DIGIDESIGN MBOX 2 MINI
Apr 1, 2007 12:00 PM, BY MARKKUS ROVITO
You can't say that Digidesign isn't listening. When it updated its original Mbox a little more than a year ago with the superior-sounding Mbox 2, a bunch of people said, “It's too expensive and too big to be really portable,” while another gaggle said, “It's too small and low-resolution to be professional.” Of course one group of Goldilocks thought it was just right. In the past year, however, Digidesign has accommodated the dissenters. A big step up from the Mbox 2, the Mbox 2 Pro ($799) came first. It boosted audio fidelity to 24-bit/96 kHz and included six simultaneous inputs, eight simultaneous outputs, dual headphone outputs, Word Clock and a FireWire interface. Now, for the travelers, minimalists and beginners, there is the Mbox 2 Mini, the smallest and least expensive outlet for adding Pro Tools LE to your setup.
To fit the Mbox 2 Mini into its 5-by-6-inch footprint, Digidesign had to shave off MIDI ports, front-panel inputs and S/PDIF I/O. What remains is a two analog in/two analog out USB 1.1 audio interface. Both inputs have gain knobs on the front and connections in the back. The Input 1 section dons a balanced XLR jack with switchable 48V phantom power and an unbalanced ¼-inch TRS/TS jack for line- or instrument-level signals. Two other switches in this section activate a -20 dB pad or toggle between the XLR and ¼-inch input jacks. The simpler Input 2 section holds only an unbalanced ¼-inch TRS/TS jack with -20 dB pad switch so it can accommodate line- or instrument-level signals. Some pre-elementary math tells you that the Mbox 2 Mini can be used for either stereo recording or two mono channels of recording. The pair of ¼-inch analog outputs in back are also unbalanced TRS/TS jacks.
Back up front, a ¼-inch stereo headphone output accompanies a combined headphone/monitor output-level knob (in Pro Tools, that corresponds to outputs 1 and 2). A Monitor Mute switch cuts off the signal to the main monitors, so you can record in silence while monitoring through headphones. In addition, the Mix knob tries to alleviate latency issues when recording. The control adjusts the mix between the Mbox 2 Mini's inputs and Pro Tools' outputs going to the main monitor and headphones outputs.
While you would not want to leave some entry-level audio interfaces unattended in a drafty house, the Mbox 2 Mini stares down the elements and laughs. Its robust metal enclosure seems more than ready for the potentially punishing trials of the road. Without an AC adapter jack, it runs exclusively off USB bus power.
ALL SYSTEMS GO
Installation and setup for the Mbox Mini 2/Pro Tools LE 7 package was a fairly pedestrian matter of installing software from a CD and then auto-downloading updates from the Internet. The box also comes with the recently updated Pro Tools Ignition Pack 2, containing a Pro Tools tutorial DVD, Bunker 8 REX file CD, one-year memberships to Broadjam.com and Sonicbids.com and several “lite” software editions: Ableton Live Lite 6 Digidesign, FXpansion BFD Lite, Propellerhead Reason Adapted 3, IK Multimedia AmpliTube LE, Arturia Analog Factory SE, Celemony Melodyne Essential and more.
I tested the Mbox 2 Mini and included Pro Tools 7.1.1 software on a freshly bought Apple 17-inch iMac Intel Core 2 Duo 2 GHz running OS 10.4.8. (Digidesign's compatibility requirements are notoriously stringent. Those listed here are basic guidelines, so make sure you check your system at Digidesign's online support site.) Performance on the test machine stayed solid, with no freeze ups or crashes.
As a little experiment for my first session with the Mbox 2 Mini, I wanted to open up some Pro Tools 5 LE sessions that I ported over from a nearly ancient Mac G4 that was still running OS 9 with a Digi 001 interface. I simply copied the entire session folders from the old computer to the new one, and upon double-clicking on the session files in the iMac, Pro Tools 7 LE launched and imported the sessions. The transfer was as flawless as it could be, with all the old settings remaining intact and the proper plug-ins loading exactly as they had before in every possible case. It's not always this easy to rejuvenate sessions from two previous major software updates, as well as from an old operating system.
WORK IT ON OUT
Because the Mbox 2 Mini is essentially a scaled-down version of the Mbox 2 (reviewed in Remix, March 2006), my burning questions dealt with how — if at all — the audio quality and recording process would suffer from the miniaturization. A bandmate and I set to recording simultaneous vocal and guitar tracks in the same scenario we had done with the Digi 001. The guitar plugged directly into Input 2, and a Neumann TLM 103 cardioid mic went straight into Input 1, using the Mini's phantom power. Due to USB 1.1's bandwidth limitations, the Mini's maximum audio resolution is 24-bit/48 kHz, so that's what we used. It didn't take long to notice that the Mini's sound stepped up significantly from tracks recorded at 24/48 on the 001, and that there is absolutely no loss in quality compared with the Mbox 2. For both the guitar and vocals, the Mini translated a clean, crisp sound with a satisfying transparency. The only bittersweet sentiment was wondering how much finer the tracks might sound if recorded at 24/96 on the Mbox 2 Pro.
My remaining concern was whether the lesser amount of monitoring control would make recording more of a hassle. Whereas the Mbox 2 has separate level controls for headphone and main-monitor outputs, as well as the Mix knob, the Mbox 2 Mini consolidates the headphone and main-monitor outputs to one level knob controlling both. While there are some situations in which having the separate monitor-level controls is nice, using the Mini's monitor-mute switch to mute my near-field speakers while recording was a workable solution.
Regarding the small amount of noticeable latency that occurred — for instance, when recording vocals over tracks being monitored in headphones — it's a matter of personal taste. I feel comfortable working with it. But some people, who may be perfectionists when it comes to vocals (as many singers are), find the latency bothersome, and using the Mix knob to turn down the level of the recorded tracks in the headphones helps only marginally. Turning down the buffer size way low in the Pro Tools preferences is a better solution, although that chewed up so much CPU on the test machine that I had to take off all the plug-ins. Slight latency is a fact of life when using many audio interfaces, however, not just this one.
The Mbox 2 Mini may cost a tad more than a lot of 2-channel USB interfaces, but you're paying a premium for Pro Tools LE 7. Getting 32 audio tracks of the industry-standard DAW is actually a phenomenal value. Unless you're not feeling the sweeping trend of minimalism in much of today's electronic music and hip-hop, 32 tracks will be plenty for most independent producers. Software aside, with Mbox 2 Mini's impressive sound quality, musicians with moderate recording needs or producers looking for a mobile Pro Tools rig are getting a deal.
DIGIDESIGN
MBOX 2 MINI > $329
Pros: Includes Pro Tools 7.3 LE. No drop-off in audio quality from Mbox 2. The most affordable and portable path to Pro Tools. Small footprint. Rugged build for traveling.
Cons: USB 1.1 maxes out at 24-bit/48 kHz recording. Unbalanced ¼-inch I/O.
Contact: www.digidesign.com
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
Mac: G4/G5/Intel; OS 10.4.x
PC: Windows XP Pro or Home Edition
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