Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 DAC - opinions? Sound quality?

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by MrRom92, May 5, 2013.

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  1. MrRom92

    MrRom92 Forum Supermodel Thread Starter

    Location:
    Long Island, NY
    I apologize I haven't had a chance to listen to the sound sample yet. It's been crazy hectic and busy here. It doesn't help that the Scarlett 2i2 actually just died on me today, giving me more things to take care of whilst not being able to get done what does need to be done.

    The excellent customer service representative at focusrite is baffled as well. Sounds like faulty hardware to them. I'm off to the shop to get a replacement.
     
  2. c-eling

    c-eling They're made of light,We never would have guessed

    No problems, Yikes, so far so good with mine couldn't be happier, I have not dealt with latency, using headphones with monitor off on the pc, no hiccups or dropouts while recording, so all in all a very happy customer, going to give it another week and post a review on Amazon, hope all is better for ya man!
     
  3. DLeet

    DLeet Forum Resident

    Location:
    Chernigov, Ukraine
    I am also thinking of purchasing this one, albeit 2i4. So, how does it handle recording and overdubs? I am a one-man operation doing recordings McCartney I style...
     
  4. rxcory

    rxcory proud jazz band/marching band parent

    Location:
    Portland, Oregon
    [​IMG]
    I keep reading rave reviews about these and am considering buying one. I'm using a 70's TT with RCA outputs - anyone know if RCA cables work with the funky combo-microphone inputs on the front?
     
    Brother_Rael likes this.
  5. Tim S

    Tim S Senior Member

    Location:
    East Tennessee
    the front inputs accept 1/4 inch or XLR - you will either need to add adapters to an existing rca cable, or buy a cable terminated on one end with rca and the other end with 1/4"

    reminder: your TT will have to go through a proper TT preamp with RIAA curve before it gets to any unit like this - most folks use the rca tape outs from an integrated amp or receiver
     
    rxcory likes this.
  6. Tim S

    Tim S Senior Member

    Location:
    East Tennessee
    I need to be able to do 4 tracks at once, so I'm looking at another version of this unit, the 18i8

    [​IMG]

    There is also a '6' model that would suit me, but seems much harder to find on the used market.
     
  7. Tim S

    Tim S Senior Member

    Location:
    East Tennessee
    I am not SURE, but I think this would not work. The recording software that uses the asio driver is going to want to only use it on one device at a time, even if the two devices are identical.

    If you COULD make this work, I also would be concerned that both units are recording at EXACTLY the same time - I think it might be that one unit is a few milliseconds (or even more) off than the other - possibly, not a deal breaker for you, but something to consider. Possibly someone smarter than me can be more definitive. My take is it's problematical at best.
     
  8. MrRom92

    MrRom92 Forum Supermodel Thread Starter

    Location:
    Long Island, NY
    Whoa, time flies! You're probably right. I wasn't aware of the 18i8, that seems like something that'd have been right up my alley... If I still needed it :p
     
  9. Brother_Rael

    Brother_Rael Senior Member

    Go to a pro audio forum and see how you get on with the same answer there... As a company, they're well established, huge presence in pro audio. The kind most domestic hifi companies dream about.
     
  10. Brother_Rael

    Brother_Rael Senior Member

    To the OP, have a look at the Native Instruments Komplete Audio 6, that may be of interest to you too.
     
  11. senseabove

    senseabove Forum Resident

    MrRom92 likes this.
  12. gingerly

    gingerly Change Returns Success

    I have a Lexicon Omega - while it has an issue with distortion in the center pan position the preamps sound REALLY clean on it. I've generally very pleased with it for home recording. I also have a Focusrite unit that I replaced with it that doesn't have the definition or clarity in the preamps.

    How was your Omega dying? I've heard things about them getting to hot and frying themselves in various ways...
     
  13. MrRom92

    MrRom92 Forum Supermodel Thread Starter

    Location:
    Long Island, NY
    That's great deal. My experiences with this box have been pleasant and I still highly recommended it. Only thing is, I did have that issue where I ended up going through a couple of units which crapped out hours/days after purchase. So I would be concerned about their return policy. Amazon might be the better choice.


    If they resolved whatever issue they were having then you should be fine because the last unit I picked up has been operating daily non-stop for over 2 years at this point.
     
