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RishiP

Joined: 14/10/09
Posts: 90

firewire vs USB new

#959193 - 15/12/11 05:46 PM

hello

I have a PC with Q4400 (i think) with a mbox 1 and RME ADI-2 running Cubase SX3. Basically I use the mbox as a "dongle" for the RME through SPDIF now. My question is can I see significant latency improvement if I upgrade to a firewire interface(preferably cheap) to use as my "dongle"? I know different drivers and different products will make a difference in how much latency change, but is firewire inherently less latency than the mbox 1 (which is USB 1.1)?

Thanks

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alzilla

Joined: 29/12/06
Posts: 22
Loc: London, England

Re: firewire vs USB [Re: RishiP]
#959308 - 16/12/11 04:02 PM

I assume you're using Pro Tools LE? Have you considered switching to Pro Tools M-Powered? That could be used with one of the compatible PCI interfaces which would provide better latency than a FireWire or USB device.

OK, I just re-read your post and see you mention using Cubase

. In which case, swapping your Mbox for any cheap PCI/PCIe interface with S/PDIF would give you low latency.

Edited by alzilla (16/12/11 04:07 PM)

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Martin Walker
Watcher Of The Skies

Joined: 28/02/01
Posts: 16393
Loc: Cornwall, UK

Re: firewire vs USB new

[Re: RishiP]
#959327 - 16/12/11 05:23 PM

Quote RishiP:

is firewire inherently less latency than the mbox 1 (which is USB 1.1)?

If you're really interested in low latency then a PCIe solution is probably a safer bet than either USB or Firewire - the very best latency-wise at the moment if you can afford it is RME's HDSPe AIO 38-Channel 24-bit/192kHz PCI Express Card:

www.rme-audio.de/en_products_hdspe_aio.php

On the other hand, if you ARE using Pro Tools then this may not be an option

Martin

--------------------
YewTreeMagic

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Tombot

Joined: 09/12/04
Posts: 64
Loc: Scan Pro Audio

Re: firewire vs USB new

[Re: RishiP]
#960594 - 25/12/11 12:42 AM

As you're running the adi converter, have a go with an m-audio audiophile 2496 over spdif, as i'm assuming that on a core 2 quad that you're running, you'll have a pci slot.

should get a significant performance increase from the mbox and wont cost more than £40 from ebay.

Alternatively, any of the rme cards that martin suggested will unlock every ounce of performance from your system.

--------------------
www.theautobots.com / www.scan.co.uk

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ef37a

Joined: 29/05/06
Posts: 5629
Loc: northampton uk

Re: firewire vs USB new

[Re: Tombot]
#960603 - 25/12/11 07:01 AM

Quote Tombot:

As you're running the adi converter, have a go with an m-audio audiophile 2496 over spdif, as i'm assuming that on a core 2 quad that you're running, you'll have a pci slot.

should get a significant performance increase from the mbox and wont cost more than £40 from ebay.

Alternatively, any of the rme cards that martin suggested will unlock every ounce of performance from your system.

FWIW. I run a 2496 in a pretty bog S AMD 2core and that will run Pianoteq or 15tracks of Cubase LE6 at 64 samples without a click (DPCL about 400muSecs IIRC).

My shiny NI Komplete 6 looks as tho'it will be pretty swift too but I have not done any tests for latency so far.

Dave.

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