Читать книгу Home Recording For Dummies - Jeff Strong - Страница 42

For the last two revisions of this book, I had hoped that I could talk at length about the super, most awesome Thunderbolt interface and how it changed recording in the same way that moving from tape to digital did, but, alas, I wasn’t able to. However, now I can. Though it would be a stretch to say that Thunderbolt has reinvented audio recording, it does offer some benefits that makes it better than either PCIe or USB.

Compared to USB, Thunderbolt offers eight times faster transfer speed and the ability to chain a variety of devices through the same port without any loss of speed. This means you can have more analog inputs and outputs than USB.

Compared to PCIe, Thunderbolt connectivity is more available — you can find them on laptops as well as on desktop computers. There are also many more interface options to choose from.

Thunderbolt audio interfaces tend to be more expensive than USB, not because of the technology, but because these interfaces often include better analog components, such as preamps, and more inputs and outputs. Expect to spend at least $500 for two input channels and $1,000 and more (often much more) for higher counts.

Quite a few audio interfaces have both Thunderbolt and USB 3.0 ports. If you’re unsure of which to choose, or you plan to upgrade your computer from USB to Thunderbolt, these interfaces are excellent options.