Focusrite Clarett 2Pre: Review

    I put this on TGP. Pasting here in case anyone is interested.
    Bottom line, if you liked Saffire, the Clarett is much better thought out, better sounding, and a lot of bang for the buck:



    Focusrite Clarett 2Pre - Initial Review


    Registration: 7/10
    First thing was to register it. It didn't accept my information the first 2 times online when I filled out the Bundle serial number part, but the third time it took to the information and registered it as a product I own. Slightly frustrating but I stuck with it and it worked eventually. it's a confusing series of jumps and kept forcing me to re-sign in then complained I was already signed in and that my Bundle ID wasn't recognized when it was exactly right. I typed it in the first 2 times and the 3rd successful time was just a copy/paste of the second attempt.


    Installation: 10/10
    Then I downloaded the software and installed it. All installed fine on the iMac.


    Impressions of Unit's Solidness: 10/10
    My impression of the Unit is one of hardiness. It's heavy and metal and compact but not a crowded interface. Way more solid than any other unit I've held under $1200. When you toggle the Instrument/Microphone or Air ON/OFF setting you can hear a physical click from within the unit. No chip there. Solid switch happening. Impressive.


    Design: 9/10
    So it's design is very well thoughtout and pleasing if you like RED, lol. I like it, easy to find in a sea of black rack mount gear.


    Initial Hookup: 2/10
    I then hooked up everything. No sound. I played with the Focusrite Control software (square black icon that says FC in Applications) I checked all the cables, verified the signals, no sound. I could see the Control software showing signal, but nothing coming out to the Headphones or OUPUT 3, 4 to my Monitors. So then I did what I used to do on the Saffire: Factory Reset


    Well **** hit the fan. The iMac blew out so quickly I thought lighting struck it! It then turned black and then a weird screen came up saying something caused a problem with the computer and I should hit any key to reboot. I did this and it rebooted (I have an SSD so it rebooted in 10 seconds) and all comes up and the Clarett 2Pre is now working properly. The greyed out Hardware Inputs now were functional looking and I could hear out Headphones and Outputs, etc.


    This was VERY weird to say the least, but hey, it worked. The tutorial video just said that the Control software would, maybe, update the firmware. I saw no such thing happen (the video waffled on this issue, saying you might have to, you might not) but at that point, no sound until Factory Reset was done, which was not in the video. So the video didn't help, nor did I see anything in the manuals to suggest doing what I did to get it to work.


    As to the low grade, this comes from a few things. One is, nothing in the manual prepared me for this, or had a response to it. But mostly, anything that causes an iMac to crash is RARE. Personally, I've not seen it in 3 years. Additionally, for initial setups of Audio Hardware, my prejudice is that a unit should be factory defaulted to just be an open mix setup where you hook it up you hear SOMETHING out of the Headphones! Maybe others won't have this issue. I just report here as it happened. In the end, no permeant damage, all works.


    Manuals: 8/10
    Clear, good visuals, nice link references. Troubleshooting links you to an answerbase on the website. I couldn't find what that weird cable connection with a seeming 'K' on the back does. Just labelled along with the Power On/Off. The Control manual appears well done.


    Videos: 9/10
    Well done, even if none off these addressed my issue. If i can "fix" something, I figure it's part of the intuitive-ness of the software/hardware, so no harm, no foul.


    No Thunderbolt Cable: 8/10
    Frustrating, but I understand why they don't include one. This is more Apple's fault for putting micro devices in their stupid wires and not expecting units to handle the protocol. Focusrite's defense is correct: they can't make one cheaper than third party alternatives. But they CAN partner with third-party and offer it in the box. (hence my 2 off for lack of business partnering) Would OWC not allow their cables to not be bundled with Focusrite? After all, I doubt Focusrite made their own power cord. Who does these days? If they did, it would surely have their name stamped on it so I wouldn't have to mark it myself so I never get it mixed up with another wall-wart!


    Sound: 11/10
    This is largely why you buy these things and it doesn't disappoint. Kills the iMac's sound. Edges out Apogee which I really dig. This was noticeable clearer, more presence, more depth. As Advertised here! And all I heard was the D/A converter so far. A/D will come on the weekend.


