Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 and Sonar X1/X2?

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FlyingSinger2
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2012/09/21 18:18:26 (permalink)

Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 and Sonar X1/X2?

Just before I installed X2, by coincidence, my Cakewalk UA-1G USB audio interface seems to have failed. It still works, but it badly clips even very low level guitar inputs at exactly the same settings that worked fine a few days earlier. I have switched temporarily to a little Behringer USB unit I had bought, tried and rejected. I forget why but I went with the Cakewalk UA-1G which I was happy with until the clipping started. Behringer is working now but I am looking to upgrade.

I'm thinking of the Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 which looks pretty good (I'm a solo singer-songwriter so I usually do one thing at a time) for about $134 on Amazon. I've only seen a couple of reviews but they say good preamps, good latency, and good drivers for 64 bit Win 7. Does anyone have any experience with this with Sonar, or advice for an alternate ($200 is the max I'm willing to spend right now). I am running a Toshiba Qosmio x775 laptop with 8 GB RAM and Intel Core i7 (it has USB 3.0 if that matters - 2i2 is USB 2.0). 

Thanks a lot,
Bruce
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11 Replies Related Threads

    Mystic38
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    Re:Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 and Sonar X1/X2? 2012/09/21 18:34:27 (permalink)
    its a solid unit..nothing better really until you get to the $250 range imo

    HPE-580T with i7-950, 8G, 1.5T, ATI6850, Win7/64, Motu 828 III Hybrid, Motu Midi Express, Sonar Platinum, Komplete 9, Ableton Live 9 & Push 2, Melodyne Editor and other stuff, KRK VXT8 Monitors
    Virus Ti2 Polar, Fantom G6, Yamaha S70XS, Novation Nova, Novation Nova II, Korg MS2000, Waldorf Micro Q, NI Maschine Studio, TC-VoiceLive Rack, 2012 Gibson Les Paul Standard, 2001 Gibson Les Paul DC, 1999 Fender Am Hardtail Strat, Fender Blues Jr, Orange TH30/PPC212, Tak EF360GF, one mic, no talent.
    #2
    derFunkenstein
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    Re:Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 and Sonar X1/X2? 2012/09/21 19:57:13 (permalink)
    I got a Scarlett 8i6 in April, which was phenomenal in X1 - my i3 system runs at very low latencies with it even with plenty of tracks.  I am expecting X2 to be just as good.

    King Ben of Nopantsville
    #3
    NW Smith
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    Re:Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 and Sonar X1/X2? 2012/09/21 20:18:17 (permalink)
    Scarlett 18i6 working flawlessly (so far) with X2.

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    Equipment: Intel Core i3, 3.2 GHz, Sonar Platinum, Ramsa WR-S4416 Mixer,  Focusrite  Scarlett 18i6
    #4
    chuckebaby
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    Re:Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 and Sonar X1/X2? 2012/09/21 20:53:54 (permalink)
    200-180 on sale at times...
    the presonus saffire 6 usb.
    tested and working for windows 7 sonar x2
    thats what you want..something tested and working nice.
    for 180...200.
    look into it.its got the presonus award winning pres's in it. and midi support.
    2 - 1/4 inch guitar/xlr phantom powered inputs.

    Windows 8.1 X64 Sonar Platinum x64
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    #5
    derFunkenstein
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    Re:Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 and Sonar X1/X2? 2012/09/21 21:33:52 (permalink)
    uhwha?  Saffire 6 is Focusrite.  

    King Ben of Nopantsville
    #6
    Starbuckle
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    Re:Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 and Sonar X1/X2? 2012/09/21 22:01:52 (permalink)
    Hello,

    I just bought the Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 and I love it.  Before my Sonar X2 Producer crashed I recorded my electric guitar with an SM57 into the 2i2.  I was able to listen to the recording and I was extremely impressed!  I also like the fact that the housing is made of metal and it's completely powered by USB, including phantom power, which I haven't tried yet.

