Audio interfaces are the middlemen of the computer recording world, designed to sit between your instruments and your computer, taking the sounds made by your microphones, guitars and other instruments and converting them into digital information your computer can understand and store on its hard drive. And when playing back your audio, it’s the interface’s job to reconvert the digital audio files back into analogue signals that can be relayed to your studio monitor speakers or headphones. Put simply, if you want to record any kind of high-quality audio into your computer, a good audio interface will be top of your shopping list (after the computer of course!).

When they first began to appear on the scene in tandem with the earliest hard disk-based audio recorders, audio interfaces used to be really big, expensive things, only accessible to pro studios, costing about the same as your average family car and often requiring extra hardware cards slotted into your computer to run – the reason why they’re still known in some circles today as ‘soundcards’. Your audio interface acts as the heart of your studio, connecting your controllers and input devices to the computer and back out to the speakers.

What Is The Best Audio Interface For Mac

As computers got more powerful, with faster processors more capable of handling the demands of the task at hand, the need for expensive extra hardware diminished and affordable, portable USB-based interfaces began to appear, allowing a quick and easy solution for project studios and home recordists to hook up microphones and instruments such as guitars, basses and hardware synths to their computers. At the same time, at the other end of the spectrum, the advances in technology that have brought quality audio recording into the hands of bedroom producers worldwide have allowed pro studios to access ever more powerful and sophisticated recording solutions. Key Audio Interface Features To Consider If you’re in the market for an interface, there are several key considerations to take into account, depending on your recording requirements. First and foremost will most likely be how many inputs and outputs you’re likely to need. Number of inputs. Number of outputs.

Portability. Phantom power.

Latency. Preamps. Converters. Bit depth and sample rate Number of Inputs The number of physical inputs your interface has will determine how many instruments you’ll be able to record at once. Pro studios tend to favour multiple-input devices capable of accommodating enough microphones for a full band to record simultaneously, including drum kit, bass amp, guitar amps and vocals, along with line inputs for keyboards and suchlike. These often feature upwards of sixteen or twenty-four physical inputs, as well as digital inputs that can handle multiple channels of digital audio. Ins and outs on the Apogee Quartet Meanwhile, home and project studios are often able to get by with just one or two physical inputs, either XLR-type microphone inputs or line-level quarter-inch jack sockets, so a solo artist can use them to record one microphone or instrument at a time.

Many units use space-saving, ‘combo’ inputs that can connect either an XLR or a jack plug to the same socket. So when choosing an interface, it’s important to bear in mind the main scenarios you’ll be using it in, and thus the minimum number of microphone and/or line level inputs you’re likely to need. Number of Outputs The number of outputs your interface needs to have really depends on where it will be used and what you’ll be hooking it up to. Got a huge mixing console with multiple channels? You’ll most likely benefit from an interface with multiple outputs to feed into those channels.

Making tunes in your home studio with just a laptop and no outboard equipment? You’ll probably be fine with a simple stereo output to hook up to a pair of stereo monitor speakers and a decent headphone output for monitoring performance when recording using microphones. Nearly all interfaces will come equipped with connections for a pair of monitor speakers and at least one headphone output, together with a dedicated volume control. Portability There’s no longer any real need for the average computer musician to collect together a huge rack of mains-powered, rack-mounted interfaces. A lot of the smaller interfaces aimed at project studios conveniently take their power from the USB cable that connects them to the computer, making them ideal for use with a laptop in a portable recording environment.

So you could work one day in your home studio, for instance, then next day just chuck the interface into your laptop bag and take your entire setup out on the road – with no need for an external power supply. Phantom Power If you’re going to be doing any serious vocal or acoustic instrument recording, you’re going to need a condenser microphone, preferably of the large diaphragm type. These super-sensitive mics are capable of picking up incredible detail, but the vast majority need to be powered by a 48V ‘phantom’ power supply that powers the mic via the same cable used to transmit the audio signal. So look out for an interface with this feature, and you’ll be able to capture intricate performances using this type of microphone. Latency The problem of latency has been the one thing that interface manufacturers have been struggling to overcome since they first appeared. The time taken for the analogue input audio signal to be translated into digital information and back again (known as ‘round trip’ latency) may only be a few milliseconds, but even this can be enough to be significantly off-putting to a performer, as it causes a perceivable delay between what they’re singing or playing and what they’re hearing in their headphones.

