Alright, i'm not here to get everyone's opinion of the cheap ol monitor controllers. i'm above and beyond my "big knob" and i can't wait to smash it with a hammer "office space style".

i'll tell you what i'm looking to do, and what i've looked at.

what i have is, an 896hd, and an 003, at the moment i only use the 896 for all tracking and mixing, though in the future i'm going to be tracking on pt and then if i need, moving the session to digital performer for larger track counts.

what i'm looking to get is, a monitor controller with a built in d/a converter, or a monitor controller and get a separate monitor controller, but have built in talk back functions and a separate cue mix output to go to the headphone amp. and preferably two digital inputs (on either the both the monitor controller with built in d/a, or on the separate d/a going into the monitor controller).

products i've been eying:

coleman audio tb4 mkII though this unit doesn't have d/a, so i'd need a d/a, this unit seems built well, isn't overly cosmetic to make it flashy to over compensate for the lack of great components inside or build quality. this unit has everything i really want except the d/a, a remote, and the master volume knob is on the right, which sounds dumb, buts its not in the greatest spot for one the most important knob in the studio.

dangerous audio d-box, i'm sure most of you know all about it, and its pretty much the box i want, minus the crappy talkback/headphone send section design. its got the two digital ins, (from what i read, good converters), and its built solid, has good low volume quality, which i know my big knob is horrible at low volumes, where when i get to a certain point, all the sound starts leaving the left speaker before the right. how am i supposed to use this for checking my low volume sound, and also the dI'm switch i think cuts certain frequencies out it seems, and also i think a few of the buttons, (including the dI'm switch) are having solder or connection problems, and my monitors cut in and out almost every when the dI'm switch is touched, or if i turn it on or off a certain way... so the dbox sounds good to me, minus the crap headphone monitoring issue.

is there a better choice for 1400 bucks that will be better than the d-box, i can still use the big knob for my headphone send/talkback to compensate for what the dbox is lacking, though the big knob will take up space, and also the dbox's volume knob is on the opposite side of where i'll be sitting, which is just kind of a pain. to have to reach over to my right, instead of just reaching right in front of me to turn the volume up or down, and hit the talk back button.

i'd really love the avocet, but thats a bit out of my budget.

any ideas.