Starting Out, Usb, Firewire, Or Direct Low Latency Soundcard Input?

M

Mik James

New member
I'm getting into home recording and I'm looking for a low latency audio interface.
From what i've read usb is to be avoided, unless 3.0 brings lower latency with it?
Firewire is another option.

I have also read about onboard pcie soundcard solutions which sounds like the best bet for low latency?

Do these soundcards have direct 1/4" input or would you still need an external box with a digital audio connection in the line (adding latency?).

I plan to record electric guitar with added software effects and make use of drum vst's.

Any help is greatly appreciated.
 
By and large, USB 2.0 interfaces are the most common at this time. They're perfectly capable of low latencies, mainly being dependent upon the quality of the manufacturer's drivers, and the size of the ASIO buffer that you can set based on your computer's performance specs.

FireWire is being phased out and is becoming less and less common. Working with FireWire in a PC environment can get frustrating due to chipset compatibility. But many people work with it without issue.

Thunderbolt seems to be the next wave of connectivity, and it hasn't found much acceptance yet, especially in the PC world. But it is capable of extremely low latencies. The Focusrite Clarett is one Thunderbolt interface that comes to mind, but there are others.

Bottom line, you should be fine with a USB 2.0 interface.
 
Interesting, thank you for the info. I'll try out a usb 2.0 setup for now. There is an entry level roland interface available at Long and Mcquade for 100$. Should I try that out or head to the used market for a better deal?
 
Mik James said:
Interesting, thank you for the info. I'll try out a usb 2.0 setup for now. There is an entry level roland interface available at Long and Mcquade for 100$. Should I try that out or head to the used market for a better deal?
Click to expand...

buying a used usb 2.0 interface is always a pretty good idea if it's in good shape. You get a lot more bang for the buck usually. Do some research on the quality of different make/model's built-in preamps, because they can vary quite a bit at the entry level.
 
As everyone else has said, don't worry about latency and USB 2.0 - it's fine, or will be after some tweaks.

As a starter, I'd get a quality but relatively cheap interface using USB (assuming this is PC we're talking about) and when you've seen whether this is something you want to persist with, consider bigger, better options including PCIE.
 
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