my brain hurts, reading recording hardware info sucks...

[Code001]

I think you can use your Fire Box as additional inputs to an 002 or 003f I'm not mistaken. I use the MBox2 and I am very happy with it. Unless you're recording live shows and want the individual track count, When would you ever be recording more than 4 or 6 inputs at a time? But it's your call.. just making conversation.

One thing that scares me about the Mbox 2 is that it's USB 1.1. Latency is obviously the big concern. I know they have that nice Mbox 2 Pro out, but that's also big $$$. Do you know if the mic-pres on the Pro are better/worse?

 

[defpearlpilot]

I think you can use your Fire Box as additional inputs to an 002 or 003f I'm not mistaken. I use the MBox2 and I am very happy with it. Unless you're recording live shows and want the individual track count, When would you ever be recording more than 4 or 6 inputs at a time? But it's your call.. just making conversation.

One thing that scares me about the Mbox 2 is that it's USB 1.1. Latency is obviously the big concern. I know they have that nice Mbox 2 Pro out, but that's also big $$$. Do you know if the mic-pres on the Pro are better/worse?

I would stay away from the MBox2. IMO, Digi is ripping you off on that product. There is no reason for something that expensive to use only USB 1.1. I believe their argument is that throughput on USB 2.0 is not consistent enough. And as I mentioned earlier, PT won't drop samples so they need guaranteed performance. I like using Pro Tools but their pricing sucks. The Micro is a huge ripoff.

 

[Anonymous]

I need PCI-e slots for Symphony. Thus, if I want a Mac, I need a Mac Pro. I don't want a laptop...

Steve

Symphony has ExpressCards too! That system has very impressive specs!!

Yup - I just prefer a workstation to a laptop... Now, I'd be really happy if I had a Mac Pro AND a Macbook Pro for mobile editing and rough mixing when I'm traveling with PT M-Powered 7.4 and the M-Audio transit. Unfortunately, I use an old IBM Laptop for mobile stuff with PT 7.4 and the transit. Works though - just tested it out!

Steve

 

[chalnger86]

I think you can use your Fire Box as additional inputs to an 002 or 003f I'm not mistaken. I use the MBox2 and I am very happy with it. Unless you're recording live shows and want the individual track count, When would you ever be recording more than 4 or 6 inputs at a time? But it's your call.. just making conversation.

One thing that scares me about the Mbox 2 is that it's USB 1.1. Latency is obviously the big concern. I know they have that nice Mbox 2 Pro out, but that's also big $$$. Do you know if the mic-pres on the Pro are better/worse?

I'll be honest...I never knew that the MBox2 was only USB 1.1. I never noticed any issues at all. If I am only recording one input, e.g. guitar, even with a plug-in like Guitar Rig 2, I can set the buffer to either 256 or 512 samples which is pretty good for my 1GHz PowerMacG4. You can barely hear any latency at 256, and 512 is still acceptable to me. With a MacPro, there shouldn't be any problems. But, if you don't want to get into the HD systems, the 002 or 003 is the way to go. The 003R is easier to transport (in a rack) but the 003 will give you a max of 18 simultaneous inputs (4 Pres, 4 Line, 8 ADAT, and 2 S/PDIF) and a tactile control surface. But for what I've done, and used my MBox2 for, I don't think that I was raped at $420. I've never regretted it yet. I do want to upgrade to an 003 or HD since I have been asked many times to do some live multi-trak recording. God, how I hate having such an expensive hobby sometimes!

EDIT: I just did a quick check and the PreSonus FireBox had S/PDIF outputs which would expand your input capabilities on any PTLE interface. I'm using an A.R.T. DPS II Stereo Tube Mic Pre with S/PDIF.