Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 4th Gen USB-C Audio Interface | 2 Mic Preamps, 2 Hi-Z Instrument Inputs, 24-Bit/192kHz, 120dB Dynamic Range, Auto Gain, Clip Safe, Air Modes

Scarlett 2i2 4th Gen USB - I love it. I am using a long line of multiple 2i2 devices from Gen 1, Gen 2, Gen 3 for years. I am happy with all of them. Very good built quality, plain, low noise, low distortion. They all meet manufacturer specifications. No inflated claims like some manufacturers do. Each model had some tiny glitches that did not affect my experience. So my expectations are high on 4th Gen. A box arrived quickly. I opened it and realized a box has no protecting layer to soften shocks, blows during transportation. Just over box inside of almost identical, only slightly larger box! This experience was not a good welcome to me. I believe such packaging of any electronics reduces product reliability. Didn't you see how sometimes drivers drop packages on concrete floor? So I almost feel like getting used product, am I too sensitive about it? Alone in my opinion such product should have some shock absorbing layer of foam material or air bubbles sheet?After opening a box I see a piece of paper printed with miniature characters. Microscope could help... But no guidance here how to get the first steps. Only warnings in very many languages. As I would need all this, very high priority to manufacturer but not to me! I think this excellent product has new functions that a purchaser is not familiar with. It would be highly beneficial if a a small hard card size like 2-3 business cards shows briefly what happens when each of new controls used. OK, I can find it in pdf user manual, but I don't want to print user manual for one of 15 models audio interfaces I have. So I will work with audio recordings while scrolling through pdf file, at least till I am familiar with all this product offers. After such observations I wish to get to recording... And pdf file does not tell clearly up front that utility program is actually a driver. I have to spend time to learn it. This is the very first item to perform after purchase, but info is written among other content, not up front. I want to install utility program but no info provided if 2i2 Gen 4 should be connected or not, during installation. I learn here I should go to the internet, manufacturer' webpage and get information how to proceed. A suggestion is strong - identify yourself first! So you can get audio recording software. But I don't use the internet on sacred computers. I don't wish to be exposed to Spyware and threats from Microsoft like this one: You paid for our Office Suite, but we make it stop at our convenience under pretense we check if you are the correct user???? So I will to install a driver only, no suspicious activities and forced "updates", no spyware on my precious computer. How do I proceed considering above? I loaded needed file on another computer, copied it to one working with 2i2 Gen 4. It works fine that way. The utility is just sampling rate changing program combined with a driver, at least on my computer. Nothing else. A device works well, nothing wrong. I enjoy it from that moment. I don't need extra programs for musicians.Now most enjoyable part - distortion and noise testing. Both are excellent low, exactly as shown on specifications. I really enjoy low noise that is closer now to that of higher grade Clarett+ noise. Regarding distortion, Clarett+ has specs about 0.0003% while Scarlett 2i2 spec is around 0.001% for all generations 1, 2, 3, 4. Truly excellent product here, amazing performance for $200 and this product is far ahead of other USB audio interfaces I used before. Important to me is the fact it can work with no AC/DC power adapter. Through my career I experienced scenarios that noise reading was lowest if USB audio device was powered through USB cable. Then noise reading was even slightly better if power supply disconnected from laptop. The noise reading was consistently worse if given USB audio interface AND laptop used both AC/DC adapters. The difference could be a few dB but sometimes noise spikes were 10dB and more above noise floor, depending how clean was power line, individual wall outlets. I will check later 2i2 Gen 4 on that noise immunity and will update my review.In terms of reliability, all earlier Scarlett 2i2 I used full time worked a minimum of 5 years. If something wrong happened, it would be in the "abuse" category like frequent plugging, unplugging in, out cables with ESD damage maybe. Or connecting to multiple other devices powered with AC/DC adapters and no isolating transformers between. I am a laboratory user, not a musician, so different considerations, scenarios. Scarlett 2i2 Gen 4 is a great tool now for my audio experiments, audio test fixtures, audio signal measuring / analyzing setups.5 stars, but no 5+ due to less perfect packaging with less perfect protection against abuse in transit.

Great price for a great product. I’ve been abusing this thing over the past year and by that I mean I record a song a day most weeks and usually long hours at the desk. This interface is a boss. It will up your confidence in recording while making it super easy and intuitive to do so. I love this machine. One dont side is that the output stays pretty high for a good sound, I’d I’d like to know I have more headroom, but for a home setup…it’s clutch! Buy one today and you’ll open up a new world!

I have the Gen3 and have been loving it paired with a blue bird mic and presonus E5, output sound is crisp and clear albeit 24bit vs 32bit, and the mic is warm and clear.I on a whim bought HD-650 headphones and started to look for a 300ohm stable amp, in comes the Gen4. I could have bought a dedicated headphone amp and likely been slightly happier, but for around the same price I can swap out audio interface to do it all with one.This does power the headphones up as loud as I care to listen, so pretty happy about the headphone output. I have not done much testing of the speaker output or mic yet, but I will point out a few things I do feel are upgrades.#1 They finally moved the mic input into the back where it belonged all along. As result though now XLR and instrument input are now separated, with instrument on the front and sadly not the back.#2 The auto gain actually works pretty quick and well from my limited testing.#3 I just feel it looks cleaner.Also this works perfect with a usb switcher, I have this hooked up to my personal and work computers through a cheap usb switcher works perfectly.

Game changing for bedroom guitarists, run your physical pedals in stereo or mono through this into a decent amp sim on your daw and you’ll be extremely satisfied. Great quality and easy to use

Great sound quality, looks good, and has little delay. I just wish it had more inputs is all but thats why you buy a larger model.

