DIGIDESIGN 003

Aug 1, 2007 12:00 PM, By Nick Peck

           

A successor to the Digi 002, the popular Pro Tools LE interface, the Digidesign 003 is more evolutionary than revolutionary.

FIG. 1: The 003’s control surface includes a jog/shuttle wheel and dedicated automation-mode buttons (middle left).

Digidesign has released a successor to the Digi 002, its popular midrange Pro Tools LE system. Dubbed the 003, this system is more evolutionary than revolutionary, maintaining the Digi 002's principal design ideas while updating a few features and giving it a significant cosmetic face-lift (see Fig. 1).

The 003 comes with Pro Tools LE, which is capable of handling up to 32 audio tracks at 24-bit, 96 kHz resolution, and 256 MIDI tracks. (The track count is expandable to 48 stereo tracks with the purchase of Music Production Toolkit [$495] or DV Toolkit 2 [$1,299].) Because LE is a native system, the limitations of your CPU may restrict the number of tracks you can actually use.

The 003 comes in three flavors: Factory ($2,495), Rack Factory ($1,695), and Rack ($1,295). The Factory model is a desktop design, with a control surface on top and I/O around the back. Both rack models are 2U designs with gain and monitor controls on the front panel, and a rear panel that is nearly identical to the desktop version's. The Rack version comes bundled with the standard DigiRack plug-ins and the Ignition Pack 2 set of effects, virtual instruments, and sound libraries. The Factory and Rack Factory include the Ignition Pack 2 Pro set, as well as the Factory plug-in bundle. All these extras are enough to keep you busy for quite a while, and specific details can be found on Digidesign's Web site.

The Ins and Outs

As an interface, the 003 can handle 18 channels of combined analog and digital I/O: 8 analog channels, 8 digital over ADAT Lightpipe, and 2 digital over S/PDIF. In the analog realm, you have eight line inputs and four mic inputs to choose from. Mic inputs 1 through 4 are on XLR connections, with a 48V phantom power button for each pair (see Fig. 2). Line inputs 1 through 4 are labeled as Dis and are optimized for instrument-level sources, though you can use them with line-level sources by adjusting the input gain. Mic/line switches, gain knobs, and 75 Hz highpass filters for the first four inputs are located on the front panel.

FIG. 2: The rear panel, which is similar to that of the 003 Rack, includes balanced aux inputs and word-clock I/O.

Inputs 5 through 8 are fixed-gain, line-level inputs on balanced ¼-inch TRS jacks, with individual +4 dBu/-10 dBV switches. A pair of +4 dBu aux inputs on ¼-inch TRS jacks are included, and the balanced connectors suggest they are intended for pro-level sources. (On the Digi 002, the corresponding inputs were -10 dBV on RCA jacks, which is appropriate for consumer-level audio gear.)

The monitoring section consists of Main and Alt outputs, which can be used to feed two separate pairs of speakers. The two sets of monitor outputs are an improvement over the Digi 002, where line outputs 1 and 2 doubled as the main monitor outs. The monitor gain knob and Main/Alt monitor select buttons are on the front panel, as are Mute and Mono buttons.

The 003 also has eight fixed-gain line outputs on balanced ¼-inch TRS jacks, running at +4 dBu, and a pair of ¼-inch stereo headphone jacks, each with its own level knob — a welcome addition. As with the Mbox 2 Pro, outputs 3 and 4 can be assigned to the second headphone jack. The monitoring system is simple overall, but comprehensive enough for a small studio. Unfortunately, the Digi 002's standalone audio mixer mode is not available on the 003.

However, the 003 can be used as a standalone MIDI controller. Each fader, rotary encoder, and button can be mapped to any MIDI channel and continuous controller value. MIDI presets can be named and saved to flash memory, and you can create up to eight MIDI maps to use with programs such as Propellerhead Reason, Ableton Live, and Apple GarageBand. A MIDI input and two separate MIDI outputs are also included.

Two-channel S/PDIF I/O is available on coaxial and optical ports, offering 24-bit, 96 kHz resolution. The optical I/O can also be used as an ADAT Lightpipe interface to send and receive eight channels of 24-bit, 48 kHz audio. A footswitch jack is available for punching in and out, and the power connector is the standard IEC type.

For those with complex digital studios, the 003 has an important addition to its I/O: word clock in and out on BNC jacks. This allows the 003 to slave to a master clock, or to be used as the master clock for devices that sync to word clock at rates up to 96 kHz.

The 003 has two FireWire 400 ports for computer connectivity, and it passed the bandwidth test: I recorded, edited, and played back 32 simultaneous channels of 24-bit, 96 kHz audio to a single FireWire drive daisy-chained from the 003. Loads of edits and fades didn't faze it, and playback was nice and solid. I am a bit surprised that the 003 does not have a FireWire 800 port to keep up with current computer hardware design. However, the FireWire 400 port clearly has enough bandwidth to handle the maximum number of tracks at maximum resolution.

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