USB depends on implementation. Different classes carry different speeds. The custom class for the empeg isn't as fast as Mass-Storage class (this info from Hugo, along with the actual average speeds to expect).

I bet the argument might have had something to do with deciding whether or not you would see full performance from using a PCI Firewire card. If so, the answer is still "maybe" Using it for a single hard drive you'll still be limited by the actual ATA disk anyway.

Bruno