Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 (4th Gen) Interface Review

[bennybbbx]

The volume behavior is very clearly digital, I can hear the steps clear as day. I think Focusrite support is talking about the ability to control digital volume via software (Focusrite Control 2). I am contacting them again to confirm.

if you hear steps on headsphones then it is a bad pot. which clock value you hear the steps ?. if you hear steps at 7 or 8 o clock this happen often withj analog pots. change volume and when happen left right balance changes also can sound as there are steps. the channel inbalance is maybe the reason wy people think headphones with more ohms sound better and studio headphones as beyerdynamic are available in diffrent ohm variants. with such headphones need increase the volume knob more to get volume so can avoid the huge problems at 7 or 8 o clock

Have you get your focusrite as B ware or discount price ?. maybe somebody return it .
In fact the 16i16 have no digital headphone volume . here is your answer from

The 18i20 features a digitally controlled monitor output, 2 digitally controlled headphone outputs and digitally controlled analogue inputs.

thats focusrite write about 4. th generation. so only the 18i20 have 2 digitally controlled headphone outputs

can see in pictures there is no marker line on the knob. it have a LED ring https://focusrite.com/products/scarlett-18i20

 

[SMJH]

Focusrite support finally responded back, nothing conclusive yet as they've requested a sound sample from me, which I'm sharing here as well, alongside my email reply:

"Here's a recording of the headphone knob starting at 0, going all the way to 100%, and then back to 0. A 60Hz sine wave is playing at -12dBfs since the clicks are inaudible with nothing playing. Any sound triggers the clicks on volume change regardless of type, I chose 60Hz sine since it showcases the clicks in the clearest way possible.

Obviously, changing the volume of the test tone itself in my software (REW) results in no audible clicks, so this is not a preamp issue, in fact it's not even an issue at all. To me, it sounds like any other digital volume knob I've ever used, including the 16i16's own monitor knob, which sounds exactly the same when changing volume.

Another thing to note is the presence of the clicks and steps throughout the knob's range, the fact that both headphone knobs behave the same, and the fact that they happen predictably in the same spots, regardless of my volume change speed. Now to me, that sounds digital, or at least intentional (it may be an analog stepped knob design oblivious to me). Please do confirm.

PS. the clicks obviously come from the output (aka audible through headphones) the hardware unit itself is silent. Oh and this is a crude recording. I simply stuck my microphone on the headphone's driver and recorded it."

Awaiting their response. In the meantime, let's see what we can muster here.

Addendum: I was able to find a mono TS cable, so I recorded the RAW headphone output straight into the interface's input, I've added the file to my email and shared it here as well. Notice the clearly stepped waveform.

 

[bennybbbx]

Addendum: I was able to find a mono TS cable, so I recorded the RAW headphone output straight into the interface's input, I've added the file to my email and shared it here as well. Notice the clearly stepped waveform.

thats strange i never hear such thing before. a bad analog pot do high freq clicks on volume change . the digital control of my apollo solo have 2 db volume steps to -17 db . form -17 db to 0 0,5 db steps. when play sinus and move there happen no clicks

maybe because when move the pots vibration can happen to the whole focusrite, what happen when you shake or knock on focusrite. did yoi hear clicks too, or tip on the headphone knob without change level ?

 

[SMJH]

thats strange i never hear such thing before. a bad analog pot do high freq clicks on volume change . the digital control of my apollo solo have 2 db volume steps to -17 db . form -17 db to 0 0,5 db steps. when play sinus and move there happen no clicks

maybe because when move the pots vibration can happen to the whole focusrite, what happen when you shake or knock on focusrite. did yoi hear clicks too, or tip on the headphone knob without change level ?

No, the unit is solid, and moving/shaking it results in no noise. I also tried yanking the knob in all directions. No noise. Volume step looks like 1dB to me?

 

[bennybbbx]

No, the unit is solid, and moving/shaking it results in no noise. I also tried yanking the knob in all directions. No noise. Volume step looks like 1dB to me?

this is much more as 1 db. thats 3 db upto 6 db

 

[SMJH]

this is much more as 1 db. thats 3 db upto 6 db
View attachment 463416

"Houston, we have a problem"
I'll bring that up to support, that's crazy.

