MBox Pro + Protools 10

The converters and preamps work great. Every one that has heard the results have been blown away that the recordings are being done in the corner of the dinning room! I still have not touched all of the features included, but I don't need to when my results speak for themselves. Play back of recordings sound great and stand up to comparison to any system and recording.

Never Recorded on my own before. This was definately the right way to go!

I've barely scratched the surface of what Protools has to offer, and I'm already glad I went this route. Very impressed with the Mbox too

Recording The New MboxPro & PT9

Sounds so much better than Mbox2 Pro and PT7. Amazing difference.
Actually sounds reasonable natural and smooth. I know the pre and converters are different, maybe the software algorithms too.
Whatever. It's pretty nice.

A great way to start a home project studio!

Build quality is solid. Setup was a snap. The revisions made to the software are fantastic.

Mbox Pro with Pro Tools 9

Mbox Pro with Pro Tools 9,What can you say,Avid went all out on this Bundel, pair it up with the MC Control and you have a professional Home Studio. The MC Control is sweet all the keys are maped for you right out of the box. I also use The Mbox Pro with Sonar-X1 Producer with the Roland VS-700c. And sometime Pro Tools 9 with the RME Babe Face works well together. The Mbox Pro and the RME clock sync together perfect. I have Pro Tools and Sonar-X1 Producer in sync together for the best of both worlds. If you wan't the best sound for your home studio pick up this Bundel. I buy all my Gear from Sweetwater they are the Best, Tom Maxwell is my goto guy for all my orders. When you need to get up and runing fast, Sweetwater is the place to go for all your recording needs, Thank You all at Sweetwater for your Commitment to Excellents.

Sincerely: Todd

Purely Amazing

Protools 9 is bringing the heat to the DAW scene with impeccable attention to detail. you don't even have to have the box connected to finish or continue editing on the go and for me thats Amazing worth every single penny

Pretty Darn Awesome

Huge upgrades. I had the Mbox and Mbox2 and this just blows them both away. Spend the extra money and get something that you can create something great with.

Good Deal, Great Interface

I purchased this unite to upgrade an M-Audio Fast Track Ultra. I will not discuss the Ultra's shortcomings here... save that for another review.

Drivers:
The MBox Pro (Gen 3) drivers are rock solid. I have them installed on a win7 Pro 64bit system and have not had a single problem or issue. Installation was smooth and the interface is mostly self-explanatory. Pro-Tools 10 interacts seamlessly and reliably. Sometimes when Pro Tools gets too overloaded during a mixing session, the interface will get stuck on a specific sample and repeats it over and over until PT responds again. I am assuming this is an issue with PT and not the MBox.

Setup/Use:
The Mbox allows for a separate mix to be generated for each of its 6 output pairs: Stereo 1 (Front L&R), Stereo 2 (Center & Sub), Stereo 3 (Rear L&R), S/PDIF, Headphone A, and Headphone B. Effects can be mixed in with any output pair but the per channel effect sends are global. The effect returns are independent for stereo 1, 2, and 3 out but grouped for S/PDIF and the Headphone outs. There is a single global effect consisting of delays and reverbs.

The setup and front buttons allow for either 5.1 channel operation or 3 sets of stereo speakers.

The MBox operates in 44.1, 48, 88.2, 96, 176.4, and 192 sample rates with some limitations. If you go above 96k you can only set up two stereo mix channels. The other mix outputs on Stereo 3, s/pdif, and headphones default to using the stereo 1 mix. They can always be set to directly follow the inputs or returns as well as mix 1 or mix 2.

Front and Rear Panels:
The MBox Pro has 4 mic pre channels. Each has an optional 20db pad, limiter, and direct (hi-z) option which skips the mic-pre circuits. The jacks for channel 3 and 4 are on the rear while 1 and 2 are on the front. The limiter works nicely and is reliable. You will the limiters if you use this interface in situations in which a second take is not possible such as in live events or radio. There is a single global phantom power of/on button. There is a button that will allow you to switch between three sets of stereo outputs and another that lets you listen in mono. These are not functional if you run in 5.1 channel mode. There are two headphone outs each with its own volume control.

