what is the best firewire audio interface for mac?

What Is The Best Firewire Audio Interface ? Upgrade Your Computer

USB latest version USB 3.1 can register speeds of up to 10Gbps.

Understanding their capabilities will significantly improve your music recording experience.

Lets Take a Look at Some Key Definitions Audio Interface An Audio Interface is a hardware component that serves as a link between digital and analog signals for musical devices such as microphones.

It is used to improve and extend the sonic capabilities of a computer.

A high-quality interface can decrease the latency levels to very low rates, therefore, providing the best possible input and output.

FireWire FireWire is a high-speed real-time interface for Serial bus used for data transfer between enabled devices.

It offers sustained high speeds of over 3,200 Megabits per second, making it a preferred choice for digital audiovideo camcorders, PCs and home entertainment units.

Also referred to as IEEE 1394, iLINK and Lynx, FireWire was initiated as the main communications interface by Apple way back in 1986.

There are two types of FireWire Integrated FireWire This FireWire is integrated onto the computer motherboard with a variety of external ports where you can insert the appropriate audiovideo devices.

External FireWire With USB Adapter This FireWire is operated externally.

It has a cable that is attached to a USB adapter that plugs into a USB port on the computer.

USB The USB Audio Interface stands tall among its peers as the most commonly used audio interface within the music industry.

It is an external component with many contacts on its bottom side and multiple ports of connection to audio devices such as speakers and headphones on its side.

The Sound card connects to the computers motherboard through a USB port which is mounted on a PCI or PCIe slot.

Cost USB is comparatively cheaper to use and implement because almost all devices provide USB support.

What Is The Best Firewire Audio Interface ? Upgrade Your Computer

FireWire doesnt have as good adoption as USB with direct support on motherboards, because its required to upgrade your computer by inserting an expansion card.

FireWire Expansion cards for desktop cards are readily available as opposed for laptops which are relatively difficult to acquire and expensive.

Youll also be required to purchase a different set of cables to use with your computer.

Compatibility USB is more widely used as all computers manufactured after 2000 support some form of USB connection.

With decent data rate speeds of 480 Mbps or 60MB per second, they have become perfect for use with external data storage devices and audio equipment.

Therefore youll have to source for additional equipment which includes expansion cards and cables.

Speed FireWire is, without a doubt much faster and advanced than USB.

Its latest version FireWire 800 can support speeds of up to 800Mbps which as compared to speeds of 480 Mbps from USB 2.0.

FireWire still remains the best option for video and audio editing for most home recording studios.

What Is The Best Firewire Audio Interface For Mac?