USB or Firewire Audio Interface for Laptop?

Archived from groups: rec.audio.tech (More info?)

"Bill Finch" <broadcast@twnyc.rr.com> wrote in message
news qUUc.791$v86.80@fe2.texas.rr.com

> I need to record quality two chanel audio on a laptop.

Get a OC Card, USB or firewire interface.

> Do the USB interfaces (like M-Box or Lexicon Omega or Sound Devices
> USBPRE 1.5)
> work ok.

Some of the time. They are all USB 1.1, which puts their data rate demands
kinda close to the data rate capacity of the connection.

>Is the USB protocol fast enough to catch all the data from
> two chanel audio without coughing or sneezing?

Some of the time.

> I use firewire for video and it's fast but firewire audio interfaces
> are newer and therefore more expensive than USB kits.

The are alleged to have some problems of their own, particularly if you try
to share the same laptop firewire port between an interface and an external
hard drive.

> This is all for ocasional quick and dirty field recording.

You can get your feet wet with the SoundBlaster MP3 USB - actually pretty
decent and sometimes under $40. The only trick is to keep the levels into it
up, high enough so that you have the PC mixer's input level almost all the
way down, but not so high that there is clipping.