# Recommend a decent USB hub?



## mac (Feb 3, 2018)

Can anyone recommend a good usb hub? I have a lot of external ssds and midi controllers competing for the measly 4 slots on my mac pro, whereas the multiple thunderbolt slots sit there unused.

Would a thunderbolt usb hub offer the lowest latency for the midi controllers? Should I always aim to connect external ssd usb drives directly to the mac for fastest transfer speeds?

I feel like I have some usb gremlins on my machine, such as drives not waking after sleep, so I'm hoping a new hub solution might help.


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## Mike Marino (Feb 3, 2018)

My understanding is that using a USB3 hub connected via lightning slots still only transfers the data at the USB3 speed. But it would help you utilize some of the many lightning ports you have to free up the direct USB3 ports on your MP. I have this one (which you take up one of your MP USB3 ports):


I have a couple of HDD that are USB which I use the USB3 ports on the iMac for. Everything else (dongles, MIDI-to-USB, etc) gets plugged into the USB hub. (Sample drives utilize the TB ports on the iMac). I've used it for about a year and a half; no issues thus far.


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## lumcas (Feb 3, 2018)

I'm confused, do you mean Thunderbolt instead of "Lightning" by chance? I use lightning ports on my iPads and iPhones...

I have a TP-Link USB3.0 hub (drives, dongles, USB thumbs) - no issues with my MacPro trashcan.

http://www.tp-link.com/us/products/details/cat-5522_UH720.html


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## mac (Feb 3, 2018)

lumcas said:


> I'm confused, do you mean Thunderbolt instead of "Lightning" by chance? I use lightning ports on my iPads and iPhones...
> 
> I have a TP-Link USB3.0 hub (drives, dongles, USB thumbs) - no issues with my MacPro trashcan.
> 
> http://www.tp-link.com/us/products/details/cat-5522_UH720.html



I did mean thunderbolt, thanks.


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## bvaughn0402 (Feb 8, 2018)

I'm SO frustrated with hubs! It seems any one I get, some of the ports quit working.

Just yesterday, my keyboard quit working. I plugged it into my original port, and it was working again.

Does anyone have experience with this one?

http://a.co/0SR98q9


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## Bear Market (Feb 9, 2018)

While it is certainly not a USB-hub per se, I can recommend the Thunderbolt Display as it comes with 3 powered usb ports and one thunderbolt port.


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## synthpunk (Feb 9, 2018)

I use two of these Ankers from Amazon. No problems.
http://amzn.to/2Ertxiz


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## WindcryMusic (Feb 9, 2018)

I have a friend who knows USB hardware inside and out (he writes drivers and software for USB-driven scanners), who recommended the following hub to me (Vantec UGT-AH700U3-2C 7 port USB 3.0). Thus far it has worked flawlessly on my iMac.

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817392078


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## chimuelo (Feb 10, 2018)

High quality tempered glass backlit Monitor stand USB Hub.

http://www.jonsbo.com/en/products_3_7.html

These are 50 USD on eBay.
The USB Snake is even shielded & braided.

I stack 2 of these for Roland D-05 and SE-02, or Dual SE-02s depending on the project.
Perfect for ATA Rack Case width too.
Probably not what most want, but extremely well designed and built.
Thankfully nobody liked d them so they’re half price.
I bought 3 I liked them so much.


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## bvaughn0402 (Feb 11, 2018)

I ended up getting this one to try. If it doesn't work, I'm going to try that Vantec.







https://www.sweetwater.com/store/de...ech-7-port-usb-3.0-hub-desktop-wall-mountable


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## charlieclouser (Feb 12, 2018)

I stick to Belkin and D-Link USB hubs, rather than random no-name Chinese stuff. Zero problems in 15 years or more. In fact, I'm still using a pair of original Belkin 7-port USB v1 hubs that I purchased when USB was first introduced to the Mac around 1999. I have both Belkin and D-Link USB3 hubs as well as Belkin USB2 and USB1 hubs, all mixed and daisy-chained every which way, hanging off of Mac Pro cylinders and Mac Minis - no problems. I only buy hubs that have nice beefy external AC-adaptor power supplies, and I've never blown out one of those either.


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## Gerhard Westphalen (Feb 12, 2018)

I used a powered Belkin for a long time and it would occasionally have some things randomly disconnect and then I'd have to disconnect the power and restart it. Since I don't need very many ports now and don't like having a plug being used for it, I replaced it with a random unpowered one for all of my dongles and it's never had any issues.


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## mac (Feb 12, 2018)

Thanks everyone. Have any of you tested to see if the hubs add latency to controllers, or decrease the read speed of external drives?


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## LinusW (Feb 12, 2018)

No difference in speed as my USB peripherals won't reach the 5 Gb bandwidth limit. Dongle, dongle, Steinberg key, iLok, keyboard, mouse, MIDI...


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## LinusW (Feb 12, 2018)

I switched to Anker and Orico hubs and Ugreen extension cables last year. No dropouts since.


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## MrZarlton (Feb 12, 2018)

I bought an amazon basics 7 port powered hub a while ago and have had all 7 ports connected to iloks, keyboard and mouse, controllers, 2 SSD drives (sample & audio/projects) along with a regular backup drive. I even had my benchmark dac 1 USB connected to it and have never had a dropout or any issues. I tested the SSD speeds several times for an average and compared to when connected directly to the computer and there was no difference.


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## Øivind (Feb 12, 2018)

i have the Anker 7-port usb 3 one, and i am very happy with it. Downside is that it does not have any usb-c on it.


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## chimuelo (Feb 12, 2018)

I bought a Belkin USB Hub with power years back as the Intel PERL875 chipsets could not handle more than 2 Ports connected.
My kid uses it still with his MacBook Pro.
Discovered later that I could disable the motherboards ports and still power the M Audio controllers.
They just couldn’t all handle MIDI Data.
Seemed having powered hubs helped out with early USB Consumer boards.


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## synthpunk (Feb 17, 2018)

Do you always use 'powered" usb hubs ?


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## LinusW (Feb 17, 2018)

Always powered USB hubs for my desktop computers. That extra power supply won't bother me in a permanent setup but it assures me that I can slap any gear on it and get the power required. Especially small external drives.


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## tmhuud (Feb 17, 2018)

Y


synthpunk said:


> Do you always use 'powered" usb hubs ?


Yes, never bother with unpowered. Same goes for SSD external enclosures. Always go powered or get the dual pigtail double USB harness for that extra oomph.


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## chimuelo (Mar 6, 2018)

My kid bought an unpowered USB for his laptop that seems to power external drives and hardware really well.
Kind of surprising as I ALWAYS prefer powered Hubs.
Kingston Nucleus.
Might be worth a look.


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## jmauz (Mar 6, 2018)

Works very well for me...I even have my MIDI controllers connecting to my master DAW machine through it. No latency, no problem!


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