These days, thanks to faster onboard processors and speedy connection protocols such as Thunderbolt and USB 3.0, the problem of latency has largely been minimised to the point where it’s barely noticeable. Nevertheless, although increasingly commonplace nowadays, good latency performance still ranks as an important feature when considering which interface to go for. Preamps When recording analogue signals from, say, a microphone or electric guitar onto any kind of medium, a decent preamplifier (or ‘preamp’) will be required to boost the level up to the point where it can be recorded practically with a decent signal/noise ratio – in other words, so that the desired signal is loud enough compared to the amount of unwanted noise present in the system. Some preamps sound a lot better than others thanks to the quality of their circuit design, so make sure the preamps in your chosen interface pass muster. Again, you certainly get what you pay for when it comes to preamp quality, but there are some remarkably good-value examples out there, with respected companies like Focusrite and Audient building just one or two high-quality preamps into their units to make them more affordable. Converters Another vital yet often-overlooked component of your audio interface is the analogue-to-digital converter (ADC) and digital-to-analogue converter (DAC). These are the components that do the heavy lifting when it comes to translating analogue audio signals into digital information for storing on your computer, and reconverting it back into analogue again when you play it back.

A general rule of thumb is that the more expensive the converters in your interface, the better your audio will sound. Like preamps, it’s very much a question of ‘you get what you pay for’ when it comes to converter quality, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t get a more-than-respectable result from some of the entry-level units on the market today. Bit depth & sample rate The way audio interfaces work is by digitally ‘sampling’ and converting analogue audio signals at very high frequencies, slicing the waveforms up into thousands of chunks per second. The number of slices per second the converters in your interface operate at is measured in kiloHertz (1kHz = 1000 slices per second) and is known as the sample rate. Each sample is stored digitally on your computer’s hard drive at a specific resolution – the higher the resolution, the greater the number of bits used to represent each sample, a figure known as the bit depth. The standard ‘CD-quality’ sample rate and bit depth are 44.1kHz and 16-bit. Most semi-pro interfaces currently available operate at a minimum sample rate of 48kHz and a bit depth of 24-bit, while the sample rates of professional devices can go up to as high as 192kHz.

While this makes for exceptional audio quality, the higher the sample rate, the larger the size of the resulting audio files, meaning they occupy much more hard disk space on your computer. 10 Best Audio Interfaces – Buyers Guide List 2017 So now onto the list of what we consider to be ten of the best audio interfaces on the market today. Like all of the lists we feature on GTPS, we don’t believe it’s particularly useful to say that one device we’ve included is categorically better than another.

We’re simply highlighting some of the best options currently available for various styles, budgets and workflows, but of course everyone will always have their own personal favourites. Nearly all of the interfaces featured on the list come bundled with a lite version of a mainstream DAW, some bonus plugins or other audio content to get you off the ground. At a mere $90 / £69, the Audiobox iOne from PreSonus represents exceptional value, and an easy first step into the world of computer-based audio recording. Ideal for guitarists and singer/songwriters on the move, this portable pocket powerhouse includes one DI input for guitar or bass and one mic input with a low-noise, high-headroom, Class A mic preamp and 48V phantom power for condenser mics. Powered by its USB 2 connection and running at a resolution of 24 bits and sample rates between 44.1 and 96kHz, the iOne can also be used to record onto an iPad using the free Capture Duo app or the paid 32-track Capture iOS app. Presonus iTwo Studio bundle And if that weren’t enough, a version of the Artist DAW software is also included, together with more than 6 GB of third-party resources.

The iOne’s bigger brother, the, adds MIDI ports and two combo mic/line inputs (see image above). Available versions: ($89.95), ($129.95), ($249.95) via For many, the name emblazoned on the top of this great-value Focusrite box’s smart metallic red casing will be enough of a deal-breaker. A simple but nonetheless well-rounded feature list covers pretty much everything the home or project studio recordist might need – a footprint small enough for the most congested desktop, up to 192kHz, 24-bit operation, two combo XLR / quarter-inch jack inputs featuring a pair of Scarlett preamps, independent LED input gain level indicators, balanced line outs, 48V phantom power, a USB 2 connection for data and power, super-low latency and a headphone output with monitor level control. But the icing on the cake is the software bundle the Scarlett 2i2 comes with – Ableton Live Lite, the Focusrite Red 2 & 3 Plug-in Suite, Softube Time and Tone Pack, Novation Bass Station, 2 GB of Loopmasters sounds and samples plus Pro tools First (First Focusrite Creative Pack). Now in its 2nd generation with improved instrument inputs, the 2i2 still represents an excellent, inexpensive way to introduce the Focusrite name into your recording chain.

