Scarlett vs Clarett

[lordmike]

Good morning! I'm hoping someone could help me out or at least confirm my suspicions. I am presently using a Focusrite 8i6 and generally love it so naturally I wonder if I wouldn't love the Clarett range more. But, I'm not entirely sure if I would be able to hear a difference because of how I run my 8i6. I use a Blue Robbie with a Dragonfly or Baby Bottle into one of the line-ins and I use an OXBOX into the SPDIF input. The only time I use the built in preamps is when I'm tracking guitars but I reamp those back through the OXBOX. So 90% of the time I'm avoiding the guts of the unit and going right to the converter (at least I think that's true) and that is probably the exact way I would use the Clarett. Looking at the specs of the two it looks like the preamps are the primary difference so does anyone think I would benefit from going to a Clarett or would the improvement be negligible? I also want to say that I'm reluctant to upgrade the 8i6 because of how used to it I am as well as the Clarett doesn't have the loopback function. I know there are ways around that but I use it so often that I like that it is built into the Scarlett. Also, I know some of you will likely suggest other brands and while I love and appreciate your knowledge and ideas, I really want to stick with Focusrite stuff because of how they sit in my studio. I like the forward facing controls so I can stuff them in my rack. Thanks everyone!

[Luke W]

I would say that unless your current interface simply doesn't do something you want it to do, or there is a clear and obvious audible failing then it's probably not worth the bother. In fact in your case with the lack of the built in loopback feature it sounds like you'll likely end up losing more than you gain!

So my vote is to save yourself the money and the effort, and stick with what you've got until you run out of places to plug things in or hear something unforgivably nasty.

[Zukan]

http://compare.focusrite.com/chart

[Drew Stephenson]

According to the specs you are getting slightly better converters in the Clarett, but unless you're in a professionally treated environment, with top-grade monitoring, I'd be amazed if you could hear the difference.
(running a gen1 8i6 and quite happy with it here)

[Wonks]

http://compare.focusrite.com/chart

I must say that 'filter' feature on the comparison chart is utter pants. I can't select to just sho Scarlett and Clarett products, just Scarlett or Clarett, which makes a joke of it being a 'comparison' chart.

[lordmike]

I would say that unless your current interface simply doesn't do something you want it to do, or there is a clear and obvious audible failing then it's probably not worth the bother. In fact in your case with the lack of the built in loopback feature it sounds like you'll likely end up losing more than you gain!

So my vote is to save yourself the money and the effort, and stick with what you've got until you run out of places to plug things in or hear something unforgivably nasty.

Thanks for the confirmation! That is what I was thinking but I wasn't sure if there was some magic in the Clarett I didn't know about.

According to the specs you are getting slightly better converters in the Clarett, but unless you're in a professionally treated environment, with top-grade monitoring, I'd be amazed if you could hear the difference.
(running a gen1 8i6 and quite happy with it here)

My space is well treated but it isn't "professional." It sounds great but is admittedly far from perfect

[Drew Stephenson]

http://compare.focusrite.com/chart

I must say that 'filter' feature on the comparison chart is utter pants. I can't select to just sho Scarlett and Clarett products, just Scarlett or Clarett, which makes a joke of it being a 'comparison' chart.

You can select individual products from the different ranges though.

[Drew Stephenson]

According to the specs you are getting slightly better converters in the Clarett, but unless you're in a professionally treated environment, with top-grade monitoring, I'd be amazed if you could hear the difference.
(running a gen1 8i6 and quite happy with it here)

My space is well treated but it isn't "professional." It sounds great but is admittedly far from perfect

I'd be looking at spending my effort elsewhere then if I were you - unless there's something specific you're missing with the Scarlett.

[Wonks]

http://compare.focusrite.com/chart

I must say that 'filter' feature on the comparison chart is utter pants. I can't select to just sho Scarlett and Clarett products, just Scarlett or Clarett, which makes a joke of it being a 'comparison' chart.

You can select individual products from the different ranges though.

Yes you obviously can. But how can you easily compare two different ranges without all the others getting in the way? I can look at a single range from the main web pages. I think they need a new web page designer.

[Drew Stephenson]

http://compare.focusrite.com/chart

I must say that 'filter' feature on the comparison chart is utter pants. I can't select to just sho Scarlett and Clarett products, just Scarlett or Clarett, which makes a joke of it being a 'comparison' chart.

You can select individual products from the different ranges though.

Yes you obviously can. But how can you easily compare two different ranges without all the others getting in the way? I can look at a single range from the main web pages. I think they need a new web page designer.

Like that: http://compare.focusrite.com/chart?filt ... t+4Pre+USB

[Dave Rowles]

I have a Scarlett solo and a Clarett 4pre.

The pres on the Clarett pres are significantly better than the Scarlett. Hands down. I notice a real difference between vocals tracks before I got the Clarett, and the ones I do now. Same mic and room and singer.

Similarly when I've got my bass or guitar jacking direct into the Clarett, I notice a significant difference.

I haven't noticed much of a difference when putting a line level signal in.

Basically, if you're not using the pres at all, then it's not worth it. But if you do need to track using the pres, it's worth the upgrade.

[Tomás Mulcahy]

Hands down.

How many? And are you measuring metric or imperial?

[Drew Stephenson]

Hands down.

How many? And are you measuring metric or imperial?

A hand is an imperial measure of 4 inches...

[N i g e l]

Hands down.

How many? And are you measuring metric or imperial?

A hand is an imperial measure of 4 inches...

or a dozen barleycorns....

[Dave Rowles]

It really depends on where the hands are going when they're down...

I'll get my coat.