phantom power
 

I have an Mbox which allows me to activate a 48V switch for phantom power when I use a microphone that requires it. Is there any way I can connect the microphone to the xl1S using the MA 100 XLR connectors and the Mbox rather than paying for a separate source of power to use a microphone that requires phantom power?

Please describe the output of the Mbox. Is there a site with its specs?

Pro Tools Le is the software that comes with several of Digidesign's hard-disk audio recording systems, including Digi 001, Mbox, and Audiomedia. These systems are primarily for use in home recording studios and project studios, or, in the case of the Mbox, to be taken on the road. Mbox is a two channel digital audio interface for usb computers. It includes two built-in focusrite mic preamps, two channels of analog I/O, and two channels of S/PDIF digital I/O. Mbox also includes two analog line inserts for outboard effects processing. The full specs are located at www.digidesign.com.

Looks like the analog output of the MBox is about +4 dB, on the order of 30 dB higher than should be fed to the MA-100. (The MA100 is designed for mic level inputs and will distort noticeably when the input gets above around -10 dB.)

You could feed the output to the MA-100 going through a ~30 dB pad (reduces the output. Alternatively you could feed the output directly to the Audio1 jack with the input Audio 1 input level sert to line and using manual gain.

I note that the MBox appears to be powered by the USB port used to connect it to a PC - you will have to have a power source for it.

Thanks Don that information really helps. I use the Mbox with a powerbook which allows me to mix sound "on the road". The Mbox is designed to work with a laptop for this purpose.