Scarlett 2i2 Studio Bundle Available versions: ($150), ($250) via The AudioFuse is Arturia’s long-awaited, next-generation audio interface offering a total of 14 ins and outs and ‘DiscretePRO’ preamps that claim the lowest signal/noise ratio in its class. Some genuinely out-of-the-box thinking has gone into the design of this device. It’s like an audio interface and studio control centre combined, with some truly unique and useful features intended to make it the hub of your home studio. Want to add an external hardware processor such as a compressor into the signal flow before conversion from analogue to digital? Need digital inputs and outputs like Word Clock, S/PDIF and ADAT? A 3-port USB hub for your master keyboard and e-licenser dongles?

Zero-latency monitoring? A built-in talkback microphone with a button to communicate with your performers? MIDI In and Out ports? Two sets of speaker outputs? The AudioFuse has all of these, along with other useful touches like phono inputs for a turntable and two headphone outputs with both quarter-inch and 3.5mm jack sockets, so no more hunting in the back of your drawers for headphone adapters. Available versions: there is a single version of the ($599), but it does come in a choice of three colours: Space Gray, Dark Black and Classic Silver via. Aimed squarely at the pro end of the market, this remarkable device is a firm contender for the Rolls Royce of the audio interface world, with levels of audio quality and functionality that reflect its high-end price tag.

Notwithstanding the amazing number of potential ins and outs it can handle (up to 188, including MADI, AES/EBU and ADAT Optical) and the fact that it can connect to your computer via super-fast Thunderbolt or USB 3, this beast of an interface doesn’t actually need to be hooked up to a computer at all. With a USB thumb drive plugged into the front, the Fireface UFX+ is capable of recording a staggering 76 channels of time-stamped audio directly onto the drive, eschewing the need for a computer altogether. That’s some serious audio clout! In addition to the super-clean sound delivered by the unit’s pro-quality converters and the mind-boggling array of input and output options, you also get TotalMix FX, RME’s innovative and intuitive mixing interface software.

And to top things off, it can be operated using an iPad via the RME TotalMix app. Via Audient are well known for their great-sounding, large-format analogue mixing consoles, so a budget audio interface from them sounds like a mouthwatering prospect. Essentially, the iD4 aims to distil the audio performance and ease of use of their big desks into the perfect portable desktop package for the singer/songwriter demographic. The main component used to achieve this is a single Audient Class-A console mic preamp, the same high-end type of preamp as the ones used in their recording consoles, while the JFET DI input is designed to replicate the input stage of a classic valve amplifier. Other benefits include class-leading converter technology, dual headphone outputs (one 3.5mm and one quarter-inch), console-style monitor control, and Audient’s ‘ScrollControl’ virtual scroll wheel technology, which turns the volume control into a rotary encoder that can be used to adjust any selected parameter within your DAW. Via As the makers of Cubase, you’d expect Steinberg to know a thing or two about digital audio, and this pedigree continues with this little box of tricks, designed to fulfil the needs of the most demanding DAW user.

A 24-Bit/192 kHz USB 2.0 interface featuring two Class-A D-PRE mic preamps with 48V phantom power, 2 combo inputs, 2 quarter-inch jack outputs and a headphone jack, the MK2 version now adds pro-level recording for iPad with CC Mode and an additional USB mini socket that acts as an input for an optional external power supply. What’s remarkable about the UR22 is that it functions not only as an audio interface, but it also features a pair of physical MIDI In and Out ports, perfect for connecting hardware synth modules and keyboards – a really handy addition to a unit at this price point. As a bonus, the accompanying software bundle includes a downloadable version of Cubase AI for Mac and PC and the Cubasis LE DAW app for iOS. Apogee have a long tradition as designers of top-end digital audio converters for the pro audio market, so it’s only natural that they should also be up there at the top of the tree when it comes to audio interfaces.

