The new Avid HD Native Thunderbolt interface for Pro Tools was a surprise at the IBC 2012 show. It’s been getting some real love and also some complaints - we wanted to deal with the most common ones having had both the inside track on the unit and our hands on one.
- Why Is It In An Mbox Case?
It isn’t in an Mbox case, the pictures suggest it is, but the actual unit is far smaller than an Mbox, perhaps even 50% smaller. The reason for the case is the case is actually a heat sink to disapate the heat build up. We put our hands on it when it was running a large session, and it was warm, but you couldn’t fry an egg. The case removes the need for a fan - no fan, less noise. - It Looks Cheap
In the flesh it looks great, sadly the pictures do not do the unit justice - in the flesh it looks and feels solid and professional. - Isn’t It Just A Native Card In A Box With A Thunderbolt Port?
Yep! What else were you thinking a HD Native Thunderbolt unit would be? - Why No Rack Mount?
It can be mounted in a rack chassis using screw holes on the bottom of the unit. Good job, I hate all these little boxes. - It’s A Lot Of Money
It is a pro system, not for the home user, so if you take the parts and add them all up, the deal is not bad. The upgrade deal from either an Mbox Pro or 00 series interface is £3,118.80 inc VAT - it may be less than that by the time it hits the streets. What you get is A HD Native card with Thunderbolt, an Omni and a copy of Pro Tools 10 HD.
We have a unit sitting in the local Fedex depot, so we’ll be putting it through its paces very soon with a full review.