Best choice for Thunderbolt Interface? Or is PCI better?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Tom Tolleson
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T

Tom Tolleson

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Hello!

I'm wanting to upgrade to decent quality recording interface. It would be really nice if I could use my current Mac system which has Thunderbolt. I'd be open to using a PCI card if anyone thinks that's prefereable.

Also, it seems that the UAD and ProTools are the most popular choices for Thunderbolt. I'm almost exclusively an Ableton user, so I don't really need new software, and I wouldn't be too keen on not being able to use VST plugins. For that reason I'm leaning toward a system like the UAD Apollo Quad Core. However, Protools has an HD rig that uses Thunderbolt with the Omni interface for not much more.

Is there any compelling reason that I would want to get a ProTools HD system instead of a UAD (or other manufacturer) hardware system?

Once again, I do all my work in Ableton at this point in time and so I'm not really shopping for new software.

Thanks!

T
 
usb, firewire, thunderbolt and pci are just data pipes.
as long as you have enough capacity it .just .doesn't .matter.

usb gets choked on a couple dozen simultaneous channels but firewire, thunderbolt and pci can handle many hundreds.

if you're thinking about streaming lots of uad plugins and hundreds of channels, thunderbolt is an excellent choice as it has 12x the capacity of firewire.
 
Sounds good, thanks for the input! Now as for the interface, are there any reasons that ProTools HD would be a better choice than a UAD interface, seeing as I use Abelton and don't need new software?

Or is there something in the ProTools software that makes it a better choice for recording?

Thanks!

T
 
Nope.

Unless you are taking your files to a 'pro' studio or sharing with someone else who uses only ProTools
(or if you insist on a particular tool in it) there is no reason to use anything but what works for you.
 
One thing I would do before spending $3000 on that UAD setup is check around and make sure it plays nicely with Live...

Tom Tolleson said:
Hello!

I'm wanting to upgrade to decent quality recording interface. It would be really nice if I could use my current Mac system which has Thunderbolt. I'd be open to using a PCI card if anyone thinks that's prefereable.

Also, it seems that the UAD and ProTools are the most popular choices for Thunderbolt. I'm almost exclusively an Ableton user, so I don't really need new software, and I wouldn't be too keen on not being able to use VST plugins. For that reason I'm leaning toward a system like the UAD Apollo Quad Core. However, Protools has an HD rig that uses Thunderbolt with the Omni interface for not much more.

Is there any compelling reason that I would want to get a ProTools HD system instead of a UAD (or other manufacturer) hardware system?

Once again, I do all my work in Ableton at this point in time and so I'm not really shopping for new software.

Thanks!

T
Click to expand...
 
TimOBrien said:
usb, firewire, thunderbolt and pci are just data pipes.
as long as you have enough capacity it .just .doesn't .matter.

usb gets choked on a couple dozen simultaneous channels but firewire, thunderbolt and pci can handle many hundreds.
Click to expand...


NOT TRUE, Firewire(800) is faster than USB, but if you are also running another high I/O device such as a HD via firewire as well, then you are going to have issues!! Firewire's limited bandwidth is ok for just one high I/O device... Keep that in mind, if you are using firewire for anything else I would suggest USB 3.0, Thunderbolt, or PCI.
 
fetuslasvegas said:
NOT TRUE, Firewire(800) is faster than USB, but if you are also running another high I/O device such as a HD via firewire as well, then you are going to have issues!! Firewire's limited bandwidth is ok for just one high I/O device... Keep that in mind, if you are using firewire for anything else I would suggest USB 3.0, Thunderbolt, or PCI.
Click to expand...

Sorry but you are just wrong.

I recorded for 5 years on a pc laptop with 2 firewire drives daisy-chained to my Motu828mkII interface. No problems.
I am now using an iMac with 2 firewire800 drives hooked to my Motu828mkII interface with no problems.

I have many years of experience (been working with firewire since it first came out....)
 
fetuslasvegas said:
NOT TRUE, Firewire(800) is faster than USB, but if you are also running another high I/O device such as a HD via firewire as well, then you are going to have issues!! Firewire's limited bandwidth is ok for just one high I/O device... Keep that in mind, if you are using firewire for anything else I would suggest USB 3.0, Thunderbolt, or PCI.
Click to expand...

Isochronous FireWire traffic is not affected by other traffic on the bus, so your audio data will always get through. The only question is whether the isoch traffic causes enough of an extra delay in the data going to/from your hard drive to cause a playback stutter. But if your DAW is that poorly written, you have much bigger problems than the choice of FireWire versus USB. :)
 
Isn't that why the majority of firewire interfaces have two ports? They're designed to be daisy chained.
 
There is a lot of old (bad) info out there on the internet from many years ago.
A lot of people pick it up, set it as gospel and just pass it along....
 
This is true, Tim.
I see endless threads about how macs and PCs are the same and how the final choice is just preference.

Then I see endless threads about how a PC simply must be optimised for computer recording and how you can't have an internet connection on your daw computer and yada yada yada.

It's 2013 people....One of these things is no longer true.
 
Thanks for the input and information from everyone else as well!
 
dgatwood said:
Isochronous FireWire traffic is not affected by other traffic on the bus, so your audio data will always get through. The only question is whether the isoch traffic causes enough of an extra delay in the data going to/from your hard drive to cause a playback stutter. But if your DAW is that poorly written, you have much bigger problems than the choice of FireWire versus USB. :)
Click to expand...


hmmmmm... as I previously said...
 
Real world to theoretical fantasy...real world to theoretical fantasy....

The reality is that you'll struggle to find a Thunderbolt interface and your choice of PCI stuff is becoming increasingly limited. As computer manufacturers gradually bow out of desk tops in favour of laptops, the interface manufacturers are paying attention and largely ignoring the PCI market.

Firewire is still out there but is also being rapidly dropped by computer manufacturers.

In a year or two there will be real competition between Thunderbolt and USB 3. In the meantime the only real choice is USB 2 or else investing in a dead end street.

...and, unless you are getting into very elaborate multitrack sessions (and how many home studios have the space, resources or acoustics for that) USB 2 is probably more than sufficient.
 
Bobbsy said:
Real world to theoretical fantasy...real world to theoretical fantasy....

The reality is that you'll struggle to find a Thunderbolt interface and your choice of PCI stuff is becoming increasingly limited. As computer manufacturers gradually bow out of desk tops in favour of laptops, the interface manufacturers are paying attention and largely ignoring the PCI market.

Firewire is still out there but is also being rapidly dropped by computer manufacturers.

In a year or two there will be real competition between Thunderbolt and USB 3. In the meantime the only real choice is USB 2 or else investing in a dead end street.

...and, unless you are getting into very elaborate multitrack sessions (and how many home studios have the space, resources or acoustics for that) USB 2 is probably more than sufficient.
Click to expand...

I sense deja vu in our future.
 
They are making firewire interfaces with USB outs now as well. If you must go firewire, I suggest getting one of the devices with both outs...
 
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