly would've paid more for that!), and midi- tho usb midi converters are very inexpensive to add-on, it would've been handy, tho the lack of these things don't mean it's not a great box. i also wish it were possible to use the mic pres in conjunction with the 001! however, it succeeds where it was meant to- as a high quality stereo breakout box for pro tools. Quality: it's plastic to be sure- but it seems to be very solid. there's no play or scratch in the pots, mic cables 'click' in with a nice tight connect... i've used this little box (along with a g3 ibook) to record numerous live shows (rock/jazz/chamber/ect) and it seems to be completely durable. i wouldn't throw it around anymore than i'd throw around my schoeps mics (tho the mbox could probably take it better than the mics!)- with the normal amount of care a recording engineer takes with all his/her gear, i suspect it'll last many years. Value: $500 for two class a preamps, and a/d & d/a converters is not such a high price. BUT! throw in pro tools 5.1 and 6 for that same price, and it becomes an outstanding deal! Manufacturer Support: digidesign is VERY professional in their support- if you can't find the info you need on the huge database at the web site, the phone and e-mail responses are very fast and knowedgeable- every digidesign tech i've dealt with seems to know everything i've inquired about w/out having to 'get back to me'. The Wow Factor: the design of the box is super cool- i think it looks even cooler with the glyph 'm-drive' next to it! Overall: this isn't the cheapest way to get into pro tools- the audio media card is cheaper, and gives you four channels i/o vs. the mbox's 2... but the mbox's quality inputs actually make it cheaper (unless you have hi-end micpres and external a/d converters already- for example, say you have art's two channel micpre unit, the one with onboard a/d. it's around $250, so the audiomedia + art unit is now more expensive than the mbox. not only that, but the art mic pres blow grits compared to the mboxes, not to mention the art a/d are pretty dodgy too. in short, the mbox is cheaper/better.)!

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"mbox hitmaker with ease" submitted December 4, 2006

By a customer from comcast.net

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Musical Background: pro-studio owner

Music Style: all

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Sound: Use all you've got when you mix. Set up your compressors, and always use the dither on the master channel when mixing down. Hit it with everything in the box to make it come to life. That's why the stuff is in there to be used. If you don't have a clue on how recording works, that's what you need to find out and overcome. Don't blame this box if your tracks don't sound right. It's the person using it, not just the box. Feature: It's got everything you need. If you need more inputs that another story all-together, but if 2 inputs at one time is all you need, there's 32 tracks and loads of limiters/effects. Don't NOT use them. Ease of Use: Very easy to use. I never give anything a 10. 9 is a 10 for me. Yes, there is a learning curve unless you know your way around a pro studio. Don't be affraid to use everything it's got! Quality: I won an award and was voted a fan favorite on the websites I posted the music made from this tiny powerhouse. Make sure you have a good computer. Value: What do you want for a few hundred! This thing replaces thousands in gear. If you are a songwriter, you need one. Manufacturer Support: Never needed it. The Wow Factor: Its' so simple yet you can do so much inside this le world. Overall: I can not think of a better tool for the home songwriter.

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"Great Tool. I'm Satisfied. Limited i/o" submitted January 18, 2005

By a customer from hotmail.com

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Musical Background: film student/ sound/ Newbie Producer

Music Style: hiphop, 80's, freestyle, r&b, + whatever else sounds good.

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SPOTLIGHT REVIEW

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Sound: (MAC version) It's not analog of course so its not the absolute best for music (unless you get a analog filter $$). But still the quality is extremly good. I take sound classes for film and everything in film is done in Protools and is considered Protools-quality. Used with Wave Plug-Ins alot things are possible. the FocusRite plugins that accompany the bundle work fine and are a steal for the combo. Feature: FocusRite plugins. 24 + 16 bit. 44.1+ 48kHz. S/PDIF digital out for DAT. 2 XLR plugins. very basic and compact, high quality setup. Quality: No Problems so far have owned for about year. Good quality. What worries me is the connectors and the plugins/sleeves of all the equipment after unplugin and repluging everything= not enough i/o. basically a mic and a instrument. 2 speakers type setup. Still made well Value: i think for $400-500 its a great value for a beginer or anyone with a hobby or a need for a basic semi-pro set-up. Manufacturer Support: i think i was on one of digi designs caller lines for maybe 30-40 minutes just to ask a question. There hours are limited and i'm pretty sure gotta pay for the call (not toll free). The Wow Factor: Its small and it doesn't take much space on my desktop. kinda plasticy-looking but not bad. Overall: I'm a Mac user and I use a couple different work stations and my own home setup and I have seldom problems and whenever the was they were major like the computer crashed. I put ProTool's sound software on par with what Photoshop is to Image software. If your a dj producer/musician or sound mixer/designer in need of a small computer based setup its a good quality option or a solid price.