    I'm very happy so far.  Got mine at Best Buy.

    Good luck to you.

    Duke Starbuckle
    #7
    FlyingSinger2
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    Re:Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 and Sonar X1/X2? 2012/09/23 10:15:17 (permalink)
    Thanks for the tips! I ordered a 2i2 to try out this coming week.

    -Bruce


    SoundCloud
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    #8
    harpman58
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    Re:Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 and Sonar X1/X2? 2012/10/03 03:11:58 (permalink)

    Getting ready to dump my TASCAM US-1800 due to high latency drivers.  Looking at the Scarlett 18i6.  How are you handling the 8 ADAT channels. Are you using a optical patch bay?  Looks like this unit has 8 analog, 2 S/PDIF and 8 ADAT for a total of 18 input.  I need to be able to patch the 8 channel ADAT into XLR or 1/4". Glad to see it working with X2.  I haven't been able to get under 15ms RT using my TASCAM US-1800.  Have you been able to get 10ms or less? What are you setting your ASIO buffer I/O to?  


    Scarlett 18i6
    NW Smith


    Scarlett 18i6 working flawlessly (so far) with X2.



    Gio Stefani
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    rcrees
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    Re:Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 and Sonar X1/X2? 2012/10/03 16:13:00 (permalink)
    I just bought the 2i2 last week.  I wanted an interface that I could plug my Tele straight into without a lot of noise.  Two places I visited recommended the 2i2 for its Focusrite preamps.  They were right. Plugging both my Tele and a cheap mic into it produced very clean sound.  The latency at default setting was not acceptable, but after tweaking now performs as well as my Audiophile USB did, and I believe I can get it even lower if I drop my buffers a bit. Still tweaking.  Also LOVE the look and feel of it. Very sexy... for a sound card.

    Best,
    Rob


    http://www.rcreesmusic.com
    Dell XPS 8300, Intel Core i7, 8gigs ram, AMD Radeon 6670, Two SATA II 500gig hard drives, one 250gig external USB drive, Focusrite Scarlett 2i2, M-Audio Keystation 61es, Windows 7 Home Premium, SONAR X3 Producer, many sample libraries including EastWest PLAYx64 Gold Complete, RA, Stormdrum and Choirs
    #10
    Beepster
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    Re:Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 and Sonar X1/X2? 2012/10/03 16:22:53 (permalink)
    @harpman... The 18i6 ADAT connector provides 8 extra inputs at 44.1 but if you want a higher samplerate you will only get 4 extra inputs. If your Tascam has an optical out on it you should be able to plug it into the 18i6 for extra inputs. The 18i6 then does all the work. Supposedly any mic pre or box with an optical out should work. I haven't tried it yet though. It is a very nice unit for the price. Cheers.
    #11
    harpman58
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    Re:Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 and Sonar X1/X2? 2012/10/04 01:39:16 (permalink)
    Beepster,
    I went ahead with the purchase of the 18i6 with a Presonus Digimax 8D. Was told the pre-amps were awesome on the 8D.  I've added some X2 screen shots to show how I got the latency the lowest I could and maintain stability. Hope they come across:

    https://www.dropbox.com/s/p4f5v9nhq0i950m/1.jpg

    https://www.dropbox.com/s/6ys7758wxwoycyf/2.jpg

    https://www.dropbox.com/s/6r0g9rpesw03u74/3.jpg

    https://www.dropbox.com/s/t05kup2so54mkhd/4.jpg
    Beepster


    @harpman... The 18i6 ADAT connector provides 8 extra inputs at 44.1 but if you want a higher samplerate you will only get 4 extra inputs. If your Tascam has an optical out on it you should be able to plug it into the 18i6 for extra inputs. The 18i6 then does all the work. Supposedly any mic pre or box with an optical out should work. I haven't tried it yet though. It is a very nice unit for the price. Cheers.



    Gio Stefani
    Sound / Video Engineer
    Stefani Entertainment

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    #12
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