Pre amp Question

R

RayneOfHavik

New member
hello guys. i am sure this has been asked before, but i just cannot seem the find the right answer im looking for. I have an mbox 2 pro, connecting through firewire, using pro tools 9 yadda yadda. I want to get a preamp because i am just not happy with the mbox's pres. ive been readin about a few and looking at a few. heres where im confused. my mic goes in the pre amp in. and the pre amp will then go out into the mbox, i get that. but i read lots of controversy about the confliction of the mbox's pre if plugged into mic lines of the mbox. some say line 1 and 2 will conflict. some say no. some say 3 n 4 are the only good lines, some say it dont matter. other say use spdif.
now.. usuing spdif seems to be the only legit way of not conflicting with the mbox pre. or so i read. i know nothing of spdif. i have an in and out on my mbox. white n red.. if i were to use this, im assuming that ill need to convert from digital to analog. or do i? if i haveto, how do i do so? and recognizing i have an mbox 2 pro. i dont wanna spend a shit ton on a pre, cuz i feel its somewhat pointless in my opinion to do so if i cant have the two compliment each other. because im only vocal using, and my mbox is just a plug source at this point. anyways. will i lose quality doing it this way? im pretty sure mbox 2 pro is 48 khz 24 bit in spdif. so i wouldnt guess so, but like i said i dont know much about it. what is the best and proper way to hook this shit up. and is there a pre that is great for this route, that might simplify this for me. as far as conversion or connection or whatever. i was recommended the avalon M5, and a couple others prev. but what are your guys's suggestions? also, lets say i get this goin, is there anything specific i need to do with any levels on the mbox? and what is unity? hope i made sense during all of this. thanks
 
You can go line out of your pre to the line in of the mbox. I don't know how much upgrading your pre is going to do considering the conversion on the mbox 2 are pretty bad IMO, but I guess it's worth a shot. What's your budget and what mic are you using?
 
SPDIF doesn't involve conversion. Its a digital transfer method. Its used to transfer between digital devices to avoid conversion.
 
I run Mic=>Pre=>Line In (U42S) =>USB on computer. I use an XLR to 1/4 balanced cable from pre to interface. I don't find any problems with my interface pre degrading my pre.
 
Hey RayneOfHavik,

Can you describe why you are not happy with the preamps on the mbox 2? There might be other solutions rather than a new preamp, depending on what your issues are.
 
Honestly, it's really just that I've recorded with pre amps in the past, and want that clarity. Same mic daw etc. I can spend the extra time to mix myself really well. It will just be nice to not have to do as much as some sessions require. And I feel I've just outgrown the mbox. Idk.
 
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Honestly, I have found that it is not just a preamp upgrade, mic upgrade, room treatment, converter upgrade that makes a big difference. It is all of them together that makes things better. If one of these is left out, then no single upgrade is going to make a big difference.

That being said, if the performance sucks, and the room sounds like crap, no gear improvement is going to do 'squat' to improve it. Take it from there...

I really want to fix your grammar...:)

Sorry, I had to...:D
 
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Also, are you sure the MBOX allows you to bypass its internal preamps? Many of these low end boxes allow you to connect an external preamp, but then put that signal through their internal preamps, thus causing more problems.
 
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