Most of what i found was comparisons to usb 2 or tests done before macs had usb 3. Its maximum transfer rate is up to 10 times faster than the usb 2. Its important to check which protocol your computers ports support before purchasing peripherals such as an audio interface to ensure correct compatibility. Long story short, firewire works at a constant and fast rate, while usb sends data in bursts. Where a firewire 800 7200rpm hard drive can deliver sequential transfer rate of around 90mbs, usb 2.
I did searches online and really didnt come up with much in the way of current data or test. Almost every audio engineer agrees that for audio recording, a firewire audio interface is better than an usb audio interface. On this page youll find an impressive variety of usb fire audio. That being said, a 7200rpm hdd is not capable of writing fast enough to let thunderbolt or usb 3 operate at full speed, so the difference between the top two is only on an ssd. With many people buying the new imacs, the lack of usb 3. Due to my lack of experience with external hds, i went ahead and bought a 1tb usb 3. A firewire audio interface could save sound data directly to a firewire. Look at carnage from all the audio interface people trying to come to grips with thunderbolt and usb 3. It looks like the main thing you can purchase is a usb or firewire audio interface. Usb firewire is a peertopeer protocol, meaning that every device on a firewire network is equally capable of talking to every other device. Almost every audio engineer agrees that for audio recording, a firewire audio interface is better than an usb audio. Call our gear experts now for help with your purchase. Jan 12, 2010 however, the report also notes that the imminent release of usb 3.
Understanding the utilities and need of a firewire to usb. There is no difference in terms of audio quality, just writeread speed. Terry white shows a live speed test comparing firewire 800 to usb 3 on the new macbook pro retina display. A usb audio interface is an excellent choice for mobile recording as the interface draws its power from the computer via the usb cable. People have told me that firewire 800 is faster than usb 3. The popularity of usb 2 and usb 3 devices slowed adoption of firewire, resulting in the slow decline of the connection. Jan 01, 20 where a firewire 800 7200rpm hard drive can deliver sequential transfer rate of around 90mbs, usb 2. It was developed in the late 1980s and early 1990s by apple, which called it firewire. There are three popular versions of the usb and these are usb 1. The latest release of firewire, promises a data transfer speed of 800 mbps, while usb 3. Usb vs firewire audio interface select which one is best for you. Two video cameras on a firewire network can share data with each other.
After speaking with various interface designers, it seems that both usb 2 and firewire 400800 are equally capable of handling in excess of 16 channels of simultaneous audio which, of course, would be well over the top for your current needs, while usb 3 is considerably faster than firewire and can. Therefore, it is now possible to manufacture a usb 3. A firewire audio interface connects with a firewire 400 or 800 connection and is comparable to usb 2. This occurred even though firewire 400 and 800 are faster than previous usb technologies not including 3. Advertisement speed aside, the big difference between firewire and usb 2. At owc s website, you can buy a fw800 enclosure and put as big of a drive as you want in it, so there isnt a limit of 640gb.
Below are some of the common pros and cons for using a device with firewire. Mar 20, 2012 people have told me that firewire 800 is faster than usb 3. The only way the data transfer could work is if youre using usb 2 or 3, for the relavite firewire port. Firewire was made obsolete by thunderbolt 1 and usb 3. But when it comes to audio interfaces, we talk about the latency. In most instances, the audiobox usb and audiobox vsl should work properly in a usb 3. Unless you need to record and playback more than 32 channels of audio io at once then there is no need for usb 3. In contrast, the current iteration of s3200 will top out at 3. Can i use a firewire to usb adapter to connect my firewire. Nov 30, 2015 these thing evolve, until theyre dropped.