 

[AnalogSteph]

Honestly the waveform looks far too wiggly for me to see anything. It is peculiar that the spectral energy of the clicks seems to concentrate around 8 kHz, unless that happens to be a massive peak in the combined headphone + microphone response.

If you have a >>120 dB DAC like a CS43198, it is only logical to use digital volume controlled by either an encoder or a pot voltage divider feeding an ADC. Analog volume controls are prone to various kinds of performance degradation, so once the DAC can provide plenty of dynamic range, a "dumb" output stage becomes the most sensible option.

 

[SMJH]

Honestly the waveform looks far too wiggly for me to see anything. It is peculiar that the spectral energy of the clicks seems to concentrate around 8 kHz, unless that happens to be a massive peak in the combined headphone + microphone response.
View attachment 463567

If you have a >>120 dB DAC like a CS43198, it is only logical to use digital volume controlled by either an encoder or a pot voltage divider feeding an ADC. Analog volume controls are prone to various kinds of performance degradation, so once the DAC can provide plenty of dynamic range, a "dumb" output stage becomes the most sensible option.

I really should not have shared the headphone recording in hindsight. You will find a direct raw output recording in the second zip file I shared yesterday. There, the waveform is crystal clear.

 

[AnalogSteph]

Indeed. Looks like 1 dB and occasional 2 dB steps, hinting at a rounding / truncation problem during scale conversion in the volume control algorithm (well, either that, or a jumpy encoder).

Not a major bug but should arguably be looked into if it's reproducible like that.

 

[SMJH]

Indeed. Looks like 1 dB and occasional 2 dB steps, hinting at a rounding / truncation problem during scale conversion in the volume control algorithm (well, either that, or a jumpy encoder).
View attachment 463573
Not a major bug but should arguably be looked into if it's reproducible like that.

For any potential buyer reading this thread, it must be said that what's discussed here poses absolutely 0 issues in real world scenarios for me. Maybe if there were a single-note bass synth droning in the music, and you were to change volume at that particular point in time, you might hear a faint click, but that's about it. I'd take that any day over channel imbalance, or scratchy pure analog pots!

 

[SMJH]

Not a major bug but should arguably be looked into if it's reproducible like that.

I can confirm it is reproducible on all output knobs: monitor, and the 2 headphone outputs. The monitor output does also jump like that. At this point I'm pretty much 300% sure they're all indeed digital volumes.

 

[bennybbbx]

I can confirm it is reproducible on all output knobs: monitor, and the 2 headphone outputs. The monitor output does also jump like that. At this point I'm pretty much 300% sure they're all indeed digital volumes.

have the master volume which is digital control a end or can it endless rotate ?. normaly digital controllers can be rotate without end. analog controllers have 270 degree end and so can use a marker line .focusrite too write in 16i16 headphone is not digital control

 

[SMJH]

have the master volume which is digital control a end or can it endless rotate ?. normaly digital controllers can be rotate without end. analog controllers have 270 degree end and so can use a marker line .focusrite too write in 16i16 headphone is not digital control

There are plenty of devices with digital volume that do not endlessly rotate and have a marker. This has nothing to do with the volume type. Usually you would choose an endless rotating digital knob for the convenience of remote controlling it without having to design physical syncing hardware. There is nothing stopping you from using 'traditional' pots for digital volume from a hardware perspective.
To answer your question, the master volume does rotate endlessly, and the headphone knobs do not, they have a marker and limits.
I still firmly believe Focusrite is wrong/confused. They are confusing digital volume with 'digitally controlled volume'. A term they use to describe the knobs that can be controlled remotely via their Control 2 software. I'm still awaiting their response regarding the output files I shared.

For the sake of completeness, here is a direct output recording of the line output knob (monitor out)

 

[SMJH]

Awaiting their response. In the meantime, let's see what we can muster here.