The Symphony I/O Mk II is a multi-channel interface featuring the company’s newest flagship AD/DA conversion and modular I/O, meaning that you can configure the ins and outs from a selection of optional modules (to give up to 32 simultaneous inputs and outputs), one of which offers 8 mic preamps. Aimed squarely at the professional market, this is no desktop USB device – instead, it’s designed to connect via one of three different platforms – Thunderbolt, Pro Tools HD or the Waves SoundGrid network. With ultra-low latency performance, the Symphony MkII has a stated round trip latency of only 1.35ms when running Logic Pro X on Mac OS via Thunderbolt. A further benefit is the front panel touchscreen display that lets you monitor and control settings without having to look at the computer. Sophisticated stuff!

Also worth mentioning here is the, Apogee’s similarly high-end, pristine-sound solution for those who prefer a more streamlined, compact desktop audio hub solution. Via Native Instruments are renowned for their innovative hardware controllers and software plugins, so it’s no surprise to learn that they also have an audio interface on their product roster, and a remarkably affordable one at that. A USB 2-powered, 24-bit / 96kHz, 6-channel desktop audio interface with a small footprint, the Komplete Audio 6 offers four analogue inputs (two with high-end preamps) and four outputs, plus two additional channels of S/PDIF digital I/O. It’s got two proper 5-pin MIDI sockets – no adaptor cables required here – and basic monitor control comes courtesy of a large, tactile control (or Kontrol?) knob on the top. Its rugged build quality, compatibility with NI’s Traktor DJ software and ability to run solely on USB power makes it an interesting proposition for DJ’s to lug around from place to place.

An impressive suite of bonus software rounds off the package, including Cubase LE, the Komplete Elements suite of instruments and effects, and Traktor LE. Via Mark of the Unicorn have been in on the audio interface scene since the beginning, so they have a lot of experience to bring to the table.

The 1248 is a fitting reflection of this, claiming to be the world’s first Thunderbolt interface with built-in 48-channel mixing and AVB (Audio Video Bridging) audio networking, which basically means that a bunch of 1248’s can be linked together with Ethernet cables to expand your system. Housed in a 1U rack unit with a grand total of 32 inputs and 34 outputs (including 4 mic inputs, 2 guitar inputs, 8 x 12 balanced analogue with dedicated main and monitor outs, 2 x 8-channel ADAT optical and S/PDIF), the 1248 boasts a round trip latency of 1.4ms over Thunderbolt at 96kHz. MOTU 1248 rear view A large backlit LED provides detailed metering of all analogue and digital ins and outs, and the unit is controlled via a web app running in a browser on a laptop, tablet or even smartphone connected to the same wired or wireless network. The built-in, 48-input digital mixer is modelled on large format mixing consoles, with 12 stereo busses and DSP effects, including reverb, 4-band EQ, gate, and compression. You also get the AudioDesk workstation software for Mac and Windows with 24-bit recording, sample-accurate editing and 32-bit mixing and mastering. On the face of it, the Apollo Twin MkII might resemble any other 24-bit/192kHz desktop Thunderbolt audio interface for Mac and Windows, but it has a few tricks up its sleeve, chief among which is the onboard DSP chips that allow you to run UA’s highly-regarded plug-ins without putting any strain on your computer’s processors.

Available in SOLO, DUO or QUAD configurations, (the QUAD being the most powerful), this makes the unit the most cost-effective way to get access to the UAD-2 range of software plugin emulations of classic vintage recording hardware. Featuring two software-controllable mic preamps and the Realtime Analog Classics UAD plug-in bundle, the MkII lets you use the included Console 2.0 software to record through mic preamp emulations from Neve, SSL, API, Manley, and Universal Audio that precisely model the circuit behaviours of the original hardware. Using a Universal Audio interface gives you access to the suite of UAD DSP plugins that run using the interfaces own processing power, freeing up your computers processor for more tracks and effects. UAD plugins have always featured in our various, as they model many of the most iconic studio hardware units, from to,. Following this, you can mix in your DAW with UAD plug‑ins like the included Teletronix® LA‑2A and 1176 compressors, Pultec® EQs, UA 610‑B Preamp and more. Add to this the MkII’s redesigned A/D and D/A conversion and added monitor switching, dim, mono and talkback features and you have a winning combination on your hands. Available versions: ($699), ($899), ($1299) via Which audio interfaces have best suited your recording requirements and preferred workflow?

