my new toy Focusrite Scarlett 2i2

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atarione

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umm... I had been looking at dac's and then I started looking at DAWs also... cause I was interesting in messing about with recording anyways.


after considerable debate I ordered a Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 from amazon on sunday night... got here this morning (thanx amazon prime)


installed latest drivers from the website... worked great win7pro got ASIO plug in for winamp working ... and WOW.... very happy I was using a Xonar DG before...and this thing is kicking the crap out of the xonar as far as using it as a dac

24/96 capable ...but the WDM drivers are 16bit???? sigh... blah blah with ASIO sounds awesome

so going usb to Scarlett 2i2 > ts to rca cable ($15~) from local music store 20ft to Pioneer SA-710 (70s vintage 65wpc integrated stereo amp) driving Polk Audio RTi4s

I didn't realize it when I bought the DG but apparently it empashizes the mids which isn't awesome cause the RTI4s are a bit bright to begin with and vintage pioneer stuff can also be a bit bright

but now.... stuff is sounding awesome.



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http://www.amazon.com/Focusrite-2i2-USB-Recording-Interface/dp/B005OZE9SA

so far i'm very happy with this thing... cheaper than a lot of dac's and i can do the recording stuff with it too.
 
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I'm not familiar with it, but it sure looks like good bang for the buck.

Have you tried it with headphones yet?
 
HammerSandwich said:
I'm not familiar with it, but it sure looks like good bang for the buck.

Have you tried it with headphones yet?
Click to expand...

umm.. just a little it sounds pretty good with my JVC RX700s in the few minutes I tried it so far.

but I need to do some more listening to have a better opinion on that

I listened to a couple hours of music with it on w/ my intergrated amp and RTI4s and they sounded really good as I mentioned but i need to get more headphone time with this thing still.

I played with the bundled recording software and it seems to be working nicely...


seems like (so far) a really solid value for the money... the little halos around the input gain are kinda rad .... I think this is going to be a lot of fun to play with / learn how to use more.
 
just listened to a couple of songs I have liked for awhile... the headphone output on the Scarlett is actually kinda F***ing awesome


listening to REO Speedwagon - Keep On Loving You w/ my RX-700s right now... very very impressive sound stage ....closed my eyes and it is was f*cking 1981 :D


anyways listened to Some country ,rock and hip hop .... very very nice.... in fact this may be a problem cause I'm not sure what to do w/ my FiiO E9 now :)
 
24 bit over usb isn't actually possible as far as I know and no device out there actually achieves this despite their claims otherwise.
 
guitarslingerchris said:
24 bit over usb isn't actually possible as far as I know and no device out there actually achieves this despite their claims otherwise.
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No, it is quite possible. 24-bit resolution * 192kHz sample rate * 2 audio channels requires a total bandwidth of 9.216mbps (assuming my math isn't complete shit). USB 2.0 has far more than enough bandwidth to handle that at 480mbps. USB 3.0 has like 5 times that. The issues comes entirely from implementation. The USB Audio Class 1 standard, which most USB audio devices follow, includes 24-bit/96kHz audio, meaning operating systems like Windows support it by default. Get any higher than that, like 24/192, and you need to custom drivers to support it. This is where things get tricky and alot of time manufacturers don't quite get it right. The USB Audio Class 2 standard defines 24/192 audio, but most operating systems don't really support UAC2 yet I think.
 
guitarslingerchris said:
24 bit over usb isn't actually possible as far as I know...
Click to expand...
You're probably thinking of early USB DACs that used, e.g., the PCM2706. They were limited to 16/48, but that was a chipset limitation. As KoH points out, we've had 24-bit over USB for a while now.

guitarslingerchris said:
...and no device out there actually achieves this despite their claims otherwise.
Click to expand...
That's certainly true, but it applies to every interface. The DAC receives 24-bit data but is too noisy to resolve it all.
 
Having 24 bit capability and actually reaching that goal are two very different things. I've yet to see proof of anything doing better than 21 bit over USB.
 
guitarslingerchris said:
Having 24 bit capability and actually reaching that goal are two very different things. I've yet to see proof of anything doing better than 21 bit over USB.
Click to expand...

