USB 2.0 and simultaneous tracks

[Ericlingus]

I was wondering how USB 2.0 interfaces like the focusrite scarlett respond to recording 8 and more tracks at once(drums for example). Is there a noticeable difference between usb 2.0 and firewire interfaces? I have the saffire pro 40 which is firewire and have used a usb 2.0 interface and I havent noticed a difference and latency. I still get low latency on the line6 UX2 when I record guitar. I'm just wondering what you guys think of USB 2.0 interfaces and how they perform in comparison to firewire. I may be forced to use USB 2.0 since my new computer is not allowing me to use the TI firewire chipset which is weird but it won't let me use my saffire pro 40. I'm going to try getting a thunderbolt card for my PC and then get the firewire to thunderbolt adapter. Hopefully that will solve my problem but if It doesn't I have no choice but to get USB 2.0 since thunderbolt interfaces are rare and very expensive anyways.

 

[egan.]

I've used the UFX, Aurora, and symphony I/o via USB with zero issues. 5 years ago I would have steered you away from USB 2 but they seem to have figured it out at some point.

 

[JeffTD]

Agreed with Egan - USB 2.0 is fine for most recording applications these days; I wouldn't do 16 tracks @ 96khz or anything, but at 44.1/48khz and 8-10 tracks you'll be fine. My Duet 2 has better latency/stability compared to my old FF800 did, albeit with 1/4 the native inputs.

 

[Ericlingus]

well 99% of the time I'm not recording more than 4 tracks at once. I just like to have 8 inputs (plus spdif) so I can have all my hardware hooked up and ready to go whenever I need it without re routing anything) When I record drums I do plan on doing up to 16 tracks though. 44.1khz only. Have you guys added additional preamps via adat to usb 2.0 interfaces before? The Focusrite Scarlett has ADAT just like the pro 40. Would there be any issues with say hooking up the behringer 8 channel preamp(forget the name but I'm sure everyone knows what I'm talking about) via ADAT to record 16 tracks? My computer is very fast (i7 5820k 3.30ghz with 16 gigs of ddr4 ram). That's what I'm most afraid of with USB 2.0. I don't want to be recording drums and encounter problems in the middle of a session!. Well hopefully all of this won't be a factor and I can get my Saffire Pro 40 up and running via thunderbolt.

 

[rapucore]

I record 16 to 24 tracks with an USB 2.0 interface with Behringer ADA8200 (the newer model, the preamps are quite good ) hooked up via ADAT. I have encountered zero problems. And there are no latency issues either.

 

[Ericlingus]

great to hear thanks man! Have you had any issues as to which USB ports you hook it up to on your computer? Should you isolate it from other usb devices or can they be on the same hub? Well it's good to know I have a backup plan in case I can no longer use firewire. I can just sell my pro 40 and buy the scarlett equivalent instead and only be out a couple hundred bucks. Which USB interface do you use btw? PC or Mac?

 

[rapucore]

Haven't had issues with USB ports either. I moved from Focusrite stuff to back then a new Behringer interface (FIREPOWER FCA1616) mainly because of the preampsand surprisingly the Behringer unit kicked ass. Limited me to 16 tracks I/O but I sometimes lend a interface with a second ADAT I/O and an another ADA8200 if there's a need for 24 inputs. In almost any case 16 is plenty though. PC user.

 

[Ericlingus]

so you had no problems with your focusrite usb interface? How is the behringer? It's half the price of the focusrite I wanted.

 

[atoragon]

once it would have made difference. now I record an 8 tracks drumset with my presonus audiobox vsl 1818 on my laptop without problems, and without the risk of burning my motherboard due to the firewire hot plugging. The firewire standard is on its way to disappear.

 

[Ericlingus]

yeah I'm not too keen on the whole no hot swapping thing with the firewire interfaces. I've plugged/unplugged it many times the wrong way. Thankfully it did no damage to anything. I think that is what fried my presonus firepod though.

 

[rapucore]

@Ericlingus

All of my posts about the experiences are based on the Behringer combo.

