Opinions on firewire vs USB audio interfaces

[elvtnedge]

Was just wondering what audio interfaces you guys were running and what your opinion on firewire vs usb for an audio interface. I have the TC Konnekt 8 firewire which I'm growing out of and wanted something a bit better, not PRO by anymeans but a few more inputs. Most of the devices are usb but some are still firewire

I've been on all the usual recording sites but I wanted to hear from a different voice - the hackintosh community

 

[salty dog]

I've been around the block.. and right now if I was going to part with my money for an interface it would be USB, if you have the budget I would suggest the RME Babyface. I've been a supporter of FireWire for a long time, but it's on the way out now. USB will still be about in 5 years..... FireWire won't.

 

[elvtnedge]

I always was under the impression that FireWire was a faster signal and that you could record more tracks at once etc. the focusrite 18i20 has my attention. The RME is killer but not sure about the breakout cables

 

[salty dog]

I always was under the impression that FireWire was a faster signal and that you could record more tracks at once etc. the focusrite 18i20 has my attention. The RME is killer but not sure about the breakout cables

Firewire 400 has a data rate of 400Mbits/second where as USB2 has a data rate of 480Mbits/second so in theory USB2 will allow more channels, in practice FireWire has a slight advantage.

A very good example that allows you to compare apples with apples is the RME UFX which has both USB and FireWire. The UFX has 60 channels of IO, I have tested it with both FireWire and USB and both connections allow you to use ALL IO simultaneously with a 32 sample buffer.

So this illustrates that the really is nothing between the two connections on a well designed interface that has well coded drivers.

As I stated before, If I was going to drop my cash now it would be on a USB interface purely because there still plenty of life in USB as a common connection type. The same cant be said for FireWire. The last FireWire interface I purchased was an M-Audio Profire 2626 in 2007, and The deciding factor on that was the fact it can be used as a standalone ADC/DAC, so when the manufacturer stops updating drivers and/or FireWire becomes obsolete it still has a functional use, rather than becoming a doorstop. My reasoning has been proved correct as now M-Audio is no longer part of Avid, driver development has stop for if but I've still got a box that has a use. The same rational can be applied to the RME Babyface, as it can also be used as a standalone ADC/DAC. So when RME stop development for it, it still has a practical use. RME have a track record of supporting there products for a very long time, so I'm confident it will still be supported in a least 5 years, may still in 10 years. I bet the 18i20 won't work in 10 years time, therefore will be worthless. The Baby face will still have some value.

My 2cents on the matter

 

[thedeeg]

I would also have to vote for USB as well. While I have a crappy Fast Track Pro, I've owned it for 6 years and have used it on everything from XP to 7 and 10.4 to 10.8.3. It's truly plug and play on the mac side. I've never had an issue with it not loading up after sleep/etc like a lot of my other friends with firewire connections have had (both legit and hackintosh). Plus don't forget that the newest iMacs have already phased out firewire...who knows how long it will be until the same happens for PC components as well.

 

[elvtnedge]

Appreciate the replies

 

[Wolfster]

Im currently having issues with Apogee Duet 2 via USB; the interface is not being given enough power to function properly. Cant find many other people with the same problem, but I thought you might want to know. Check my thread is you are interested, any help is greatly appreciated.

 

[txsinger]

Currently on my Mac Mini Setup I have an M-Audio Firewire 1814 and then a few months ago BestBuy was phasing out the Line-6 UX1 with Pod Farm 2 for $60. I am using both and they work great under 10.8.3 I would suggest that if you are going to get a new interface to get one that has the latest audio drivers for MAC. You cannot go wrong with M-audio as Avid has a controlling interest in them and Line-6 has great support. Hope that helps

 

[salty dog]

You cannot go wrong with M-audio as Avid has a controlling interest in them

M-Audio is now owned by inMusic

http://www.musicradar.com/news/tech/avid-sells-m-audio-551367

I would steer well clear of any M-Audio interface for the time being as inMusic don't have the development team to support driver updates of a lot of their older (non-class complient) products. This is a shame really as M-Audio had some killer interface that were pretty much top of their class that have effectively been End of Lifed by this acquisition.

 

[thedeeg]

M-Audio is now owned by inMusic

http://www.musicradar.com/news/tech/avid-sells-m-audio-551367

I would steer well clear of any M-Audio interface for the time being as inMusic don't have the development team to support driver updates of a lot of their older (non-class complient) products. This is a shame really as M-Audio had some killer interface that were pretty much top of their class that have effectively been End of Lifed by this acquisition.

There are a couple of the M-Audio devices that are still owned and maintained by AVID. Luckily I have the Fast Track Pro so I was able to get 10.8 drivers with ease. Here's a list of the devices that are still under AVID control:



• Fast Track USB
• Fast Track
• Fast Track Pro
• Fast Track Ultra
• Fast Track Ultra 8R
• Fast Track C400
• Fast Track C600
• MobilePre USB
• MobilePre