It depends on the USB controller chip being used. You're correct in that most models can only handle 16/48, but a few are capable of 24/96. NwAvGuy, the designer of the ODAC, talks about this in his development postings:

http://nwavguy.blogspot.com/2012/04/odac-released.html

In the Tech Section he talks about the realities of 24-bit operation. The chip he uses in his design, the Tenor TE7022 is capable of it. In addition, not getting the full 24-bit resolution is actually okay. It really determines how much dynamic range you're getting, and as long as the resolution stays above a certain amount (I'm not sure what that is) you're not really missing anything. I'm sure someone more qualified around here can clarify that.
 
i see the 16bit wdm audio driver thing has caused some digression indeed... well fair enough.
 
i was playing some CS:GO last night with my headphones

not bad at all..pretty good.


I guess I'd imaging for old games that rely on EAX or whatever there could be issues?
 
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Ya, the Xonar DG won't be as good as the Scarlett 2i2 (I have this, awesome budget interface) but the Xonar STX is probably better than both of those. Either way, I'm still waiting on the Emotiva XDA-2. I think its going to blow everything out of the water in terms of features, performance, and value.

emo03.jpg
 
sooo..... I'm going to be honest here and tell you all the downside of using this (or apparently any DAW) instead of a DAC.

it seems that pretty much all DAWs REAAAAALLLY don't get along with S3 sleep mode (or sleep mode in general... so you basically have to shutdown when you are done for the day.


so far it seems if i put the computer to sleep for < 4 hrs it will come back up ok..but longer than 4 hours and I have to restart.


and then sort of specific to this unit... it has 1/4" TS outputs which are balanced...if you use a TS to RCA cable basically you get background noise ...i didn't notice at first but if i turn the volume up on my SA-710 beyond 10 O'clock with nothing playing i can hear some background hiss... sigh

Focusrite support replied quickly under 24hrs...but basically said yup... you are f***ed with the sleepmode issue and with the noise issue.

ideally you'd need to use a amp with balanced inputs...

I'm going to keep it and use it for now (it does sound awesome the challenges not withstanding but there is also a good chance i'm going to be hoping to add a Maveric Tubemagic D2 to my xmas wishlist :D

on the upside I found really nice JBL L1 speakers for $40~ (with stands) yesterday... the are awesome sounding.... but comically large for my computer desk... so i may well sell them and keep my more computer desk friendly RTi4s instead....or i may keep both (probably this)
 
oh yeah... so check out the JBLs





I'm going to have to double check the weight limits for my desk pretty damn soon :D
 
For the sleep problem, try this:
  1. Set onboard as default sound device.
  2. Make sure nothing is trying to play on the Focus.
  3. Disable Focus in Device Manager.
  4. Enable...
  5. Play something.
This resets my old AV-710. If you miss on steps 1-2, you will need to reboot.
 
HammerSandwich said:
For the sleep problem, try this:
  1. Set onboard as default sound device.
  2. Make sure nothing is trying to play on the Focus.
  3. Disable Focus in Device Manager.
  4. Enable...
  5. Play something.
This resets my old AV-710. If you miss on steps 1-2, you will need to reboot.
Click to expand...

ok kewl... thank you.. I will give that a try hopefully that will work with this one also.
 
Focusrite Scarlett Cards do only work with 16 Bit Output which is the reason for crap sound they have. The advertising of Focusrite is lying when they say it can do 24 Bit 96khz i was so disappointed about the sound quality of this item which had so many good reviews.

When i found out what was the reason for the poor sound qualy coming out from this card i couldnt understand why they dont make drivers that support 24 Bit Output which is standard on even the lowest onboard card. Its a shame a brand like Focusrite is not trustable.

Im going back to my old NI Interface which has far superior dynamic and depth cause of 24 Bit 96khz availability.

Be warned!
 
Dude.... This thread is so last year. But that being said as mentioned before there are no production DACs that im aware of that actually make use of 24bit audio data. My D3 claims 24 bit 192Khz and i can set that as what windows outputs but im sure its not making use of all of the data.
 
I just use my Scarlet 2i2 to record a podcast on my Shure SM58 mics and record in audacity. It's a champ. Then again, that's kinda what it's made for.
 
Rune75 said:
I just use my Scarlet 2i2 to record a podcast on my Shure SM58 mics and record in audacity. It's a champ. Then again, that's kinda what it's made for.
Click to expand...

Maybe its ok for recording in 16 Bit. Its 16 Bit sound is really good too if i compare NI cards or even my onbord card set to 16 Bit. But when i set my NI card to 24 Bit it just blows my Scarlett away in terms of depth and clearness of the different instruments. Sadly same goes for my onboard card in 24 Bit 192khz mode. Ok the latency sucks of my onboard but the Output even of it is superior to the Scarlett.

