USB 2.0 audio/midi interface card

pfk · Post by **pfk** » 10/11/2005 - 18:01

Tjo-hei!

I'm back to bug you with stupid midi questions again

This time I want recommendations on what audio/midi interface to get for my computer. I've been looking at various products online, but I have no idea what I need... The Digidesign MBox 2 looks like a nice device, but I thought I'd ask around first

Here's what I want to do:

I'd like a portable USB2.0 interface I can plug my synth into - both midi and "regular" (analogue) audio. I'd also like to hook up a microphone, that may be used for recording anything from my dreadful singing to guitars and drums.

What sort of inputs do I need, and which products are available? Any other useful functions I should be thinking of? How about built-in DSPs to run plug-ins on, etc?

I get extremely confused by all the different plugs, inputs, impedances and other fancy words in product descriptions, so if anybody can explain the basics that would be great

- pfk

Tonka · Post by **Tonka** » 15/11/2005 - 13:32

This appears to be the best bang for buck @ the moment:

http://www.focusrite.com/productdetails ... 8&iRange=5

Firewire not USB, but I understand that USB interfaces generally have crappy latency problems when recording.

Tonka

pfk · Post by **pfk** » 23/11/2005 - 13:04

Cool. Is FireWire better than USB2.0 for low latency? Since USB2.0 is faster I expected it to perform better, but I guess FireWire was designed for real time performance... Good point!

By the way, I love your remixes. Wish there were more of them *hint, hint*

Tou did both BIT2 and BIT3 Wizball tunes, right? Amazing. And that big beat ninja tning... Ooooh!!!

- pfk

Tonka · Post by **Tonka** » 29/11/2005 - 12:51

pfk wrote:Cool. Is FireWire better than USB2.0 for low latency? Since USB2.0 is faster I expected it to perform better, but I guess FireWire was designed for real time performance... Good point!

Hi. USB2.0 will out-perform standard USB and Firewire will WAY out-perform USB 2.0 - it's all just based on the speed of data transfer, I think. Basically, the faster something transfers data, the less latency there will be.

The best thing about this unit are apparently the inputs. I know a guy @ Focusrite/Novation who helped design it, and he says they use the same inputs and technology as they use for their much higher priced products - the headroom is allegedly several stories high!

Built in reverb, compression, eq and guitar amp simulator (all with quick preset templates) are also pretty damn useful for what you have described you want to do with it.

I should be getting mine sometime in Dec, so I can give you the full low down once I get it going

pfk wrote: By the way, I love your remixes. Wish there were more of them *hint, hint* Tou did both BIT2 and BIT3 Wizball tunes, right? Amazing. And that big beat ninja tning... Ooooh!!!

- pfk

Thank you very much for the compliment

More remixes? Careful what you wish for... No more Wizball, but I'm not quite finished with that Ninja yet...

Tonka

DHS · Post by **DHS** » 29/11/2005 - 13:36

Well, what's the price of this thing? Just for curiosity.

Tonka · Post by **Tonka** » 29/11/2005 - 15:04

DHS wrote:Well, what's the price of this thing? Just for curiosity.

Retails @ about Ã‚Â£350.00 GBP, but most places are doing them for about Ã‚Â£330.00.

I'm actually swapping my old Roland SH09 for one (I haven't touched it in years), so it's kinda free for me

Tonka

ifadeo · Post by **ifadeo** » 29/11/2005 - 16:52

http://www.thomann.de/iw_smb_suche.html ... FF=Saffire

http://www.thomann.de/thoiw2_artikel-176506.html

http://www.thomann.de/thoiw2_edirol_fa1 ... dinfo.html

thomann has some nice offer...

cheers ifadeo

Markus Schneider · Post by **Markus Schneider** » 30/11/2005 - 8:12

pfk wrote:Cool. Is FireWire better than USB2.0 for low latency?

The therotical data transfer rate is higher with USB 2.0 (480mbit/s = 60MB/s) compared with FireWire 400 (400 mbit/s = 50MB/s). Most people do now know that the practical rate is dependent from 3 things. The chip on your motherboard/extra card and the chip on you hardware (soundcard). Further the programming of the drivers is a relevant feature.
As far as I know there are no OEM chips for FireWire, which makes it more stable, while you have often much cheap and unstable USB2.0 chips on motherboards. USB 2.0 also gets very unstable if you use products which have no own power supply. Have a look at that, some notebook usb sound cards are sold that way and often have stability probs.

For example you can buy memorysticks with 5MB/s data transfer rate for 20 Ã¢â€šÂ¬ or with 30MB/s for Ã¢â€šÂ¬50. In practice this is a major difference, but for most people this is simply a cheap and an expensive stick.

If you primary goal is budget, you should care for USB. If it is stability I would go for FireWire. This is of course not completely true, but in most ways.

DHS · Post by **DHS** » 30/11/2005 - 8:55

As far as I know there are no OEM chips for FireWire, which makes it more stable

I changed 3 pci firewire cards (different chipsets) before finding one wich gives me no problems with the 01x.

Said that, i totally agree that, between the two, i'd choose firewire over usb2 all the times.

Markus Schneider · Post by **Markus Schneider** » 30/11/2005 - 9:52

@DHS: What's your final stable chipset ? Texas Instruments ? I have always huge problems with VIA (FW and USB).

DHS · Post by **DHS** » 30/11/2005 - 10:28

Well...

1st i tried: Xerox (built in my mobo). Has been ok for a while, then no more.
2nd: Texas Instrument. Just like the xerox.

3rd: Via. Works fine.

That's weird. Via totally sucks, for example, for theri USB2 chipset. Just imagine that if you buy a card with USB2 with Via chipset, it will work as usb1.1 under SP2, since Via won't release the updated drivers (they say it's microsoft that must do it), and, of course, MS isn't releasing them either.

DHS · Post by **DHS** » 30/11/2005 - 12:37

I was forgetting something of capital importance.

When using FW based devices, you should set this in win:

go to Control Panel/System
Click the "advanced" tab
Click Settings in the "perfomance" part of the window
Select the "advanced tab"
set the CPU part of the windows to "Background services".

reboot windows.

this alone fix 90% of the issue, expecially regarding connection and latency.

Tonka · Post by **Tonka** » 30/11/2005 - 12:44

DHS wrote:I was forgetting something of capital importance.

When using FW based devices, you should set this in win:

go to Control Panel/System
Click the "advanced" tab
Click Settings in the "perfomance" part of the window
Select the "advanced tab"
set the CPU part of the windows to "Background services".

reboot windows.

this alone fix 90% of the issue, expecially regarding connection and latency.

Useful info (for when I get it!) - thanks DHS

Tonka

pfk · Post by **pfk** » 30/11/2005 - 12:52

Losts of great info here! I'm definitely going for FireWire now, and I'm pretty impressed that you all know so much about hardware in addition to being great musicians

But I guess you're sure to be a bit geeky when you're hanging around a C64 remix forum

I still haven't decided what product to order, so more suggestions are very welcome.

- pfk

Tonka · Post by **Tonka** » 30/11/2005 - 13:07

pfk wrote:But I guess you're sure to be a bit geeky when you're hanging around a C64 remix forum
- pfk

Again, thanks for the compliment

GEEK POWER!!!

Tonka