Focusrite 18i20 2nd gen - $350

[mdsimon2]

Was browsing Focusrite's website today and saw they had new 2nd gen 18i20s for $350 shipped. Seems like a really good deal for those looking for a reasonably priced 10 channel USB DAC. Also has 8 channels of analog input, SPDIF input/output, TOSLINK/ADAT input/output, 2 stereo headphone outputs and a word clock output. Not sure if they are clearing out old stock or if this is a short term sale or something else.

Although not officially supported seems like some folks have it working with linux, I bought one and plan on giving it a try with my typical RPi4 + Ubuntu + CamillaDSP setup. Would certainly be a good choice if you run Windows or Mac.

Scarlett 18i20 [3rd Gen]

The Focusrite Scarlett 18i20 3rd Gen boasts extensive simultaneous I/O comprising eight mic preamps, 18 inputs and 20 outputs in total.

store.focusrite.com

I'll post some loopback measurements once I receive it.

Michael

 

[mdsimon2]

For reference see link below for some measurements of the 1st gen from @Blumlein 88, hoping for similar performance with the 2nd gen.

Focusrite 18i20 DAC measurements

Okay this is a Focusrite 18i20 (1st gen) audio recording interface. It has 8 microphone preamps, and line ins, ADAT, Word Clock, SPDIF over coax. I for this thread will focus on the DAC performance of the unit. Don't know that all Scarlett units function the same though probably similar. The...

www.audiosciencereview.com

Michael

 

[Blumlein 88]

I'm pretty sure the chips used are the same in Gen 1 and Gen 2. Gen 1 chips could do 192 khz, but they limited them to 96 khz for some reason. I seem to recall the microphone preamps in the gen 2 had slightly lower gain. Something like 55 db vs the 60 db in the gen 1.

 

[Brsvde]

Interestingly, this deal is still going and is also fulfilled in Europe.

@mdsimon2 any luck with this and Rpi4+CamillaDSP?

Edit: Just came across your comment in the RPi4 + CamillaDSP Tutorial:

As a side note I have tested a Focusrite 18i20 2nd gen and it works well with USB input but I always got crackling when I tried to use the SPDIF input with CamillaDSP regardless of clock source. That coupled with analog performance that is worse than the lower end miniDSPs makes me NOT recommend it despite the $350 price tag, if you need lots of output channels save up and get the MOTU Ultralite Mk5.

 

[mdsimon2]

Yes, it works, I made some measurements of it in the links below.

Why aren't we pushing for more 4-8 channel DACS for a quality Stereo setup

It has an ESS ES9026PRO, I actually assume it must have 2 ES9026PROs as it has more than 8 channels of analog output. ..... Thank you, understood well. For more than 8 channels of analog out, yes, we need two ESS DAC chips, just like Danville Signal is planning for their possible dspNexus 2/16...

www.audiosciencereview.com

AVR or processors from China with Topping performance?

I really doubt this is the case, considering that Home Cinema pushes for at least above 90dB/2.83V sensitivity speakers to get adequate levels across long distances. if we plug in the same calculation but using something more realistic, like the Denon's own amplifiers, the residual noise of the...

www.audiosciencereview.com

As I mentioned in the quote you pulled above I have not been able to use the SPDIF input when using CamillaDSP. It almost feels like although I set the clock source to SPDIF when setting up the interface on another computer that is not respected once I move the Linux and it defaults to the internal clock source. This might change for Linux kernels after 5.15 as this driver -> https://github.com/geoffreybennett/scarlett-gen2/releases will be included. I plan on revisiting in a few months when Ubuntu 22.04 is released.

Aside from that my biggest compliant is the rather high noise. It is pretty similar in performance to the lower end miniDSPs so if you are buying this in the hopes of much better analog performance than say a miniDSP 4X10 that is not going to happen.

There probably still is a use case for those looking to implement a low cost CamillaDSP based system but it definitely comes with quite a few limitations.

Michael

 

[Brsvde]

That's interesting to hear. I have two usages of this 18i20 where I need SPDIF from my TV (which is my main player atm: chromecast, tidal, my kodi ripped music collection) but would possibly like the option of digital XO in the future.

The other side is that I can just use this as a multipre xlr interface for my hobby recording side-gig. I am a classical musician but am finding I just need more preamps and that 2nd gen is a pretty value for 8 pres. So I hope it'll work for one of these use cases. At least some light duty with piano + soloist + room mics.

Aside from that my biggest compliant is the rather high noise.

Are you saying added noise through the line outs? That's a bummer.