Firewire to SPDIF


Does anyone have any view on the superiority to Firewire to USB in terms of conversion to SPDIF.

one negative of USB is that if you are using a SPDIF conversion device then using another device like external HDDs is not recommended. it is also limited to 48/24 ..both unlike Firewire.

the only good device seems to be the Weiss Minerva..but that in the Uber price range for something like this.

Does anyne have any experience with Echo Audio ?
http://www.echoaudio.com/Products/FireWire/AudioFire2/specs.php
arj
Thanks Cerrot, Noted your detailed reply and can you confirm
whether vista and windows 7 is same?
I think Vista is a huge improvement over the prior microsoft os. Must cleaner, faster and I have been using for 2 years and have never blue screened - meaning computer got stuck in an application, needed to be rebooted, etc. I have heard from my IT guys that 7 is much better than Vista, but I haven't played with it yet. I wouldn't think that for PC music, there wouldn't be much of a difference as both do not use the windows Kernal (a big no-no in PC audio), but do not know 7 first hand. Years ago I would be the 1st to install 7 but these days, just leave my PC alone as it runs great. I believe the new PC's come with OS 7 and I wouldn't have an issue with it.
Thanks Cerrot, Well noted your message. Here the WS7 is not
lounched and expected only on December 09. I will wait to
buy the laptop with these OS or will buy now with vista and i will do upgrade later to WS7 (presume it is possible).

I thing WS7 home version is enough to do for hirez download!!!
The planned release date for Windows 7 is October 22, 2009.

Many people are already using the preliminary "Release Candidate" version, and it has received overwhelmingly positive comments. Most notably, it runs well on computers that have less powerful hardware, while Vista requires high-powered hardware configurations to do its best.

The upgrade path from Vista to Windows 7 is somewhat confusing, and depends on which version of Vista you are upgrading from, and which version of W7 you are upgrading to. This article covers it pretty well. In particular, click to expand the second figure in the article. You'll see, for example, that upgrading from Vista Home Premium to W7 Home Premium can be done "in place" (keeping files, settings, and programs intact), while some other upgrade paths require a "custom install" which will require that you subsequently reinstall your programs, and restore data files from backups.

Regards,
-- Al
I'll echo Al's comments about the Win 7. A week or so ago I decided to reinstall Vista on my main PC. I dual booted it and Windows 7. It only took me a day to rid myself of Vista for the second time! lol

Windows 7 is plain and simply better with ease of use and not by a small margin either! I've seen several hardcore Mac users install Windows 7 over the past month on their Macs in place of OSX..that should tell you something about just how good it is! ;-)

Microsoft has hit a home run with this one!