I dont get it why these cards have so many good reviews they only can do 16 Bit natively.
Because of these reviews i bought it only to find out its totally crap.
 
Saffire 6 has better pre-amps and lower latency for only a few dollars more. :( Focusrite in the past has been notorious for dodgy ASIO drivers in Windows 7 though! At this price range, the Mackie Blackjack Onyx is also a solid competitor.
 
Farkle said:
Saffire 6 has better pre-amps and lower latency for only a few dollars more. :( Focusrite in the past has been notorious for dodgy ASIO drivers in Windows 7 though! At this price range, the Mackie Blackjack Onyx is also a solid competitor.
Click to expand...

Links to info?
 
Rune75 said:
Links to info?
Click to expand...

Gearslutz general consensus for the audio quality of the pre-amps in low-end theory section, though the forum is a little biased against Alesis, Presonus and Focusrite. Cakewalk, various Reaper forums, Google etc for easy overview of ASIO issues involved.
 
I've been a Presonus guy for years, but recently bought a Saffire Pro 40.

The drivers for it have been just rock solid, far better then PreSonus ever was.

I like the Scarlet, I have a few friends who use them for their mobile recording setup, and has always performed quite well. Specially for the price. =)
 
If you're just looking for output the Sabre USB dac is awesome and only runs ~$50 iirc?

I use a cheap Muse 4x TDA1543 NOS dac from ebay. It replaced an E-MU 1820m workstation that I don't need since I no longer record. It sounds better than the E-MU for about a tenth of the cost.


Most of the recording platforms will play fine, but the standalone cheap USB dacs for playback are really transparent and high quality for low cost now.
 
Farkle said:
Gearslutz general consensus for the audio quality of the pre-amps in low-end theory section, though the forum is a little biased against Alesis, Presonus and Focusrite. Cakewalk, various Reaper forums, Google etc for easy overview of ASIO issues involved.
Click to expand...

They were on sale... Just swapped the 2i2 for a 6
 
.lol.. how did this get brought back from the dead?

anyways... I still like my Scarlet tips here have made it so i can get past the sleep mode issues I had with it before... issues are still there they can be managed however.

in addition to the scarlett 2i2 i now have a FiiO E07K I got for xmas to go with my E9 .... and they both seem about the same to me when used in conjunction with my T-amp / Polk bookshelf speakers or my Pioneer SA-710 / JBL L1 speakers both sound good..or my ears are hopeless one of the two.
 
icullumber tells how to get low latency with focusrite 2i2:
Gearslutz.com - View Single Post - Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 Latency Issues
"Just wanted to bump this thread because I found the fix to a similar problem I had after upgrading to a new PC (from Intel i5 to i7) only to find my latency was much worse - I'm using Win7 Intel i7 4790 + Scarlett2i2 + Ableton + Amplitube.

If you're having problems with Focusrite latency (or probably any audio device) and have tried seemingly everything then check out C-States and EIST on your CPU. It took me 2 days to discover the problem after trying everything from disabling devices in the OS, tweaking the registry, to physically removing cards from the motherboard. Once I turned off the C-State and EIST settings in the BIOS (don't leave on Auto) everything worked perfectly. Power consumption will go up though.

It's a shame that Focusrite don't focus more on C-States because I've seen quite a few threads where people trash everything from Focusrite to Windows because of this problem. They do make a mention of it briefly in a document that addresses latency issues but only one line - google the document "Optimising a PC for low latency audio" for more info on other causes. I would provide the link but it'll probably be moved in a few months.
And don't forget to upgrade all software - OS, drivers etc.

BTW yes there's some better and much much more expensive kit out there but Focusrite kit is pretty solid."
 
Heh you guys are so funny. CD is 16 bit and it's considered to be pretty adequate sound quality wise. Then there are people who think that listening to a 16-bit recording through 24/192khz makes some magical improvement with their 40 dollar tiny antique speakers.

Whatever rocks your boats I guess...
 
Who cares about the bit depth of the recording, the mastering behind it is more important.
 
Matthew Kane said:
Who cares about the bit depth of the recording, the mastering behind it is more important.
Click to expand...
Pretty much this. You can take one of those uber 24/96 files, convert it to 16/48 with a high quality resampler like SoX and flagrantly fail an ABX test between the two*. If you really wanted to be paranoid, 18-bits would cover you.

*Technically you should convert the 16/48 file back to 24/96 to eliminate any differences in the playback chain / DAC might have in how they handle the two different bit depths and sampling rates.
 
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