This did not work too well with my Shure sm7b. It was not powerful enough and it was noisy. But it’s a very good option for most people. It has worked well with other gear I own.

Works great. Fit the bill for what we needed at church.

The preamps in this have almost 70 decibels a gain, which means this will not struggle to power the most demanding of dynamic microphones, the first air mode adds a little bit of EQ which can make a darker microphone sound amazing the second air mode I don't particularly like as it really cuts out the mid-range and boost the highest and the lows and kind of makes it sound hollow on my voiceThe software is very handy so you can control the gain from the knobs on the interface or right off the computer software which I think is awesomeThe preamps give me a much more transparent sound and other preamps for example other interfaces I own seem to color the sound a little bit but they add a little something they alter the Sun that would say the word this one just sounds very neutral and transparent like it's not changing the sound at allIf you check out the Danny lightning audio tech channel on YouTube you can see this compared to a couple of other units I also did a review video and something about the software so you might want to check that out as well but I'll tell you what can I so far I'm very happy with this I just wish they would add a monitor mix and it'd be nice if the software gave you a little number so you can see if you're at like zero 50 80 100 and so on on the game if you know what I'm saying those are the only two complaints but besides those two things and not really liking the second air mode the overall sound quality is very good and I'm very happy with the unit I mainly use a sure sm7b most of the time but I have quite a few different microphones, I used to always EQ my Acura estimate 7B but with this unit I just turn on the first air know that I don't feel like I need to do any further EQ adjustments which is awesome so yeah I really like this thing

Upgraded from a cheap behringer to this. Slightly reluctantly. And I am so not regretting my decision. I'll start with the pretty lights around each dial. Not completely necessary, maybe, but really cool. I mean, it shows the in/output levels, but so does a line on the knob itself.Setup-wise, this was really easy. had it going in no time, and worked perfectly with my daw. In fact, with the older behringer, when my daw was open, it hijacked the audio so that nothing else in windows could play sound! But this seems to work just fine.Generally, Its pretty easy to use, though I've not really done much more than play with half of the buttons on it. For my needs (guitar and vocal recording), this is more than enough.But the audio quality itself, which is the reason I got this rather than a cheaper alternative, well that's blown me away a bit. People said it was better quality, but I'm no pro, and didn't expect to notice much. But it really is amazing. Everything down to the quality of the audio through the headphone jack is incredible. I really love this thing, so it may be a bit more expensive than other things out there, but worth every penny.

Good one

Esta interfaz es una pasada. La compré para grabar guitarra en casa y el cambio ha sido brutal respecto a lo que tenía antes. El sonido es limpio, claro, con muy baja latencia y una calidad más que profesional para home studio.La instalación fue rápida, y viene con bastante software incluido para empezar a grabar desde el minuto uno, incluso si no tienes mucha experiencia. Los previos suenan muy bien, y los nuevos controles de ganancia con luz son súper útiles para no saturar sin darte cuenta.La construcción es sólida, los materiales se sienten de buena calidad, y además es muy compacta, así que la puedes llevar a cualquier sitio.En resumen: si buscas una interfaz fiable, potente y fácil de usar, esta es una de las mejores opciones.

I had to try something new for a change.Sounds good for the price.Direct inputs.If you have a keyboard and you want to hear the sounds in your DAWs plugins.You will have to buy an adapter so your computer will find your your keyboard.No Din plugins on this item.Too bad.Watch videos on this interface and decide if you like.Great sound for the price.

Veteran Scarlett user perspective - this is my third generationI've owned the 2nd gen, 3rd gen, and now the 4th gen Scarlett 2i2, so I can speak to the evolution of this interface. Let me be clear upfront: I didn't upgrade out of necessity - my 3rd gen was working perfectly fine. I upgraded because I wanted to, and I'm glad I did.Setup & Compatibility:Currently using this with a Shure SM7DB microphone and guitar input, running everything through Voicemeeter Potato for mixing. The interface integrates flawlessly with this setup and the audio quality is superb across both inputs.The Biggest Improvements - Rear XLR Connections & Enhanced Preamps:The rear XLR placement is a standout feature for me. Moving the XLR inputs to the back of the unit instead of the front makes an enormous difference for desktop organization and space utilization. No more cables cluttering the front of your workspace, and it creates a much cleaner, more professional-looking setup.Additionally, the increased preamp gain on the 4th gen provides a noticeably bigger boost compared to previous generations. This extra headroom is particularly beneficial when working with gain-hungry microphones like the SM7DB, giving you more flexibility in your gain staging without having to rely as heavily on external preamps or cloudlifters.Performance:Audio quality remains excellent, as expected from Focusrite. The preamps are clean and quiet, providing plenty of gain for the SM7DB (which is notoriously gain-hungry). Guitar recording is crisp and detailed. Latency is minimal, and the unit plays nicely with Voicemeeter Potato without any driver issues or conflicts.Build Quality:Solid construction with the familiar Scarlett reliability. The gain knobs feel precise and the overall fit and finish is what you'd expect from Focusrite.Who Should Upgrade:If you have a 2nd or 3rd gen that's working fine, this isn't a "must have" upgrade from a functionality standpoint. However, if you value workspace organization and cleaner cable management, the rear XLR placement alone justifies the upgrade cost.Bottom Line:The 4th gen maintains everything great about previous Scarletts while solving the one desktop real estate issue that always bothered me. Sometimes the best upgrades are the subtle ones that improve daily usability.Highly recommended for: Anyone starting fresh with audio interfaces, or existing Scarlett users who want cleaner desk setups.