 

[Ericlingus]

thanks man. That behringer unit looks pretty sweet for the price. It's hard to believe the pres would be as good as the focusrite's! Have you heard about the Behringer U-PHORIA UMC1820? It's basically a clone of the Scarlett. It has their "midas" pres. Only $199.00.

 

[atoragon]

I wouldn't go lower than m-audio, for personal experience.

 

[rapucore]

It's hard to believe the pres would be as good as the focusrite's!

Definitely thought that as well before I purchased one. I was blown away by the sound... And the price.

 

[cfh11]

+1 on the behringer..I bought mine mainly to hook up via adat for spot mics, room mics etc and have been pleasantly surprised at the quality of the pres

 

[AD Chaos]

If your machine is new then chances are a USB 2.0 interface is going to perform much better than that of someone using an old PC.

It's so retarded how interface makers keep neglecting USB 3.0 for PC (with the exception of MADIface) or Thunderbolt these days.. I guess it's cheaper to keep selling the same Jurassic-old stuff, rather than having to implement new drivers and actually make an effort to level up with Mac offerings. Fear of DMA attacks under Windows, maybe? Afaik that can already happen with firewire, anyway.
I recently tried to use a firewire TC Electronic and couldn't make the damn thing work, not even through an internal PCIe (TI) card. Once I upgrade my PC, I might very well run into your same situation..
If someone out there comes with a mid-level thunderbolt 2 (or even 3) offering, or an entry level USB 3.0 interface for PC, they will wipe out the market for sure. /rant

I have a Focusrite USB and tbh I wouldn't use that for recording.. I can hear the difference with a FF, which doesn't even have pres to write home about. For a cheap, temporary alternative I think a Presonus USB might be a better option (they seem to have good reviews),

 

[Ericlingus]

yeah I hate how the audio world is always so far behind. Seriously no usb 3.0 interfaces? That makes zero sense. Focusrite is coming out with new actual thunderbolt interfaces pretty soon. They are like twice the price of their saffire/scarlett range though. What's not to like about the scarlett btw? I have the saffire which I believe is the same thing except firewire and I like it just fine.

 

[AD Chaos]

Tbh I might be biased, as I haven't been able to rely on any USB interface to take care of Windows sounds (for whatever reason the FF needs a secondary interface to take care of Windows sounds, or else it starts misbehaving). This has happened to me through Vista, 7, and I think even XP, if memory serves.
I can hear a clear difference in audio coming out from both devices, but tbh I'm talking more about Windows sound rather than DAW recording.. I have to enable the FF for Windows playback often, as the Scarlett craps out randomly, so I incidentally A/B it often. But that instability is likely not the interface's fault, as I've had that same behavior with other USB interfaces (and even a very old PCI one haha). USB doesn't work so well on the audio department with older machines, but as others have said, a new machine might take care of things like HDDs communicating faster on newer PC components and solve issues like latency or track/plugin count. You might have very good results in performance if your machine and the hard drives are up to date.

 

[Ericlingus]

well my PC is very new. It's using the 2011v3 MOBO with an Intel Core i7‑5820K 3.3GHz and 16 gigs of ddr4 ram. I have a SSD for the OS and program files and a HDD for cubse project files and samples. Really hope I can get the saffire working though via thunderbolt with the firewire/thunderbolt adapter. I'll let you guys know how it works out because I'm sure you guys will eventually buy a PC with the 2011v3 socket and at least on my motherboard (asrock x99 extreme 6), the TI firewire chipset is not compatible for some reason. Actually I almost forgot to add that I am using a USB audio interface. My pod HD500. It's not really even intended to be used as a main soundcard for your computer but I've been using it with no issues. It just gives me problems in cubase 6.5 if I'm using the Pod for another sound source like a youtube video or something at the same time Cubase is open. Other than that I've had no issues with it. I would imagine the Scarlett would be way better.

 

[AD Chaos]

It just gives me problems in cubase 6.5 if I'm using the Pod for another sound source like a youtube video or something at the same time Cubase is open.

Yeah, that's what's always happened with my FF800. If you can make your firewire Scarlett work through the Thunderbolt adapter, then you can always set the L6 to take care of Windows sounds, and make sure to avoid conflicts (that's what I do).

Which FW card were you trying to use, if you don't mind me asking?