Yes, you can connect USB 3.0 and USB 3.1 devices to USB 2.0 slot and it will work.

Is it possible to connect USB 3.0 and USB 3.1 devices to USB 2.0 slot?

There is also red color but instead of USB version it is used to denote that the USB will remain active even if the device goes to sleep or standby mode. The USB 1.x comes in white color, USB 2.x comes in black and the USB 3.x comes in the blue color inner plastic. But there is one big difference to find them, the color of the plastic inside. The USB 2.0, USB 3.0 and the USB 3.1 are just same in size and shape. How to differentiate USB 2.0 from USB 3.0 and USB 3.1 instantly just by looking? Sometimes, USB 3.0 is also known as USB 3.1 GEN 1 and the USB 3.1 is also known as USB 3.1 GEN 2. Along with the earlier versions USB 2.0, USB 3.0 and USB 3.1 are USB type-A models which means they look same outside and has backward compatibility. The USB versions 0.8, 0.1 & 1.1 are outdated and no longer released or used widely.

also apparently usb 2.0 can only read or write at once while usb 3.Low speed: 1.5 Mbit/s, Full speed: 12 Mbit/s Only reason I could see for using usb 3.0 with audio is if you were using it somehow to writing/record in hi res to a sd card or usb drive since they are often tailored to high read speed but poor write speed (as in close to very hi res bit rates) and I've noticed with sd cards that usb 3.0 often slightly improves the write speed vs usb 2.0 (getting a better speed card/drive is much better though)Įdit: sorry, I remembered that USB 3.0 also is more power efficient so might be a bit better if you dac is drawing power from your source for some reason (eg if you're charging and using simultaneously when plugged into a computer). I have had faster read/write speeds from my faster external drives after changing to usb 3.0 interfaces. The difference is probably negligible for audio considering that USB 2.0 bit-rate (I typically see 20-30MB per sec running from a hard drive that can go faster) can easily cover the bit rates from higher quality files (like 5mb for some hi res 24bit file).ģ.0 only really stands out when you're working with video or constantly editing across external drives, as usb 2.0 limits can be below the max speed of faster hard drives and ssds.

Usb 2 vs usb 3 for mice