By the way, no law says a usbc connector has to run usb 3. The main difference between the two is that firewire is made to handle more data than usb, particularly audio and visual information. But a hard drive connected via usb has always been slow compared to those using apples firewire, firewire 800, and most recently. Most of what i found was comparisons to usb 2 or tests done before macs had usb 3 builtin. Two video cameras on a firewire network can share data with each other. Whereas, people implement gigabit ethernet interfaces all the time.
But the lack of attention the firewire update received doesnt bode well for its mainstream appeal. A usb audio interface is an excellent choice for mobile recording as the interface draws its power from the computer via the usb cable. Below is a run down of focusrite product compatibility with each port type. It connects via usbc, and includes a usbc passthrough port, two usb 3. Ps2 usb adpater,usb male to ps2 female splitter mouse keyboard ps2 converter extension cable,kvm barcode scanner ps2 to usb. Thunderbolt 3 supports usb, firewire and thunderbolt devices via adapters. Its maximum transfer rate is up to 10 times faster than the usb 2. Advertisement speed aside, the big difference between firewire and usb 2. How to connect firewire devices into new macs with thunderbolt 3usbc duration. Pros firewire devices support higher bandwidth than usb 2.
Jan 27, 2015 if the usb port is connected to the computer, the usb connection takes precedence and the other ports firewire, ethernet, sata or whatever will not be active. Therefore, it is now possible to manufacture a usb 3. As our options for getting data from a to b increase usb 3, thunderbolt. Ieee94 its only firewire tm if its implemented with an appleapproved chipset in a mac makes a different approach to a serial bus than usb does. There are three popular versions of the usb and these are usb 1. Firewire cable 9pin4pin cable, firewire 800 9pin to firewire 400 4pin for canon panasonic sony camera camcorder connect to apple imac 27 macbook pro computer. Look at carnage from all the audio interface people trying to come to grips with thunderbolt and usb 3. Firewire and usb share a number of characteristics but differ in some important ways.
When it does gain support, it will be considerably faster than fw800, which is the fastest for now. Below are some of the common pros and cons for using a device with firewire. Usb 1 and 2 devices function quite happily when connected to a usb 3 port. Firewire can provide a lot more power to devices compared to usb 5. Firewire 400 and 800 series have maximum bandwidth speeds of 400 mbps and 800. If usb hard drives are in use while burning a dvd via usb, it might slow the dvd burning. On this page youll find an impressive variety of usbfire audio interfaces for both macs and pcs and with a little time and effort, youll be sure to spot something that. In terms of speed, usb originally fell behind firewire but with its advancement through usb 3. A firewire audio interface connects with a firewire 400 or 800 connection and is comparable to usb 2. But when it comes to audio interfaces, we talk about the latency. If you ever get a new mac, it wont have firewire, but will support usb 3.
I did searches online and really didnt come up with much in the way of current data or test. Use firewire with devices that connect using a firewire 400 or firewire 800 cable. If your using an iosenabled device, it will connect to the audio interface using usb. When we connected the macbook pro to a 2tb western digital my book studio drive and copied. The key difference between firewire and usb is that firewire is intended for devices working with a lot more data things like camcorders, dvd players and digital audio equipment. Most audio interfaces include linelevel analog inputs and outputs, one or more. Firewire needs a processor on both sides of the data transfer. Overall, it should be preferred if you are looking for audio and video applications, while usb is the technology you should go for, in case of computer peripherals. Solved how can i overcome lack of firewire port on laptop. In general, firewire devices support a higher bandwidth than usb 2. Implementing firewire costs a little more than usb, which led to the adoption of usb as the standard for connecting most peripherals that do not require a highspeed bus. In contrast, the current iteration of s3200 will top out at 3. Without getting long winded, with the advent of usb 3. They differ particularly in data transfer speed with usb 1.
However, the report also notes that the imminent release of usb 3. There is no difference in terms of audio quality, just writeread speed. I know nothing about audio interfaces or compatibility. Usb3 is faster, up to about 5gb per second as opposed to about 800mb per second for firewire 800 3.
