Hi Degeviol,

Thanks.  While I haven't reviewed the Amazon link yet, I saw the Tom's link and wanted to respond to you first.  Good stuff.

I have enough ports on my tower - this question is more for future possibilities, such as if one needs to use the BF with a laptop that only has two USB ports and, for some reason, one needs to use one of the ports for another device.  Another reason for the question is that sometimes, pc's can have difficulty with identifying devices that are attached through a hub.  In this situation, one can frequently rectify the problem by first connecting the device to a motherboard USB port and then reconnecting the device through the hub.  I thought that, given the potential for problems, it would be good to ask in advance rather than risk loosing a recording because of a mysterious hiccup in the middle of a session.

Steve

Steve

Hi Degeviol and Steve,

I just realized, that the 7 meter USB cable, that I was previously using in USB1.1 mode, doesn't support the Babyface. The Babyface is not recognized from my computer. By using a shorter cable the problem disappear.

Since the speakers are far away from my computer, do you recommend a usb repeater? Do you think there is somethings I have to take care about?

Thanks in advance,

nobarrique

Hi Nobarique,

This might be better answered by one of the RME folks, but I am guessing that from your experience, the BF is not supported on USB 1.1. I am not sure where I read this, but I think that a USB repeater would not be recommended.  Again, this might be better answered by one of the RME folks.   If I read correctly, the BF is supported on USB 2 and compatible with USB 3.  Another thing to consider is your motherboard's chipset.  It should be, I believe, at least an Intel ICH8 or higher.  I think that AMD and Nvidia chipsets (not referring to graphics chipsets) are not recommended, but verify this with someone else, as well.

The only thing that I can think of is if your speakers must be far away from your breakout cable, is to use longer audio cables from your breakout cable to your speakers.  Before you buy cables, test with a USB 2 port and/or verify what I've said with someone else.
If you decide to buy longer audio cables and cost is not an issue, the BF, from my experience, is good enough to let you hear differences in cables.

Steve

Hi Nobarique,

I guess it's worth trying a repeater.  I would suggest that your tests include recording as well as playback.  I am not sure exactly where it is on the RME site, but there is a document that discusses USB performance.  I think it was written for the Fireface UC, but also applies to the BF.  If the BF works, you might need to determine whether an extender can affect things such as latency or clocking, if these things matter to you.

Regarding my comment on cables, I was referring to the audio cables going from the BF to the speakers.  I am assuming that the remark about $1200 USB cables is intended as a joke.

Steve