Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 Review
I experimented with quite a few different ones before I got to this one. At a couple points, I thought I’d found the right one, but then it turned out to be quite the opposite. I probably wasted too much money along the way, but I didn’t know any better. But when I got to this one, it only took a day before I knew this was the one for me, for good.
In this video, I’ll be telling you about how I met my fiancee- er, wait, no, this is my FocusRite Scarlett 2i2 Review.
Relationship jokes aside, the FocusRite Scarlett 2i2 USB audio interface has been a godsend for my studio.
This interface takes two XLR or Line In inputs and, well, outputs them to either separate (left and right) channels via USB and Line Out or two separate mono tracks via USB. It requires no external power other than that USB A to B cable, yet can still deliver 48v Phantom Power and a strong output to a pair of monitoring headphones.
Did I mention it’s really small, too?
48v can be turned on or off with the push of a button, you have volume control knobs for monitoring microphone input and audio playback via the USB ASIO driver, and you can even turn off direct microphone monitoring.
The Scarlett 2i2 is built quite nicely with a lovely red, or Scarlet metal made to look like brushed aluminum, nice rubber no-slip feet, and even has a kensington lock spot for locations where security is key.
Don’t let me forget the audio quality itself - the interface provides a super clean and great-quality signal to your recording software. It’s flexible in allowing either dual mono streams or left and right track stereo recording. This is perfect in my studio where we have co-op recording but need the ability to balance and process the individual microphone inputs separately.
We have a Rode Procaster dynamic broadcast microphone and a Behringer C-1 condenser microphone hooked up to the interface. It has no trouble providing Phantom Power just to the condenser mic and not affecting the Dynamic. Best of all, when I need to do solo recordings, I can just turn off the Phantom Power and record in mono without having to worry about any noise coming from the other microphone.
The secondary output - the line out - is also pretty clean, and very loud. We have this running to our second pc rig, and we’re able to do so and record with it as if it was the main machine! This is not something we’ve been able to do with any of our previous mixers or interfaces without many ground loop isolators to remove electrical interference and quite a hefty amount of noise removal.
So what’s not to love?
Well, to be honest - not a whole lot.
Depending on the 1/4" to 3.5mm adapter I use, the headphone jack can feel a little loose and wobbly sometimes, though I’ve not noticed this to cause any sort of audio feedback or glitches.
The headphone monitoring for microphone input is very very quiet. My dynamic microphone requires my Gain to be set pretty high (around 80% or so rotation), but even with the dynamic mic and Condenser mic active and us talking loud into them, it’s very hard to hear the monitor loopback. I literally have the knob turned up to 100%.
Audio playback from the computer over USB is incredibly loud, however.
Also, the Scarlett 2i2 uses a very specific driver, which isn’t compatible with all software. I’ve not ran into any deal-breaking issues yet, but to record and monitor efficiently, I need to have Adobe Audition set to ASIO mode for the FocusRite Scarlett driver, which records from the interface and plays audio back to it. This is great and convenient when I am strictly recording and editing audio - for voiceover sessions or commentary, but when I’m editing audio while also editing video and doing other things, switching headsets around can be quite frustrating.
Overall, the FocusRite Scarlett 2i2 is an amazing audio interface. I had all but given up on getting clean audio from my setup, but I threw a few dollars at this product and gave it a try, and it has been nothing but amazing to me. Plus, I can actually set it out of the way on my desk, unlike the giant, table-sized Behringer mixer board I was using before.
When considering if this interface is for you, make sure you know how many inputs you’ll be needing. This is absolutely perfect and ideal for any 2 microphone or 2-input (even instruments, it works great with Pro Tools!) setups. However if you’re only ever using 1 input (or 1 big, XLR/Line In input and a secondary 3.5mm input) you could save some money by just getting FocusRite’s iTrack Solo audio interface instead. *Review on that coming soon, so be sure to subscribe so you don’t miss it!* The iTrack Solo is the same concept, but for 1 primary input and with iPad support.
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