Ableton Forum

Has anyone here experienced issues with the Mbox Mini 2 as an interface? I've seen other blogs/answer strings that have mixed views on this interface. I have issues off and on with Live when using this as an interface (only one I use, though) and have always assumed it was a software issue. Maybe I'm wrong? There's a scarlet 2 channel interface for 150 that looks tempting to me, but I don't want to buy it unless I have to.

Peas,
Pat

I have an Mbox Mini 2. I haven't had any major issues at all, especially using windows 7 and a faster machine. When I was using it with a 6 year old computer, I found I needed to keep the CPU % much much lower to avoid glitching versus my built in sound card, even with increasing the buffer size. Upgrading to my dual core laptop solved my CPU issues, I haven't had any major problems since.

My only two issues with Live are:

I can't use the minimum buffer level for recording/playback without getting little audio blips, which means there's always a little bit of noticeable delay when playing on a MIDI keyboard.

This is extremely minor: if I leave Live idling for several hours, when I come back Live will give me an error message saying no audio interface is selected. I just open the sound settings and reselect the Mbox Mini 2 and it's solved. If I leave Live playing something this doesn't happen however.

Vios wrote:I have an Mbox Mini 2. I haven't had any major issues at all, especially using windows 7

Really? Tell me what you did to get the Mbox 2 mini to work with windows 7 -- I have Windows 7 but have been using xp because I have been under the impression that there is no driver for the digidesign MBox 2 Mini for Windows 7.

That said, I use the Mbox2 mini with Ableton Suite 8.2.8, and have no problems, can even use 256 Buffer -- though my computer speed sometimes requires that I bump that down to 512 (not a problem when I'm not playing keyboard live).

Chris

hi guys,,,this is not a reply but more a question in regards to sound cards...i am running an lexicon alpha usb audio mixer so i assume all my sounds are redirected to this instead of my sound card,,is this correct? if so then changing my sound card will have no effect on the cpu usage when running live? you talk about buffers ,are they the latency values that you adjust in the audio mixer?
also am running xp which is fine but thinking of windows 7,,will that help the cpu issue,other wise the option is a more powerfull computer motherbd and cpu i assume,,
thanks for any help..

cpyatak wrote:

Vios wrote:I have an Mbox Mini 2. I haven't had any major issues at all, especially using windows 7

Really? Tell me what you did to get the Mbox 2 mini to work with windows 7 -- I have Windows 7 but have been using xp because I have been under the impression that there is no driver for the digidesign MBox 2 Mini for Windows 7.

It's been so long now I can't remember. I have a vague memory of googling it and finding a solution quickly. I think I have Pro Tools 8.0.4 installed, but can't check as I'm not at home at the moment. There's a big thread here about it:

My favorite thing about windows 7 with the Mini 2 is that it will by default play all of my system audio through the Mini 2 if it's connected, but if not, play it through the sound card. No reboot required! However in Live I have to manually set it.

unclejack3 wrote:hi guys,,,this is not a reply but more a question in regards to sound cards...i am running an lexicon alpha usb audio mixer so i assume all my sounds are redirected to this instead of my sound card,,is this correct?

If you have your computer setup to send the sounds to the audio interface, then yes your computer will send its sound output to it. Can't say more than that.

unclejack3 wrote:if so then changing my sound card will have no effect on the cpu usage when running live? you talk about buffers ,are they the latency values that you adjust in the audio mixer?

Different audio interfaces/sound cards have different drivers and therefore have different CPU demands. In my case, my Mini 2 used more CPU than my built in sound card. However on my new computer the difference is essentially negligible. On my old computer it wasn't. Yes, buffer size directly affects latency. The bigger the buffer, the more latency you'll have.

unclejack3 wrote:also am running xp which is fine but thinking of windows 7,,will that help the cpu issue,other wise the option is a more powerfull computer motherbd and cpu i assume,,
thanks for any help..

Your operating system doesn't (shouldn't) affect your CPU use much. A few percent at most. XP is typically more efficient than windows 7 for most software.