USB problems

[Bulls Hit]

I'm planning to get one of those USB recording interafces (maybe an MBox or the Tascam unit).

What's holding me back is my dodgy usb connection. I've got a cable modem that sometime just refuses to work, though he cable company can ping it. I bought a usb-connected printer which I had to exchange for a parallel port one because it just wouldn't connect.

Ive got an Athlon 1800+ with 640MB ram. I'm thinking the problem in WIN98. Anyone had any similar problems they've overcome?

 

[brzilian]

I'm planning to get one of those USB recording interafces (maybe an MBox or the Tascam unit).

What's holding me back is my dodgy usb connection. I've got a cable modem that sometime just refuses to work, though he cable company can ping it. I bought a usb-connected printer which I had to exchange for a parallel port one because it just wouldn't connect.

Ive got an Athlon 1800+ with 640MB ram. I'm thinking the problem in WIN98. Anyone had any similar problems they've overcome?

Why do you want USB when a PCI counterpart will be cheaper, cause less problems and perform better?

 

[LAZI]

USB 2.0 seems to avoid som of the problems 1.0 has. I was using a 1.0 soundcard (EDIROL UA-5) on my laptop and it was ctacking and popping. Got 2.0 cardbus adapter and all problems solved.

 

[Bulls Hit]

Re: Re: USB problems

Why do you want USB when a PCI counterpart will be cheaper, cause less problems and perform better?

The Tascam US122 I was looking at has 2 pairs of inputs, ( 2 xlr, 2 1/4") and has phantom power for the mic pres. Reasonably priced too at around $250. Is there a pci card that will do something similar for around that price?

 

[Strryder]

Re: Re: Re: USB problems

The Tascam US122 I was looking at has 2 pairs of inputs, ( 2 xlr, 2 1/4") and has phantom power for the mic pres. Reasonably priced too at around $250. Is there a pci card that will do something similar for around that price?

Even though the US-122 has those connectors on the box, it only functions as a 2x2 audio I/O with 1x1 midi I/O

 

[Polaris20]

Good comparison would be:

Tascam US-122
2 XLRs
2 1/4"
2in/2out
Headphone out
MIDI
Self powered and portable.
$199.95

M-Audio Audiophile (PCI, not USB) w/ Audio Buddy Pre
2 XLRs
2 1/4"
2in/2out
MIDI
No headphone out
Not portable
$230.00

Sounds like the Tascam's a good deal to me, if you want portability and USB without breaking the bank.

 

[Polaris20]

Re: Re: USB problems

Why do you want USB when a PCI counterpart will be cheaper, cause less problems and perform better?

Tascam 122: 2in/2out with midi $200
Audiophile w/Audio buddy: 2in/2out with midi $230

How is that cheaper? How does it perform better, when they're both 2in/2out?

The only performance difference I could see was the Audiophile's ability to record at 24/96, as opposed to 24/48 of the 122. Not a big deal, IMO.

 

[Roel]

Good comparison would be:

Tascam US-122
Self powered and portable.
$199.95

M-Audio Audiophile (PCI, not USB) w/ Audio Buddy Pre
Not portable
$230.00

Euhm... The tascam is portable, yes. But you gotta think of your setup. If you have to take your PC along, the audiophile is MORE portable since it's a box less to carry.

Anyways, if you don't HAVE to use USB, for portability reasons (I have a audiophile USB with a laptop), you should go PCI. For the simple reason that PCI is way more reliable... Which, from a technological point of view, is really logical too. So, even if it's 30$ more, I would consider the PCI card. This also results in a more modular setup, allowing you to upgrade your micpres etc... And a headphoneamp is deadcheap and will give you more headphone outs, which you will need anyhow if you don't work alone.

 

[brzilian]

Re: Re: Re: USB problems

Tascam 122: 2in/2out with midi $200
Audiophile w/Audio buddy: 2in/2out with midi $230

How is that cheaper? How does it perform better, when they're both 2in/2out?

The only performance difference I could see was the Audiophile's ability to record at 24/96, as opposed to 24/48 of the 122. Not a big deal, IMO.

Better performace refers to the higher bandwidth of PCI (100Mbytes/sec) as well as the fact that USB devices put additional strain on the CPU load because of the inneficient USB communications protocol.

Finally, I think you're getting a better preamp by going with the Audiobuddy over something built into the Tascam...

 

[alfalfa]

For the same price as the Tascam (US$200), you could get an M-Audio Audiophile soundcard ($150) with a Behringer UB802 mixer ($50). That would give you all the functionality of the tascam, with the reliability/performance of the pci interface of the Audiophile.

 

[Polaris20]

Re: Re: Re: Re: USB problems

Better performace refers to the higher bandwidth of PCI (100Mbytes/sec) as well as the fact that USB devices put additional strain on the CPU load because of the inneficient USB communications protocol.

Finally, I think you're getting a better preamp by going with the Audiobuddy over something built into the Tascam...

Yes I know the difference in bandwidth, thank you. What I am saying is, if it gets the job done, then why not? In the future he may wish to use it on different computers, or perhaps a laptop.

A friend of mine has one, and uses it on different computers, depending on where he's at. It's not an unusual circumstance. USB, as much as you hate it, has a place, albeit a limited one, in audio recording applications.

No, it's not FW or PCI, but there's still a purpose for it.

 

[brzilian]

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: USB problems

Yes I know the difference in bandwidth, thank you. What I am saying is, if it gets the job done, then why not? In the future he may wish to use it on different computers, or perhaps a laptop.

