Avid Pro Tools LE Mbox 3 (3rd-Gen)

This is my first audio interface I bought when first considering a home studio. I first settled for the mini box but I figured I needed more mic inputs and so I traded for this Mbox 3. After hooking this up to my condenser mic, every equipments, everything was good to go. This box is very nice. The design is very solid and sturdy. Probably one of the sturdiest design I've seen. The mic's pre are great; however, the pre's adjustment tends to go up really high. What I mean is that when you adjust the mic's volume up, it does not really go up slow and gradually. It sort of jumps up in volume. Other than that, everything works flawlessly.

I was excited to purchase it but a day later i returned it cuz my computer (windows xp) didnt recognize it. followed every step 3 times. I called Avid and they gave me a case number! apparently lots of ppl were having problems with it as well. (tis was told to me by customer service for avid.) I replaced it with a new 1 and came home to find out that my 1st mic input does not work, (2nd mic input works) and my speakers make crackling noises! im going on the third mbox 3 now! for some who rate this product 5 stars were lucky but as for the many others who have case numbers! well....good luck! check out the many reviews online about this product. if u are going to purchase it, be prepared to possibly come across some issues.

I bought this thing at 11am when the store opened and did a location recording at 12 noon. I really didn't expect it to sound very good, we use PT HD with Apogee Ben Ben clocks and Apogee A/D in the studio...but it sounds freakin' great. That horrible, brittle upper mid-range of the older M-Box A/D conversion is gone...smooth, fat...nice DCox, 2dogs digital audio, inc.

I bought the Mbox to up grade from all in one recording like the BR-1200 to a Pro Tools recording studio. Im in a band and have just started a project studio. I have been using this product for a couple of months and after getting my bearings with it,it is fairly simple to lay down multiple tracks and capture ideas. It gets a little more complicated when trying to use compression, equlizers and other plug-ins. I usually just choose one of the preset options which seems to work fairly well. I have learned alot about Pro Tools recording since I have started working with this set up. My major complaint would be although there is more than two inputs, you can only record two signals at a time either sterio or two mono signals. This makes creating great drum tracks nearly impossible. You can still get a decent sound with two channels but no panning over heads and having enough channels to mix the whole kit separately.

i gave this unit 5 stars because it is just amazing! the sound quality is just way better than the Mbox 2 and comparable to Apogee Duet. the preamp is neutral. no color at all. which is great for "in the box" recording. the built is solid. it is metal. the knobs feels great and not cheap. AD/DA Converters on this unit is a big improvement. just think of the new Avid Pro Tools HD System, but in a smaller package. it is like having a ProTools HD interface on the go.! all i can say is.. it is worth the UPGRADE/INVESTMENT.

I have been doing computer based recording for over 12 years. I am a guitarist primarily, and I �ۡ���� like many people �ۡ���� record in one a room in my house. I have owned sound cards from E-MU, Event, and Presonus. I have used Cubase extensively, and I have dabbled in Logic as well. Here's what struck me about this new Mbox ... 1): The build quality of this piece right out of the box. It's solid. The knobs are solid. You know how some sound modules have loose feeling cheap knobs, and they just feel flimsy? This new Mbox feels like the real deal. 2): (Most importantly) The sound quality is amazing! Plenty of bottom end! The clarity is incredible too. Very pristine indeed. I was blown away with how truly exceptional my recordings have been with this little unit thus far. No joke ... they compare to professional recordings you hear on the radio. Wonderful! Honestly the BEST sounding unit I have ever used! 3) Set up was easy, and very pain free. I use an iMac, so set up is ALWAYS easier than with a PC. My iMac is almost four years old. It�ۡ���s a dual core Intel with a clock speed of 2.0 GHz, and three gigs of ram. I also have upgraded to the latest version of Snow Leopard. It screams right along with multiple tracks, and while utilizing very taxing third party plug-in software like Superior Drummer. 4) Ease of use with the DAW. Pro Tools LE has been a breeze thus far. Every DAW has some tweaks to get around, but this new version is way cool. For those who are still claiming that the sequencer in Pro Tools isn�ۡ���t that good, off with their heads! It�ۡ���s GREAT! I�ۡ���m not an engineer, and I don�ۡ���t have time to become one. I would much rather record ideas and get them down, rather than have to read through manuals and do desperate searches on the web in order to figure how to get things working. If you�ۡ���re a musician who just wants to be able to record your ideas and build songs, you know exactly what I mean! 5) Compatibility with Pro Tools and the Mbox. Another big advantage is that Digidesign (AVID) designed both the DAW host program and the Mbox sound module. The integration has been seamless and VERY STABLE! 3rd Party plug-ins run with ease. 6) Factory included add-ons. The extra plug-ins that come with this version of Pro Tools are very nice. In fact, one of the plug0ins (I forget the name right now) is literally a modern keyboard. It has great drums, strings, basses, synth sounds, and more! If you�ۡ���re a guitar player, song writer, you won�ۡ���t need to buy a ton of extra plug-ins in order to get really good sounding back up instruments. If you have a computer (within the last few years), then all you need to get going is the new mBox! Now on to the reasons why I didn�ۡ���t give it 5 Stars. Five stars to me means PERFECT. Not too many things are �ۡ����perfect�ۡ���. 1): The recording monitor functionality on this version of Pro Tools is a little frustrating (I have noticed similar problems with other DAW�ۡ���s I have used). 2): This Mbox is like the other mBox's before it in that you cannot use it as just a soundcard. In other words, you can only record music with it. You cannot listen to iTunes (for example) through it. The bottom line: If you want a system that is fully integrated with the hardware and the recording host software, a sound quality that is AMAZING, something stable and relatively easy to use, CHECK THIS OUT! SERIOUSLY ! It is well worth the $$$ For the money, I cannot praise the sound quality and ease of use enough!