  14. senseabove

    senseabove Forum Resident

    The reddit folks seem to have been pleased. They don't accept returns—which makes sense, given that they're giving you near-wholesale deals on products and buying in bulk—but they seem to have a good track record of replacing defective products. Some tales here: http://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/1vvdv1/steve_massdrop_makes_a_post_regarding_warrantees/
     
    MrRom92 likes this.
  15. Ghostworld

    Ghostworld Senior Member

    Location:
    US
    I've been using my Scarlett for a few weeks now and I think's it's pretty spectacular. I can finally make needledrops identical in sound to my records. This is a fantastic sounding unit with great transparence. My only issue is having to restart my mac to get the driver working if my computer goes to sleep. Otherwise, it'll work fine all day once one the drivers are up and running. But I love the sound of this unit, it captures all the detail and smoothness of vinyl flawlessly.
     
    MrRom92, new world man and c-eling like this.
  16. Tim S

    Tim S Senior Member

    Location:
    East Tennessee
    I also have this problem on windows 7 and xp - it just seems like the unit and the scarlett mix software HATE being "interrupted" in any way - usually all I do is take the usb connector out for a moment and plug it back in. Doesn't always work, but I got a great deal on mine, needed the 4 simultaneous inputs, and am happy with the sound, so I'm not gonna gripe too much.
     
  17. Ghostworld

    Ghostworld Senior Member

    Location:
    US
    Well, that's good to know. Unplugging the USB doesn't work for me, though. I've tried it. I have to do a restart. But that's really no big deal, anyway.
     
  18. c-eling

    c-eling They're made of light,We never would have guessed

    Tim have you tried the beta drivers? Cleared up a few issues I was having-
    http://beta.focusrite.com/
     
    Tim S likes this.
  19. Jim T

    Jim T Forum Resident

    Location:
    Mars
    ------------------------
    I bought for $150 a Steinberg UR-22 usb interface that does 24/192 and it sounds great. Two mic pres which I won't use and level controls for headphones and a separate one for the line out. Steinberg drivers worked great. I use it with my Grado 80s and it was a huge upgrade from my computer sound card. Highend audio need not be expensive. Focusrite makes good gear.
     
    MrRom92 likes this.
  20. senseabove

    senseabove Forum Resident

  21. aarsonbet

    aarsonbet Forum Resident

    I've got this unit at home. Love it! I use it for multitrack recording, as well as 2-channel transfers from other media (ie - DVD, Blu-Ray, SACD, and vinyl).
     
    c-eling likes this.
  22. senseabove

    senseabove Forum Resident

    This should be waiting on my doorstep when I get home! Can't wait to do a needledrop this weekend!

    Just curious, what kind of cables do y'all use to go from pre to Focusrite? I'm assuming you use both inputs on the 2i2 for stereo, one for left channel and one for right. Do you just use two RCA stereo to 1/4 inch, and let one RCA connector dangle?
     
    c-eling likes this.
  23. c-eling

    c-eling They're made of light,We never would have guessed

  24. Tim S

    Tim S Senior Member

    Location:
    East Tennessee
    My unit has 4 inputs, I had 4 cables made by http://www.markertek.com/

    canare star quad cable with rca to 1/4" neutrik connectors, 4 different colors

    for output from focusrite to power amp, my buddy made me 2 ft mogami cable with neutrik trs to xlr connectors (my power amp has xlr balanced inputs)
     
    c-eling likes this.
  25. senseabove

    senseabove Forum Resident

    You folks were too slow! :winkgrin: Found another thread that mentioned having a 2 RCA-to-2 1/4" cable, so assumed I was assuming correctly about using one for each channel. Got home and opened the 2i2 and ended up going to RadioShack to see what they had. I just happened to also get some new Morrow cables in the mail today, so I opted for a simple RCA(f)-to-1/4"(m) adapter. Figured as little cable between things is better.

    If anyone wants to kindly point me to a beginning Audacity-for-needledropping guide*, I'd be grateful—but so far, I've got sound, and it's going from needle to Mac!

    (I realize there's the workflow thread, but it's voluminous. So if anyone has a shortcut to the pertinent posts in that thread/the short version... )
     
    Last edited: Jul 31, 2015
    c-eling likes this.
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