Does a USB 2.0/3.0 connection still mix all audio inputs as a stereo pair to your DAW (like USB1.0)? Or does is send all inputs to your DAW independently like firewire does? Been looking for this info, and havent found a solid answer. Thanks - Roger
The way the channels are transmitted is in the first case determined by the interface, not the connection. Though USB 2.0 has a data transfer rate of roughly 24 times the rate of USB 1.0 and therefore obviously can transmit more single audio signals.
Wow ! Really ? USB 1 could only handle enough data for a single stereo track !!!
Well USB 2 is faster so it can handle more channels. As would USB 3 with more again.
With the higher data transfer more tracks can be recorded and played back at once.
Usb 1.1 has a bandwith of 12mb/second
Usb 2.0 has a bandwidth of 480mb/second which as you can see will allow alot more channels to be recored and played back at once.
Usb 3 can handle 5Gbits/second of data.
I was always told, say you have an alesis 8 channel mixer USB. All 8 channels from the mixer will be sent to yor DAW as 2 stereo output tracks ( 4 channels per track) That it didnt matter about the interface… It was all limited by the USB itself. Which is why fireire was the better choice. not the case wit 2.0/3.0?
I guess usb1 has got alot to answer for.
I always wondered why people would say to steer clear of usb interfaces.
That’ s how the manufacturer of the device implemented it. They could also have implemented it in a way, that 4 tracks are send unmixed as single mono tracks. Of course the USB connection limits the total amount of tracks (roughly 11 mono tracks at 24/44,1 max theoretically for a USB Full speed connection). But the way, in which the tracks are transmitted to the computer is determined in the device itself. If a manufacturer wants you to be able to record only two channels, he will implement it into his device, even with a firewire or USB 2.0 connection.