Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 Studio Pack (2nd Gen) Review

Focusrite Scarlett Studio Bundle Review - Do you need the Scarlett 2i2 or Solo for streaming?

Practise y'all demand an XLR mic and audio interface for streaming?

They might non be the flashiest piece of tech you can add to your desktop setup, only an sound interface unlocks so many interesting audio opportunities, that it might just be one of the virtually exciting - if you're a total nerd, that is.

Despite being a niggling scrap more than expensive than the real bargain basement options, the Solo and 2i2 in the Focusrite Scarlett series are easily some of the best sound interfaces you can pick up as an enthusiast.

Focusrite Scarlett Studio Bundle Review

With a relatively accessible price bespeak and a feature set up that really works for a lot of dissimilar use cases, both the Solo and 2i2 in the Scarlett serial are easy to recommend.

Merely merely in fourth dimension for the gifting flavour, they're at present available in the Focusrite Scarlett Studio Bundle, which packs in either the 2i2 or Solo with an XLR microphone and pair of monitor headphones for a comparable cost to premium USB microphones.

While the bundled extras are quite utilitarian - the monitors aren't most as comfy as the best headsets effectually - the audio interface is peachy and the microphone is skilful, despite not having the actually elementary and streamlined software of USB-continued competitors.

It's easy to categorise USB microphones as the elementary, "plug-in-and-play" option and paint XLR equally the more professionally-focused, granular culling. Still, in my feel, this isn't as much downwardly to the hardware as the software included with the products.

In terms of connecting a Focusrite Scarlett to your estimator and hooking up a microphone, it's just every bit like shooting fish in a barrel every bit anything else, just with 1 extra layer. It's when you get to implementing things like noise reduction that the proprietary audio suites you get with something like the Yeti Ten or EPOS B20 give you a simpler pathway than diving into tertiary-party solutions.

This is where y'all can actually encounter that Focusrite is more than geared towards music recording than streaming, because what yous do go with the Studio Packet though is a load of gratis plugins and starter recording workspaces - dandy if yous're playing music, less and then if you want squeaky clean audio for your stream.

Merely on the flip side, although it'due south a lot more piece of work, you lot could see this equally an opportunity to create a more customised sound suite for yourself - the whole indicate of getting an XLR is having a professional level of flexibility afterward all. Fifty-fifty with more premium options, like the aforementioned EPOS B20, the included audio software with USB mics tin can leave a lot to be desired and hither you tin only focus immediately on putting together something that works for y'all.

In terms of value in the Studio Bundle, despite coming in a large exciting box that genuinely would make a fun gift regardless of the very practical nature of the production, the included monitor headphones and microphone in the Focusrite Studio Packet aren't the best, and so you lot could consider picking up the interface on its own if you're buying for yourself.

All the same, you would get nowhere close to snagging a better pair of cans and plusher microphone inside the ~£70ish y'all'll save opting for only the little ruddy box, so if you don't have a suitable gear up of over-ears or an XLR-connected mic already, or plan for this to exist the just sound outlay you brand, it'due south non an actively bad bargain. But if your budget stretches to the extra couple of hundred it would take to choice up i of the more popular XLR microphones and a fancier set of headphones, at that place's no point paying for what yous'd upgrade anyway.

In this regard, it's also worth noting that the included microphone with the Focusrite Studio Bundle is a condenser microphone. "Condenser" mics are more sensitive to noise than the "dynamic" XLR-connected microphones people usually opt for when streaming, since dynamic mics are better at leaving out the background intrusions that come up often in a gaming stream like a PC fan or clacking mechanical keyboard.

Practise y'all need an audio interface for gaming streaming?

The unproblematic answer here is probably not. Yous could definitely get away using a USB microphone, and in that location's a reason that the Blueish Yeti is ubiquitous on the streams of hobbyists and pros alike.

But by that same token, there'southward too a reason audiophiles swear past XLR-connected mics and baulk at the claims of more expensive USB options.

Why would y'all need an audio interface for gaming streaming then?

If yous want high-quality audio that's still flexible plenty to exercise fun stuff with, then y'all need an audio interface and XLR mic. For case, if you want to add some light-headed modulations to your repertoire - similar emulating the narrator from Darkest Dungeon or putting autotune on your voice - then having a clean signal makes that much easier and is something a lot of big streamers exercise.

A lot of USB microphones are very self-contained, simply working with the arranged software they come with and therefore are just as skillful equally that program. Whereas working with a Focusrite Scarlett you lot can take your audio to more than creative places.

What's more, interfaces in full general, and specifically the Focusrite Scarlett series, have a Straight Monitor function, which lets you hear the audio signal going into the unit. Whether you're podcasting or streaming, this lets y'all go along an eye - or rather an ear - on what's happening, so you can conform the levels to end sounds from clipping if things become raucous, or tell if your viewers/listeners actually tin can hear your significant other singing in the shower from upstairs.

Outside of gaming streams, both the Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 and Solo feature instrument inputs which allow yous record your own physical instruments into a DAW like (the included) Pro Tools or utilise your computer every bit an essentially silent amplifier.

The Scarlett series stands out as an affordable sound interface that doesn't ruin your instrument betoken with admittedly gnarly baloney if you endeavour to play something with a piddling chest hair - making it perfect for rock and metallic players, or whatever style of guitarist, bassist, or other musician looking to take advantage of the plethora of crawly gratuitous amp sims or effect suites out there.

So while you might not want to take reward of these right at present, you know it's not going to be unusable should yous ever desire to in hereafter.

Do you lot need the Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 or Solo?

When you lot're making the choice of whether to purchase the Scarlett 2i2 or Solo, you don't need to worry about the insides. Both interfaces feature the aforementioned quality innards, and really, the only option you're making is whether you need ii total XLR inputs, or one.

If your utilize instance is streaming or recording a podcast with ii people in the same room, each with their own XLR microphone, then y'all demand the 2i2 to record them both simultaneously.

Merely if y'all're flying… solo… the Scarlett Solo has the single XLR input you need, likewise as an additional musical instrument input you can employ for a guitar or like music maker.

Is the Focusrite Scarlett Studio Bundle Worth information technology?

Equally we discussed above, although the included headphones aren't the nigh comfortable, you would have to buy very 2d-mitt to see a marked improvement for the same cost as the Focusrite Studio Bundle.

On the input side, the included condenser microphone isn't ideal for a busy figurer desk and investing in a dissimilar, dynamic microphone could serve you ameliorate in noisy environments.

However, saying that, the Scarlett Studio Bundle mic has performed amend for me than a lot of others I've tried, especially with extra noise suppression - so it's definitely good enough. Simply then you lot have to weigh up why you're fifty-fifty bothering with an sound interface; if it's to accept near-perfect, background-costless sound for your stream or podcast, then peradventure you desire to look at a dynamic microphone.

At the time of writing, a Scarlett Solo sets you lot back ~£90 on Amazon UK, with the Studio Bundle coming in at simply over £160. When the almost pop standalone XLR mics cost effectually £100, with some closer to £300 on their own, you can see that there'due south a decent value proffer in the bundle, even if you lot do end upwardly somewhen upgrading the accessories.

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Source: https://www.vg247.com/focusrite-scarlett-studio-bundle-review

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