Direct Monitor, which is available on our interfaces that do not have Control software, offers the same feature as the above. If you do not do this, then you may hear a 'doubling effect' or echo. This is because you hear the direct sound (before it is passed to the computer) and you hear the same audio that has been processed by the computer afterwards. Equivalent Input Noise (EIN) < -120dB: measured at 55dB of gain with 150Ω termination (20Hz/22kHz bandpass filter) But be warned of phantom power. Just make sure to plug your laptop into an external power source while using these audio interfaces. Due to this phantom powering, these Scarlett audio interfaces will need more than a laptop battery to power them up and keep them running throughout your recording session.

If you have registered your Second Generation Scarlett unit and are unsure what to do next, the following steps will get you set up and ready to record! Newly designed guitar input to capture crystal clear guitar tone that minimizes the risk of distortion To get an idea of how long one millisecond is, it's best to give some real-world examples you might be familiar with*: When using Direct Monitor you hear the audio from your recording source before it is passed to the computer, again without input latency in the same way as above - you will however still hear audio passed from the computer regardless. When using zero-latency features, we recommend you mute the channel you are recording into in your recording software.

FOCUSRITE SCARLETT 2I4 AUDIO INTERFACE

The former monitors the input for 10 seconds, setting the gain accordingly, and also includes a dual channel option. The latter applies real-time changes to the gain setting to avoid clipping. Part of the time this takes is the 'buffer size', which you can set yourself. You can adjust the buffer size for your needs. Using a lower buffer size (and therefore getting less latency) gives your CPU less time to process the audio and therefore the CPU must work harder to process the audio in time. The controls and knobs on the front are also of high quality, made of both aluminum and durable plastic. This preset assigns a Mix (Custom Mix in Focusrite Control) to each of the interface's analogue outputs.

Both versions of the Scarlet are pretty close in size. But the 2i4 is a bit bigger and heavier because it comes with more hardware. Focusrite got its start in the 1980’s building consoles for recording studios. Since then, they’ve expanded in the music industry, producing audio interfaces for music producers. The term 'Ultra-low' is used as audio interface hardware/firmware induces a negligible amount of latency. We'll use the term 'Zero-latency' to avoid confusion. To reiterate, when setting your buffer size, what you are doing is giving the CPU of your computer a period of time to process audio, before it is passed to and from the interface and the recording software.A Condenser microphone will not be damaged if phantom power is not engaged, though it will not pass any signal without it. The MIDI in/out makes the audio interface compatible with old keyboards and synthesizers. I’d say this feature is necessary for some recording artists and producers. Further new features are specific to the 2i2 and 4i4. The reworked preamps have an impressive 69dB of gain, which we found ideal for low-output mics such as ribbons. The 2i2 and 4i4 preamps also include optional auto gain and clip safe.

We found both worked well, although the clip safe option works best with properly set initial gain levels, as it has the potential to make big gain changes in real-time. Buying either of these Focusrite Scarlett models also give you access to the same bundle of plug-ins and software.Please note that if you're using an application that includes ASIO support (e.g. Pro Tools, Ableton Live, Cubase, Studio One, Reaper etc) then all input and output channels will be available to you by default, this article may not be applicable. Looking only at the cost itself, the 2i2 is a decent amount of money LESS than the 2i4. If the price point is the only factor that concerns you, then you might as well get the 2i2.