Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 USB Recording Interface

Reviews for Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 USB Recording Interface

Customer Reviews and Ratings

4.0 out of 5 stars

Based on 7 reviews

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  • 1.0 out of 5 stars

    Worked great on Lion 10.7, but no longer with Mountain Lion 10.8

    • Written by from Cowes

    1 of 4 people found this useful

    Such a lovely piece of kit that worked great for me until I upgraded to Mountain Lion. Now there are endless issues.... Sadly I cant "go back" to Lion for software reasons, so am stuck. Focusrite Support have tried to be helpful, but ultimately, there is nothing they can do. So right now, as of this review date. I would AVOID if you're on 10.8.

    NB. To be fair, it does say on the Apple site that its only compatible up to 10.7. But of cause, this is not something you're aware of when you hit upgrade. I just presumed that an international company such as Focusrite, would make sure their kit work on the latest Mac Software... I mean, why wouldn't they? Just crazy...! Especially when Apple sell it in their stores.

    PS. Works great on my Windows machine, God Bless Microsoft!

    Was this useful? Worked great on Lion 10.7, but no longer with Mountain Lion 10.8

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  • 1.0 out of 5 stars

    Do not buy this box.

    • Written by from Vancouver

    5 of 10 people found this useful

    This interface has issues with clipping audio. The guitar input has trouble handling the direct input from electric guitars and basses. It just clips. Also, if you are planning to have anything loud come in through a mic that doesn't have a pad built in, it will also clip. This is not just my user experience. For more user complaints re: this issue go look up sound on sound magazine and type 2i2 clipping in the search.

    Was this useful? Do not buy this box.

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  • 5.0 out of 5 stars

    Superb

    • Written by from Stony Creek

    Sound quality and ease of use/setup are amazing! Worked seamlessly with my Mac.

    Was this useful? Superb

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  • 5.0 out of 5 stars

    Great product

    • Written by from New York

    13 of 15 people found this useful

    I switched to this after my apogee duet mysteriously died. In thought about upgrading to the newer Duet, however apogee's lack of support and non existent customer service drove to me look for different options. Very glad I found this. Great design and sound...love the in chassis inputs --- sick of breakout cables. This really is plug and play which is essential when paired with MacBook.

    Was this useful? Great product

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  • 5.0 out of 5 stars

    Get pro-level quality at a Target-like price

    • Written by from New York

    23 of 24 people found this useful

    This interface is utterly simple, solidly-built, and great sounding. I've been doing music production and recording for over 10 years, so I can assure you that if you are tight on space and cash flow, but don't want to compromise on quality, this interface is fantastic. You have 2 pro-level, mic-pre's that sound great, with bit and sample rates that far exceed CD-quality sound, encased in rugged, flashy, metal enclosure that is no larger than a wireless router. It is utterly perfect for mobile recording with a laptop, or a home/pro studio. With features like direct source monitoring, phantom power, XLR and 1/4" inch support, and a suite of decent FX plug-ins for your DAW, singer-songwriters, apartment producers, and budding musicians can now capture, edit, and produce professional-level material with any Mac, a Scarlett 2i2, a quality mic, USB keyboard, and a whole lot of imagination and talent. That is utterly amazing considering that 7 years ago, similar capabilities would have required thousands of $, much more space, and more-limited computing power and interface options. You should buy this just to celebrate your freedom from that reality.

    Was this useful? Get pro-level quality at a Target-like price

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  • 5.0 out of 5 stars

    Great component to your home studio

    • Written by from Kingsport

    26 of 27 people found this useful

    I evaluated the usual options including Apogee, and decided on the Scarlet 2i2. Not having really thought through a home studio setup; I realized what I needed was a single instrument interface, and microphone interface, that performed well. The Scarlet does just that! True optimum recording, do to all the variables that come into music is in the 60KHz range + or -. The Scarlett gives you up to 96 KHz and this is more than what is considered optimum. The Scarlett is not some stripped down model, but what really could be thought of as Focusrite Lite, i.e. with only 2 in /out, but high quality clean sound. The money I saved on the interface by not overbuying helped me purchase Blue's new Reactor Mic, quality Mic cable and stand. My MBP early 2011, Gargae Band found the 2i2 instantly after driver installation; and for the first run I plugged my Acoustic Electric into the Focusrite, and made a beautiful, fully present, good soundstage, natural recording. No problems with clipping, just adjusted the volume control on my active pickup. Nice buy!

    Was this useful? Great component to your home studio

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  • 5.0 out of 5 stars

    Buy this!

    • Written by from Brooks

    37 of 37 people found this useful

    Lot's of options on the market, but I'm glad I bought this one. Unless, your mixing a whole band at once, or mixing down a drummer that can't play dynamics, this is phenomenal. I coupled mine with a Rode NT1-A, and there is no -absolutely none- harmonic distortion (aka fuzz); in the headphones, through the computer, even during 8 way live simultaneous playback! even, with a long cable to my middle class amp, that's running mid size polk audios. After vocal recordings, with no compression, no fuzz! My 5 yr old daughter spent time screaming into the mic, and it still didn't distort, or pop on playback.

    Don't be fooled by other claims, focus rite runs a true 96KHz sample rate. Some models run higher, but chances are, your recording software will compromise itself, or not benefit from a higher rate. Older products are still sampling at 48KHz. For what this costs, go the 96!

    Does have phantom power (not mentioned on the apple site).

    Thank you Focusrite!

    Was this useful? Buy this!

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