USB hubs that work with audio interfaces?

[Jakester]

Not sure where to put this, so Accessories and Misc it is...

Can anyone recommend a USB hub that works with an audio interface?

Owing to the present working conditions I am stuck in the spare room, using my laptop, which for reasons known only to the manufacturer has only two USB-B ports (older Mac so no USB-C here).  

I already have a fairly shonky USB hub connected to one of the ports for a (qwerty) keyboard and mouse. I also use a USB audio interface, but it simply won't play nice with the shonky hub. The interface is connected to a mic and studio monitors, so I use it for recording, my wife uses it for spoken word recording, and I use it for work video calls etc, as well as just playing music/videos etc through.

Some times it will play audio when the interface is plugged into the dodgy hub, but it doesn't work very well for recording or video calls. The interface came with a very short USB cable so I bought a longer one and then it was fine for playback and recording and video calls - but then (without anything being changed) it just stopped. 

It works fine plugged directly into the laptop for all things, but sometimes I need to add in other things, such as external drives, USB MIDI instruments , phone, iPad etc, but also need the audio interface and the (qwerty) keyboard and mouse etc at the same time, so there's a fair bit of trial and error or hot-swapping. 

I would ideally have a 5-port hub that works for all of the stuff which needs to be connected long-term (keyboard, mouse, USB drive, interface) leaving the other port for occasional connections. 

So can anyone recommend a good quality USB hub that they know has worked with their USB audio interface?

[CameronJ]

This is a slightly left-field suggestion which I’m sure involves spending more money than you intended, but take a look at the Arturia Audiofuse interface. It’s incredibly versatile and has a built in powered USB hub built in. Best interface I’ve owned to date.

Special mention to the Akai EIE which also has A powered hub built in, though I’ve never used one so can’t vouch for it in use. It’s also considerably larger than the Audiofuse.

[Jakester]

Thanks - yes, about £500 more! I already have the audio interface which works fine, current issues notwithstanding!

[dudewheresmybass]

Is this kind of thing you’re after?

USB Hub Powered, atolla 4 Ports... https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07B2HJG8P?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
 

I use mine to power my Scarlett 2i2 interface

[bnt]

I bought one of these last year, not sure at the time exactly how I was going to use it. Since then I've hooked it up to an 2018 iPad (with the USB3 camera connection kit), and hung various thing off it, including a Mackie Performer audio interface, and old-ish synth (Novation Xio), a modern USB MIDI keyboard (Nektar Impact), my t.c. Spectradrive, even my wireless phone charging pad. It's been trouble-free, using Aum to route audio and MIDI in, out and around the iPad to soft synths. Push-button port switches are handy too.

Edited July 14, 2020 by bnt

[BigRedX]

The general advice with USB hubs for audio purposes is to get one that uses its own PSU and has a reputable brand name on it. In the early days of USB that used to mean Belkin. I have no idea if this is still the case.

One of the problems with USB and laptops in particular is that without the right diagnostic tools you have no idea how many other devices are sharing a particular USB bus, and often there will be a "hub(s)" built into the computer, so by the time you've added an external one you have so many devices on a single bus that there is no longer sufficient bandwidth for the audio interface to work properly. As USB is basically a "dumb" protocol, it treats all connected devices equally and has no preferential treatment for timing and bandwidth critical devices such as an audio interface.

Since you are on a Mac you have the required tools built in to the OS. With everything connected Go to the Apple menu and select "About This Mac" then click on the "System Report" button. Select "USB" from the left hand column and it will give you a tree structure of how all your USB devices are connected. The first thing you will notice is just how many extra (built-in) devices that you hadn't considered are connected; like the laptop keyboard, trackpad, webcam, built-in media readers etc.

You may find that swapping your external hub to the other USB socket will make a difference as it has less internal devices connected to its bus, but there is no guarantee. You say you have 2 USB ports on your Mac, so connect the audio interface directly to the port that is on the USB bus with the least number of internal USB devices, and then attach the USB hub to the other port and connect all your other USB peripherals to that. I would also recommend disconnecting any non-essential USB devices completely when using the audio interface, and only connecting them via the hub. 

If you are still having problems then it is time to get a better hub - as described earlier - but only use it for your non-audio devices. The audio interface should always be connected directly to the Mac.

HTH.