Re: Firewire or USB 2.0 Cubase LE Hardware??


"Paul" <Quiller123@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:c0c3c9a9-cf66-4431-9688-90c2f157c119@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
I'm looking at both this:



http://pro-audio.musiciansfriend.com/product/Tascam-US1641-10channel-AudioMIDI-USB-2.0-Computer-Interface?sku=245002



And this one:



http://pro-audio.musiciansfriend.com/product/Alesis-iO26-Portable-26-Input-FireWire-Audio-Interface?sku=246031



Both appear to have their share of problems, but both are very cheap,
8 pre-amps, and both come with Cubase LE. Very similar products.

I heard USB 2.0 is supposed to be a bit faster than the Firewire
connection.

It's actually the opposite. The raw interface speed is higher with USB, but
the actual throughput is lower. In realtime streaming applications, the full
duplex isochronous abilities of Firewire make it the preferred interface.
Also, Firewire requires little of the CPU, while USB loads it down. This is
why you are looking at a Firewire interface with 26 channels, while the
Tascam has 16, a very high number for USB.

Alesis specifies the Cirrus converters. These have been reviewed in the Echo
Audiofire series, and they are very good. Tascam doesn't name theirs, but
the ones I have seen in the past are an AKM tier that are merely decent.

Problems are frequently encountered with both USB and Firewire. Some (many?)
users never succeed in making them work, because they are stuck with
unsuitable computers they cannot afford to replace. Use Google to reseach
user experiences on the specific equipment before you buy. Also, read Google
archives from this forum.

Cubase LE is, imho, not bad for the price ;)

Bob Morein
(310) 237-6511


.

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