Need help from anyone that has a Focusrite Scarlett interface

    Quote from Michael_dk

    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 just don't get the delayed signal part from swapping the + and - cables, since you aren't delaying any signal, you're just making one speaker push out when the other sucks in. Doesn't really matter though, as long as the original poster gets relief. It's incredibly frustrating to have awesome gear and it doesn't sound right. :)


    Pete

    Quote from okstrat

    I just don't get the delayed signal part from swapping the + and - cables, since you aren't delaying any signal, you're just making one speaker push out when the other sucks in. Doesn't really matter though, as long as the original poster gets relief. It's incredibly frustrating to have awesome gear and it doesn't sound right. :)


    Pete


    Yeah, I was guilty of using the wrong term :)
    flipping the wires = flipping polarity => sounds like my head is turned inside out. This is what I call weird and swirly :)


    Delaying a copy of the signal will put it out of phase with the other signal FOR CERTAIN FREQUENCIES. Some other frequencies will be perfectly in phase still, and a lot of frequencies somewhere in between (talking about a signal containing all these frequencies of course). This is comb filtering. Sounds different from polarity flipping one speaker.


    I bet you know all this already - but a lot of people confuse phase with polarity, so my OCD doesn't let me refrain from commenting

    Thank you for all that contributed.


    After much research and tests I guess I will just have to accept the fact that my Kemper which costs 6x the amount of the scarlett 18i8 is bound to have better a better headphone amp in it.
    I guess this is testament to just how good the quality of the parts are in the Kemper.


    While the scarlett doesn't sound bad by any means, I am a bit disappointed that it doesn't sound as good as the kemper, but I guess this is what $300 gets you when your interface has 4 quality mic preamps in it.
    It might also be that from a technical viewpoint the frequency response might be a bit flatter on the scarlett, which coupled with my HD595 sennheisers (notorious for low bass), is producing a sound that is a bit weak in the sub bass department which makes it sound less appealing when monitored solo. I guess in the mix this will matter less.


    If anyone disagrees with me on this and thinks that their scarlett headphone output sounds just as good as their Kemper please DO tell.


    Thanks again !

    If the bass response is weak on the monitoring, why don't you adjust your output EQ in the master OUT section , and store it as an output preset ? I've 4 presets on my KPA for 4 different output systems ( different monitors & guitar amps).


    The Scarlett should'nt be a preamp issue if you use SPDIF, I've a cheap Roland SPDIF quad capture and the sound is glorious on my HS7, but I had to adjust my KPA output settings to even the frequencies.

    Well shit, I keep going in circles.
    Sometimes I compare the kemper and scarlett the different isn't that big, but with other profiles, they sound very different. In every case, the Kemper output sounds better, especially with clean sounds, which are sounding very bland and 1-dimensional from the scarlett output, which is driving me crazy. I play on the scarlett and feel the tone is -okay- then I plug into my Kemper and it sounds amazing.


    I'm not sure what to think now. I think I will just take my scarlett to the shop and do a comparison there, and if the one at the shop also doesn't sound as good as my Kemper I think I will just return the interface.
    While the interface isn't exactly what you'd call expensive, its still more or less top of the line from focusrite's current usb range, and if it can't drive headphones that well I don't really have much use for it.


    I have had many years experience with Focusrite interfaces. Their headphone outputs are poor in my opinion - I believe there is some sort of digital gain staging going on and the output is weak and two dimensional. I remember contacting Focusrite and they explained there is some sort of reason they have a weak output. I compare it to my TC Desktop Konneckt and the difference is night and day.


    One thing I will say is if you want a really quality interface I would probably steer clear of Focusrite - they are just 'OK' interfaces IMHO -I think the build quality is poor (noisey crackly knobs after a while) and the mixer software confusing. I also have an ISA One which has been replaced twice for noise issues.


    Focusrite customer services are very good mind.

    Its quite mind boggling that looking for reviews over the net for this product it has almost a perfect score everywhere and even on amazon with hundreds of reviews no one has said anything about the headphone output being lacking.

    Could it be a stereo thing?
    The headphone out on the KPA is basically two channels panned 100% to each side giving You a full stereo image.
    Check the mix in the scarlett control panel, if You are getting two channels from the KPA, the default pan on each channels monitor mix in the scarlett should be in the center, giving You a complete mono sound unless You adjust the pan on those channels.

    Quote from Havohej

    Its quite mind boggling that looking for reviews over the net for this product it has almost a perfect score everywhere and even on amazon with hundreds of reviews no one has said anything about the headphone output being lacking.


    Well for the price the Scarlett USBs are perfectly fine. But when you have a pro piece of audio hardware going through it like the Kemper you soon realise the issues with the fidelity. Lets face it these interfaces are not marketed at the top of the range. My experience with the Saffire range has been this exact thing - the headphone outputs are just 'ok' but they are not as 3D as other interfaces.

    I guess so.
    I will just have to get a dedicated audiophile headphone amp down the line.
    Sucks because I didn't have this problem with my line6 toneport which was relatively much cheaper.


    Oh well :)

    Hi all, hope you all had a good holiday!


    just stumbled on this thread as I am having the exact same issue with my scarlett 6i6


    I managed to get a better sound out of the scarlett headphones by panning hard lef and right the spidf input in Mixcontrol. Haven't tried going through my daw yet but considering I usually record mono and hard pan I should get to the same result.


    Still, even if the result was better, I could still feel the scarlett being harsher, less rich than the kemper output, it's annoying knowing that the scarlett HP output doesn't render what the kemper is capable of, especially for auditioning / editing presets while recording or mixing/reamping.


    Has anyone found a workaround for this? Would a headphone amp like a Shiit Magni or Modi work? (considering that would have to be plugged through the scarlett and potentially have to deal with the same "lesser" converters).


    Would anyone have any recommendation on an interface with spidf i/o and better headphone output than the scarlett? (Endlessnameless - what interface are you using with the kemper?)


    Thanks a million guys

    I would tell you to try the M-Audio fast track, as M-audio products are higher quality imho, but their driver support is terrible. My last soundcard from them never got past windows xp in terms of driver support, and I checked their drivers page before I bought my Scarlett and sure enough, their drivers are maybe two years old at this stage.


    I think us guys that are audiophiles and heavy headphone users need a dedicated headphone preamp, which is fair enough considering the price of the Scarlett is around the price of a dedicated headphone preamp. Can't really expect the same quality can we.. Just mind boggling that literally hundreds of reviews of this product all over the web and not a single person complains of mediocre HP output. Oh well.


    I use a TC Electronic Desktop Konnect 6 which is firewire. It doesn't have spdif but the Kemper sounds great into it through the analogue outs into the pres.