Mbox Vs. The Rest Of The Usb World, guidance for powerbook recording set up Options

[tgwj]

I have a g4 powerbook 867 Mhz, 384 mb RAM, running 10.2.8. After some investigation, I've narrowed my choices down to two, for money, quality and reliability: getting an M-Audio Duo and Logic Audio Big Box or getting the Digidesign M-box. (roughly $500 for either) I'm wondering if there's any major differences between the two set-ups (hardware or software advantages, etc.) and also if anyone has any recommendations or warnings for me on my set up in general.

I'll be doing some recording with a mixer probably or just using the 2 inputs for mics, etc. I recognize the limitations of USB but I need good software more than inputs/outputs right now. Maybe I'll upgrade to FireWire sometime. Thanks for your advice!

[Presto]

Ah, I forgot:
48khz is quite sufficient unless you can hear sounds higher than 24khz. I doubt it. (Halving the sampling rate gives the highest sound frequency you get).

96khz takes up more room on your HD. And more computer power too.
I don't know why pros use more than 48khz. Perhaps because I haven't heard the results on veeeeeeeeeeeeery expensive equipment.

Remember, quality is no more than that of the weakest link in the chain. Often its the mics or the monitors. It could be our ears, but in my case it's my musical genius.