Benefits of interface upgrade

[monsterthompson]

I'm currently running a Mac Mini from 2009/2010 with an MBox Mini, connected via FireWire. Is there anything out there in the "under $500" range that would be a worthwhile upgrade, or am I probably going to get pretty similar performance.

I don't need additional inputs. I don't have any major issues with sound quality, though I'm not certain I've got the best I could be getting. My only real dislike about my current setup is that I get occasional static crackles of uncertain origin which I can't consistently replicate, though are often present.

I'm mainly running Garage Band for scratch recordings, though I do dabble in Logic (and I have Ableton and PTools)

What could or should I expect to see out there?

 

[Timi]

If it's firewire you have an Mbox Pro (the minis are USB). Whichever one you have there are two versions, Mbox2 is dark blue and the Mbox3 is grey and purple.

The Mbox2s aren't the best sounding interfaces but won't stop you from making a good recording. The better you are at recording/mixing the more improvement you will get out of better gear, if you are fairly new to all this you probably won't notice much difference.

The Mbox3s are a step up, on par or just under the quality of something like an Apogee Duet so if you have one of these I definitely wouldn't bother upgrading.

As far as the crackle goes check you have compatible drivers, if you're daisy chaining firewire through a drive try going direct. Try turning off Wifi/Bluetooth while recording. Is the crackle just on playback or is it being recorded too?

 

[monsterthompson]

If it's firewire you have an Mbox Pro (the minis are USB). Whichever one you have there are two versions, Mbox2 is dark blue and the Mbox3 is grey and purple.

The Mbox2s aren't the best sounding interfaces but won't stop you from making a good recording. The better you are at recording/mixing the more improvement you will get out of better gear, if you are fairly new to all this you probably won't notice much difference.

The Mbox3s are a step up, on par or just under the quality of something like an Apogee Duet so if you have one of these I definitely wouldn't bother upgrading.

As far as the crackle goes check you have compatible drivers, if you're daisy chaining firewire through a drive try going direct. Try turning off Wifi/Bluetooth while recording. Is the crackle just on playback or is it being recorded too?

Awesome help. It's a blue Mbox with two channels and I'd swear it says mini on it.

As for the crackle, I've tried turning those features off. It seems to be recording the noises and presenting them on playback.

 

[monsterthompson]

...and it is usb. Mbox 2 Mini is what it seems to be.

 

[BazzTard]

had the same problem on a pc. Nothing worked, the crackling turned into constant noise.
Bought a Tascam DR40 instead.

 

[Timi]

Awesome help. It's a blue Mbox with two channels and I'd swear it says mini on it.

As for the crackle, I've tried turning those features off. It seems to be recording the noises and presenting them on playback.

And you're sure the noise isn't a faulty cable or bass?

Is the Mbox connected directly or through a USB hub/keyboard?
Have you tried all the USB ports on the Mac?
Try a different USB cable.
Unplug all USB things except the Mbox and your mouse and keyboard.
Increase the buffer size in your DAW.
Repair Disk Permissions in Disk Utility in OSX.
Do a PRAM reset (reboot your mac holding down cmd, opt, P and R and let it chime a couple of times before letting go).

 

[Gideon352]

You can find original FireWire Apogee Duets for less than $200 now! I don't think there is a better value out there if you're using a Mac.

I've owned the Duet 2 and have the Apogee one for iPad, both great devices. If you're cool with FireWire though, definitely check out the original Apogee Duet!