Focusrite Scarlett 2i4 - How to send line out 1 and 2 to headphone amp?

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by Tripecac, Oct 25, 2016.

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  1. Tripecac

    Tripecac Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    New Zealand
    I recently purchased a headphone amp (Schiit Vali 2). I'm looking forward to using it, but I have a problem: I can't get any signal to it from my Focusrite Scarlett 2i4 (which I also recently purchased).

    The Scarlett's line out 1 and 2 are connected to the line in L/R on the headphone amp via phono cables.

    No matter how high I turn the various knobs on the Scarlett or the headphone amp, I'm not hearing anything on the headphones.

    If I plug the headphone amp into the Scarlett's headphone output (using a Y adaptor), then I get a signal, although it is a bit faint. So I know the headphone amp works; it's just that I can't figure out how to get the line out jacks on the Scarlett to send any signal to the headphone amp.

    My question is this: how can I get the Scarlett's Line Out 1 and 2 to send signal to the headphone amp?
     
  2. ashulman

    ashulman Forum Resident

    Location:
    Utica, NY
    What signal is coming in to the scarlett
     
  3. mrack

    mrack Forum Resident

    Location:
    TN
    Make sure the front panel "monitor" dial is turned up. Make sure the 1-2/3-4 selector on the front panel is set correctly to match your back panel outputs. Also make sure the front panel "Input/Playback" knob is turned to the right (Playback) position.
     
  4. Tripecac

    Tripecac Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    New Zealand
    Nothing except the USB cable itself; I'm listening to music which is already on my PC.

    The Scarlett's headphone output is okay. So are the 1/4" monitor outputs (which I have connected to speakers). What's not working is the phono/RCA jacks.

    I've got the "Input/Playback" knob all the way to the right (100% Playback). I've tested all the other knobs and switches. Nothing is coming through the line out 1/2 or line out 3/4 RCA jacks.
     
  5. Tripecac

    Tripecac Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    New Zealand
    I chatted with Focusrite support and found the answers:

    1) Line out 3/4 never works outside of a DAW application. The Focusrite tech says that this is due to a "limitation of Windows", although that seems a bit silly, since Windows allows multi-channel output for surround-sound cards. Regardless, the rule is this: if you want to use the Scarlett's line out 3/4 you need to use DAW software like Sonar.

    2) To get Sonar to send audio to the Scarlett's line out 3/4, select "Focusrite USB ASIO Output 3" instead of "Focusrite USB ASIO Output 1" (which is for line 1/2) as your output in Sonar. I suppose other DAW software sees similarly named outputs.

    3) The same line out 1/2 stream is used for the Scarlett's balanced 1/4" outputs, the unbalanced RCA line out 1/2, and the headphone jack. The headphone volume is controlled via the headphone knob, and the balanced 1/4" and unbalanced RC 1/2 outputs are controlled by the Monitor knob.

    4) The line out 3/4 volume is fixed, which makes it ideal for the headphone amp (which has its own volume knob), BUT this means the headphone amp could only be used within DAW software like Sonar. This is a bummer, since I was hoping to use the headphone amp for general listening as well.

    The RCA outputs are all working now, with the above restricttions. I think the reason I wasn't hearing anything on RCA outputs 1/2 earlier is I didn't want to crank up the Monitor knob too much, so the signal was so faint that I couldn't hear it. I did most of my testing on RCA outputs 3/4 since I wanted the fixed volume outputs (and of course 3/4 didn't work because I wasn't testing in Sonar).

    Anyway, I now need to figure out whether to connect the headphone amp to RCA outputs 1/2 or 3/4.

    If I connect the headphone amp to RCA outputs 1/2 then:
    - PRO: I can listen to the headphone amp all day (in any applications)
    - CON: I will have to keep the Monitor knob turned up pretty loud, which means if I ever turn on the speakers without remembering to lower the Monitor volume, I risk blowing out my eardrums (or the speakers).

    If I connect the headphone amp to RCA outputs 3/4 then:
    - PRO: The volume level is fixed, and independent of 1/2 so I don't have to worry about the volume of the speakers.
    - CON: I can only use the headphone amp when using Sonar, which means I can't use it to listen to other people's music.

    Thoughts?
     
  6. Ham Sandwich

    Ham Sandwich Senior Member

    Location:
    Sherwood, OR, USA
    I would bet you could get outputs 3 & 4 working with JRiver Media Center and the ASIO driver for the 2i4. JRiver Media Center supports ASIO and its ASIO input will see all the inputs and outputs that a DAW would see. Foobar2000 is also able to do ASIO and would likely work as well.

    The challenge though with relying on ASIO is that it will be somewhat difficult to get audio from applications like your web browser to play through the ASIO driver. That means you'd have some difficulty routing the audio from things like YouTube and streaming video through your Focusrite. It can be done. But makes for a somewhat messy and somewhat temperamental setup.
     
  7. Tim S

    Tim S Senior Member

    Location:
    East Tennessee
    I agree with all of this - I use Foobar in this manner, and it does work, but yes it can be temperamental - it's not terrible, but you may have less tolerance for things like this than I do.

    To the OP, what player are you currently using now and what operating system is this?
     
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