Edit Review — Digidesign Mbox 2 with Pro Tools LE 7

The Mbox 2 hardware I/O box draws power from a USB connection and features outputs for two studio monitors and headphones.

Digidesign certainly can't be accused of resting on its laurels. Despite the fact that Pro Tools holds a commanding lead over all competitors in the high-end audio for video market, for the last several years Digidesign has made a concerted effort to bring in budget users as well — clearly with the goal of bringing some of them along a path leading towards the purchase of full-blown Pro Tools rigs.

Last year, the company added to its roster with the acquisition of M-Audio, manufacturers of quality lower-priced equipment. Mbox 2, Digidesign's newest product aimed at the budget-conscious end of the market, combines hardware and software in a package that's difficult to ignore.

Mbox 2 offers the user an audio interface module that works on either a Mac or PC, Pro Tools LE, a collection of useful plug-in effects, and lite versions of several popular software instruments, plus an upgrade path. Let's take a look at each of these components.

The Mbox 2 front panel has a Mix Control knob for control of how much source signal you listen to. The Mbox2 The back panel has MIDI in/out ports, a pair of XLR inputs, and pairs of 1/4in. line and direct inputs.

The half-rack-space I/O device is attractive, lightweight, and comes with a built-in carrying handle that may be removed if you find it cumbersome. The rotary knobs on the front panel have a sturdy feel. Connecting the Mbox 2 is painless; the device draws power from a simple USB connection and the installation involves no work inside your computer. Since it handles all of the audio conversions, there is no need for you to have any additional sound cards. Outputs for a pair of studio monitors and headphones are included.

With the exception of ADAT Lightpipe and FireWire, the Mbox 2 contains all of the connectivity you'll need, including a pair of XLR inputs (with phantom power!), and pairs of 1/4in. line (primarily for keyboards) and direct inputs (guitars, etc.). You can even bounce a mix down to an ancient DAT player, or extract audio from a DAT, via the S/PDIF connections on the back panel. The Mbox 2 offers one MIDI in and one MIDI out port, which means you can hook up your keyboard controller and a single 16-channel MIDI hardware device.

Since the trend is clearly moving away from hardware synths and samplers and toward their software counterparts, this limitation will probably not be a deal-breaker for very many users. Also, it is possible to expand your hardware capability by incorporating a third-party MIDI patchbay into your rig.

If you have any experience with audio hardware, you'll have no problem getting around the Mbox 2. First-time users will be up and running quickly as well, since the Basics Guide that ships with the unit is simple and well-written.

Although latency problems have diminished as computer processing speeds accelerate, they can still crop up. Digidesign addresses this potential issue neatly by including a Mix Control knob on the front panel of the Mbox 2. This knob lets you control how much of the source signal you listen to. In extreme cases, you'd turn it all the way to the right, passing only the signal coming out of Pro Tools to your monitors. However, you'd better have the ability to hear and play through two slightly different time references. Of course, audio post mixing, which involves playback only, will never present an issue of this kind.

The bottom line on the Mbox 2 hardware is simple: it's an outstanding value. Of course, there are things missing (in particular, the ADAT and FireWire connections) that you'd expect to find on higher-priced systems. But in the most critical area, sound quality, Digidesign deserves high marks. Although the conversion in the Mbox 2 won't make owners of high-end converters like the Apogee Rosetta put their hardware up for sale on Ebay, it yields a warm sound that is more than acceptable for many music purposes, and almost all television production work.

When it became apparent that host-based options for integrated audio and MIDI were becoming seriously possible, Digidesign began adding MIDI functionality to Pro Tools. Early versions of the sequencer were fairly bare-bones, but over the last several years the feature set has grown. The sequencing package included with the Mbox 2 is more than adequate for audio post users who do some MIDI work, and even some composers who need it to be their number-one sequencer.

LE does limit the number of audio tracks that can be played at one time (32 mono), as well as the number of tracks that may be recorded at one time (four). Unless you're recording live drums, this latter limitation won't present any problems. Serious mixes may well require more than 32 audio tracks, so keep that in mind.

Editing audio and MIDI tracks in conjunction is easy to do, and most standard MIDI operations are possible, including quantizing to a number of grids. For the first time, LE 7 offers the ability to quantize note values, experiment with velocity changes, and transpose MIDI tracks on the fly, which is very useful. Also incorporated for the first time is the ability to apply groove templates that you may have created or imported. Several other new MIDI features are included in LE 7, which make this a much more workable MIDI platform.

On the other hand, I like to mess around with some esoteric MIDI algorithms, which are missing from Pro Tools LE. This won't be a factor for most audio post users. Fortunately, QuickTime movies can be locked to the application, which is essential.

This package ships with lite versions of some great programs, including Ableton Live 4 and Reason, with gateways to the full versions available. Unfortunately, Digidesign does not use the VST protocol that has become an industry standard, so none of the VST soft synths, samplers, or plug-ins that you own will work inside Pro Tools LE. In reality, most current plug-ins ship with VST, RTAS, and DXi versions on the install disc, and at least one company, FXpansion, sells a wrapper that converts VST plugs into the RTAS format. LE ships with some very serviceable RTAS effects, which operate in realtime, as well as a host of AudioSuite plug-ins that work destructively on prerecorded audio files.

Pro Tools LE's on-screen mixer is automatable, and the sections on individual channels will look familiar to anyone who has ever worked on either a hardware or software mixer. You can easily import audio from your desktop or a CD, open up a track for it, and include it in the mix you're building. Setting up auxiliary sends and returns is simple to do, as is the process of writing and editing automation curves.

A DVD called Pro Tools Method One ships with the Mbox 2/Pro Tools LE 7 package. I'm a big fan of tutorials, so I quickly inserted it in the DVD player on my Dual Opteron. But I couldn't get it to load, which is unfortunate. Even when an application seems straightforward, there's always a trick or two that you can learn from an experienced user.

Unless you're a committed VST plug-in user, there's nothing about Pro Tools LE 7 that will turn you away from it, particularly when you consider the price you're paying for the entire package. For less than $500 you get a complete hardware/software solution that will meet all of the needs that anyone getting into audio post work — and even some experienced in this field — could ask for. Digidesign deserves high marks for this one.

Company: Digidesign
Daly City, Calif.; (800) 333-2137
www.digidesign.com

Product: Mbox 2 with Pro Tools LE 7

Assets: New MIDI features, includes plug-in effects and lite versions of Ableton Live 4 and Reason, easy to use, Mac or PC.

Caveats: No ADAT or FireWire connections.

Demographic: Anyone who performs audio post work.

PRICE: $495

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