When did it become OK to use USB2 for Audio?

So true… i.e. Focusrite is still struggling with BSODs on USB3, I have personal experience of this…

That’s the driver designer fault don’t?

Anyway, I use my UR824 in a USB3 port without problems

Hello,

it could be a USB(3) Controller issue, it might be worth checking if the Motherboard manufacturer provides an updated driver (if not a hardware controller issue, of course).
Just make sure that the driver is correct for the model and revision.

By the way, USB2 can record a reasonable amout of tracks contemporarily with its bandwidth (480Mbps or 60MB/sec), far more than USB2 audio interfaces usually offer. So it’s perfectly suited for the task.

Kind regards,

From what I’ve heard, the incompatibility of USB 3.0 ports with USB 2.0 devices is typically a Mac issue. On my HP Elitebook, I can use any USB port with my Babyface, 2.0 or 3.0. No issues at all. Same with my desktop and my UFX, although I’m not wasting a USB 3.0 port for any USB 2.0 device.

When the USB3 came out, the problem was with a specific controller, but I won’t name the manufacturer.

The issue has been long ago solved, but of course those who have mainboards built at that time may have issues.

It wasn’t Intel’s fault then :laughing:

Like I said, if you do the maths the bandwidth of USB(2) is really enough for almost all recording applications, but the writing speed is other history.

Shh nobody have to know!

Are you talking about writing to HD? If that’s the case, SATA2 (3Gbps) already has plenty write-speed to accomodate the USB2 data transfer rate.

Cheers,

SATA2 is the protocol, I’m talking about the disk itself.

It still depends of mechanical factors, and those are wayyy below the transfer rates of USB(2).

Here you can see some write, read, etc test.
http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/3.5-hard-drive-charts-2008/benchmarks,24.html

Yes, indeed, the nominal bandwidth is not the actual file write speed.

But same is for the USB2, 480Mbps is the maximum bandwidth, not the average - and depending on many factors as well (drivers, system configuration, the device itself).

I looked at the write benchmarks, most modern drives are well above the maximum USB2 bandwidth - and that is an average: there are not so many that fall below 60MB/s and those are mostly Ultra ATA100, which is a dinosaur of a standard now.

In any case, more than sufficient to write a number of channels which is unavailabe on most USB interfaces.
Of course, this would change dramatically if you record at 192kHz. So, it’s not just black and white :wink:

RME are the only ones that come close to firewire performance.
If you look at :
http://forum.dawbench.com/showthread.php?1801-DAWbench-Universal-Suite-Results-Database-In-Progress&s=5aee081b828c033abab9cae85e1f6f63

Scroll down to DAWbench Low Latency Performance Rating

Many newer interfaces like steinbergs own units, have DSP direct monitoring with FX. or in case of the UR22 a simple mix knob you can turn to mix the playback and input. However low latency VSTi is still an issue depending on how sensitive you are.

Yes, you are right. Besides, if you work at 192Khz I can bet that the first problem will be that you will need more preamps with ADAT :stuck_out_tongue:


I’m another from the old days when USB 2 was considered a curse for audio.
Now I’m about to spring for a new interface and I’m thinking about the UR824.
I have decided that I will test the UR824 for 2 weeks with the option of
exchanging it for the RME Raydat if things don’t go as planned.

I guess things have changed quite drastically since those early days of USB 2.0

Like I said, I use an UR824, also, now I’m recording directly to an external HD in a USB(3) (this one http://www.thermaltake.com/products-model.aspx?id=C_00001642)

So far no problems… so far…

It’s great to see a Tech Support/Moderator joining the discussions - thanks Fabio :0)

If I may add to this, I have found that not only an updated driver fixed my issues with USB3/USB2 backwards compatibility but also UEFI BIOS updates, notwithstanding any controller problems that may be present.

i was ready to buy an audio interface when USB 3 landed. i thought “im not gonna buy old technology now…im not gonna be that sucker that buys the model thats just about to be superceeded…im waiting for the new wave of usb3 interfaces to arrive”. been waiting over 2 years now. They just havent surfaced.

I could just imagine whole R&D departments throwing their hands up in the air in sheer disgust when USB3 arrived just as they had spent millions on developing their USB2 interface. I dont blame them all for not wanting to rush to invest more again just to make their projects usb3.

so i just figured screw it , theyre backwards compatible anyways and i had a renewed confidence in Steinberg hardware once they released Win7 drivers for the Midex8. I swore i would never buy another Steinberg hardware ANYTHING after their poor effort with driver support and the Midex8 in particular but i feel the company has turned a new leaf and seen the error of their ways. So I brought the UR824. Very happy. Awsome unit.

Sometimes i wander how they dont see the flow-on effect of burning a customer with poor driver support for one product and dont understand that this then will convert to poor sales for their new hardware in the future. Anyways Steinberg have been given “one more chance” i think by many (including me) with their new company rejuvenation and positive customer direction. I hope they dont burn me again with future drivers for this UR824 because that will be THE END.

anyways the UR824 is usb2 and works great with mu usb3 port. theres two main USB3 chipsets. NEC/Renesas or VIA. The NEC ones are considered much more stable and efficient.

Cheers,
Blackout

I believe it is all due to the Yamaha/Steinberg partnership no more no less.

Lot’s of really great posts. Thanks to everyone for sharing.

I’m hopeful that Apple continues to offer FW800 on the MBP for a few more years. It appears to be already gone on the new MacPro desktop.
Since I started this thread I’ve been doing some research on Thunderbolt hubs. The only ones available seem expensive - not to mention that a TB cable alone costs nearly $50.
Hopefully someone will come out with a TB hub that addresses the legacy connectors (FW, eSATA, DVI, HDMI) rather than wasting money on more USB3 connections.

Here’s another questions for those who are up to speed with the new USB protocol:

Does plugging a USB2 device into a shared USB3 port hobble the entire port down to USB2 speed like when we plug FW400 item into a FW800 port?

Thanks
s