On the rear there are 6 balanced monitor out channels and 4 balanced input channels. There are two additional rca type unbalanced input channels. There are also 4 insert jacks. There are two firewire ports and a footswitch jack that can be used with PT to control punch-ins or playback start and stop. The MBox uses a power supply that is in-line with the power cord (as opposed to a wall wart type). There is a switch for +4 or -10 input levels.
Clock MIDI and SP/PDIF are on a breakout cable.

General Build:
The MBox Pro Gen 3 has a heavy duty aluminum case and all components appear solid. The volume control has a nice feal and is large enough to find easily. In my environment, I am currently experiencing problems with static electricity. I regularly shock myself when touching the MBox (as I do with other devices in this environment.) This does not cause any problems with the MBox. I have other equipment that will reset when shocked, the MBox is not one of them.

Sound:
I have found the sample rate conversion to be trouble free within the limits of my setup. The Pre’s have enough headroom to handle my dynamics and condensors and are clean. At the top of their range they do start to introduce self-noise but this is at the very top of the range. While this is definitely an upgrade in sound quality from the M-Audio interface I had, I currently don’t have anything else to compare it to. I use this unit to produce radio programming and do mixdowns of remotely tracked sessions or performances. It is more than up to the task. The audio coming through the pre’s and into the PC is clean and doesn’t have that odd “sparkle” sound present in the M-audio Fast Track Ultra. I see no evidence of noise or DC offsets when I expand the waveforms. And I don’t hear any coloration of the sound coming in or going out.

Conclusion:
Good price, solid unit. Unless you have a need for more than 4 outputs operating at 192k sample rates, this would be a good addition to any project studio or radio studio system. Don’t forget to consider bundling ProTools 10 with your purchase.

Well worth the wait

Purchased the first Mbox years ago and Boy how things have changed in the past 5 years.! Also have owned the Firepod. The Mbox Pro is by far one of the most solid put together units. The Pre Amps sound great and I love the durable way it is built. One warning if your operating Lion 10 7.2 don't use the drivers that come in the box go to the website and use the updated one that Avid have posted. I used the ones that came in the box on my iMac running Lion 10.7.2 and it crashed when it booted up. After which I started have this ugly white noise! Sweetwater the Pro's that they are replaced it right away and wallow! works Great and I am like a kid on Chrismast Day!

Amazing !

I love this new update so much, and have no complains about the M Box pro, this is coming from someone who used to use a 888/24 before hand , but I am very happy with this package overall. GREAT JOB AVID !

Mbox Pro and Pro Tools 10 with Lion OS

I spent a long time weighing the features between the 3rd generation Mbox Pro and the Focusrite Saffire Pro 40. After consulting with engineers and the excellent tech team at Sweetwater, I went with this bundled package. I wanted plug and play functionality with an all-Avid system. The cost was about the same but the plug in bundle that was offered as a promotion at the time also swayed my decision, mostly for the Strike and Eleven LE apps, though Velvet also nails the vintage wurlitzer sound. Be aware that this is a new Lion OS for Mac, coupled with a new Pro Tools 10, and the installation took several calls and emails to Sweetwater who then dealt with Avid for me. If you are dealing directly with Avid, they start charging you per call after the first two. Another plus for Sweetwater, which is why an engineer friend of mine recommended them. Excellent service, and full support on everything. One last thing, this Mbox is really not like an Mbox. It's all metal, built like an old Fender chassis and head, and is more like a Digi unit. High, high quality throughout. Recommended, just don't expect it to be up and running as soon as you put the install discs in if you're running a new Mac with Lion. Give yourself a week before you book the session. New Sweetwater convert, great service. Thanks guys.

Noticable improvements

I upgraded from Pro Tools 6.5/Digi002 using a Mackie 802-VLZ3, to the Mbox Pro with Pro Tools 9. After purchasing I upgraded to PT10.

The MBox Pro has all the ins and outs required for home studio work. The pre-amps do pickup more highs and low than the Mackie. When using an SM-57 you do have to raise the gain quite a bit but it seems very quiet. I use the Mackie only to work with external midi keyboards since a midi track needs to be in record mode to hear it in PT. It's easy to send a signal out of the Mbox to the Mackie.

Pro Tools 10 has made some great improvements in many areas. I find it easier to comp tracks together. Midi tracks offer more options for faster work. The sound processing plug-ins are better. The stock instrument plug-ins are useful and the ability to buy and use high-quality sounds is a big plus over PT6.5 which didn't have this ability.

The sound quality of this combo is noticeably better.