Re:Focusrite Scarlett 2i4 USB Audio Interface
2013/01/18 18:46:55
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The Scarlett 2X4 was on my short, short list of interfaces to upgrade from my Tascam US-122. The 122 was great, I had it for about 10 years and I caught some great recordings with it, but it wasn't up to Win64 and it was USB1.
I ended up buying the AVID Fast Track C600 because I like having mics and guitars wired in all the time and I can switch inputs with a button and not have to unplug. I definitely need the MIDI too. I really like the DSP (i.e. built in - real time) reverb effects on the 2 headphone channels in the C600. I record a lot of accoustic guitar into a condenser so it's nice to warm up the sound with (virtually) zero latency. The mix for multiple outputs is something I haven't tried yet but plan to (the C600 has 3 stereo out pairs, each with TRS plugs). Right now I have Event 20/20 monitors hooked up and they are sounding good.
One big difference between the C600 and the US122 is the peaking. With the US122 the peaks were pseudo-estimated so very often you would get a quick red light but the sound didn't really distort in playback. With the C600 if you get a peak from the meter or from SONAR - it is going to pop.
With the Focusrite they kept preaching the pre's (we are legendary) but I really didn't see anything that convinced me. What more expensive interfaces like the Neves have is gain. In this (~$200) range the best you get is about 55dB.
The truth is I wish I could try both before buying.
Another option for a few more bucks is the Roland Quad Capture. They preach pre's too but Roland's backs it up with some better specs. They also have an auto gain set function that may (or may not) be worth something. The Roland runs both WDM and ASIO. My C600 is running ASIO.
I like the C600. It's been no trouble with X2 or X2b. Everything works as advertised.