A friend of mine has one, and uses it on different computers, depending on where he's at. It's not an unusual circumstance. USB, as much as you hate it, has a place, albeit a limited one, in audio recording applications.

No, it's not FW or PCI, but there's still a purpose for it.

What it comes down to is that USB can be used for audio, but the question is should it be used?

I'm convinced all these sound card makers did not ask that question and were only concerned with pushing product to market.

The whole premise of USB being developed in the first place was to replace the aging RS232 serial interface. It was only intented for low bandwidth applications.

Firewire, on the other hand was always intended as a interface for home networks and digital video.

 

[Bulls Hit]

Hey thanks for all the info.

For the same price as the Tascam (US$200), you could get an M-Audio Audiophile soundcard ($150) with a Behringer UB802 mixer ($50). That would give you all the functionality of the tascam, with the reliability/performance of the pci interface of the Audiophile.

Would that Behringer mixer be a better bet than the Audio Buddy?

 

[christiaan]

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: USB problems

What it comes down to is that USB can be used for audio, but the question is should it be used?

The whole premise of USB being developed in the first place was to replace the aging RS232 serial interface. It was only intented for low bandwidth applications.

Firewire, on the other hand was always intended as a interface for home networks and digital video.

Exactly. They're pushing the USB limits in an unhealthy way.

 

[christiaan]

For the same price as the Tascam (US$200), you could get an M-Audio Audiophile soundcard ($150) with a Behringer UB802 mixer ($50). That would give you all the functionality of the tascam, with the reliability/performance of the pci interface of the Audiophile.

My new toys are arriving this week:
Mindprint DI-Port (used, €175), soundcard with CMI8738 chip for its digital interface (new, €10) + M-Audio DIO2448 ASIO drivers. I'm expecting that to beat the crap out of either the US122 or the audiophile/behringer combo.

 

[alfalfa]

Would that Behringer mixer be a better bet than the Audio Buddy?

Depends on your needs.

The behringer is a mixer so you get mixing functionality eg if you had a few synths, you could plug them all into the mixer and hear them simultaneously. The behringer would also provide you with a headphone output and volume control for your speakers/monitors.

The pres on the Audiobuddy are probably better as it is a dedicated mic pre. If you only need a pair of mic pres and no other functionality then it is a better bet than getting a mixer.

An alternative to the audiobuddy for about the same cash is the behringer mic2220 ultragain. Dot from www.thelisteningsessions.com recommends it over the audiobuddy for a few reasons eg the audio buddy is unable to provide the full 48V phantom power (it gets to about 40V I think) and it uses a wall wart. There is a thread in the rack forum right now about it or you can search for ultragain.

 

[Polaris20]

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: USB problems

What it comes down to is that USB can be used for audio, but the question is should it be used?

I'm convinced all these sound card makers did not ask that question and were only concerned with pushing product to market.

The whole premise of USB being developed in the first place was to replace the aging RS232 serial interface. It was only intented for low bandwidth applications.

Firewire, on the other hand was always intended as a interface for home networks and digital video.

Yes, thanks for the history lesson once again. I know why USB came out.

The question is, does USB, the 122 in particular, work? At 2 tracks at a time, at 24/48, there hasn't been a glitch. So what is the problem again?

For someone who wants to be able to move their sound interface around to different computers, for $200, what's a better alternative?

 

[alfalfa]

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: USB problems

The question is, does USB, the 122 in particular, work? At 2 tracks at a time, at 24/48, there hasn't been a glitch. So what is the problem again?

The problem seems to be that USB works for some people and not for others. I suspect it is to do with the varying quality of the usb interfaces built into PCs. For example there is a new thread on rec.audio.pro labelled Forget about the Tascam US-122 with two people expressing problems. Is it their pc, the usb soundcard or user error? I am not sure.

There also could be other reasons eg usb interfaces tend to be used with laptops or perhaps tend to be bought by people who are not that knowledgable about PCs. Whatever the reason, it does appear that people are having more problems getting a usb interface to work compared to a pci soundcard like an audiophile or mia.

 

[Polaris20]

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: USB problems

The problem seems to be that USB works for some people and not for others. I suspect it is to do with the varying quality of the usb interfaces built into PCs. For example there is a new thread on rec.audio.pro labelled Forget about the Tascam US-122 with two people expressing problems. Is it their pc, the usb soundcard or user error? I am not sure.

There also could be other reasons eg usb interfaces tend to be used with laptops or perhaps tend to be bought by people who are not that knowledgable about PCs. Whatever the reason, it does appear that people are having more problems getting a usb interface to work compared to a pci soundcard like an audiophile or mia.

The point that I am trying to make is that for someone who wishes to move the interface from computer to computer, or that wishes to use it with a laptop, but not spend more than $200-$250, there's no alternative.

Should they have come out with $200 FW cards instead of using USB? Of course. But they didn't, so they could charge more money for the FW premium.

Sure, you could use a cardbus unit for a laptop. But then you can't use that on a desktop. Sure you could get PCI for the desktop. But then you wouldn't be able to use it with the notebook.

Anyone see the point I am trying to make here?

For a certain price point, and certain applications, it serves it purpose.

 

[alfalfa]

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: USB problems

Anyone see the point I am trying to make here?

For a certain price point, and certain applications, it serves it purpose.

Yup I see your point. I am not sure if the original posters requirements fill your criteria though. I think he would be better off not getting a usb interface for his needs.