My mistake, the GT-8 is a firewire device, it's the GT-Pro that uses USB. Anyway, the firewire principle is the same, keep everything digital, no need to make a digital signal analogue then have to convert it back to digital again (that results in an overall reduction in the quality of the end recorded sound file). Anyway, good news is the firewire won't cost you much at all (probably under $10) and you will end up with the highest sound quality possible from the unit :)