MIDI vs USB vs FireWire

I want to get a digital mixer (Beringher, Yamaha or Fostex) and hook up my MPC2KXL , Yamaha SY55 keyboard and computer with Cubase SX to it. Which connection out of the 3 would be best for low latency?
Oh yeah... I'll be hooking it up through my Sound Blaster Audigy 2 breakout box.
Thanks.


one.....

JUKE 179r wrote:I want to get a digital mixer (Beringher, Yamaha or Fostex) and hook up my MPC2KXL , Yamaha SY55 keyboard and computer with Cubase SX to it. Which connection out of the 3 would be best for low latency? Oh yeah... I'll be hooking it up through my Sound Blaster Audigy 2 breakout box. Thanks. one.....

http://www.techtv.com/screensavers/answerstips/story/0,24330,2406307,00.html

Many people confuse Firewire (aka IEEE 1394) and USB. That's understandable. Both are emerging standards that offer a new method of connecting multiple peripherals to a computer. Both permit you to add peripherals or disconnect from a computer without the need to reboot. Both use thin, flexible cables that have simple durable connectors-- radically simplifying I/0 (input/output). But the similarities end there. Although FireWire and USB cables may look nearly the same, they differ wildly in data-transfer rates. FireWire puts through 400 Mb/s vs. USB's 12 Mb/s.

Other differences between FireWire and USB:
Maximum number of devices: FireWire 63, USB 127
Maximum cable length between devices: FireWire 4.5m USB 5m
Firewire can share peripherals. USB cannot.
FireWire has a couple of other problems. You can't find it everywhere like USB and FireWire peripherals will cost you more. On the other hand you'll need FireWire's speed to keep pace with bandwidth-hogging devices such as digital-video equipment.

Does this mean that FireWire will "win" the interface war with USB? No. Why can't we all win?

Many industry analysts expect FireWire and USB to coexist peacefully in future computers. Small FireWire and USB connectors will replace the gaggle of connectors found on the back of today's PCs.

You can reserve USB for low-bandwidth peripherals (mice, keyboards, modems), and use FireWire to connect to the new generation of high-bandwidth computer and consumer-electronics products.

At least that was the idea until they announced USB 2.0 with a target speed of 480 Mb/s. USB 2.0 will certainly affect future standards. Even so, FireWire will likely find a niche as part of consumer products that operate without the need of a computer interface (such as plugging your digital camcorder into your TV or VCR).

David Prager

I have a Yamaha 01v digital mixer, Pro Tools-Digi001, MPC3000 and other stuff. I connect the mixer to Pro Tools via the lightpipe cable (which brings in another tech term and standard) and the 01v's option port. This makes the unit a 24 channel board and frees up my other analog channels. I also connect the midi ports of the mixer to my midi interface. There is no Firewire port on it.

The mixer sounds pretty damn good too. I'm sure I could get better, but it's been good to me. You may wanna look at the 01v96. It's rumored to be better. Lots of new features and the sound is supposed to be cleaner, sharper and clearer.

Looks like if you plan to keep the Sound Blaster thang, that its connectors will influence what kind of equipment you will add to it.

Peace.

the 01V is a great tool, and the convertors are good.



my advice to this guy is to ditch the terible Audigy and get a decent ausio interface first.

in your case i would advise a Moto 828. version two is out and its utterly fantastic... you can mix on it, plus it has a whole host of connectors and even midi.

at th every least you could go for an audio card such as the Delta44 or 66, and with the 66 it has spdif also.... plus they are 24/96 and an industry standard ASIO card.