Let us know below in the comments! For a definitive collection of tips and techniques for enhancing your music to a professional level – from advanced compression techniques to shaping and placing your sounds in the mix with correctly applied reverb and fine-tuned EQ adjustments – don’t forget to check out the Ultimate Guides series: And if you like this post, you might also like these. “Another vital yet often-overlooked component of your audio interface is the analogue-to-digital converter (ADC) and digital-to-analogue converter (DAC).” That’s a good point, so why do you overlook it as well? “A general rule of thumb is that the more expensive the converters in your interface, the better your audio will sound.

First, you give no examples, so who knows what chips are in these things. Second, implementation is everything. What’s the good of having a 24/192 dac without optimizing your gain structure to avoid, or eliminate bit stripping? Chips alone can’t overcome a poor design. Overlook the analog section of your dac at your own peril.

It has a bigger effect on sound quality than the dac chips. I’m just scratching the surface here. To go over all the technical details in a post like this isn’t possible. There’s just too much info to convey. But in the end, a well designed Redbook dac can easily outperform a run of the mill high res dac.

Look no further than DVD-A and SACD for examples. Both formats are decisively better than Redbook, but they both failed just a few years after they were released.

Photo: Apple If you’re choosing a new audio interface or a new computer, what are the pros and cons of the many different connection protocols that are on offer? Is it better to buy an audio interface that connects to my computer by USB, Firewire, Thunderbolt or PCIe? Which will still be usable in five or 10 years’ time? And why aren’t there more USB 3 interfaces around? As our options for getting data from A to B increase — USB 3, Thunderbolt and Thunderbolt 2 have all recently been added to the mix, while PCIe, USB 1, USB 2 and Firewire 400 and 800 interfaces remain available — such questions are often asked by pro and home-studio users alike.

In this article, I’ll try to tell you what you need to know when investing in an audio computer and/or audio interface. Before I dive into the details, it’s worth noting some good news: despite various generations of USB, Firewire and Thunderbolt all being employed in current products, backwards compatibility is included as part of the latest standards. Most Firewire 400 devices can operate on Firewire 800 connections. With an adaptor, many can connect to a Thunderbolt port too. Similarly, most USB 1 and 2 devices function quite happily when connected to a USB 3 port. That said, there are, unfortunately, a few exceptions.

At the time of writing, USB 2 is the most common type of PC data connection in general use, but it’s clear that USB 3 will be similarly widely adopted, and many motherboards are now being released with more USB 3 sockets than USB 2 ones. Thankfully, USB 3 is designed to be backwards-compatible. In practice, that has worked well with most general-purpose peripherals, but some users of older USB audio interfaces have experienced unexpected problems when trying to connect via USB 3 ports.

Similar teething issues were experienced with some USB 1 devices when USB 2 was first emerging and, just as we did back then, we’ve seen continued firmware and driver updates from the audio interface manufacturers — all of which means that such quirks are becoming fewer as time marches on. The USB 3 standard is certainly mature enough at this point that any new interface you purchase in future should already have any such problems ironed out. If you’re buying second-hand, though, it would be worth a quick Web search to check for known issues on the specific model in question. In the event that you do experience compatibility issues, though, it’s probably not the end of the world: current motherboards continue to include a small number of USB 2 headers, so you’ll have a stable fall-back option until any remaining teething issues are dealt with by the interface manufacturer.

Many users have expressed surprise at the relatively slow uptake of USB 3 by audio-interface manufacturers, and it’s only in recent months that we’ve started to see more than the first couple of USB 3 models brought to market. While USB 3 does offer some advantages, there are several good reasons for the apparently slow progress. First, there’s the issue of bandwidth, of which USB 2 offers plenty for most home-studio applications. The USB 2 specification states that it has the ability to transmit data at up to 480Mbps, but due to bus constraints, the way the data is handled, and designers leaving headroom to ensure the best possible results in day-to-day use, even a well-designed USB 2 interface is likely to have a throughput closer to 280Mbps. Let’s translate that into more practical audio terms. At the theoretical maximum USB 2 bandwidth, you’d be able to record just over 40 tracks of 24-bit, 96kHz audio, while halving the sample rate to 48kHz would give you 80 tracks.

Staying at 24-bit/48kHz, consider a more realistic real-world USB 2 bandwidth of 240Mbps (a slightly conservative figure, giving us plenty of overhead to allow for the connection limitations discussed earlier): you’d still have the ability to work with up to 40 channels of broadcast-quality audio simultaneously! Yet there are some companies who squeeze far higher channel counts from their USB 2 audio interfaces by building their own USB controllers. These tend to be among the more costly options, due to the extra work and design choices that go into developing and optimising this sort of solution.

