USB 1.1 vs USB 2.0 vs firewire sound interfaces & LATENCY issues? PLEASE HELP

[sameedon]

Hi all,

I have been making music using FL studio 10 for quite a while. I have now decided to record my voice on to those tracks using a sound interface.
Also I will later add a keyboard later on to records the mucis chords I play to the tracks. For mixing the music I will be using cubase.

I have decided to buy Shure SM 58 mic to record voice. But I cant still decided up on a suitable sound interface.
I have the following three options in my mind.

1. Focusrite Saffire 6 (USB 1.1)
2. Focusrite Saffire PRO (Firewire)
3. Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 (USB 2.0)

I have read many articles and a lot of people seem to recommend firewire interfaces over USB one due to LATENCY problems! Can you please advise will it be a problem in my case?
Which one out of the above would you recommend?

For your information, my lap top has a firewire port(4 pin) and it has a i-5 processor(about 3ghz speed) and 6 GB of RAM and NO Video Card.

Out of the above ones, Focusrite Scarlett seems to be handy for my requirement.(I think) What would you choose if you had the options?and why?
How will the Latency issue matter to me?

Please share all your knowledge and experience with me to get a good sound interface.

Your input will save a lot of time and prevent me from getting disappointed with what I buy as I am a beginner.

I hope you can help..

Many thanks in advance.

 

[TimOBrien]

latency comes from the interaction of the asio drivers and interface hardware, not the pipe (usb/firewire) going into the computer.
You can get low-latencies from both usb and firewire interfaces.

The built-in firewire port would likely give you problems UNLESS you have
TexasInstrument firewire chips (the reccomended kind for audio interfaces.)
Cheap fwire chips work fine for hard drives and cameras but are a problem for audio/video.
You can find out what you have in the Device Manager control panel; look for IEE-1394 devices.

While I use a firewire interface (motu828mkII) but unless you need to do over 16 simultaneous channels, usb2 is just fine...

 

[Bobbsy]

+1 for what Tim says. The choice of USB or Firewire won't make any difference to latency. However, the change from USB1.1 to USB2 will allow for a much greater and more reliable throughput.

Unless you really need the simultaneous track count the Firewire allows, stick with USB2. It's a lot less fussy (says another Firewire user with the scars to prove it). The other consideration is that Firewire is gradually being phased out by most computer manufacturers--it's far from future proof these days.