This calculation is somewhat simplified as there is also control data and other bits traveling back and forth to keep the iD44 and the computer happy, but even with these added into the mix, we still come no-where close to the maximum bandwidth of USB2.0. To work out how many bits per second the iD44 needs we simply multiple all these values together:Ĥ4 channels * 96000 samples * 24 bit sample depth = 101,376,000 bits per second. These samples are sent 96,000 times a second. This means that the interface is transmitting or receiving 44 separate streams of samples, and each sample is made up of 24 bits. This is using USB2.0 with a bandwidth of 480Mbps or 480,000,000 bits per second. If we take the worse case scenario of an iD44 with 44 channels of I/O, working at 96kHz and using bit depth of 24 bits. To prove this, we can actually do the maths to work out how much of the USB bandwidth is required by audio data. Heavy traffic would be video data or a huge data transfer from a hard drive. In this analogy we can compare light traffic to Audio data which works fine on both the larger and smaller road. However, in light traffic both roads will be able to throughput the same amount of cars, it’s just thats theres a lot of spare room on the larger road. If there is quite heavy traffic then the smaller road will get clogged up and less cars will be able travel down this road compared to the larger road. The vehicles themselves can still travel at the same speed on either road. While the bigger lane can carry more vehicles at the same time. The actual speed that the data travels at is still the same speed it’s just that there’s more room for data to be sent.Īs a crude analogy, imagine two roads, one with just one lane (USB2.0) and one with multiple lanes (USB3.0) and both roads have the same speed limit. It is true that USB 3.0 and Thunderbolt offer higher bandwidths but our interfaces simply don’t need the additional bandwidth that these connections offer. This means you can use your any of our interfaces in the studio or out on the road anywhere in the world and not have to worry about finding a compatible port on a computer! USB Analogy etc But isn’t USB 3.0 better? USB 2.0 was chosen as it is currently the most prolific port on computers. When designing the iD interface range we wanted it to be compatible with as many systems as possible to ensure our renowned audio quality was available to as many users as possible.

Usb 2 vs usb 3 picture quality