By way of example, RME’s MADIFace USB is a USB 2 bus-powered 128-channel digital audio interface. This is made possible by the use of the MADI protocol for handling the data transmission, which is far more efficient than the native audio-over-USB standard. Many manufacturers of USB 2 interfaces also cater for higher sample rates, including 96, 192 and 384 kHz, but these eat into the USB bandwidth: every time you double the sample rate, you double the amount of data. To take that 240Mbps example I used earlier, you’d have around 35 simultaneous channels at 96kHz, about 17 at 192kHz and eight or nine at 384kHz. Manufacturers will tend either to offer fewer but higher quality (in terms of preamps, A-D and D-A conversion and so on) channels of I/O, or simply to restrict the number of I/O which may be used at certain sample rates. So, while it’s true to say the bandwidth of USB 2 does present limitations, it’s probably also fair to say that for most home-studio users these days they’re not all that limiting in practice.

After all, how many of us can hear a difference between 96kHz and 192kHz recordings? The on-paper bandwidth of several different protocols appears similar, but in practice the bandwidth is more restricted than these figures show, particularly for variations on the USB protocol. Firewire and Thunderbolt require less ‘headroom’. According to the specifications, USB 3.0 can achieve an impressive 5Gbps but, just as with USB 2, this is reduced in real-world implementations. In practice, it tends to be closer to 3.2Gbps — over 10 times the bandwidth of USB 2. Manufacturers are beginning to take advantage of the better capability of USB 3. While there are not yet many USB 3-specific interfaces, the early trend is towards models with a higher I/O count, and support of more channels at the higher sample rates.

This looks like being good news for those who either want to hook up lots of outboard or run large recording sessions, but who are unhappy with recording at 44.1 or 48 kHz — it should push the prices of such systems down in the long run. It might seem like early days for USB 3, but we’re already starting to see the newer USB 3.1 standard appear on computers — notably on some new Apple MacBook and Google Chromebook portable models, but also on some desktop PC motherboards.

The ‘USB 3.1 Gen 1’ (‘Gen’ meaning generation) ports found on the laptops mentioned don’t offer greater speed/bandwidth than USB 3.0, but they provide greater standardisation of the feature set and improved efficiency. An even newer USB 3.1 Gen 2 is also emerging. This offers the features of Gen 1 but doubles the speed, increasing the theoretical throughput to 10Gbps, as well as improving data encoding to reduce the overheads.

We can expect real-world connections to offer bandwidth in excess of 7Gbps, which is more than double that of USB 3.0 and 3.1 Gen 1. As before, there is a variety of physical connectors for the new standards, which can make things confusing. The Apple and Google systems mentioned earlier use the new USB Type-C connector, which features a smaller, reversible plug design. Just to confuse things further, Asus, who have 3.1 motherboards already available, and a number of manufacturers who will be updating their product ranges over the coming months, have adopted the higher–speed Gen 2 ports, whilst still keeping the classic single-orientation USB connector design. Another potential benefit of USB 3 (all generations) is that its ports can make more current available for bus-powered devices: 900mA, rather than the 500mA offered by USB 1 and USB 2.

This should, in theory, allow manufacturers to develop better bus-powered interfaces, either with more facilities or more channels of the same. I say ‘in theory’ because most models haven’t yet taken full advantage of this extra power. However, some users may already be reaping the rewards in other ways: I’ve occasionally found that if a bus-powered interface wasn’t doing a great job of phantom-powering mics or driving headphones via the on-board amp, it has performed better when connected to a USB 3 port. Firewire (IEEE 1394) has never reached quite the same level of adoption on Windows PCs as on the Apple platform, and direct support on motherboards has tailed off almost completely in recent years, meaning that users of Firewire interfaces acquiring a new desktop machine have to fit a third-party card.

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When it comes to bandwidth, the first-generation Firewire 400 standard (IEEE 1394a) is slightly worse (400Mbps) on paper than USB 2, but in practice it holds several advantages. It benefits from a peer-to-peer connection system compared with USB’s more intensive master/slave approach, meaning that Firewire wastes less of its bandwidth and offers more stable throughput of data. As a result, it usually achieves lower latencies than USB equivalents, and Firewire interfaces have sometimes offered higher I/O counts than USB 2 devices. All these factors made Firewire the preferred connection standard in larger studios for a long time. The performance gap has decreased in recent years, though, and in some cases, high-end USB 3 interfaces have managed lower latencies than Firewire ones.

