Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 3rd Gen 4-stars Reviews

Each gen gets noticeably better

I felt like I needed a new interface and chose this one since I already had 2 focusrite interfaces in the past..

and I have to say that the new gen is definitely a step up from the previous ones, feature wise (the air knob), quality wise and the overall feel of the 3rd gen is alot better!

Overall great starter

This is a great interface not only to get started with music production, but also a great companion for the more advanced in career on a more portable setup. Features great sounding pre-amps as well as extremely user-friendly interface.

I would have liked more potent headphone amps and two separate microphone amps like some higher up models have. That being said, there is really is a big versatility with this model, though it is definitely best used for small sessions, due to the fact that it has few inputs and outputs (though I have used a headphone splitter to great effect to address this point).

Overall, solid purchase for the beginner-intermediate range of music production.

Does everything I need

Can't complain, got exactly what I paid for. No surprises here.

May be its not for me

Its a nice little audio interface (and it's really small)

it does not cost much, what it does it does well. but the sound quality has nothing special really, and I found the air a gimmick that I cant see my self using using.

Build construction is okay, main volume control feels a bit cheap, head phone out is okay don't expect it to drive difficult cans..

It is a very good interface for home recordings. The sound is very good and clear. Even the design is very nice. Red color catches the eye! haha

Good product, not the best drivers

Use: Streaming and Recording

Clarity: So the clarity is a give on take. When it works well it is amazing, however sometimes (especially in VOIP application such as Discord), the sound starts to get choppy. The only work-around I have found to this is to use the web browser version of the application. On all the professional software, OBS, Audition, etc, it works just fine. It seems to be either a problem with the drivers or something I can't seem to understand. I have opened a ticket with Discord and we are working on fixing it.

Comprehensibility: As I said, this product is an extremely good pre-amp/interface for the price. Arguably one of the best, however, the Discord incompatibility was a big bummer to me (workaround of using the browser version works fine so not to much of a bummer)

About linuxsupport

I bought this device because its predecessor had a pretty good reputation in the linux world. While the 2i2 2nd Gen seemes to have worked right out of the box under linux operating systems, this is no longer the case with the 3rd generation. One can get it working, though.

The problem is that the 2i2 3rd gen ships in mass storage mode. So when you plug it into your computer the first time, it appears like a usb drive and is not usable as a soundcard. It needs to be set into its operational mode before you can actually use it, which is done using Focusrite's control software. But sadly the software is only available for windows and mac. So I had to go to my parents place, plug my scarlett into their old windows pc and download the necessary software from Focusrite, which then performed a firmware update on the device and set it into "sound card mode". After the firmware update the scarlett worked without further configuration on my Arch Linux laptop.

I don't know if there are other ways to set the device into operation mode, so if you don't have access to a windows or mac computer, I would advise against buying this audio interface.

Although, when you got it working, it seems to be a pretty good audio interface and i had no problems so far. Nice sound, very low background noise, good latencies, and I like the direct monitoring feature. I really don't need the 'Air' feature, but that might just be a matter of taste.

amazing type C audio interface for home studio and portable studio!!!

must go back

I might have been too positive, so... I will send back after 5 minutes test.

the headphone needs more power to drive my AKG k271.

quite a lot more.

I won`t go hard with cutting stars. It might be just my fault.

anyway... it goes straight back