I plugged in a 2 tb external drive that uses usb 3 thunderbolt. Ieee 941995 the spec that apple trademarked as firewire, was introduced in 1994 with speeds up to 400mbs. Yes, especially if that port is and your mac has firewire 800. At owc s website, you can buy a fw800 enclosure and put as big of a drive as you want in it, so there isnt a limit of 640gb. I used a drum machine from my phone, sang and played the rest guitars, bass. Syntech usb c to usb adapter 2 pack, thunderbolt 3 to usb 3. I prefer the firewire method, all my audio interface devices are mutli. Long story short, firewire works at a constant and fast rate, while usb sends data in bursts. If your mac notebook or desktop computer has more than one port like this, each port supports thunderbolt 3 and usbc. Main difference between firewire vs usb audio interface. A 4x drive will run at the same speed with firewire or usb if the computers usb is not being heavily used by other devices. If you have a choice, look for a dvd drive with usb 3. Jul 31, 2008 this fall, both the ieee 942008 and the usb 3. Can i connect a thunderbolt drive to the firewire 800 port on my.
Laptops tend to have expresscard slots which offer a pcix connection for which firewire adapters are available or thunderbolt connectors again, for which firewire. The only way the data transfer could work is if youre using usb 2 or 3, for the relavite firewire port. Implementing firewire costs a little more than usb, which led to the adoption of usb as the standard for connecting most. Thunderbolt 3 supports usb, firewire and thunderbolt devices via adapters its important to check which protocol your computers ports support before purchasing peripherals such as an audio interface to ensure correct compatibility. Apart from this, a firewire connection needs multiple and more critical circuit system and thus, it is difficult to maintain. With this, you dont have to carry around multiple adapters. Product title 6 in 1 usb adapter travel kit cable to firewire 46p.
Going with my existing firewire 800 drives and the thunderbolt to firewire adapter or usb 3 drives. Many people considered using firewire connections since they offered higher speeds than the usb 2. What is the main difference between firewire and usb. No, it is not possible to connect a firewire interface to your computers usb port via a firewire to usb adapter since this connection is not sufficient to run a firewire audio interface. Firewire and usb audio interfaces are the most commonly used audio interfaces in the music industry. Its still a great option if you have a mac and dont want to pay thunderbolt prices, or if youre planning on recording in a large studio with a lot of gear. Yeah, speed definitely isnt the only concern with audio interfaces etc.
If youre choosing a new audio interface or a new computer, what are the pros and. Aug 10, 2012 going with my existing firewire 800 drives and the thunderbolt to firewire adapter or usb 3 drives. The latest release of firewire, promises a data transfer speed of 800 mbps, while usb 3. Difference between usb and firewire difference between.
Usb is widely in use especially with small computer peripherals. That being said, a 7200rpm hdd is not capable of writing fast enough to let thunderbolt or usb 3 operate at full speed, so the difference between the top two is only on an ssd. The pros and cons of firewire vs usb firewire has long been a standard for both audio and video interfacing. Unless you need to record and playback more than 32 channels of audio io at once then there is no need for usb 3. These days, interfaces are available in a wide range of formats with different input and output configurations, but usbfirewire audio interfaces are among the most common. Usb firewire is a peertopeer protocol, meaning that every device on a firewire network is equally capable of talking to every other device.
If your computer does not have a built in firewire port you should check if it has a pci or pcie slot desktop computer. Hp compaq a1610n front usb audio firewire hub 50029882 shtz cover bezel. Is there a way to connect a firewire audio interface to a usb. Can i use a firewire to usb adapter to connect my firewire. Nov 30, 2015 these thing evolve, until theyre dropped.
That makes adapters quite nontrivial and make the latency behavior for soundcard use, particularly fullduplex, not a good fit. But i wanted to ask it here because the people here have general knowledge of just how things work. A firewire audio interface could save sound data directly to a firewire hard drive. Feb 24, 2012 firewire features a sustained transfer rate of 400 mbps fw800 is 800 mbs and its always the same.