So, I’m not entirely sure what the driver does over and above what Mac OS X is already doing, but you do need to install it. Plugging a pair of headphones into the socket on the front and pushing out some audio through Audirvana Plus confirmed that it was “working fine.” However, I did later run into trouble getting the 2i2 working with Room Eq Wizard, and installing the driver seemed to fix the problem. But heck, this is a USB Class 2 device, and I’m writing this on a fairly recent Mac laptop, so what happens if I just plug it in? Voila! The Focusrite showed up in the System Preferences as “Scarlett 2i2 USB” and in Audio Midi as a 24-bit device capable of 44.1, 48, 88.2, and 96 kHz operation, for both input and output. My first thought was to download the latest drivers from the Focusrite website. Other than the unit itself, the box includes a USB cable, a “Getting Started” guide, and a CD/DVD with drivers and some other software. The knobs feel a little plasticky but I’d be surprised if anyone had issues with appearance or “build quality” of the Scarlett at the price. I’d say it’s more like fuchsia… at any rate, it looks nothing at all like the pictures on the Focusrite webpage! The case is a “brushed” aluminium and looks quite nice, I suppose, with “Focusrite” painted on the top. The first thing you notice about the Focusrite Scarlett 2i2, on taking it out of the box, is that it is not scarlet. Reliable operation on both Windows and Mac, 24/96 operation, and good measured performance, were also key attributes. There are also cheaper units around but low cost was not the only goal. However, that functionality also brings increased complexity, which works against the ease-of-use goal. In the next issue, I will be publishing a review of the MOTU Microbook II, which has a lot of interesting functionality for a modest increase in cost. There are more complex and versatile units out there. The main criteria were ease of use, good performance, and a reasonable price. After reading as much as I could on anything in the under $200 range, I decided on the Focusrite Scarlett 2i2. Following my review of the Calibrated Dayton EMM-6 Microphone in the last issue of HifiZine, I needed to come up with a recommendation for a suitable USB audio interface (aka “sound card”), for people interested in doing acoustic measurements, whether to optimise their system’s bass response or as an aid to building loudspeakers.
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