Mbox 2 vs Mbox 3 mini vs Saffire Pro6 vs Saffire Pro 24

S

sinuspain

New member
Hi,
I know there are plenty of these comparison threads out there, but haven't seen these compared.

I am pretty new to recording, help is appreciated. I am looking to use ableton live 8.

My friend has the mbox 2 and will hook me up with it for $100, but doesn't include pro tools.

I could prob get the mbox 3 mini used for around $200. Don't know too much but know its got some pretty big changes from the 2s.

Or I could get the pro6 new for $200 or pro24 used for $200.

Thanks
 
The saffire series is better than the Mbox IMO, and with pro tools 9, you don't have to worry about which DAW you will use with the interface.
 
The Pro 24 is actually out of the picture cause it has firewire. Btw, I'm pretty sure none of the saffire interfaces come with protools...
 
I get regular glitches/white noise from my mbox 3 mini! I'm not sure whether it's because of my laptop or the ASIO drivers, but it annoys the heck outta me.
 
Yeah it doesn't. But I don't plan on really using pro tools since I have ableton and will prob stick to that for recording and mostly everything.

Don't have firewire on my pc.

Thx
 
I would just get a firewire card, but if you don't want to go for the saffire pro6 or mbox3. Mbox 2 are not good compared to other products in their price range. Mbox 3 is better, though I would still get focusrite over mbox any day.
 
ScorchinBeats said:
I would just get a firewire card, but if you don't want to go for the saffire pro6 or mbox3. Mbox 2 are not good compared to other products in their price range. Mbox 3 is better, though I would still get focusrite over mbox any day.
Click to expand...

The new Mbox use the same chipset as the Apogee Duet so they are great.

I definitely wouldn't get the saffire. If you only have USB the Focusrite Scarlett is the way to go.
 
Inverted314 said:
The new Mbox use the same chipset as the Apogee Duet so they are great.

I definitely wouldn't get the saffire. If you only have USB the Focusrite Scarlett is the way to go.
Click to expand...

What's wrong with saffire? Best audio quality for the price.

Most converters use the exact same chipsets. The chips make very little difference. What's important is the analog circuitry surrounding the converters - that makes the difference in audio quality.

And I'm not sure about this, but I think the scarlett will sound the same as saffire, just with ADAT.Focusrite is well known for their preamps. Digidesign is not. Focusrite saffire's have good software mixing functions, nice DSP, liquid channels on some of them, etc.
 
Last edited:
ScorchinBeats said:
What's wrong with saffire? Best audio quality for the price.

Most converters use the exact same chipsets. The chips make very little difference. What's important is the analog circuitry surrounding the converters - that makes the difference in audio quality.

And I'm not sure about this, but I think the scarlett will sound the same as saffire, just with ADAT.Focusrite is well known for their preamps. Digidesign is not. Focusrite saffire's have good software mixing functions, nice DSP, liquid channels on some of them, etc.
Click to expand...

Digidesign is well known for it's preamps; just not on it's entry level products. The new Mbox series is really great though. Just as good as anything in it's price range. I'm getting the new Mbox or the Scarlett when I get a new Macbook Air. Or maybe firewire depending on how this thunderbolt bs works.

I suggested the Scarlett because it comes with much more room for expansion. In's and outs, SPDIF, midi, ADAT, and it comes with the VST plugins which is nice to have. I'm not saying anything is wrong with the Saffire, don't get me wrong at one point I would have recommended it; but it's definitely worth the extra $50-100 for the Scarlett to future proof your setup should you decide to get maybe a synthesizer or various other tools.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top