Focusrite Clarett 8Pre USB 18-In/20-Out Audio Interface, Red (AMS-CLARETT-8PRE-USB)

I have had this for a few months now. I replaced an old first generation Scarlett 18i8.I think the sound quality is a little better, but not a major change (running through Adam A7X monitors).I find that the Focusrite control software that came with it is easier to use than the software that accompanied the Scarlett. It is easy to create different mixes for headphones vs monitors.Connectivity is good. There are two xlr inputs on the front and the rest are on the back.Phantom power can be administered to inputs 1-4 and/or 5-8, but you cannot independently provide phantom power to one single input alone. Only groups of 4.I like the level meter. It's easier to ascertain my input level on this vs the old Scarlett.the "Air" pre-amp setting has too much treble for my taste, so I don't find myself using it. I'm not honestly sure why people make such a big deal about it (this is using AKG c214 and c414).I do notice that there is some crackling when I am adjusting input gain knobs and the monitor volume knob. When I am not touching the knobs there are no noises.Lastly, the unit gives off a lot of heat compared to my previous interface.All in all, I am happy with the purchase. The connectivity is great, the sound is great, and it is super easy to set up and use within minutes.

My situation is kind of unique. I stream and was listening to my PS5 audio via 4K60 Pro set to "Listen". The problem was the audio delay. Elgato processes video signal before audio. Elgato HD60 Pro was pretty dang fast my PS4 audio but apparently the 4KPro spends longer processing the video first. This equaled a very perceptible delay in sound. I decided to rip the audio using and HDMI audio stripper and send the audio to my PC using optical to a Sound Blaster sound card. It was better but still had a pretty noticeable delay. I decided to search for a way to have my own audio purely from the PS5 and the stream audio would be whatever from the HDMI. It was time to upgrade my 2i2 anyway and I found this neat unit. Optical in and it will play whatever audio.This thing nails it. I hear the audio right off my PS5 AND it works great with the SM7B. Also have the JBL sub and 308p IIs running off of this.

I read all of the Scarlett (v.2) reviews and I was still hesitant about Focusrite's usb driver ability. I decided to pay a bit more, hoping they would pay more attention to a slightly more premium model, I guess? Well, It works and sounds perfect!I have a Shure SM7B hooked up through a Cloudlifter and it sounds great. Haven't tried my Jackson through the line in yet, but I'll update when I do.Iv'e had no discerible latency with my controller keyboard running thru the midi port. Everything is snappy out of the box. It's just DAW software that kills my joy, once in a while.The Focusrite software was a bit confusing at first (I think its's the same for the Scarlett lineup), but I got it figured out and I'm off to the races. I'm no audio engineer or audiophile, but I did notice a drastic difference between the Clarett and the line out sound quality from my MB sound card (even on my cheap desktop speakers and my HyperX headphones (which will be the next studio upgrade)).Hopefully they will update this system for years to come (unlike my Digidesign001, which I could only resurrect on a dedicated pc, with XP SP1?). I'm willing to buy a new phone every few years, but not a perfectly working (and sounding), audio I/O.

Extremely well made and well designed piece of hardware. The ADC and DAC chips are a several year-old design, so no longer state of the art, but they still perform well, and are the same ones used by most of Focusrite's competitors in this price range (and at slightly higher ones, too). Great dynamic range and low noise performance. In normal mode the thing is completely transparent. Don't trust reviewers who talk about its "sound"—the frequency response is ruler-flat and the distortion and noise are low enough to be irrelevant.In "Air" mode, you're getting an audio effect. Many reviewers have noted that gives a couple of strong shelf boosts, one in the upper midrange, one more in the treble. I learned from Focusrite (after some tooth-pulling) that it also drops the input impedance from around 6K to 2K. With some mics this will make an audible difference. Nothing more to report, as I don't use this feature.There's one minor hardware shortcoming: the headphone amp isn't universally great. It's got a lot of power, and a high maximum voltage, so it will effortlessly drive studio headphones with high impedances, and sound great doing it. But it has a pretty high output impedance, and is current-limited ... which means that it will have distortion problems with low-impedance headphones that inefficient, like some current planar designs. I use lowish (30 ohm) cans that are very efficient, and find that it plays loud and sounds great. But beware that this is where Focusrite cut corners.Finally, the bad news. Focusrite's software is a minor horror show. I've gotten it working, and gotten it stable, and haven't had problems in months ... but it was a painful couple of days getting the thing to work. This is just inexcusable, especially on a Mac with a supposedly class-compliant device. At least there's the possibility of Focusrite fixing this nonsense down the road. I'll say that their support people were very helpful, although it's unclear what exactly got my software working right (or what was wrong with it in the first place).Knowing what I know now, I still would have bought this interface. It has some imperfections, but I don't see anything else I like as much. They got the industrial design and ease-of-use of the hardware just right, and this is worth a lot to me. And it sounds as good as anything out there, as long as you're not using the wrong headphones.