Mbox Vs. Digi 002 Rack Options

[JPSpecial]

I'm wondering which audio interface would be better for my needs. I'd like to record voice and acoustic guitar using two different mics and afterward doing some harmony vocals and perhaps a second guitar track and some bass. The real problem I want to avoid is major latency. Will I have substantially less with the firewire digi 002r than with the mbox. Some users have said that the latency with mbox is not a problem while others have said it is a true annoyance. Just wondering what some of you users of either audio interface have to say. Also, how many audio inputs can the digi 002r take at a time? I know the mbox can only take two, which of course is pretty limited.

[kolo]

Latency as in LATE. That is You are playing or singing and the sound or midi signal goes into the computer and gets recorded, "listened to' by the computer and then the computer sends the sound back out for you to hear. It takes a few microseconds to do that and you hear the sound slightly delayed, or out of sync with the rest of the tracks playing back. With midi, you are playing a midi keyboard, say, and your fingers are pushing the keys down which sends a signal to the computer to trigger a soft synth sound (virtual instrument). It takes a fraction of a second for the computer to do that, and the sound may come out a little LATE (latency, get it?). Sequencers can adjust for this on playback, but LIVE as you record you can't help but hear the delay, which may be annoying or screw up your timing. Unless your computer/interface (mbbox etc) is doing this processing really fast. these days it's pretty fast on the newest machines. If you monitor directly you hear your voice BEFORE it gets processed. No latency. Like I said, your software should be able to place the new ttrack in the right spot when you play the recording back.
You need to get a basic book on recording terms and concepts. the stores are full of them.

good luck