USB vs PCIe Audio Interfaces?

Discussion in 'Soundgear' started by ArticStorm, Aug 18, 2021.

  1. Lemmy

    Lemmy Audiosexual

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    wtf?
     
  2. Daskeladden

    Daskeladden Rock Star

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    nahh don't think Presonus is any worse than other brands
     
  3. BEAT16

    BEAT16 Audiosexual

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    Sorry Lemmy if this gets the wrong way, but I'm not kidding. Finally I answered the question about the bandwidth and get an answer whether I was "Just to feel smart?" Which is an insinuation. How about a thank you! I don't like things like that at all, that something is foisted on you that you are not. After the criticism, I also deleted and looked at what I had copied. It always depends on how you say something.
     
  4. Moonlight

    Moonlight Audiosexual

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    I doesn't wrote that, I wrote that the support is a joke.
    You ever had to deal with the support yet ?
     
    Last edited: Aug 19, 2021
  5. Daskeladden

    Daskeladden Rock Star

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    Luckily no. But they have a support forum and ticket system that seems to function okay. Actually when it comes to Windows pc support Presonus seem to be one of the better once. Presonus has made audio interfaces for Windows much longer than most brands that have been focused on Mac's. Why were you in contact with support?
     
    Last edited: Aug 19, 2021
  6. Moonlight

    Moonlight Audiosexual

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    yeh it seams until you actually use it :)


    Nope, I also used (past) Windows ....

    FaderPort 16 firmware bugs, StudioOne Bugs.

    I am happy that I don't have to deal with them anymore, I banned all Presonus stuff from my studio
     
  7. Daskeladden

    Daskeladden Rock Star

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    Nahh like I said Presonus seems to help people out according to the forum. They also updated the Presonus Quantum driver to function on the M1 chip pretty quick. Many companies has not even yet updated their drivers to function on M1 chip. Of course there are some problems Presonus support don't seems to care about or don't understand. No brands are perfect on support.
    Talk about bad support. Zoom is the worst I have ever dealt with.
     
    Last edited: Aug 20, 2021
  8. Sinus Well

    Sinus Well Audiosexual

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    It's not USB3, but a great Interface for ~200€: Motu M2.
     
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  9. dondada

    dondada Rock Star

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    there are loads of great rme for cheap on 2nd hand Markets
     
  10. BEAT16

    BEAT16 Audiosexual

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    ESI MAYA44 eX - PCIe-Audiointerface - www.thomann.de/de/esi_maya44_ex.htm
    RME HDSPe RayDAT - 72-Kanal ADAT/AES PCI Express Card - www.thomann.de/de/rme_hdspe_raydat.htm
    Lynx Studio AES-16e PCI Express - www.thomann.de/de/lynx_studio_aes16e_pci_express.htm


     
  11. BaSsDuDe

    BaSsDuDe Audiosexual

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    On audio latency perhaps depending on your Audio Interface, but with MIDI latency it sure does matter. The faster the communication the lower the MIDI controller to PC/MAC latency.
    This is why two decades ago a now defunct company named Opcode made their famous "8 Port SE" Hardware interface that connected via the parallel port that gave you 8 x groups of 16 MIDI channels where you can run up to128 instruments simultaneously at 1ms or less. I still have mine but no drivers that run above XP.
    So it felt like realtime with no play-to-audio-lag.

    Here is an older article on latency. If you are seriously interested, part 1 is easy enough to find.

    https://www.soundonsound.com/techniques/truth-about-latency-part-2
    You are pretty clever so in my opinion, work out what it is you 'think' you might want to do in the future. Based on the word 'the future', thunderbolt 4 is probably the fastest and you can buy a pcie T4 card fairly cheaply as long as your audio interface supports it.
    It will be good and standard for at least a few years.
    There is an older article above on latency. There are plenty out there. I reckon it is worth taking the time to read industry mags etc and look at reviews on audio interfaces versus pcie audio cards or combos of both, until you find what suits your workflow the best. :)
    The shitty part is because of COVID, it's not like everyone can easily go into their favourite music store with ease and look/try for yourself.

    A friend purchased one of the new UAD external audio interfaces and swears by it. UAD is not for everyone, but they would not say it was great if it was not.
     
