I haven't noticed much difference if at all either.

While it is true that FireWire still holds the slight upperhand when it comes to Streaming Audio, especially Multitracked streaming Audio, thye loading and playing of RealTracks is not quite the same issue at all.

So the answer is that you could stay with the USB drive if your only goal is higher performance in terms of load speeds. Just always make sure that the USB port you use is USB 2.0 and not USB1.1 - most computers have both types on them these days, typically more 1.1s than 2.0s.


--Mac