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"Beats the hell out of a 4-track" submitted March 24, 2004

By a customer from msn.com

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Music Style: Punk/Rock/Heavy

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Sound: Pre's are good, but i do have to get the gain up there (3 O'Clock-ish) to run some of the mic's and instruments i've used with it. the A/D/A conversion is great for the price. i've been actually recording an album using the scratch-track to massive overdubs method, and it's working great....slow going, but great nonetheless. very clear sounding through and through. Feature: Almost everything you could need for a box like this, i just wish it had midi i/o. once you figure out how to deal with latency with the mix knob and proper buffer settings, it ceases to be an issue. i also dislike the fact that if you plug into the back headphone jack it disables the front. Quality: Seems very sturdy. it travels a lot in my backpack, and has yet to show any wear and tear. Value: the real "value" here is the software. the box itself isn't amazing by any means, but what it does, it does pretty well. it's 2 in/2 out. no if's and's or but's about it. main outs mirror the headphones, etc. but you can record in stereo, it has good, quiet pre's, and Pro Tools LE is 24 tracks, and the plug-ins as good as your computer will let it be. considering the price of some small harddisk all-in-one units, and the plug-in availabilty for pro tools, it's well worth the money. it's mobility is great too. Manufacturer Support: lost my registration number, and digidesign was right on top of it for getting me another copy. The Wow Factor: um.....yeah.......it's a blue and off-white box with 4 knobs and some buttons....you decide. Overall: If i lost it, i'd probably replace it, maybe save up for an 002 rack so i could have more inputs and midi I/O. I chose the mbox because i can lay down ideas at home, and then take them to just about any studio in the world and drop the sessions right in.

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"Great if your a single musician but not for multi tracking bands" submitted February 22, 2004

By a customer from adelphia.net

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Music Style: Rock (Christian)

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Sound: great sound but has some play back and latency issues at times Feature: pro tools rules Quality: made extremely well Value: good value but only if your single musician The Wow Factor: good box wish it did more .....kinda like a real sex life haha Overall: already searching for the Digi 001 or Digi 002 ...yup wasted 3 months trying to get it to do what the books say it can do (they DO NOT say that it CANNOT play back and record at same time)

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"A memory hog that is way to complicated and unstable for the simple recording I want to do." submitted June 2, 2005

By a customer from hotpop.com

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Musical Background: Sound tech for house of worship

Music Style: christian rock, hip hop and gospel

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Sound: Sound quality seems very good. Feature: The pro tools software seems to have numerous tools, but for basic live voice recording its overly complicated. I am responsible for recording our church services and the previous guy purchased this system. He never figured out, and it took my several months to get it right. Quality: Seems to be well made. No problems w/ hardware in 1st year Value: I think for our application (live voice recording) we could have purchased something else for less that would work better. Manufacturer Support: I actually had good experience w/ tech support. However, if you go to their website they only gaurantee like 4 windows machines that it will work with. The overall system is a memory hog, and fairly unstable. (they do recommend having a dedicated hard drive for recording, which I imagine would help w/ stability) Overall: I have already started to look for something more stable for our application

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"Little Big Guy" submitted February 16, 2005

By a customer from yahoo.com

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The Wow Factor

Musical Background: Active Musician

Music Style: Funk, Rap, Rock, Jazz

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Sound: Sounds very pro studio-like. It sounds better than I ever could've expected from something so small. Portable. I use Reason with it and the results are marvelous. Feature: I also record live instruments and they sound great Value: It's worth it's price. Manufacturer Support: I broke my I-lok card and tried to call for a new card but I had to call several different numbers before I was told that I had to order it from the internet. It would be better if it were easier to obtain a new I-lok card but I guess everthing else was ok. The Wow Factor: Looks can be deceiving and the Mbox definitely fits this category. It's small but it does more than any other program that I have used for the price. Definitely a way to get in with professional music production. Overall: I Rewire different programs like Reason, Project5, and Sample Tank which really expands what you can do with the Mbox. I would definitely get another one if this one was stolen. It wouldn't be the same without it.

