faileas
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- May 25, 2010
- Posts
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I do a fair amount of recording of indian classical music for my mom, and i use a mbox2/shure sm57 combo for it. I figured i'd mess around with it and try to get it to work as a DAC/headphone amp. I don't have any 'proper' gear to compare it with, so i'll be comparing it to the output of the soundmax HD audio sound card of my laptop. The headphones i used to test are the HD202 (which i generally *hate* and lend to my mom during recording sessions, and the audiotechnica M50, which is what i generally use
I wouldn't suggest *buying* an mbox as your primary DAC/amp but if you have one lying around, it might be a way to get some extra milage off it
Hardware:USB for power/signal in , 2 sets of input jacks - line in, Direct Input and XLR, balanced monitor outputs (2x 1/4 inch mono) SPDIF co-axial in and out, 2x midi, 1x headphone (1/4 inch)/ I ONLY used the headphone jack. If you're a bit adventurous you can use the monitor outputs for balanced headphones, or for a normal one with a small hack involving airplane adaptors and 1/4->1/8 inch adaptors at your own risk. specs here if you want more details
Setup: you will need the ASIO plugin for foobar2000 as well as the protools wave drivers - If you have pro-tools installed, tell it NOT to replace the 'newer' drivers with the one you're installing when it asks.
You will then need to go to 'preferences' and 'Output' and 'ASIO virtual devices' and add the mbox 2 device, and then select the mbox 2 as the output in 'Output'.
As far as my test subjects go...
The HD202 is pretty much a red headed stepchild, which i lend to my mom when she needs to listen to one of the recordings, and to me pretty much unusable straight up from my laptop or ipod. I'd gotten it cause it was similar to my old dead eh150, and it was everywhere but it counted - it sounded somewhat dull, wierdly lacked bass to me (considering its supposed to be bassy headphones) and as it was, i actually favoured ipod earbuds over it a while.
Plugging it into the mbox2 *nearly* papered over the cracks i felt the headphones had - bass was good and natural, and it sounded richer and livelier (I still don't use it though ;p)
Now, the Audiotechnica M50s sounded fine unamped from my laptop (though i had to turn the volume all the way down, lest i get deafened - it has no issues powering it whatsoever) and with my ipod, and its what i normally use to listen. On the mbox2, i do need to turn the volume up a little... On the other hand... the performance is pretty good
I used to think i couldn't tell the difference between flac and mp3 320... apparently i can with these, just ever so slightly. The soundstage felt a little wider, and everything sounded more natural, especially drums and cymbals.
Of course, it isn't perfect. The mbox 2 isn't quite a pocketable system, and isn't very cheap (about 450 dollars, maybe worth it for a DAW with the software, but not as a DAC). Its not very powerful, but can drive low impedance headphones and monitors (not tried it on high impedence headphones, and i think you'd end up needing to use the monitor outputs for those from the specs),
The biggest issue is, it uses a LOT of processor power. Not enough to slow down a system doing normal stuff, but enough to heat it up.This dosen't happen when i'm using the built in mixing software so it might have to do with the ASIO drivers.
Concluding, i wouldn't suggest a mbox2 as a DAC or Amplifier. If you have one around, though, doing what i do makes sense. At the moment, foobar2000-> ASIO wavedrivers -> mbox2 -> M50 is my setup.. and it sounds awesome, but if and when i can, i might upgrade (and when i do, this post might get updated ;p)
I wouldn't suggest *buying* an mbox as your primary DAC/amp but if you have one lying around, it might be a way to get some extra milage off it
Hardware:USB for power/signal in , 2 sets of input jacks - line in, Direct Input and XLR, balanced monitor outputs (2x 1/4 inch mono) SPDIF co-axial in and out, 2x midi, 1x headphone (1/4 inch)/ I ONLY used the headphone jack. If you're a bit adventurous you can use the monitor outputs for balanced headphones, or for a normal one with a small hack involving airplane adaptors and 1/4->1/8 inch adaptors at your own risk. specs here if you want more details
Setup: you will need the ASIO plugin for foobar2000 as well as the protools wave drivers - If you have pro-tools installed, tell it NOT to replace the 'newer' drivers with the one you're installing when it asks.
You will then need to go to 'preferences' and 'Output' and 'ASIO virtual devices' and add the mbox 2 device, and then select the mbox 2 as the output in 'Output'.
As far as my test subjects go...
The HD202 is pretty much a red headed stepchild, which i lend to my mom when she needs to listen to one of the recordings, and to me pretty much unusable straight up from my laptop or ipod. I'd gotten it cause it was similar to my old dead eh150, and it was everywhere but it counted - it sounded somewhat dull, wierdly lacked bass to me (considering its supposed to be bassy headphones) and as it was, i actually favoured ipod earbuds over it a while.
Plugging it into the mbox2 *nearly* papered over the cracks i felt the headphones had - bass was good and natural, and it sounded richer and livelier (I still don't use it though ;p)
Now, the Audiotechnica M50s sounded fine unamped from my laptop (though i had to turn the volume all the way down, lest i get deafened - it has no issues powering it whatsoever) and with my ipod, and its what i normally use to listen. On the mbox2, i do need to turn the volume up a little... On the other hand... the performance is pretty good
I used to think i couldn't tell the difference between flac and mp3 320... apparently i can with these, just ever so slightly. The soundstage felt a little wider, and everything sounded more natural, especially drums and cymbals.
Of course, it isn't perfect. The mbox 2 isn't quite a pocketable system, and isn't very cheap (about 450 dollars, maybe worth it for a DAW with the software, but not as a DAC). Its not very powerful, but can drive low impedance headphones and monitors (not tried it on high impedence headphones, and i think you'd end up needing to use the monitor outputs for those from the specs),
The biggest issue is, it uses a LOT of processor power. Not enough to slow down a system doing normal stuff, but enough to heat it up.This dosen't happen when i'm using the built in mixing software so it might have to do with the ASIO drivers.
Concluding, i wouldn't suggest a mbox2 as a DAC or Amplifier. If you have one around, though, doing what i do makes sense. At the moment, foobar2000-> ASIO wavedrivers -> mbox2 -> M50 is my setup.. and it sounds awesome, but if and when i can, i might upgrade (and when i do, this post might get updated ;p)