    Control Mix Software: 9/10
    I HATE software interfaces between my hardware and DAW. But if I gotta live with it, this software is a radical improvement over their Saffire Mix Control software which was a quagmire for me. Never got used to it. Rare is it a company that can take Software 1 that is not well thought out for fluidity and clarity for the user, then produce Software 2 that very much is. This is a great one and probably could only be accused of being TOO simple! But I'd rather start there and add on as consumers make high demand requests. K.I.S.S principle at work here.


    Summary So Far:
    Some frustrations which are to be expected. Crashing my computer is a no-no, that requires a paddling on the rump. I'll withhold judgement until I see it again.Overall it appears to be a bang-for-the-buck device with professional sound quality, construction, and software control. Compared to the Saffire 24 Pro DSP I have, it seems like these two products were made by two entirely different companies. So this is quite the effort and upgrade on Focusrite's part.


    NEXT:
    This weekend I'll get to the Meat and Potatoes of this unit:
    - Microphone hookup, phantom power
    - Instrument
    - ADAT for KPA
    - Latency and DAW monitoring
    - AIR
    - setup to Reaper (not supported in the install video)
    - setup to Logic Pro X.


    From what I've seen so far, I'm encouraged it will be as advertised, keeping my fingers crossed.


    Out of the foothills, next to climb the mountains!

    Edited 2 times, last by db9091 ().

    Like 3

    Great review, thanks.


    I would like to add a small issue I have with the Thunderbolt environment as it is right now.


    Thunderbolt is a great interface for many purposes, especially for applications which require extremely high data rates. This can be either additional high-resolution displays or external data storage or external video capture/playback devices or even external graphic adapters. Really amazing what can be connected to these Thunderbolt ports. But sadly a typical system offers just 1 or 2 ports and pretty much all external devices aren't capable of being daisy chained. So when you decide to use Thunderbolt, you're pretty much stuck with 1 or 2 devices. There is no cheap and easy to use port replicators on the market like USB3 hubs.


    For example, if you plan to use a second display on your iMac and you want to use a Focusrite Claret device, then your 2 Thunderbolt ports are gone. No easy way to add a fast external storage device or any other Thunderbolt device. If you can imagine to need more Thunderbolt devices connected to your workstation ... do yourself a big favour and check the market for Thunderbolt hubs. You'll have a hard time to find one, at least not at an acceptable price point.


    A unit like the Focusrite Claret interfqces don't require massive data rates. It's sad that they (like all/most other manufacturers) don't provide a Thunderbolt extension port. It's basically a dead-end road.

    I bought for $225 this extra I/O for the iMac: http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Other World Computing/TB2DOCK12P/


    It has 2 Thunderbolt ports, one of which is needed for just hooking the whole unit up! So it's rather a dumb design. Also the power hooks up front?!? Whatever. I needed the extra USB which means with an extra Monitor and Clarett I needed 3 Thunderbolt ports.


    USB 3.0 is supposedly the same throughout, 10GB as Thunderbolt and a lot cheaper to support as the cables don't have hardwired in it protocol information (Apple is really money hungry and cheap. I read they have 18% of the cellular market but make 92% of the profits)


    I suspect the Clarett didn't put a piggy-backed Thunderbolt port because if a Peripheral device used up a lot of the throughput, Focusrite would be blamed. Conversely, if they rigged the extra port to be throttled, some peripherals wouldn't work!


    In the end, it's Apples fault for creating a competing port with USB 3.0 but only including two thunderbolt ports for iMac. What is it, 1 for laptops?

    Quote from db9091

    I bought for $225 this extra I/O for the iMac:
    http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Other World Computing/TB2DOCK12P


    Hehe, exactly this device I was thinking of when I wrote "port replicators". I was searching a Thunderbolt hub, stupid me, and found this one. Ok, it's expensive but it gives me 2 Thunderbolt ports. Only after watching closer I noticed that this isn't true. It doesn't make 2 from one, hehe.
    But of course it provides you with other potentially helpful ports like the Firewire 800 port or added USB 3.0 ports.
    By the way: USB 3.0 is only specified at 5 Gb/s (0.5GB/s) which isn't even close to the 20Gb/s (2GB/s) of a Thunderbolt 2 port.


