Home
Movies, Music & Games
Musical Equipment
Audio Interface
Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 (2nd Gen) vs Focusrite Scarlett 2i4 (2nd Gen)

Product Comparison: Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 (2nd Gen) vs Focusrite Scarlett 2i4 (2nd Gen)

Advertiser Disclosure

This site is a free online resource that strives to offer helpful content and comparison features to its visitors. Please be advised that the operator of this site accepts advertising compensation from certain companies that appear on the site, and such compensation impacts the location and order in which the companies (and/or their products) are presented, and in some cases may also impact the scoring that is assigned to them. The scoring that appears on this site is determined by the site operator in its sole discretion, and should NOT be relied upon for accuracy purposes. In fact, Company/product listings on this page DO NOT imply endorsement by the site operator. Except as expressly set forth in our Terms of Use, all representations and warranties regarding the information presented on this page are disclaimed. The information which appears on this site is subject to change at any time. More info

Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 (2nd Gen) USB Audio Interface

Check Price

Best Pick

Focusrite Scarlett 2i4 (2nd Gen) USB Audio Interface

Check Price

General Specifications

Brand

Focusrite

Model

Scarlett 2i2 (2nd Gen)

Scarlett 2i4 (2nd Gen)

Origin

China

About the Product

This is our compact yet versatile 2-in, 2-out USB audio interface. It gives singer songwriters two natural-sounding Scarlett mic preamps and the same class-leading sound quality and digital conversion as the rest of the latest Scarlett range. Take it anywhere, connect by USB, plug your mics and guitars straight in, and simply start recording.

Second generation 2 in / 2 out USB 2.0 audio interface with one Scarlett mic pre amp and one instrument input, 24bit/192kHz & USB bus powered. Pro Tools | First & Ableton Live Lite recording software, plug-ins and samples included. Mac & PC compatible.

Key Specs

Form Factor

Desktop

Control Interfaces

XLR or 1/4" Combo, 1/4"

XLR or 1/4" Combo, 1/4" TRS, RCA

A/D Resolution

24bit/192kHz

Number of Preamps

Simultaneous I/O

2/2

2/4

Form Factor
Number of Preamps

What customers say about "Key Specs"

Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 (2nd Gen) USB Audio Interface

Really low latency. Great sound quality at an affordable price.
Pretty much what I wanted. Fairly clean, neutral and interference free sound using the balanced trs outputs to my JBL LSR305's.
Pre-amps are of good quality, to be expected from Focusrite.
Direct monitor ability is pretty useful for recording certain acoustic instruments that may not be very loud in the DAW.
No Phono out. No Midi In.
It colours the sound of the guitar. the bass is so deep you can't remove it from the software. it sounds like everything is covered by a blanket. I have the brightest sounding guitar on the market, all maple, and sounds like it's made of sponge

Focusrite Scarlett 2i4 (2nd Gen) USB Audio Interface

This thing is great, very clean 24-bit audio in and out. Flawless plug-and-play setup, easy, nice form factor, etc.
Focusrite is known for making high quality equipment and this is no different. I purchased this preamp to use with my AT4040 mic. The device is very well made and easy to use.
The preamps have a somewhat neutral tone, ranging on warm, the outputs are clean and linear, and the software compatibility has been top-notch.
I'm absolutely delighted with this interface. It has done everything I've asked of it, and done it well. The preamps are clean and quiet, analog headroom is impressive, and the unit is solidly constructed.
Just with SCSI cards long past dinosaur, a broken headphone port, lack of preamps, not official drivers and so forth it, was just finally time to make a move to current settings.

Size & Weight

Height

1.89 in.

1.85 in.

Width

6.89 in.

8.27 in.

Depth

4.52 in.

5.43 in.

Weight

1.32 lbs.

1.92 lbs.

What customers say about "Size & Weight"

Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 (2nd Gen) USB Audio Interface

Solid build, looks really good, compact and lightweight.
Feels really well made and sturdy, the small form factor is great.
The device is very ergonomically designed, one of the best on the market in that regard.
The 2i2 has a superior build quality with a sleek solid metal case, the unit has a satisfying weight.

Focusrite Scarlett 2i4 (2nd Gen) USB Audio Interface

I love the small size and the simplicity of the Scarlett Solo as well as its excellent audio quality, and use it now as my primary audio interface.
Makes music sound 5x better! and in a small compact size!
Love the red color and the small size also makes this very easy for traveling.
The only reason i'm not giving it a one star is because it looks nice as a paper weight.
What a piece of junk this 2i4 is. It does look cool and works well as a paper weight, though not quite heavy enough to anchor my boat.