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Digidesign MBox Audio Interface (Macintosh and Windows) Customer Review submitted February 8, 2005

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Feature: I Love the editing on this software very easy to use I can`t what to get home and mix Songs Quality: Very reliable Headphone jack could be better/ two volume control would be nice

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"M-box..hmm..." submitted March 27, 2005

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Musical Background: In the process of becoming recording engineer

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Sound: Sounds pretty decent...the preamp isn't bad at all. It's not the best either though. Feature: Has the minimum number of features to get someone started. Nothing special. Quality: Looks like it's built well. Then again, I only had it for 3 weeks. Value: Already own Cool Edit, Cubase, or something of that sort for recording? THEN M-BOX IS NOT FOR YOU! The value for the hardware is a "1" but since their software is pretty much as good as any other $200 recording software, it makes the rating even out a little. If you're starting from scratch...M-box might be what you want. If you already have a software, you can easily get a much more flexible and better setup from: Behringer UB1202 ($90) MXL 990 ($120 with boom stand and shock mount) M-audio 2496 Audiophile ($110) And you still have money left over (plus now you have a decent mixer, a microphone and a much more flexible interface). And you can always upgrade in the future without worrying about being stuck to the same company. Manufacturer Support: I didn't even bother...if I couldn't get it to load even after cleaning up my whole computer and reinstalling Windows...they aren't going to be much help. I'm far far farrrr away from computer illiterate and if I can't tell what the problem is, then the problem is too big and shouldn't exist. The Wow Factor: It's cool to have around for people to see that you have Protools I guess. Overall: Depends where you stand. If you have a software you like, don't switch over. If you're starting from scratch and don't know what to buy...m-box will get you started...for a little more money you can have a much better setup though.

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"More trouble than it's worth in my opinion." submitted April 15, 2006

By a customer from hotmail.com

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Musical Background: VO Recording Artist

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Sound: When it works, it's tight. Feature: I hate that you're pretty much roped into using Pro Tools LE with this thing. Ease of Use: I have had numerous problems getting this to run on WINXP laptops. I was shopping around doing the dance of trying to buy a laptop that met the MBOX requirements. There forums are full of people stuck in a world of trial and error trying to find machines that will work with this thing. And the "suggested" computers from DIGI are so out of date they are useless. It finally dawned on me, I don't need to find a notebook that will support my MBOX, I need to find a USB audio interface that is more compatible with the laptops out there. Manufacturer Support: I've called a few times. Always get a human being, still no real solutions though. Overall: I'm in the market for another unit. I'm tired of trying to get my computers to work with my MBOX. It's time I find something that will work with my computers.

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"Not worth it.Get a nice soundcard and a universal software program!!!" submitted February 27, 2005

By a customer from aol.com

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Musical Background: Hobbyist

Music Style: Christian Rap/Hip hop

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Sound: The sound is wonderfull,no problems with it.I love how the preamps. Feature: This product will make you hit a dead end.Even though you can upgrade to higher digi products,still not worth the trouble.Plus if you compose your music via MIDI pro tools is not for you.I have to create my midi files in a different program,then record it in my m-box manualy,but the pain is ligning up the tracks right. Quality: I find m-box very anoying,because i'm used to go straight to the back of the PC,but m-box is just useless sitting on top of..whatever you put it on.Extra room. Value: I'd say the software itself is worth the price alone.But theres that catch again with being unable to use any other soundcard.So again not worth it. Manufacturer Support: Called them once,and had a problem fixed the same day,lol,good enough for me. The Wow Factor: Dont want it anymore!!!I hit the dead end!!!I want more outputs to monitor my mix with different speakers,but then you have to unplug the trs 1/4 inch plugs every time you want to change speakers.And you cant play more that 2 speakers at a time. Overall: I'm allready looking in to getting maybe Cubase sx3,or something similar that will let me create midi and audio in one place.

