Mbox Studio Converters???

[jahsoul]

Originally Posted by mattrixx

Don't think you're gonna see any new thunderbolt interfaces any time soon.
Stock has run out of the required Intel chips and apparently they're not going ahead wit what was going to replace it. Check the RME Forum.

Originally Posted by massivekerry

In order to save everyone else from having to look through the RME forum for that thread:

https://forum.rme-audio.de/viewtopic...192364#p192364

The UFX+ can no longer be manufactured because Intel ended the production of the required TB chips long ago. We used our stock to continue building UFX+, but stock is gone now.
To answer an expected next question: We were ready to change to a newer chip with TB 3 support (fully developed new digital board), but Intel delayed its shipment (chip crisis) for a long time. Then when the chip was expected to be shipped Intel declared it EOL (end of life). Beginning a production using this chip made no sense anymore. I don't think there will be a new TB audio interface from RME...or anyone else...
Regards
Matthias Carstens
RME

This sucks, as I thought that Thunderbolt was the next best medium for an audio interface next to PCI(e). I've only had one USB interface ever. If it wasn't PCIe or Firewire (way back when), I wanted nothing to do with it.

[JFreak]

Thunderbolt is carrying PCI-express, so there is no difference (assuming the driver is coded as it should)

[Eric Lambert]

Many high end interfaces use USB without issue or sacrifice of any kind.

[Obsidian Dragon]

Just to make sure that I am understanding this thread (in regards to Thunderbolt's future), are we saying that it looks like there will be no new audio interfaces using Thunderbolt anymore?

I was waffling back and forth when buying my Mac Studio between the M1Max and the M1Ultra version because the M1Ultra models came with 6 Thunderbolt ports (4 in back and 2 in front) while the M1Max models came with 4 Thunderbolt ports (4 in back and 2 USB-C only ports in front). I went with the M1Max model due to budgetary concerns. My next purchase was going to be a Thunderbolt audio interface, but seeing the writing on the wall, I may have made the right choice if my next audio interface will be USB now. Yeah I know there are still Thunderbolt audio interface still in the supply chain, but it sounds like they will run out and the future direction will move on to USB or something else. I remember firewire interfaces stopped being relevant rather sudden, so would like to avoid that scenario. Am I just panicking or am I understanding the roadmap correctly?

[Eric Lambert]

Originally Posted by Obsidian Dragon

Just to make sure that I am understanding this thread (in regards to Thunderbolt's future), are we saying that it looks like there will be no new audio interfaces using Thunderbolt anymore?

I was waffling back and forth when buying my Mac Studio between the M1Max and the M1Ultra version because the M1Ultra models came with 6 Thunderbolt ports (4 in back and 2 in front) while the M1Max models came with 4 Thunderbolt ports (4 in back and 2 USB-C only ports in front). I went with the M1Max model due to budgetary concerns. My next purchase was going to be a Thunderbolt audio interface, but seeing the writing on the wall, I may have made the right choice if my next audio interface will be USB now. Yeah I know there are still Thunderbolt audio interface still in the supply chain, but it sounds like they will run out and the future direction will move on to USB or something else. I remember firewire interfaces stopped being relevant rather sudden, so would like to avoid that scenario. Am I just panicking or am I understanding the roadmap correctly?

You'll be fine either way. Your computer has the ability to easily communicate with whatever protocol might become the most popular (unless FW makes a comeback). I have a few USB adapters and a multi-function hub and there's no drawback that I can sense.

[Will Russell]

RE: USB and audio bandwidth
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSIf4QGYs-c&t=159s

[jahsoul]

Originally Posted by Eric Lambert

Many high end interfaces use USB without issue or sacrifice of any kind.

Originally Posted by Will Russell

RE: USB and audio bandwidth
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSIf4QGYs-c&t=159s

For me, it is not a matter of bandwidth but the protocol itself, especially USB 2.0's half duplex, packet based behavior. RME is probably THE BEST in terms of USB drivers but PCIe and Firewire ALWAYS gave me more stability at a lower buffer. I felt that Firewire (and now Thunderbolt) was always the better medium for audio and video and from a technical perspective, there was nothing that USB had over it (bandwidth is just part of it, as Firewire was a peer to peer protocol that allowed full duplex streaming without reliance on the CPU). Thunderbolt builds on top of that, but we know that USB won the "adoption" war.

And I think the ONLY reason that RME, and others, are sticking with USB, especially 2.0, is cost. RME, we are pretty much paying for their drivers, but others, I don't know.

[Eric Lambert]

Many companies have rock-solid USB implementation which is a likely explanation for their continued use. An added bonus is the fact that it's the one which has remained rooted as many others have come and gone like the wind. Prism uses USB and they are a no-compromises company.

Firewire was a disaster in my company's experience. It was a great day when the powers that be decided to abandon it.

[jahsoul]

Originally Posted by Eric Lambert

Many companies have rock-solid USB implementation which is a likely explanation for their continued use. An added bonus is the fact that it's the one which has remained rooted as many others have come and gone like the wind. Prism uses USB and they are a no-compromises company.

Firewire was a disaster in my company's experience. It was a great day when the powers that be decided to abandon it.

Firewire was a disaster? Those are fighting words.. LOL.
When it lost the adoption war, the only place that it could go was downhill. That why I was so excited when Thunderbolt was first announced but we are where we are.

And I agree with you over some having a rock-solid USB implementation, but I don't think I've found any 2.0 device that could compete with any PCIe or Thunderbolt interface, and that's just the nature of the protocol. But I know my use case is an outlier. Hopefully, USB 4.0 is the interface that will be able to be the perfect middle ground.

[JFreak]

USB4 is the TB3 for everyone.

FW was way ahead of USB2 and the fact that it lost was extra cost of 0.02 dollars for every supporting device. PC makers basically f'd it up. BETA vs. VHS, anyone..?

Apple was wiser on the second round. Co-op with Intel as in what will be USB4 / TB3 that can carry PCI-express or whatever packaged inside will finally be the "universal connection" we have been waiting for.

Still, it is up to hardware vendor how exactly dhe driver has been coded.