www.digitalphono.com

Network/Connection Technologies

The following table includes a variety of connection technologies including non-audio-related technologies for comparison of various characteristics, unfortunately cost estimates are left as an exercise for the reader.  The table is not intended to be exhaustive.
 
Connection Mb/s MB/s Devices Cable Len.
max/seg
Comments
analog audio          
analog mic level (XLR)          
analog line level (coax)          
analog speaker level (coax)          
digital audio          
S/PDIF coax (75 Ohm) 3 0.384  1 ~2m 2 channels
S/PDIF optical (TOSLINK) 3 0.384 1 15m 2 channels
AES/EBU XLR 3 0.384 1 100m 2 channels
ADAT optical (TOSLINK) 12.3 1.5 1 15m 8 channels
TDIF (Tascam) 12.3 1.5 1   8 channels
digital data          
serial port 0.115 0.014 1 15-300m  
standard parallel port 1.2 0.15 1 2m  
Ethernet (10Base-T) 10 1.25 N 100m  
USB 12 1.5 127 30m/3-5m
5 hubs max
hot pluggable
ECP/EPP parallel port 24 3 4 10m  
IDE 26.4-133.6 3.3-16.7 2 18in   
SCSI-1 40 5 8 6m  
SCSI-2 (FastSCSI, Fast Narrow) 80 10 8 1.5-3m  
Fast Ethernet (100Base-T) 100 12.5 N 100m  5m hub-hub
ATM 155-622 19.3-77.8    
SCSI-2 Fast Wide SCSI (Wide SCSI) 160 20 16 1.5-3m  
SCSI-3 Ultra SCSI (Fast-20 Ultra Narrow) 160 20 8 1.5m  
IDE-Ultra 264 33 18in   
SCSI-3 Wide Ultra SCSI (Fast Wide 20) 320 40 16 1.5  
SCSI-3 Ultra2 SCSI 320 40 8 12m  
IEEE-1394 (FireWire) 100-400 12.5-50 63 72m/4.5m hot pluggable
USB 2 480 60 127 30m/3-5m
5 hubs max
hot pluggable
IDE-Ultra ATA/66 528 66 2 18in  
SCSI-3 Wide Ultra2 SCSI 640 80 8 12m  
SCSI-3 Ultra3 SCSI 640 80 8 12m  
SSA (Serial Storage Architecture) 160-640 20-80 128 25m  
IDE-Ultra ATA/100 800 100 2 18in  
IEEE-1394B 800-1600 100-200 63 not defined  
Gigabit Ethernet (1000Base-T) 1000 125 25-1000m  
SCSI-3 Wide Ultra3 SCSI 1280 160 16  12m  
FC-AL Fibre Channel 800-3200 100-400 126 30m-10km  

Related Links

The I/O Connection - table from Adaptec with above plus connector types, uses, and comments.
S/PDIF Interface - comprehensive history, specifications, and schematics from Helsinki Univ. of Tech.
DATS (Digital Audio Transmission System) - converters for longer AES/EBU cabling.
Making Connections - practical overview of connections for electronic musicians.
Gigabit Ethernet Alliance -
USB High Fidelity / Stereo Speaker Sets - USBStuff catalog page
USB Studio Sound Peripherals - USBStuff catalog page

Related Questions

Q:Is there any way I can put a USB device on a network, like a network printer?
A:To do this, you'd need something like a USB to Ethernet bridge that was capable of acting as a USB host.  Unfortunately, no one makes one of these at the moment.

NoBell Home - gjm - last update 8/24/2001