Komplete Audio 2 performs much better on USB 3 than USB 2?

Tenbrink

Hello.

So I recently bought a Komplete Audio 2. Initially I was very unimpressed by how it performed compared to a Focusrite Scarlett solo gen 2. Latency was very good and measured RTL was identical at both 64 and 128 samples. However the performance was much worse with the Komplete Audio, approximately 10 CPU percentage points worse with the same projects. Using 64 samples (necessary for guitar tracking) was impossible for heavy projects since it was a glitch fest.

Then I put the Komplete Audio in a USB 3 port and then it performed identical to the Scarlett and using 64 samples was possible. I've tried all ports on my PC and it can only match the Scarlett if I use either of the two USB 3 ports. The Scarlett performs identical on both USB 2 and 3.

So my question is why? It isn't promoted as a USB 3 interface. Can this depend on my motherboard?

I use Windows 11.

JesterMgee

Could be a few reasons.

As mentioned, the type of USB chipset used could be a factor, also some USB 3 ports can actually operate better in USB2 mode than USB2 ports, some can operate worse so there is never any guarantee.

Another factor could be also how many devices are connected to the ports of a USB controller and if it is also controlling any other comms in your system. USB is a "Bus" so many devices can all get on board at the same time and often a single controller in the system may manage 4-8 USB ports in the computer (basically like a hub) but with every device you have assigned to a controller, the more often each needs to be polled and of course this will slow down how fast things will run.

If you have your MOBO manual it often states what USB ports are for which controller in your system. I tend to connect everything that is "non critical" like keyboard, mouse, Streamdeck etc to hubs and then have these connected onto a USB port that is separate from the one used for my audio interface. Basically audio interface I have connected to a controller almost of it's own, I think I also have Maschine Studio connected to that controller also but that rarely gets used. This keeps any interrupts to a minimum.