Interfaces

Analog Inputs

2 x XLR-1/4" combo, 1/4" (line/instrument)

2 x XLR-1/4" combo, 2 x 1/4" (line in)

Analog Outputs

2 x 1/4" (line out), 1/4" headphones

4 x 1/4" (line out)

Digital Inputs

USB

MIDI I/O

In/Out

What customers say about "Interfaces"

Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 (2nd Gen) USB Audio Interface

The inputs on the front take both XLR cables and 6.3mm cables (For guitar jacks etc..). It looks great and easy to use.
Just bear in mind line level input is by using 1/4inch jack not xlr. it is very easy.
The headphones seem ideally suited to this interface and for general reference will probably replace my Shures as my work-a-day 'phones.
It would be nice to have some analogue inputs on the back but can live without.
The XLR cable included with the equipment is very low quality my headphones and cable have already started to mess up after 3weeks of use.

Focusrite Scarlett 2i4 (2nd Gen) USB Audio Interface

On the back, the ports are rearranged slightly, and the ¼' audio output sockets no longer protrude half a centimeter.
I definitely recommend this to anyone. However, I'd sooner suggest a Firewire or Thunderbolt model, if you have access to those ports.
I also like the MIDI interface option for allowing me to connect older keyboards for notation software, and it gets bonus points for it looking good next to an iMac.
Great and affordable audio interface! I needed an updated audio interface that had usb, dedicated line out for my studio monitors, and midi for my controller. The Scarlett 2i4 did all of those with great quality and an affordable price.
You can not record properly a keyboard with the Scarlett Solo (some keyboard voices that are stereo), because you don't have two line-in level inputs.

Features

Extras

Two natural-sounding Scarlett mic preamps with plenty of even gain, Super-low latency* for using your plug-ins in real time without the need for DSP, One headphones output with gain control, Connect professional studio monitors using two 1/4 inch balanced jack outputs, Compact and tough enough to take anywhere, Powered by USB so you don't need to carry a power cable, Includes Pro Tools | First Focusrite Creative Pack and Ableton Live Lite

Two natural-sounding Scarlett mic preamps with plenty of even gain, Two newly-designed instrument input, designed for seriously hot pick-ups, Class-leading conversion and sample rates up to 192kHz / 24 bit, Super-low latency* for using your plug-ins in real time without the need for DSP, Cue mix switching, with four analogue outputs, MIDI I/O connectivity, ideal for sending/receiving MIDI notes from a Stage Piano, Compact and tough enough to take anywhere, Includes Pro Tools | First - Focusrite Creative Pack and Ableton Live Lite, All the additional software and loops you need to start recording

Power Supply

USB

Phantom Power

Yes

Bus Powered

Yes

OS Requirements - Mac

Mac OS X 10.10 (Yosemite) or OS X 10.11 (El Capitan)

OS Requirements - PC

Windows 7 (32- or 64-bit), 8.1 and 10

Phantom Power
Bus Powered

What customers say about "Features"

Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 (2nd Gen) USB Audio Interface

Handy indicator LED's to know if your signal is peaking or not.
Headphones are great, the interface includes phantom power for condenser mics and the mic itself produces great audio.
Each input lights up green or red if you overload it allowing one to quickly set the recording level.
The "Gain Ring" is a really intuitive display for telling whether your input level is peaking or not.
USB-C would be nice for the newer MacBook's however for much more money a USB-C model is available.
Installing and registering the software proved to be a labyrinth of pointlessly difficult bull****.

Focusrite Scarlett 2i4 (2nd Gen) USB Audio Interface

This was not only powerful enough to render multiple MIDI tracks with almost no latency, but gave me the ability to record multiple instruments at the same time. And all at the same time.
Configures nicely with all my software. Highly recommend . I got the 2i4 because of it's added cue mic feature.
For the Price, it does the job, I like the additional features it has like the dry signal, the monitor volume control(very convenient) and the option to lower the volume sensitivity if your guitar pickups are hot.
Master volume and individual input volume knobs go red when your signal is too hot. I love that feature. This thing delivers what it promises for a great price. I love it.
I think direct monitor is an awesome feature (it wasn't on the M-box), so I don't have to constantly go to sound settings to monitor the sound.

Warranty / Certifications

Manufacturer Warranty

2 year(s)

Certifications

FCC, CE

FCC

Other Information

Manufacturer

Link

Manual

Download

MSRP