Thunderbolt 3 to thunderbolt 2 to Fire Wire

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Astralv

Astralv

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May 6, 2013
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I am confused with Thunderbolt 2 and 3. My motherboard (Asus Z270 Hero) is advertised to support Thunderbolt 3 and I was told by other users that it works, but not officially listed as supported motherboard in Thunderbold 3 card specifications on Asus web site. My motherboard has Thunderbolt internal port and would use PCIe4 slot.
This is the Thunderbolt 3 card by Asus:
https://www.asus.com/us/M...ssory/ThunderboltEX-3/

I was looking in to buying Thunderbolt audio interface and all, even most new, audio interfaces that come this summer (Antelope Goliath), state that they use Thunderbolt 2. Why do they still make them Thunderbolt 2 when we have Thunderbolt 3? And how do I connect Thunderbolt 2 interface to Thunderbolt 3?

The reason I am looking in to buying Thunderbolt interface is because my Presonus Studio 24.4.2 original audio mixer is not working with SIIG TI Fire Wire card that works fine in another Win. 10 computer. There was suggestion to use Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt 2 to Fire Wire adopter. I need help to configure this.

1. What is the difference between Thunderbolt 2 and 3 and how to connect Thunderbolt 2 audio interface to Thunderbolt 3 card?

2. I heard there is Thunderbolt 2 to Fire Wire adopter- how would it work if I have Thunderbolt 3 card? Thank you.
 
Solution
mjslakeridge
There will always be some amount of latency when you Buss an audio signal out to an effects device and then buss it back into your device. Whether the latency will be noticeable will depend on various factors. When I use my Digi002 Rack along with a Behringer ADA8000 D/A converter connected to the Digi002 via Toslink (lightpipe) cable, and record the same source (snare hit) directly to the Digi002 and also through the ADA8000 to 2 different tracks, the signal from the ADA8000 is 13 samples earlier (at 48k, 24bit) than the Digi002. I think this means the D/A converters in the ADA8000 are faster than the DIGI002, so I have to zoom in to the sample level and nudge the tracks forward by 13 samples.

I know this is not the same as the...
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the nerd 389

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USB 2.0 supports 240 channels of 24-bit 48 kHz audio (slightly less if you include metadata). This is sufficient for all but the most extreme audio applications.

USB 3.0 supports over 2500 channels. There is practically no reason to use a connection faster than this.

Thunderbolt 2 supports a whopping 10000 channels.

Thunderbolt 3 is completely and totally pointless for audio. Not even the most extreme professional applications could come close to taxing the Thunderbolt 2 interface, much less Thunderbolt 3.

Regarding TB2 vs TB3, aside from the different speeds, they use different connectors. There are adapters that allow TB2 devices to plug into TB3 ports. From a signalling point of view, TB3 is perfectly backwards compatible with TB2. The adapters will not introduce bugs into the signal chain. The adapters for Firewire to TB2 will work just fine if you also use a TB2 to TB3 adapter.
 
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Astralv

Astralv

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Thank you for the reply. The number of audio channels is not as important as Latency of signal traveling. For example when you press the key, you want to hear a sound as if it was real piano. Or if you recorded something and want it to play through effect and have it come back, you want it to keep up with other tracks that were not going out of computer, being processed and returned. But also it is not about the speed or data flow- it is simply about compatibility . My motherboard supposed to support Thunderbolt 3 card. Can I instead install Thunderbolt 2? If I can install 2 or 3, then it makes sense to make $5000 audio interface with TB2. But if I can only install 3- why would they not stay with the time and stay compatible and releases in reface with TB 3 to be compatible with new computers? Why do I need adopter for something that already outdated when it is not even released until July 2017?

But this is all another question. I searched NewEgg and Amazon for Thunderbolt to FireWire adopter and only found Apple adopters. Nothing for Windows. Do you see any available? Thank you.
 
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mjslakeridge

mjslakeridge

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Mar 6, 2013
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There will always be some amount of latency when you Buss an audio signal out to an effects device and then buss it back into your device. Whether the latency will be noticeable will depend on various factors. When I use my Digi002 Rack along with a Behringer ADA8000 D/A converter connected to the Digi002 via Toslink (lightpipe) cable, and record the same source (snare hit) directly to the Digi002 and also through the ADA8000 to 2 different tracks, the signal from the ADA8000 is 13 samples earlier (at 48k, 24bit) than the Digi002. I think this means the D/A converters in the ADA8000 are faster than the DIGI002, so I have to zoom in to the sample level and nudge the tracks forward by 13 samples.

I know this is not the same as the situation you are describing, but is an example of how to compensate for latency.

Which DAW are you using? I know that with ProTools, it only likes certain chipsets on the Firewire card (I believe TI is the preferred, but I haven't checked mine lately as it works fine).

If your interface works fine with a different Win 10 computer, but not yours, I would see what is different about the setups. I don't know about T-Bolt to Firewire adapters, but my preference would be to get the interface to work using just Firewire.
 
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