Focusrite Solo, 212 or 4i4?

[Baldo]

quick question; can all the above DACs be used to record one stereo input for tapes?

I have a friend who wants to convert his cassette tapes to digital and I suggested one of the above. I have a Scarlett Solo but I only use that for playback.

I assume that any of the above will do the job.
Many thanks
Baldo

[Drew Stephenson]

The solo does have two inputs but one of them is mic-only. So in practical terms that's not really an option.
The 2i2 has two line inputs so that will do the job with appropriate RCA-TS leads.
The 4i4 is definitely overkill unless he's also thinking of getting into home studio stuff.

However the 2i2 is also probably overkill if all he needs is the line level from a tape converting to a digital signal.
Something like this will almost certainly do the job: https://www.gear4music.com/Recording-an ... erface/AML

[sonics]

I guess it's a laptop computer? Almost all modern desktop computers have perfectly good quality line inputs already.

[James Perrett]

Something like this will almost certainly do the job: https://www.gear4music.com/Recording-an ... erface/AML

I'm not a fan of those I'm afraid. They are too sensitive for the average cassette deck (some people say that they respond to a Windows mixer control but I've never been able to get mine to do that) and also have a habit of whistling quietly along to the music.

By the time you've bought a pair of attenuators you might as well have bought something like this

https://www.andertons.co.uk/behringer-u ... -interface

or

https://www.andertons.co.uk/recording/a ... -interface

or

https://www.andertons.co.uk/recording/a ... -interface

(NB - I've briefly used the first to check it out for a friend but haven't used the other two).

[Drew Stephenson]

Ah, ok. I'd heard about the noise issues with the 202 version but I thought it had been fixed with the 222. My bad.

[James Perrett]

Ah, ok. I'd heard about the noise issues with the 202 version but I thought it had been fixed with the 222. My bad.

The noise problem is very intermittent but annoying when it happens. They are also limited to 16 bits whereas the slightly more expensive interfaces are 24 bit with proper ASIO drivers.

[Drew Stephenson]

Very vexing. I wasn't worried about the bit depth given the use case. But I'm at risk of drifting off topic so I will retract my earlier suggestion and endorse your follow up!

[Baldo]

Thanks for this everyone. It is much appreciated. I think that the best solution will be the 212 in this case. 4i4 is definitely overkill for this situation.

I have a Solo that is great for my needs though.

[sonics]

Ah, ok. I'd heard about the noise issues with the 202 version but I thought it had been fixed with the 222. My bad.

I thought they were exactly the same interface with a different colour and software bundle, actually.

[Drew Stephenson]

Ah, ok. I'd heard about the noise issues with the 202 version but I thought it had been fixed with the 222. My bad.

I thought they were exactly the same interface with a different colour and software bundle, actually.

From James' experience it sounds like your information is better than mine!

[James Perrett]

Ah, ok. I'd heard about the noise issues with the 202 version but I thought it had been fixed with the 222. My bad.

I thought they were exactly the same interface with a different colour and software bundle, actually.

Yes, they look identical but the Amazon listing says that the 222 comes with some extra software - though I don't remember getting anything with mine.

A friend of mine had a similar looking Phonic Digitrack interface which worked well but it wasn't supported in Windows 10.