mbox 2 conerters (tec award 2006??) vs apogee mini me

Considering that the mbox 2 got a tec award in 2006 for its converters, is it worth my money to buy a mini me and spdif in? or should I just stick with the mbox2 converters and spend my money elsewhere? I already ordered the mini me, but I am having second thoughts. It is baffling that digidesign won this award after all of the bad press there coverters get... Thanks...

Radd, The Mini me is a great piece. The convertors totally improved my sound on the One. But it offers much more than the convertors. The compression and clock are also excellent. The preamps are good for vocals and acustic instruments. But I like my great river for electric guitars. I would still get the mini me and then shoot for a Great River next time you get cash. Pete

There are a lot of dual preamps with S/PDIF outputs, but IMO the best value is a used DBX 386, which go for around $200usd on eBay. Put some decent tubes in them and they're a nice cheap step up from interface inputs, and they use the same A/D converter chip as the 002.

Consider the sound quality you want and your general goals with your tunes. If you want pro sounding tracks you need to have a good signal chain all the way through from mic > pre > converters > daw. I have made the mistake of spending countless hours tracking through a marginal chain only to be disapointed with the sound quality of the final mix. I would recommend spending the extra money to get a good pre and converters. try and find great deals so you can resell the gear once your finished. just wanted to share this so you dont learn the hard way like I did.