Need help from anyone that has a Focusrite Scarlett interface

    Greetings,


    I purchased a Focusrite Scarlett 18i8 today after doing a lot of research, and asking many ppl about it. Only heard good things.
    However, now that I have it I notice the the bass response on it is pretty low.
    Both on my monitors and headphones the bass response is low and if I raise the volume it sounds a bit compressed ? Overall the sound quality is worse than my 6 year old 100$ line6 toneport ?
    Plugging my headphones/monitors directly into the Kemper yields a world of difference.
    I contacted support through Live Chat and explained my situation and their only answer was that the interface must be defective on the hardware level, but I have my doubts...


    By the way this is both for Kemper sound and music in general. Everything seems lacking oomph and a bit more "sibilant" if I may..


    Thoughts anyone ?

    Edited once, last by Havohej ().

    How is the profiler connected to the audio-interface, and what type of profiles do you use?


    I'm not making any assumptions wrt this case, but it is quite common to see high-gain players hooking their profilers up and audio-interfaces or mixing desk complain about the lack of bass response or tone in general, not realising that the profilers outputs are running way too hot for whatever it is connected to. All they would need to do to discover that they are dealing with clipping and/or distortion is to try a clean rig. The profilers main XLR outputs are line-level, while most mixing-consoles and audio-interfaces have XLR-inputs designed for mic-level signals. I wonder how many of these issues would be avoided had the profiler had the main outs set at -20 or -25dB by default.

    Its not a matter of connection guys, since as I said all music (mp3 etc.) played through the interface has the same issue, not just the kemper.


    I just want to make sure that indeed my 18i8 is defective, and not just low on bass by design.
    Either way I am returning this unit because the sound quality is mediocre at best. I just wanted to know whether to ask for a replacement or my money back.



    PS: Atleast in the Kempers case I am connected via SPDIF.
    PS2: It seems another user on the Kemper forum had a similar problem ? He never reported back on the fix....

    Okay, so after comprehensive testing earlier on, and after adjusting the levels between the interface and the kemper headphone output, it seems that the difference is there but minimal.
    The difference I might have experienced yesterday might have been exaggerated because of possibly higher volume. Also the headphone amps have different impedance which might also affect the frequency response I guess.


    The weak bass response is still there on the monitors, but I might have a connection problem, since I am currently using a TS cable to connect my balanced output to the balanced inputs on my monitors, both of which require TRS jacks. The reason the TS cables worked for my old interface is because the analog outputs were unbalanced and I assumed these were as well.


    I will get TRS cables today because I need them anyway. If that doesn't change anything I will heed customer support's advice to return the unit under warranty since I literally can't find a single report of someone complaining about bass response on any scarlett model not just the 18i8.


    Any further input is appreciated :)

    Quote from skoczy

    The same here. Kemper <- SPDIF -> Scarlett 6i6 and the sound quality is superb.


    @Havohej are you on the latest software for your device?


    Hey Skoczy,
    Since you are using more or less the same soundcard I have can you please check whether your headphone outputs on the 6i6 sound as good as the headphone output on the kemper with the same track running through it ?
    I've been trying to clear my ears and do comparisons and now while the difference is not so big anymore, there IS still a difference with the scarlett having a slightly less "open" sound and less bass.
    I reamped both through SPDIF and analog and in both cases the difference in the headphone outputs is the same, so not an SPDIF issue.


    I'm on the latest drivers and the customer support even gave me beta drivers to see whether there is a difference but there was not.

    Okay it seems my cables are indeed behind the problem with the monitors. As for the headphones, my ears are adjusting and I don't feel like the bass is that lacking anymore.
    I tried using my old interface today and while the bass was stronger it sounded muddy compared to scarlett.
    I am gonna give it a few more days for my ears to adjust, but I can still hear a small difference for sure between monitoring on the scarlett or directly via the Kemper headphone output.
    Might just be that the Kemper headphone amp suits my headphones more or just plain better, dunno.


    Would be nice if someone else with a Scarlett tested this to see whether their Kemper's headphone amp sounds better than their Scarlett's.

    Quote from Havohej


    check whether your headphone outputs on the 6i6 sound as good as the headphone output on the kemper with the same track running through it ?.


    What you mean by track? Just playing profile on Kemper and chekcing both Kemper HEADPHONE and Scarlett Headphone OUT?

    Quote from skoczy

    What you mean by track? Just playing profile on Kemper and chekcing both Kemper HEADPHONE and Scarlett Headphone OUT?


    Hey Skoczy, Thank you :)


    Oh by track I meant reamping so your hands are free to switch the headphones between the two.
    But you can just test normally with playing I guess :)


    Thanks again for your time everyone !

    Quote from Havohej

    Hey Skoczy, Thank you :)


    Oh by track I meant reamping so your hands are free to switch the headphones between the two.
    But you can just test normally with playing I guess :)


    Thanks again for your time everyone !


    I'm not setup for reamping, so I will just compare the same profile on Kemper and on Scarlett. Or can you quickly tell me how to setup for reamping?

    I'm not sure how you would reamp on a 6i6 because the mix control panel might be different, but why bother anyway if you don't have it setup.
    Its more of a hassle setting it up than switching outputs while playing the guitar :D
    I'm really grateful that you would take so much time to help me mate :)

    I never noticed anything swirly with speakers connected out of phase - that's more of a time domain issue where the signal has a slight delay. What I'm talking about is when you have one woofer in a speaker pushing out while the other speaker has a woofer that's moving in. Of course by woofer I mean the larger speaker in the enclosure. If you've ever hooked up one speaker backwards in a home stereo you know exactly what I'm talking about. :)


    Pete


    Quote from mDan

    Out of phase would be quite drastic thin sounding though...


    Quote from Michael_dk

    ...or just plain weird and swirly.


    I also have a focusrite interface, but with DSP effects built into the mix control software. Does the scarlett have that as well?

    Quote from okstrat

    I never noticed anything swirly with speakers connected out of phase - that's more of a time domain issue where the signal has a slight delay. What I'm talking about is when you have one woofer in a speaker pushing out while the other speaker has a woofer that's moving in. Of course by woofer I mean the larger speaker in the enclosure. If you've ever hooked up one speaker backwards in a home stereo you know exactly what I'm talking about. :)


    Pete


    Really? Cause when I hear things that are out of phase like this (the correct term is reversed polarity, I guess) it sounds much weirder than just phasing due to delayed signal (which is a comb filtering effect, where parts of the signal will be more or less out of phase). It sounds like the sound has been turned inside out or something. Really messing with your head :) Of course, I sit right in the middle between two monitors, where the effect will be most noticable.

    I will be getting new cables today to try out the monitor output again.. The old cables were just plain bad as when I was messing around with the monitor settings on the back I touched the cable by mistake and low and behold, the sound became bigger and not "sucked out".


    After intensive headphone testing yesterday, and adjusting all 3 headphone outputs I have (kemper, scarlett, toneport) to the same volume the difference between the 3 was minimal, but still there, which I guess is normal.
    I noticed that the Kemper can drive my headphones to a -slightly- higher volume before I encounter speaker distortion, and between it and the scarlett the Kemper has a tiny bit more in the upper mids and bass..


    I guess my ears will have to adapt to what seems a "flatter" output on the Scarlett.