USB 2 is basically the same speed as Firewire 400.Įarly generations of USB 2.0 chipset did not operate at it full potential so it got a bad rep. Some will come with a wall wart for seperate power, or require 2 USB ports (one for the data and one for the power). The advantage to going with USB is that PCI interfaces are dying out! USB devices can get their power from the USB bus, but it depends on your hardware. USB 2.0 is still quite capable at a theoretical 480 Mbit/s (35 MB/s) to do multichannel audio quite easily. Since Windows 8 still hasn't hit a high user number, possibly USB 2.0 seems to be the safest bet.Īs far as speed is concerned, you're right for the most part - but remember it's all theoretical speed anyway. On Windows 7, USB 3.0 seems to be hit or miss with hardware. Thoughts?It's possible you're still seeing manufacturers do USB 2.0 right now because USB 3.0 is only officially supported (as far as OS integration goes) on Windows 8 (and the newer Macs). Is the Firewire connection actually faster on AD/DA units - thinking the difference between the Focusrite Pro 40 and their new Scarlett that is identical except for its being USB 2? If USB 2 is shared by everything on the board, is it better to get a firewire device for AD/DA ? does it then draw power from other source and leave your USB connections happy? Is there any inherent benefit to using USB over Firewire or PCI (besides the fact that it seems nobody is making PCI-connected soundcards anymore)? I'm about to buy a new AD/DA and have been comfortably chubby and happy with an old Echo Layla 24/96 PCI- connected card. 3) Firewire is becoming obsolete (according to TigerDirect)Ĥ) companies that had firewire interfaces are now releasing products that are similar to their firewire products, but for USB 2, NOT USB 3.

Usb 2 vs usb 3 what they look like