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"Miserable,mis-represented,Mistake to buy box" submitted November 13, 2005

By a customer from comcast.net

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Music Style: rock/funk

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Sound: I have had a terrable time trying to get my m-box to function well.I have a great computer which well exceeds the system requirements listed on the outside of the package that the m-box is sold in.You really have to customize your computer to get any results. Feature: I think a basic click track or built in metronome would make this product a little bit better. There is no way to syncronize tracks. Quality: I don't know about howw well made the m-box is. It has never worked long enough to wear out. Value: It is the re-sale value that really hurts. The pro yools software is not re-sellable and it is a major hassle to try and transfer ownership of the m-box.Digidesign doesn't offer software upgrades or support to the 2nd owner so the value drops immediately after you buy it. Manufacturer Support: Don't even try to get a hold of Digidesign over the phone. I have never gotten through to a person.If you have a question email them and they will get back to you in 3 days . They don't really answer the question that you are asking most of the time The Wow Factor: If you are a musician you will waste a lot of valuable practice and jam time trying to use the m-box Overall: The system requirements of the m-box are totally misleading.I can't use my m-box for the simplest applications without a malfunction.I don't have these problems with any of the many applications that I use my computer for.

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"HORRIBLE WINDOWS/PC SUPPORT! DON'T BUY IF YOU HAVE INTEL 915/925 CHIPSET!" submitted January 2, 2005

By a customer from earthlink.net

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Musical Background: Recording Engineer...Novice

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Sound: Ever since I have owned the MBox (2 years) I have had nothing but problems with Pro Tools and Windows. Their support for Windows sucks. Do not expect Pro Tools to work with any 915 & 925 Intel chipsets which are on most new pc's. It does not work and DigiDesign can't give an answer as to when it will. Manufacturer Support: They won't help you after initial support is over. I think it is for 30 or 90 days...I forget. When I did call them they were quick to get me off the phone and not very supportive. The Wow Factor: Are you serious? Overall: I sold my MBox on Amazon...glad to be rid of it.

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"not what its cracked up to be.." submitted May 21, 2005

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Sound: The preamps on this are focusrite's reject preamps. The clock source is also crap. Feature: min. Quality: i dont even think it feels as sturdy as a paperweight. Value: u get to learn protools for under $500...thats about it. The Wow Factor: i want to throw it out. Overall: dont be fooled by the focusrite pre's. you would be better off with an emu card for a/d with spdif in, and a GOOD solid focusrite digital preamp.

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Digidesign MBox Audio Interface (Macintosh and Windows) Customer Review submitted December 21, 2003

By a customer from chartermi.net

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Music Style: hip-hop

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Sound: i just bought it not too long ago, but so far so good. i produce beats with a drum machine ive been using for a while along with the software that the m-box came with. then i add some turntablism to whatever i create. works like a charm with my mackie control universal. i never really do any live recording besides with my turntables so the two inputs works fine for me. i can see how others would need more though. Quality: it hasnt broke yet. Manufacturer Support: no need to call them yet, knock on wood. Overall: i imagine i'll use this thing until it breaks, or i all of a sudden switch to recording live bands.

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Digidesign MBox Audio Interface (Macintosh and Windows)

User Ratings

"MBox: almost perfect for laptop recording." submitted May 9, 2003

"mbox- but it!" submitted October 21, 2003

"mbox hitmaker with ease" submitted December 4, 2006

"Great Tool. I'm Satisfied. Limited i/o" submitted January 18, 2005

"Beats the hell out of a 4-track" submitted March 24, 2004

"Great if your a single musician but not for multi tracking bands" submitted February 22, 2004

"A memory hog that is way to complicated and unstable for the simple recording I want to do." submitted June 2, 2005

"Little Big Guy" submitted February 16, 2005

Digidesign MBox Audio Interface (Macintosh and Windows) Customer Review submitted February 8, 2005

"M-box..hmm..." submitted March 27, 2005

"More trouble than it's worth in my opinion." submitted April 15, 2006

"Not worth it.Get a nice soundcard and a universal software program!!!" submitted February 27, 2005

"Miserable,mis-represented,Mistake to buy box" submitted November 13, 2005

"HORRIBLE WINDOWS/PC SUPPORT! DON'T BUY IF YOU HAVE INTEL 915/925 CHIPSET!" submitted January 2, 2005

"not what its cracked up to be.." submitted May 21, 2005

Digidesign MBox Audio Interface (Macintosh and Windows) Customer Review submitted December 21, 2003