Firewire has the bandwidth to do over a hundred tracks of 24 bit audio 
- USB barely four channels! And USB 2 is no better for audio than USB1 
as I understand it - just not precise enough timing information to move 
audio in real time.

USB is barely adequate for audio, in other words. Even on Windows...

SPDIF, AES and lightpipe still need the circuitry to get it into the 
computer - whether USB, firewire, or PCI.

Being a pro audio engineer and not an archvist, I will stop there for 
now...

Lou

Lou Judson • Intuitive Audio
415-883-2689

On Sep 23, 2005, at 11:15 AM, Casey, Michael T wrote:

> Moving beyond the RME products--which I also use and love--is anyone
> aware of issues/concerns when using firewire to move data from a
> converter to a computer? How does firewire compare to USB, or AES using
> a card, or lightpipe--that is, advantages/disadvantages to each, other
> than what has already been expressed?
>
> Mike