Direct reply from Focusrite:

"Thanks for getting back to me with these recordings.

I have looked into this further. Apologies for the confusion earlier, while the headphone pot is analogue, it controls the output level of the headphone DAC. This can result in stepping like you are hearing on the output. This is normal behaviour and to be expected.

I hope this helps.


Best Regards,"

 

[bennybbbx]

Direct reply from Focusrite:

"Thanks for getting back to me with these recordings.

I have looked into this further. Apologies for the confusion earlier, while the headphone pot is analogue, it controls the output level of the headphone DAC. This can result in stepping like you are hearing on the output. This is normal behaviour and to be expected.

I hope this helps.


Best Regards,"

thats really strange what they answer. if you want check the truth, you can use a cable 6,3 stereo male to 2 X mono 6.3. now record sine in 1 channel. then plug other channel 6.3 mono to same input and record right channel dont change headphone pot between the 2 records. if the left right diffrence is below 0,2 db you can be sure then it is really digital control

 

[SMJH]

I tried measuring the interface via loopback, but created its own separate thread for anyone interested. The goal is to first and foremost stop tormenting this 2i2 review thread with 16i16 info, and to supplement this forum with data regarding the upper-end of the Gen 4 Scarlett lineup. As in, interfaces that have digital volume, and/or line inputs.

PS: I have no prior measurement experience, but I'm hoping people could point me in the right direction in order to get more accurate or relevant results. I will gladly measure the interface with your criticisms and tips in mind.

 

[l3xtown]

have the master volume which is digital control a end or can it endless rotate ?. normaly digital controllers can be rotate without end. analog controllers have 270 degree end and so can use a marker line .focusrite too write in 16i16 headphone is not digital control

Focusrite 16i16 4th Gen - digital control - YES!

 

[bennybbbx]

Focusrite 16i16 4th Gen - digital control - YES!

focusrite write this to him . see this post https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...n-interface-review.58790/page-10#post-2321137

"Thanks for getting in touch about the 4th Generation of Scarlett interfaces.
The 18i20 features a digitally controlled monitor output, 2 digitally controlled headphone outputs and digitally controlled analogue inputs.
The 18i16 and 16i16 features a digitally controlled monitor output and digitally controlled analogue inputs.
The 4i4 and 2i2 only feature digitally controlled analogue inputs.
The Solo uses all analogue-controlled inputs and outputs."

mean focusrite support write that it have no digital control headphone output only the 18i20 have that. Can see in picture, the digital control input and volume for main output are endless knobs without a line on it. the headphone output knobs have lines, so i believe the info focusrite support write that headphone output is not digital control.

 

[DavidR]

I have the 4i4 Gen 4, using mostly in a test rig. I put it back into my main PC and use Sennheiser HD 580 Precision headphones. To test the headphone pot balance I used a splitter with RCA to the line in (I have no balanced preamp setup at the moment). Using the Focusrite Control 2 I set the input gain to 12dB on L/R (2nd best distortion as measured in my rig). With music playing there was a definite imbalance towards the left channel when increased from zero (about 7 o'clock). The balance (as perceived) was neutral just before 9 which with the gain setting was a comfortable listening level, about what I usually use. Maybe a single tone would expose a bit more imbalance at some point, but I have no complaint with the balance at usable levels. If I set the input gain to zero, I can still detect the imbalance at about the same point, but the headphone pot must be increased for roughly the same listening level (maybe 10.5), well past any imbalance that I detect. Still, there is a very distinct imbalance at very low levels, what Focusrite noted. In my experience they are also correct that even a small increase in the pot setting makes imbalance due to the pot moot. Maybe with time and use that will change, but we can only speculate on that for now.

Also, I don't hear any clicking on volume change, but these headphones are 300 ohm.

 

[bennybbbx]

Maybe with time and use that will change, but we can only speculate on that for now.

how often did you think you change the headphone level when you test ?. the more and hear diffrence happen in my test after 1000 volume change in headphone. but this can happen soon. when change volume 20 times per day 1000 reach in 50 days