Focusrite Scarlett 18i8 Audio Interface Reviewed and Measured

[dinglehoser]

I'm now having the same issues as @amirm did with this specific unit. Will RMA and see what happens from there.

 

[audio_tony]

I'm now having the same issues as @amirm did with this specific unit. Will RMA and see what happens from there.

Which version of Windows are you using?

 

[audio_tony]

That is true. The problem is that raising the input beyond 4 volt severely distorts. This should not happen. As it is, you can't use the last 7 dB or so of the system dynamic range.

I tested my 2i2 (Rev 2) at various input levels a while back and here's a graph showing input voltage (verified with scope) vs THD levels.

 

[Blumlein 88]

I'm now having the same issues as @amirm did with this specific unit. Will RMA and see what happens from there.

Well the good news is maybe you get a replacement that works just fine. Of course we already know the bad news.

Thanks for sending this to Amir. A little publicity for their problems, maybe they'll put a little more effort into fixing it.

 

[dinglehoser]

Which version of Windows are you using?

Win 10, latest patch level; also Mac OS Catalina. I didn't have problems before, and now I am, so I suspect it's hardware-related.

 

[board]

Although this is a different model, I bought the Focusrite Scarlet 2i2 based on these excellent measurements from 2012 (too bad teh 18i8 is not quite as good):
https://johnr.hifizine.com/2012/09/focusrite-scarlett-2i2-measurements/

 

[restorer-john]

Although this is a different model, I bought the Focusrite Scarlet 2i2 based on these excellent measurements from 2012

The current model 2i2v2 is an upgrade on the original 2i2:

from here: https://homestudioexpert.com/focusrite-scarlett-2i2-1st-gen-vs-2nd-gen-one-better/

 

[Addy]

This interface is good for DAC, to listen the music.

 

[arvidb]

I ran my dashboard measurement and all was well. Then I noticed as I was documenting the output in photoshop that it was showing garbage data being captured. It was a sequence of sqarewaves at 750 Hz.

*snip*

Besides the software issue, we have the self-oscillation or whatever it was that caused the unit to spin its wheels capturing garbage. Imagine monitoring that and having it go to your speaker at high volume. Not good. Not good at all.

This guy seem to have run into the same failure mode, with full scale noise on all outputs as well as a BSOD. Description at time 1:30:

If its firmware is as buggy as the Windows driver, perhaps some failures make it set up its internal mixer so that it causes feedback?

 

[AnalogSteph]

Sounds more like an actual hardware problem to me, and semiconductor rather than electrolytic. I would take a closer look at the controller's digital power supply. If voltages all check out, then things don't look good.

 

[liofeu]

View attachment 35974

Thanks amirm, would you have the frequency response of the microphone inputs for the max sampling frequency (192 kHz) please as you did for Scarlett 2i2 here?
I'd like to know whether I could plug an ultrasound mic to it. In the manual, it is only said "+0 -0.1 dB, 20 Hz/20 kHz". This is also what they say for the Scarlett 2i2 ("20-20kHz ± 0.15dB") however, the latter has a pretty good frequency response in high frequencies when sampled at 192 kHz according to your other review , so I'm hoping this would be the same for the 18i8.