Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 (4th Gen) Interface Review

[amirm]

This is a review and detailed measurements of the Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 Fourth Generation audio interface (DAC, ADC, Mic Pre and Headphone out). It is on kind loan from a member and is on sale for $168.

I have a soft spot for the red color of the enclosure. It gives it brand identity which is a value to the company as well. I also like the standard Line input rather than some combo with microphone in:

Only a USB-C cable is provided so that is what I used for measurements (no 5 volt adapter).

Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 4th Generation DAC Measurements
Let's start with our usual dashboard after setting the output volume level to 0dBFS (it goes up beyond it):

Well, this is a headscratcher. We are miles away from company spec of 109 dB for SINAD. It is distortion bound so not much that can be done about it (or so I thought). This causes the ranking to be at the bottom of all interfaces tested:

By accident, I realized that if I set the volume to max (+6 dB?) but then attenuate the level in the source (analyzer output) to still get 4 volts, I get much better results:

How could this be? This is inverted as usually distortion is proportional with output level. Here, maxing out the output lowers distortion! And how would the customer know to drop their max level to -2 dBFS? It makes no sense to me.

Anyway, going with max volume, we can see the ideal output is indeed 4 volts although the penalty for max volume of 5 volts is not much at all:

IMD vs level shows the difference in the two volume settings:

Same for THD+N vs frequency:

Above, we also see the classical issue with some DAC ICs using noise shaping as reducing bandwidth helps a lot.

EDIT: here is the multitone:

Dynamic range is not impacted by volume setting:

For these other tests, I didn't want to redo them:

This one would likely improve with max volume:

ADC Measurements
Here is our ADC dashboard:

Input saturates at 1.7 volt. From my review of first generation Focusrite Scarlett 2i2, lowering the input gain below 0 dB helps. But I expect it to calibrated to 0 dB since we have real line inputs. Company's spec of 100 dB is not great either as it barely clears the bar for 16 bit content.

Dynamic range thankfully is respectable:

Frequency response is excellent as it should be:

I can't figure out how the 2i2 is beating the others in noise but it does:

But per above, it saturates very early. Maybe that is the difference as we are looking at generator level rather than actual output level.

Linearity is good enough:

Wideband distortion vs frequency is not professional level:

Headphone Output Measurements
Company highlights the design of headphone amplifier but what I see is well below my standard for power output:

Conclusions
I don't understand how the pipeline in 2i2 works. As is, it seems backward in the way distortion decreases at higher internal volume levels. Company specifications needs to indicate this rather than just giving a single number. The distinction takes the internal DAC from lousy to competent so big difference. The ADC is "good enough" for a consumer level product, not professional Headphone output as expected, is just a checklist item, being beat by some low cost dongles!

Overall, I would have wanted to see significant improvements in a 4th generation audio interface. Sadly the Scarlett 2i2 does not deliver on that front so I am not going to recommend it.

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As always, questions, comments, recommendations, etc. are welcome.

Any donations are much appreciated using: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/how-to-support-audio-science-review.8150/

 

[amirm]

Reserved for @AdamG to post the specs.

Manufacturer Specifications:

Scarlett 2i2

The original studio-quality 2-in, 2-out interface, Focusrite Scarlett 2i2, has been remastered for the artist.

us.focusrite.com

 

[DWPress]

Well I guess I'm glad I haven't bothered to upgrade my first gen 2i2 then.

Thanks for yet another tireless review Amir, have a great Thanksgiving!

 

[restorer-john]

I don't understand how the pipeline in 2i2 works. As is, it seems backward in the way distortion decreases at higher internal volume levels. Company specifications needs to indicate this rather than just giving a single number. The distinction takes the internal DAC from lousy to competent so big difference.

They're not designed as a piece of HiFi and they shouldn't be tested as that. It has to accommodate wildly varying input levels on the analog side, balance them and then drive (usually) a pair active monitor speakers, an amp, or into headphones. As such you never would max out the monitor output. I have a few of the previous models here and lowest distortion and noise is with the inputs significantly retarded for line level inputs and the output set around 2 o'clock to give rated and lowest THD+N even right up to 0dBFS from the digital source (USB/PC)

But this 4th gen has a totally different front end AFAIK. I wouldn't expect the operation to be greatly different- it is after all the most popular ongoing interface in the world...

 

[Matias]

Another missed opportunity... As for headphone output, a single CS43131 chip would do as seen on the 20 usd JM20 dongle.

 

[JSmith]

@amirm, pumping out the reviews... thanks for the testing, albeit with some average results.

Pics;

JSmith

 

[restorer-john]

Input saturates at 1.7 volt. From my review of first generation Focusrite Scarlett 2i2, lowering the input gain below 0 dB helps. But I expect it to calibrated to 0 dB since we have real line inputs.

Of course it does if you have the input gain at max. This is elementary stuff.

It has a 69dB gain range on line inputs and a maximum of 22dBu at maximum attenuation.

 

[tccalvin]

As such you never would max out the monitor output.

I thought @amirm said that distortion decreases when you have the monitor output maxed out. Did I get it backwards?