The second generation of Firewire (Firewire 800, or IEEE 1394b) has also been around for a number of years now. It offers twice the bandwidth of FW400 so, as you might expect, most FW800 interfaces are high-I/O solutions, with the added benefit on some models that multiple interfaces can be daisy-chained for even more recording capability. It’s also a reason why there are fewer dedicated FW800 interfaces than FW400 ones: like USB 2, FW400 does more than enough for most home-studio users.

Firewire 400 exceeded most users’ requirements and, as long as drivers are available for current operating systems, most Firewire audio interfaces can be run over Thunderbolt via an inexpensive adaptor — as manufacturers have been keen to point out! There’s been one major frustration over the years, though, particularly for PC users: because the Firewire standard requires more by way of two-way communication between the devices at each end of the connection (in this case, the computer and the audio interface), it means that there are more potential points of failure. Sometimes, when two controllers that haven’t been previously tested and validated by the manufacturer are combined, they may simply refuse to work together. Apple users have experienced less frustration, simply because they build a small number of standard models, using common components, and most manufacturers will have made the effort to test their interfaces with most Mac models. For this reason, many manufacturers keep FAQ pages on their web sites detailing pre-tested Firewire cards for each of their interface models.

It’s well worth checking this list before buying. If your manufacturer doesn’t offer specific advice on the matter, it’s worth remembering that the most commonly recommended solutions are PCIe controller cards built around Texas Instruments controller chips (the presence of these is often indicated on the product box). Many manufacturers test their interfaces with these cards, and they’ve served in many a studio setup over the years.

A more recent standard is Thunderbolt, which has already become well established on the Apple Mac platform, thanks to their early adoption. It has continued (slowly, to date) to make inroads with the Windows PC market — a number of motherboards now support it, either directly, with a port on the motherboard, or via an add-in card. While this sounds straightforward, though, the add-in cards currently have to be supported at BIOS level, and this normally requires a dedicated header to take the card; you cannot just add in a third-party Thunderbolt card in the same way you would a Firewire card. The slowness of manufacturers in bringing these cards to market is probably what’s stemmed the uptake of Thunderbolt among Windows users so far. While Thunderbolt capability can be added to some motherboards via a PCIe card such as this ASUS model, note that it’s not quite as straightforward as adding USB or Firewire ports in this way: usually, a dedicated header is required on the motherboard.

In the last year, a newer Thunderbolt 2 standard has arrived — it was required to facilitate 4k video streaming and capture, among other high-bandwidth applications. It offers the same 20Gbps as Thunderbolt 1 but does so over a single channel, whereas Thunderbolt 1 delivered 10Gbps on each of two channels. Otherwise, it remains backwards-compatible with the original standard. The delay in uptake of Thunderbolt on Windows PCs means that most new PC boards are skipping Thunderbolt 1 and are starting to offer Thunderbolt 2. A key advantage of Thunderbolt for some of us is that it is protocol-compatible with Firewire, and it maintains a lot of the same feature set. This means that you can usually connect older Firewire devices to your computer Thunderbolt-equipped computer via a suitable adaptor which, given the number of Firewire interfaces still in use, is potentially great news — it might even breathe new life into older interfaces that you’ve abandoned when moving to a machine without Firewire ports!

Whilst some early reports suggested that these Firewire-to-Thunderbolt converters were a little hit-and-miss, more recent testing and feedback shows that a lot of Firewire interfaces — even some of the more temperamental ones from previous generations — work without problem over Thunderbolt adaptors. If you’re considering working with Thunderbolt and wish to use your older interface with a new machine, it would be worthwhile researching other users’ experiences in manufacturer product-support forums. In this connection comparison, it would be remiss of me not to mention the classic option of an internal soundcard. PCIe-based soundcards have become rare in recent years, as many users have grown to appreciate the ability of being able to take their studio-grade recording interfaces out on the road and work remotely on laptop setups. The interface market reflects this. For many years, interfaces which connected to the computer via a host PCIe card, such as this RME model, were the only option for high-bandwidth, low-latency audio.

