Good question,

I'm just guessing but maybe this is intended for those with TB only. So, right now we are at a crossroad. Some CP are not putting FW in there systems anymore.. But then there is Prism, UAD to name a few converters that say, "no worries, if you have TB, get this adapter and our system works either way".

audiokid, post: 399439 wrote: But then there is Prism, UAD to name a few converters that say, "no worries, if you have TB, get this adapter and our system works either way".

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe the Prism Orpheus Firewire interface with a Thunderbolt adapter only works at Firewire speeds, but the UAD Apollo has an actual Thunderbolt card that works at lightning fast Thunderbolt speeds (no pun intended).

I'm not sure about the two companies other products, but the Apollo and Orpheus are probably the two most attractive interfaces on the market that I've been able to find (attractive for my situation, that is). They each have their drawbacks, though. Orpheus is too expensive and doesn't have Thunderbolt, and Apollo has the FX processor, which I would rather avoid.

I think the Orpheus is cool already, but the Apollo may benefit from this, if it does improve its speed for the extra processing that it does. If I was looking for a finer converter, I would choose the Orpheus, if I was looking for a better solution for a more in one box, I would choose the Apollo. If I was looking for pristine acoustics, I would choose the Orpheus, if I wanted a more pop/ commercial tool and sound quality wasn't quite as paramount, the Apollo.

The Apollo have be designed to use some sort of TB card so I think you are correct Clark!

I still haven't been able to test any thunderbolt devices, but I do know that using firewire 800 to thunderbolt adapter will slow down the whole chain to FW 800 speeds (even if you're attached to a true thunderbolt device before the adapter as far as I can find), and as per usual if you put a fw400 device (HD, etc) in the middle of that chain of devices the whole chain is slowed to fw400 speeds... The only exception (i have heard of) is using a Thunderbolt Cinema Display which has usb/fw800 built in that operates over thunderbolt.

The good news is that most macs have two thunderbolt ports and I'm PRESUMING both of their speeds won't be throttled back when using a FW800 adapter on one of them.

There are more and more Thunderbolt devices coming out, I can't say it'd be a bad thing to slowly move over to thunderbolt... But I can't see apple abandoning FW800 via adapters etc any time in the near future.

Speaking of... I need to order the Symphony 64 Thunderbolt Bridge soon I suppose.

This is one of those junctures where the technology has yet to catch up with itself, I think.

You have the fast-emerging TB, but you also have so many devices that are still FW or USB, so what they're doing for now is to try and make as many people happy as they can, knowing that there's a possible trade off - functionality for speed? - at least for now. But I don't think it will be all that long before you start to see more and more external devices released with a dedicated TB protocol.

I also think manufacturers waited to implement Thunderbolt after watching FW800 sort of not take off and FW1600 hasn't even received any press releases at all. Apple likes it and that will be what provides the initial momentum IMO.

In regards bus speed, the above mentioned question is correct. The slowest speed on the bus will determine the overall speed. Two TB ports onboard would only make a difference if they were separate TB chips otherwise it is just like FW and basically an inbuilt hub.