 

[amirm]

They're not designed as a piece of HiFi and they shouldn't be tested as that. It has to accommodate wildly varying input levels on the analog side, balance them and then drive (usually) a pair active monitor speakers, an amp, or into headphones. As such you never would max out the monitor output.

Yet, the best performance is achieved when the volume is maxed out! Even above 0dB reference! Please read the review.

 

[amirm]

It has a 69dB gain range on line inputs and a maximum of 22dBu at maximum attenuation.

Clearly no "69 dB" gain was applied during my testing. Most of that 69 dB is attenuation, not amplification. Check out their specs:

Line inputs​

• Frequency Response20-20kHz ± 0.05dB
• Dynamic Range115.5dB (A-Weighted)
• THD+N-100dB @ 8dB gain

Notice what I highlighted in red. They are measuring SINAD of 108 dB with an amplification of 8 dB. I set the input to 0dB gain so it should allow even more headroom.

 

[amirm]

They're not designed as a piece of HiFi and they shouldn't be tested as that.

Their DAC is a DAC. As long as you are not asking it to mix analog input into that, then it should perform just like any other DAC. This is how a proper "Pro" interface peforms:

Just like this product, I adjusted the device level to get 4 volt output and got excellent performance.

 

[tktran303]

Thanks for the review. This is consistent with others whom, If I interpret correctly, consider this a somewhat backward step from the 2nd or 3rd gen.

Did you measure the 3rd gen or only first?

 

[tccalvin]

Thanks for the review. This is consistent with others whom, If I interpret correctly, consider this a somewhat backward step from the 2nd or 3rd gen.

Did you measure the 3rd gen or only first?

Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 Audio Interface Gen 3 Review

This is a review and detailed measurements of the Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 Audio Interface (DAC/ADC). I was talked into buying it recently. The 2i2 costs US $140 including free Prime shipping so very reasonable for amount of functionality. For a budge device, the Scarlett 2i2 looks pretty good...

audiosciencereview.com

 

[dtaylo1066]

Meh. I'll take the ADC in my WiiM Ultra, thank you.

 

[Snuffalo_Bill]

Bummer that the internals on this aren't better. Worth noting that there are a number of quality of life upgrades which make this more attractive than the previous generation. And they finally put the mic inputs on the back, which for my use case is more important than dac and hpa performance.

 

[AnalogSteph]

I can't figure out how the 2i2 is beating the others in noise but it does:

But per above, it saturates very early.

Which inputs are these? (XLR mic, TRS line, TS inst?) A max input level of ~+7 dBu would seem to be matching none of the specs.

As for the DAC, is the difference in digital level between "meh" and "good" settings really just 2 dB (0 dBFS vs. -2 dBFS)? The IMD vs. level graph would suggest it's much more.

 

[Rja4000]

Thanks for reviewing this !

I can't figure out how the 2i2 is beating the others in noise but it does:

But per above, it saturates very early.

I suppose this is line input ?

It's given for 22dBu max, so there is some input gain applied.

Gain will improve SNR (that's the goal) but saturation will appear earlier.

You can't compare this with the RME 24dBu input range.
If you measure the RME at 4dBu range, you'll also see a lower noise.

 

[milosz]

OK Amir, so it doesn't meet your expectations. Can you recommend a $170 interface that DOES meet your criteria? Many of us are very sensitive to price.

 

[JSmith]

$170 interface

This might fit the bill;

Topping E2x2 Audio Interface Review

This is a review and detailed measurements of the Topping Professional E2x2 audio interface (ADC, DAC, Headphone Amp). It was sent to me by the company and costs US $159. As the British would say, the E2x2 definitely "looks the part" as far as fitting in the general offering of interfaces in...

www.audiosciencereview.com

JSmith

 

[DanTheMan]

Overall I'd say this is likely a small upgrade over the previous generation even if the DAC is slightly, and likely inaudibly worse. The headphone amp, though still junk, is actually improved and possibly audibly so.

With that said, I'm surprised this interface remains so popular. My one attempt at a Focusrite interface ended after about 2 months: they stopped updating the drivers at the pace of the operating system and I couldn't use my interface. I assume they do better now. I couldn't give it away. I had a similar experience with EMU FWIW.

Good news is that I replaced the Focusrite with an Apogee Duet which gave me 10 good years and didn't have a driver issue until there was a processor typology revolution at Apple. The Apogee had considerably better preamps (dead silent and tons of gain) and headphone amp (lots of power), but was 6X the price. The Apogee was also far less user friendly with its breakout cable and it required you to have a window open to really see what you were controlling: a massive design fail in my book, but the sound and support kept me happy enough.

I could never buy another Focusrite product though. That lack of support ruined them for me. At least the Apogee worked and sounded fantastic.

Now I've got an IK Media Duet. It works perfectly and sounds good enough with the right headphones--MEZE Noir with Brainwavs ear pads which are very easy to drive. Its preamps are easily good enough for condenser mics and really good enough for dynamics. Not as outstanding as the Apogee, but good enough if you're careful with your gain settings. Best part is that it has real MIDI inputs/outputs.

If you're a hobbyist musician, I'm sure there are several interfaces that outperform this one in every way.