The Bottom Line
The MBox 2 Mini is a fantastic option for the musician on-the-go; one microphone input and one line input makes it easy to do vocals and instruments simultaneously, and support for up to 24-bit/48kHz recording quality with zero-latency monitoring make the MBox 2 Mini quite impressive for it's price - and, best of all - Pro Tools quality in a portable, high-quality, affordable package.
Pros
- Portability
- Industry Standard Pro Tools Quality
- Great Build Quality
Cons
- Only One Preamp Channel
- No Digital Output
Description
- Portable Pro Tools quality, priced at $329.
- Two simultaneous inputs (mic and line), with zero-latency monitoring.
- 24bit/48kHz support.
- Compact, rugged metal enclosure able to withstand abuse.
- Kensington security lock - perfect for dorms!
Guide Review - The MBox 2 Mini
The MBox 2 Mini is superbly built; mainly built of metal, the case shows that it could take a heck of a lot of abuse in the field if need be.What's most impressive about the MBox 2 Mini is it's portability. I'm a big fan of getting out of my studio whenever I can, and during my time with the MBox 2 Mini, I really enjoyed it! Being able to pack up the Mini, my MacBook, and my UE-10 Pros in my messenger bag, walk down to the coffee shop, and in less than five minutes, be mixing a session in a new environment really helped my creativity. Being USB powered, you don't need anything else but a good-quality USB cable to carry with it. I can only imagine what it can do for a musician looking for a new place to record from, or better yet, a traveling engineer looking to capture samples in real-time.
But, it's not without drawbacks. Microphone preamp quality is good, but not great, and certainly not as good as the Focusrite preamps in the original MBox. The only other features that really stood out negatively is the headphone amp quality; it wasn't nearly as accurate or controllable as the Digi 002 or previous MBox, but it certainly worked fine, especially considering the accuracy and sensitivity of the UE-10 Pro I tested them with.
Along with the MBox 2 Mini, you get the Pro Tools Ignition Pack, including over 50 must-have software plug-ins to get you started.
Overall, the MBox 2 Mini represents a phenomenal value in portable Pro Tools power. True, it's not cheap, but you won't find a better deal, or an easier way to get true Pro Tools compatibility anywhere.