While USB has improved in that respect, and Thunderbolt seems finally to be catching up with PCIe, there’s no good reason to abandon a PCIe-based audio interface as a matter of principle — they’re still capable of great performance. Yet, in a situation where more bandwidth is required, PCIe still rules the roost for data transfer rates, with some of the lowest recording latencies currently available. It’s still seen on some of the more specialist broadcast-industry cards for this reason, and it means that some older cards by the likes of RME and Lynx still offer fantastic performance. If you own one of these and are planning on updating a desktop machine, it might be worth finding one with a PCIe slot available.

However, the format’s performance is being strongly challenged by the newer Thunderbolt standards and interfaces. For people buying right now, I’m afraid the market is in a state of flux as the various standards evolve. Indeed, shortly before going to press the first public noises were being made about the arrival of Thunderbolt 3, with the first official support due to arrive as part of Intel’s ‘Skylake’ chipset release, which is due towards the end of 2015. Thunderbolt 3 was announced by Intel shortly before we went to press, and while devices aren’t available yet, it promises vast bandwidth, plenty of bus power, and the ability to daisy-chain devices.

But is it worth waiting for? Thunderbolt 3 is being touted as the one cable to rule them all. The big headline figure is a 40Gbps data rate — that’s double the capabilities of Thunderbolt 2, and will continue to allow for the daisy-chaining of up to six devices where bandwidth allows. It will also support older Thunderbolt devices, and DVI, HDMI and VGA displays if connected via the appropriate adaptors. What’s interesting is the ability for Thunderbolt 3 to deliver up to 100W for connected device charging, as well as an increase in the available power delivered to bus-powered devices, up to 15W from the current 10W standard. This should, over time, bring a reduction in the number of connected devices requiring the dreaded ‘wall wart’.

Just to confuse things, all this will be done via a cable designed around the same reversible connector standard as USB 3.1 — and the Thunderbolt 3 port will even be backwards-compatible with USB 3.1, although it will only offer the slower 10Gbps and lower charging rates employed by the USB standard when a 3.1 device is connected. The small number of physical connectors on modern laptops means there is still a role for smaller Thunderbolt interfaces, such as the Zoom TAC2 pictured here, as they can often reliably be daisy-chained with other Thunderbolt devices. All that is in the future, though, and we’ll probably be well into 2016 before Thunderbolt 3-enabled computers and external devices start to become widely available. At the present time, USB remains the most widely supported standard, and it’s easy to use it to connect up an interface to most desktops and laptops.

Any motherboard you buy today will feature both USB 2 and USB 3 ports and, between them, these are very likely to meet most of your needs, with 3.1 perhaps being an added bonus if you pick up one of the very latest motherboards. On the audio interface side, drivers and performance have come a long way in recent years.

For many small recording-studio situations, as well as those working mostly in the box with few sounds sources to record, USB remains a good, reliable option. Thanks to its widespread adoption, the multitude of interfaces available also find themselves competing for market share, and this helps keep them keenly priced. Despite the increasing adoption of USB 3, don’t discount USB 2 interfaces: they offer more than many of us need and, currently, do so for less money than dedicated USB 3 devices. Those who need to add Firewire support to a desktop machine can do so easily via an inexpensive PCIe card.

If you want a laptop, though, you’ll need it to be one with a Thunderbolt port and to invest in an adaptor, and while most Macs offer these ports, your options are going to be more limited with other brands. Some audio interfaces, like the newest Universal Audio Apollos, use the bandwidth and performance offered by Thunderbolt, as they host DSP plug-in processors as well as delivering audio to and from the computer.

Finally, we come to Thunderbolt, which on the face of it holds the most promise for audio applications. Several interfaces that offer large numbers of high-quality I/O — some with on-board DSP processing to boot — have been available for a while and more will follow. But we’re already seeing more affordable units too, including those with few I/O. Well, Thunderbolt offers the same benefits as Firewire did. Not only does that mean good low-latency performance, but also the ability to daisy-chain devices.

In practice, that didn’t always work so well with Firewire, but that was largely because of the more limited bandwidth. There’s much more available with Thunderbolt, which could make Thunderbolt audio devices appealing given the relatively limited connectivity offered by most modern laptops: not only does it mean you don’t need an adaptor, but it could also free up USB ports for external drives, iLok dongles and so on. All contents copyright © SOS Publications Group and/or its licensors, 1985-2018. All rights reserved.

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