    Last edited: Nov 26, 2021
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  12. hackerz4life

    hackerz4life Audiosexual

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    Get a used AVID or Apogee rack unit, miles better than the modern stuff.
    Once you start stacking up tracks (cheap interface) you will have to resort to more eqing, processing, etc and it will still sound harsher and less defined in the low end.
     
    Last edited: Nov 26, 2021
  13. ArticStorm

    ArticStorm Audiosexual

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    Bought ssl2+ for 220 euro
     
  14. KidPix

    KidPix Producer

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    For performance RME is the top dog, even its USB interfaces have
    better performance than some PCI/PCIe/Thunderbolt from other brands.
    https://gearspace.com/board/showpost.php?p=15205348&postcount=4631
    [​IMG]

    A second hand RME PCI + some PCIe to PCI adapter can be a good choice.
    If something like this does not work
    https://www.amazon.com/Sintech-PCI-Express-Riser-Extender/dp/B00KZHDSLQ
    try another card with different chipset, this one uses Pericon(good for AMD?)
    https://www.amazon.com/StarTech-com-PCI-Express-Adapter-Card/dp/B0024CV3SA
     
  15. Olaf

    Olaf Platinum Record

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    Not sure, what you mean with "communication", but it's basically the same communication with USB 2.0 and 3.0 with the lacking shared-bus on USB 3.x. It saves you around 0.1 ms (polling interval is 125 µs). Nothing to worry about.
    The impact on Windows is even less than this:
    https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/wi...usbcon/transfer-data-to-isochronous-endpoints

    This is not about USB 3.0, maybe you should look for part 3 or 4.
     
    Last edited: Nov 26, 2021
  16. BaSsDuDe

    BaSsDuDe Audiosexual

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    40-60 vs only 40 with USB C?
    The faster MIDI can get from point A to point B, means the lower the latency.
    This is the why MIDI guitars etc have had latency issues because they work in reverse - Pitch to MIDI. MIDI controllers work MIDI out to MIDI in (or Thru) and rely on speed completely so the lower the latency the better.

    Try this for yourself... the higher the sample rate the faster the MIDI communication which I won't go into because it is too lengthy, but 96K will give you way less MIDI lag than 44.1K. Now add a faster connection like T4 with speeds from 40-60, it makes sense that it will be much better again from point A to point B. :) Kontakt with a lot of libraries standalone is a great test for this, though you will have to restart it with each sample rate change. If you similarly do a test with a USB 2 vs a T4 the same noticeable improvement in lag you will feel in your hands playing the keyboard. Have both T4 and a higher sample rate, you will really notice the difference. In fact with T4 you probably won't need to change the sample rate if it is lower.
     
  17. BEAT16

    BEAT16 Audiosexual

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  18. Olaf

    Olaf Platinum Record

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    USB-C is only a specific connector type without impacts on latency, just like XLR or Cinch have no impact on latency.
    You quoted something about USB 2.0 vs. USB 3.0. USB-C has nothing to do with it.
     
  19. BEAT16

    BEAT16 Audiosexual

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    USB 4 is Thunderbolt 3
    The USB consortium has now published the specifications for the next standard - USB 4 will be called the successor to USB 3.1. USB 4 is actually based on the Thunderbolt 3 standard and should bring comparable speeds and functions: USB 4 third generation is designed for data transfer rates of 40 Gbits per second or 4.8 Gbyte / S, including the charging of peripheral devices with up to 100W via USB Power Delivery is possible.

    The consortium has only made compatibility with Thunderbolt 3 mandatory for hubs and docks, which means that the USB 4 docks will also support Thunderbolt 3 devices. In the case of end devices such as notebooks and smartphones as well as peripherals, compatibility with the existing standard is left to the manufacturer. Whether a USB 4 monitor works with a Thunderbolt 3 Macbook will probably be in the small print in the technical specifications.

    The USB-4 standard is still very new, and the first products are now spinning out on the market. If this catches on, all users will benefit from what has been standard in the Mac world for around five years.

    [​IMG]
     
  20. dondada

    dondada Rock Star

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    good choice, it sounds very good for that price!
    its even quieter than the smaller audients
     
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