Today, Stefan utilizes his extensive expertise to record production sound and lead the audio post-production process for a variety of projects in the TV, Film, and New Media industry. His journey into sound production began at the young age of 16, where he initially produced music that went on to feature on local television. Stefan is a highly proficient sound professional who specializes in sound for picture. If you have any follow-up questions, feel free to leave them in the comments! I hope that clarifies any confusion you might have had in regards to USB 2.0, USB 3.0 and Thunderbolt audio interfaces.

Just use whatever you have access to and what works with your budget! Remember, if you’re going to be running HUNDREDS of audio inputs/outputs, you could benefit from a data transfer protocol that provides more stability.įor most of us though, it’s really not necessary. Why do manufacturers still make USB 3.0 and Thunderbolt audio interfaces though?

That’s what you get when you’re working with the best audio drivers in the industry! That’s why performance is consistent on all RME audio interfaces (USB, Thunderbolt, etc…). So, it doesn’t matter which data transfer protocol your audio interface uses… If the audio driver was poorly written, your audio interface won’t perform at its best. What’s the #1 cause of all audio latency issues? It’s the AUDIO DRIVER! Summary: USB 2.0 vs USB 3.0 Audio Interfaces In other words, USB 3.0 audio interfaces DO reduce the audio latency, but is it really that significant? Let’s find out! However, USB 3.0 is superior because it handles data differently than USB 2.0 (we’re also talking about USB 3.1 onwards). USB 3.0 audio interfaces offer more bandwidth than USB 2.0, but will that decrease audio latency? Believe it or not, USB 2.0 possesses more than enough bandwidth to handle our needs, that’s not the problem… What makes the USB protocol inferior is simply the way it handles audio/video data transfers. We’ll also be determining whether or not these more recent USB protocols present any significant advantages for audio interfacing. It seems like most manufacturers have avoided using the USB 3.0 protocol in favour of USB 2.0 though, but why? That’s what we’ll be discussing in today’s article. USB 3.0 audio interfaces aren’t easy to find, but they’re out there.

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Usb 2 vs usb 3 latency