ProAudio Review - March 2008 - (Page 12)

STUDIO | REVIEW by Russ Long sessions to be opened and tweaked as long as they were recorded at 44.1 or 48 kHz. | IN USE The Pro Tools|LE v7.4 software was a cakewalk to install. I ran into some problems when I discovered that it doesn’t work to have LE v7.4 and M-Powered v7.3 running on the same computer. I made a quick call to Digi’s tech support and was incorrectly told that it’s not possible to have Pro Tools LE and M-Powered running on the same machine. After some more experimentation, I found that I did need to upgrade my M-Powered to v7.4 to have everything work in tandem, and once I did, switching between |LE and M-Powered has been flawless. After a month of use, I’ve found that the best thing about the Micro is that it lets you run Pro Digidesign Mbox 2 Micro This USB dongle-based system makes Pro Tools a truly on-the-go, pro-level DAW. The Mbox 2 Micro is currently the smallest and most portable Pro Tools system available. The USB powered interface provides Pro Tools mixing, editing, and sequencing as well as high-quality audio output — no input — for mobile Pro Tools|HD, Pro Tools|LE, and Pro Tools M-Powered producers, engineers, and musicians. At roughly the size of a USB thumb drive, the Micro includes Pro Tools|LE, Xpand!, and over 45 plug-ins. | FEATURES The Mbox 2 Micro has a $279 GB recommended), DVD-ROM (or equivalent) drive for software installation, minimum 1024 x 768 screen resolution, and an available USB port. Digidesign documentation states that USB hubs are not supported, but during the price tag (street price less than $250) and is built into a small, 3-1/2 inches high, by 1-1/4 inches wide, by 7/16 inches deep and tough anodized aluminum case, weighing only 1.2 oz. In my experience, something this big plugged into a laptop’s USB port runs a high chance of getting broken off; thankfully, Digi has thought ahead and includes a short USB extension cable to eliminate this risk. The Micro has a 1/8-inch stereo output with a maximum output of +3 dBV into 600 Ohms for headphone or speaker monitoring and a thumbwheel volume control. The Micro’s frequency response is 20 Hz -20 kHz, +0/-2 dB with a 103 dB A-weighted (THD+N: 0.002%) dynamic range. The device supports 44.1 and 48 kHz sample rates with a maximum 24-bit word length. The Micro is a USB 1.1 device that acts as both a hardware dongle and an output-only audio interface. When coupled with a laptop, the result is a sleek, portable Pro Tools|LE rig. The Mbox 2 Micro requires a Digidesignqualified Windows XP or Mac OS X 10.4-based computer equipped with 768 MB of RAM (1 review process I successfully used the Micro with a USB hub without any problems. In addition to Pro Tools|LE, the Mbox 2 Micro includes Xpand! and over 45 plug-ins. Xpand! Is a sample-playback/synthesis workstation that, according to Digi, was designed for songwriters, film composers, DJs, electronic musicians, music producers, and sound designers. (Isn’t that everyone?) This plug-in provides quick access and manipulation of thousands of high-quality sounds from within Pro Tools and it includes over 1,000 presets. The Micro includes a pile of the famous Bomb Factory plug-ins including the BF76 Compressor, the BF Essential Clip Remover, and the Funk Logic Mastererizer and a ton of DigiRack Plug-ins including D-Verb, DeEsser, DigiReWire, Dynamics III, EQ III, Flanger, Mod Delay II, Multi-Tap Delay, Ping-Pong Delay, Pitch Shift and Click. Additionally, the Micro makes it convenient and easy for Digidesign VENUE-based live sound engineers to mix their live multitrack recordings while en route to their next show. Regardless if the show was recorded on a Pro Tools|LE or |HD system, the Micro allows APPLICATIONS Studio, project studio, broadcast, post production, live/location recording, and houses-ofworship/theatres KEY FEATURES 1/8-inch stereo output device for Pro Tools|LE in the form of a USB dongle; bundled|LE DAW software, Xpand! MIDI workstation, and 45-plus plugins; thumbwheel volume control; supports 24-bit/44.1 kHz and 48 kHz PRICE $279 list CONTACT Digidesign | ☎ 650-731-6300 ➲ www.digidesign.com 12 | ProAudio Review | March 2008 Subscribe to the Digital Edition of Pro Audio Review http://www.proaudioreview.com/subscribe www.proaudioreview.com http://www.digidesign.com http://www.proaudioreview.com http://www.proaudioreview.com/subscribe

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of ProAudio Review - March 2008

ProAudio Review - March 2008 Contents Publisher's Page Studio News and New Products Sennheiser MKH 8040 Microphone Digidesign Mbox 2 Micro Studio Spotlight Upsampler X/Audio Live News and New Products Touring Gear From the Road Broadcast News and New Products ION Audio Tape2PC Cassette Archiving System Brauner VMA Large-Diaphragm Microphone Audio Ltd. RMS 2040 Series Post News and New Products First Look NAB Showcase Buyers Guide Single Slice

ProAudio Review - March 2008

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.