What is the main difference between firewire and usb. As our options for getting data from a to b increase usb 3, thunderbolt and thunderbolt 2 have all. Is there a way to connect a firewire audio interface to a. When it does gain support, it will be considerably faster than fw800, which is the fastest for now. I have been wanting to get an hd for scratch disks and to edit directly onto the external hd in final cut. In general, firewire devices support a higher bandwidth than usb 2. Ps2 usb adpater, usb male to ps2 female splitter mouse keyboard ps2 converter extension cable,kvm barcode scanner ps2 to usb. For example, the 2016 apple macbook pro models each feature thunderbolt 3. Thunderbolt was designed with a number of usage models in mind, one of which is highbandwidth, lowlatency data.
I did some research and found out i cant use a simple adapter. Many new usbfirewire pro audio are eligible for free shipping. Without getting long winded, with the advent of usb 3. But the lack of attention the firewire update received doesnt bode well for its mainstream appeal. Overall, it should be preferred if you are looking for audio and video applications, while usb is the technology you should go for, in case of computer peripherals. The main difference between the two is that firewire is made to handle more data than usb, particularly audio and visual information. However, do you think that a firewire 800 to usb 3. The market is very small for thunderbolt 3 to firewire adapters and makes no sense to. If your using an iosenabled device, it will connect to the audio interface using usb.
Firewire features a sustained transfer rate of 400 mbps fw800 is 800 mbs and its always the same. Implementing firewire costs a little more than usb, which led to the adoption of usb as the standard for connecting most peripherals that do not require a highspeed bus. No, it is not possible to connect a firewire interface to your computers usb port via a firewire to usb adapter since this connection is not sufficient to run a firewire audio interface. Im guessing that the only thing holding things back is the money required to hire engineers. If youre choosing a new audio interface or a new computer, what are the pros and cons of the many. The pros and cons of firewire vs usb firewire has long been a standard for both audio and video interfacing. Its still a great option if you have a mac and dont want to pay thunderbolt prices, or if youre planning on recording in a large studio with a lot of gear. Ieee 94 is an interface standard for a serial bus for highspeed communications and isochronous realtime data transfer. Overall, it should be preferred if you are looking for audio and video applications, while usb.
Try a firewire interface for lowerlatency monitoring while recording. Firewire is the brand name that apple uses for the ieee 94 interface. If your computer does not have a built in firewire port you should check if it has a pci or pcie slot desktop computer. If you are experiencing issues with an audiobox plugged into a usb 3. Firewire ieee 94 and usb universal serial bus are both standards for communication between electronic devices.
On this page youll find an impressive variety of usbfire audio interfaces for both macs and pcs and with a little time and effort, youll be sure to spot something that. Its still a great option if you have a mac and dont want to pay thunderbolt. Going with my existing firewire 800 drives and the thunderbolt to firewire adapter or usb 3 drives. Jul 31, 2008 this fall, both the ieee 942008 and the usb 3. Firewire audio interfaces send multichannel digital audio in and out of your computer. Get the best price and selection of new usbfirewire pro audio at musicians friend.
Most of what i found was comparisons to usb 2 or tests done before macs had usb 3 builtin. When i think of usb or firewire, i think of slow and latency, but since these seem so popular, that may not be the case. These days, interfaces are available in a wide range of formats with different input and output configurations, but usbfirewire audio interfaces are among the most common. Firewire, or ieee 94, is another connection type that was popular for a while, but has kind of gone away over the last few years. But i wanted to ask it here because the people here have general knowledge of just how things work.
They differ particularly in data transfer speed with usb 1. Thunderbolt 3 supports usb, firewire and thunderbolt devices via adapters. Ieee 941995 the spec that apple trademarked as firewire, was introduced in 1994 with speeds up to 400mbs. Focusrite, scarlett 2i2 2nd generation vs maudio firewire 1814. Is there a way to connect a firewire audio interface to a usb. Feb 24, 2012 firewire features a sustained transfer rate of 400 mbps fw800 is 800 mbs and its always the same. I would like to connect it to a firewire audio interface. Firewire needs a processor on both sides of the data transfer. Similarly, most usb 1 and 2 devices function quite happily when connected to a usb 3 port.