Focusrite Scarlett 8i6 3rd Gen

Nice look, build and the sound quality but was very dissapointed that the volume at the rear inputs is incredibily low. I have tried plugging in my drum machine in to th rear inputs and keyboard and the volume is unacceptable. This was a response from Focusrite: “ You do highlight a familiar point with the inflexibility of the line inputs; this is something that we are looking to potentially include in future products should this be feasible. Since these fixed gain ports are designed to accommodate such a wide range of input levels (including very 'hot' signals), when some third-party hardware such as drum machines (which are not outputting at such a high level) are being used they can be a little quieter than ideal.” From what I read in the forums a lot of keyboard players are unhappy after purchasing this interface. This interface is more suitable for recording vocals and guitars but not drum machines or keyboards. Also it is not a very straightforward way to set things in Focusrite Control. Was quite dissatisfied and didn’t expect this from Focusrite. My honest review.

This is my first Focusrite card, after years of having used MOTU devices, which I suppose have spoiled me somewhat and made me slightly regretful of this purchase. Focusrite seems to be the frontrunner in affordable pro audio devices and I have heard great things about them, so I was a little surprised at how awful this card is.

By far the worst thing about this card is the awful control software, and the fact that it's also necessary to make the card do basic things that it should do out of the box. Simply being able to send sound to the various output ports doesn't work by default and requires a lot of fiddling around the software. The front headphone monitoring jacks seem to be hardwired to outputs 1/2 and 3/4, and there's no way to change this. Literally every time I sit down to make music, I seem to burn several minutes poking around in the stupid control panel software just to figure out why sound isn't being sent or recorded on a given port. It's maddening.

The card's build quality is good, but it also frequently loses its USB connection to my Mac and it requires being power cycled, changing the port, etc. I also need to remember to first power on the Mac, and then the soundcard, or else the odds of these problems increase.

I also wish this card could be bus powered and I was surprised to see that it wasn't when I first opened the box. That's on me for not reading the specs clearly enough before I bought it.

I definitely won't buy another Focusrite card, but this one isn't quite bad enough to justify a return. I really wish I'd gotten the MOTU M4/M6 instead, but those are a little out of my budget just now, so I'm kind of stuck with this one.

Firstly, the build quality is excellent, sound is quiet and clear and for this price it’s is a great option for a small home studio set up.

However I find the ‘Mix Control’ software quite confusing and very unintuitive.
I have to restart my mac or already have the Focusrite plugged in on start up, in order for the software to register that it the device connected. The layout of the Mix Control settings are also not user friendly at all.

Another con is that phantom power covers both inputs. It would’ve been nice to have the option to select between the two.

I have since upgraded to external hardware preamps and now mainly use the line inputs / outputs which work absolutely fine. ..once you get the hang of how to route everything with the Mix Control!

The product is amazing in all aspects, it is very powerful, no need to add on that, but it is not suitable for high impedance Headphone, I have two 250 ohms beyerdynamic 770 and 990, the headphones out sound coming from the Focusrite is very weak and not enough for high impedance Headphone, I have bought the Focusrite after reading in their website that with 8i6 model if the device was connected to power it will be suitable to operate 600 ohms headphones, and this information is not precise. They should have mentioned that you will be able to hear sound from your high impedance headphones, but the sound may not be enough for your liking. or you will get 10% of the required power to operate your high impedance headphones.

Anyway, for my 32 ohms AudioTechnics it is working fine, and it is working seamlessly with my KRK Rokite 8 Monitors, the main output is very powerful, 30% of it blows my studio apart.

The Scarlett 8i6 3rd Gen has great sounding converters for abudget interface with just enough audio and midi i/o's for my downsized setup. Super sturdy build and small enough to pack-n-go when traveling without worrying about damage or integrity. My only issue is the headphone pre-amp doesn't manage the impedence on my higher end drivers. Not that big I of an issue if you have a decent cans with less impedance but you really have to crank it up when using fancier headphones. Overall I'm very happy with this interface and plan on relying on it for the next few years until I have space to expand the studio again!

I am new to producing, i'm mainly in the field of photo and video prod so i'm not sure if my comments are something of use, anyways, i bought this since i'm trying to use this on live acoustic performances while i'm taking videos of their performance, i think from all the interfaces that i reviewed, Focusrite really presented their products well and i think it's easy to operate even when you're new to the field of producing and with all the software and support that comes with it, it's something you can rely on. what i like as well with the appearance is it's compact body, the read color and the portability, and oh don't forget the SPDIF!