Mbox with no software. Help please?

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theboy

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Howdy.

So i use a Onyx400f. i like it. Very much. I'm considering taking our relationship to the next level infact. I want to watch it be invovled with another interface.

Enter Mbox, a cute little lady with everything in the right spot. Now, i notice these two have connecting parts, of course i'll use a well sheilded cable to protect them both, so the lovers can "connect" to each other. Spdif out on the Mbox to Spdif in on my Onyx right? Gives me two more channels right? Here comes the problem: The Mbox has no software around! I know, the pain, the pain of it all. What can i do here? Are there drivers available? Pretty much, I want to use the 2 mic pres on the Mbox, with latency free monitoring, i can pan one left and one right and have two channels going into my Onyx.

Anyone familiar with the Mbox or done anything similar? First, is it possible to route the 2 channels this way with the Mbox software? Secondly, what is the DSP mixer on the Mbox called? It is possible to download? I just want to help these two kids get together. And maybe i'll watch. And maybe i'll join in...

Thanks everybody,
Ian
 
without commenting on your...we'll call it "interesting" sexual innuendo...

the Mbox is an audio interface. It comes with Pro Tools software and was originally designed to work with Pro Tools, although it can work with other recording programs.
However, it does NOT mirror it's inputs to automatically be routed to the S/PDIF outputs. And there is no DSP mixer to route signal to other places. If you want to use the S/PDIF outputs to be sent to the Onyx, you need to send the Mbox signal to Pro Tools first, then route the main outputs in Pro Tools to be sent to the S/PDIF outs. Of course, if you're already routing through Pro Tools, why not just use Pro Tools to record...because then you'll run into problems of having two recording programs open, Pro Tools and whatever you're using the Onyx with.

Now, depending on your recording software you're using, you MIGHT be able to hook both the Onyx and the Mbox directly up to the computer and get the software to recognize both as separate interfaces.

Be careful before you purchase equipment...make sure you know how it hooks up with the other stuff in your setup before you buy it.
 
With the M-Box you don't actually need ProTools running, although you may need to have it installed on the computer you're using. I'm currently using my M-box as a sound card for a secondary computer and I have the SPDIF out running into the SPDIF in of my Metric Halo ULN-2. I have no problems sending a SPDIF signal into the Halo from the M-Box without using PTLE - I believe it does automatically mirror because I don't remember ever setting anything...

Now you will need a ProTools CD in order to install the driver for the M-Box, but once you do it should be recognizable in any audio program you use independent of ProTools. For instance, I can open up WaveLab on this secondary machine and record from the M-Box using the Digidesign ASIO driver. I can also plug a mic into it and send the signal out via SPDIF to my Metric Halo.

FWIW this is an original crappy M-Box - I can't comment on the MBox2 or MBox2Pro - they may operate differently.
 
tnjazz said:
Now you will need a ProTools CD in order to install the driver for the M-Box, but once you do it should be recognizable in any audio program you use independent of ProTools. For instance, I can open up WaveLab on this secondary machine and record from the M-Box using the Digidesign ASIO driver. I can also plug a mic into it and send the signal out via SPDIF to my Metric Halo.
Click to expand...

are you saying you just plug the Mbox into the Metric Halo via S/PDIF and you're good to go...without the need for any program inbetween? Or are you saying the only way you get it to work is to open WaveLab, THEN run the output of the Mbox into the Metric Halo?

I think our friend here is trying to get the S/PDIF output to work by just plugging straight into his Onyx...without the use of another program (or another computer).

It sounds to me like you're going:
Mic-->Mbox-->USB-->Wavelab-->USB-->S/PDIF Out-->Metric Halo

and theboy I think wants to go:
Mic-->Mbox-->S/PDIF Out-->Onyx.


Microphone input directly to S/PDIF out is a new one to me. I know the Mbox mirrors the OUTPUTS, but I'm not aware of it mirroring the inputs. At least I can't find anything in the manual of it being able to do so. But tnjazz, if you're able to get it to work, then maybe I'm wrong...but I have yet to see it documented.
 
Hmmm...OK. I *think* we're talking about the same thing, but I'm not sure.

My mention of Wavelab was just to illustrate that the ASIO driver will work for the MBox outside of ProTools. It doesn't really relate directly to what he is trying to do.

I am not using the inputs on the MBox at the moment, but I have in the past. Right now it's only a soundcard so I'm using it strictly as playback, although I don't see why it wouldn't function the way he wants it to...

I am doing this at the moment:

audio playback via USB from PC->
M-box SPDIF out (connected via USB to PC)->
Metric Halo SPDIF in on Mac
(because my Monitors are hooked up to the Halo)

I did test the preamps sending signal out of the SPDIF a while back and I was able to do it, but I don't recall exactly what I did.

I'll do a little test when I get home this evening and see if I can route a mic from the Mbox pre into the Halo via SPDIF without using PTLE...
 
yeah, do that...I just don't know how it's possible without some software in between. By design the Mbox, a) is USB powered and b) it wants to send signal down the USB line. If the S/PDIF outputs took signal straight from the input, then how would Pro Tools mirror the regular S/PDIF outputs (or even send clocking information if needed)?

basically it sounds like the poster wants to use the Mbox as a standalone mixer....much like how the 002 control surface unit is marketed as.
 
I'm happy to hook it up with USB, i just dont want to have to be running pro tools as i don't have the cd. Also, for the record, i didn't buy it hoping for it to work, it was free. Still not technically mine. I think i just need to know how the mbox goes about its latency free monitoring. I use cubase sx so i donnt want to really be running pro tools at the same time, not to mention, the cd is missing. I dont mind plugging it in, im hopefully just looking for a way to set it up to send the two mic pres to each side of the spdif out.

Also, i dont know what sexual innuendo your refering to? Only a sick, perverted mind could turn a simple help thread into a dirty post. For shame :P

Thanks both for your help, i'll keep at it.

Btw, i can download drivers for it from the site, its just setting it up to go without pro tools which might suck...
 
OK, here's my conclusion from some brief testing. It only works when the ASIO driver is active. So if I open Wavelab on my PC and then switch over to the Mac, I get levels in Cubase.

If I close Wavelab, I no longer get signal out of the SPDIF. So my guess is the signal path is Analog -> USB in -> USB out -> SPDIF as was indicated earlier.

So Bennychico11 is correct. The only way this will work the way you want it is if you are using a Mac. If you are, it will work because you can use your interfaces as an Aggregate device under Core Audio.

Good luck!
Dirk
 
no mac sadly. :( ah well, time to explore another route. Thanks so much for your help, really appreciate it.

Ian
 
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