    For those who aren't very aware of technical details: 38 channels of audio @ 44.1kHz/24bit require 0.08Gb/s (0.008GB/s).
    That means (just in terms of data rate) I could connect 250 units of the Clarett 8Pre to one Thunderbolt 2 port (or more than 600 Clarett 2Pre).


    Bottomline (for me)
    Connecting an audio interface directly to a Thunderbolt port is a big waste of resoures, imho


    Thunderbolt is developed by Intel, not Apple.

    Thanks for the correction. I swear in reading you come across things that give clear impressions, but unless you back-check, you still can't be sure. A lot of mis-info out there, and I suppose I'm a part of that, so corrections much appreciated!


    It seems to be overkill using Thunderbolt, but don't you think it has something to do with the lower latency? IDK.


    Maybe my wife will let me play with this thing after she forces me to get a boutique chicken biscuit, gourmet donut, watch a christmas parade with some hot chocolate, have lunch at some new exotic place, then go bar hopping and catch that cool local Rockabilly group for some 50's dancing. Does anyone else have problems with their wives taking them out of the studio and forcing them to do stuff?!? ;)


    My point is, Review Part II might be sugar high or alcohol influenced. Probably both.

    Quote from db9091

    It seems to be overkill using Thunderbolt, but don't you think it has something to do with the lower latency?


    Ok, let's have a look at latency and its impact on your daily work. :)
    For recording of "external" instruments it simply doesn't matter because modern interfaces (including the Clarett series) offer "zero latency monitoring". So your audio signal doesn't have to travel all the way to your computer, DAW and back to the interface. Monitor mixes are done right inside the audio interface. No difference between USB, Firewire or Thunderbolt. :)
    This changes as soon as you start using VST effects or virtual instruments (VSTi, MIDI) during recording. These will introduce some latency, sometimes more and sometimes a little less. Depends on the complexity of effects / instruments you use. Problem here is that the latency introduced by e.g. VST effects isn't in a completely separate domain. It's basically part of the entire round-trip-latency and this will require you to increase the buffer size anyway. There's little chance you can actually benefit from the lower latency setting offered by the Thnderbolt audio interface and its computer interface.


    What I'm trying to say: Lower latency (buffer) settings give very little benefits, if at all. At least compared to Firewire interfaces.


    Sorry, I don't want to talk the Clarett series down. I'm sure they are just as good or even better than the Saffire interfaces. But I tried to make readers aware of a few downsides and some irrelevant Focusrite marketing blabber, hehe.

    Factory Reset:
    I redid the "Factory Reset" to see if it was still a problem. It reset the hardware without any problems. No rebooting.
    And I had no problem with hearing Pandora on Safari (Christmas Jazz if you all must know)

    Reaper:
    Just choosing "Focusrite Thunderbolt" and it works. Although I've been getting 5 modals saying the bundled Soft Tube plugins aren't activated on my iLok (but they are activate) so I'll have to investigate the video on registering those and see if I did something wrong. The modal popups are annoying, all 5 of them, lol. But the setup with Reaper was easy-peasy and choosing INPUT 1 for my Microphone worked flawlessly and trouble free.


    AIR:
    When singing and toggling AIR to ON the Focusrite Control software (Device Settings tab, good icons) I hear a noticeable bump in the upper EQ range (say post 8k frequencies) and more broadcasting neutral when I toggle it OFF.
    When I listen back to the recording I don't really hear it much at all. I'd have to investigate this more. The point here, it's subtle, noticable, and if it really hits the mix, its not a drastic effect either way, but would seem to lift a track like if you were trying to get more hi-hat on your drums or more crispness in a female vocal.


    Latency:
    I'm not doing anything to measure it. Only going by ears and whether I can hear it or not.
    With the Hardware or Direct Monitoring I hear zero latency as expected. When I put on the DAW or Software Monitoring I hear both voices but its like they are ADT so it's actually a bit cool. My guess is they are somewhere around 20ms apart. This (for me) is actually good enough to even use Software Monitoring to record for vocals. It's usually way worse, somewhere around 30-50ms of slap-back echo with the Saffire.


    So round-trip latency is noticeably improved by 10-30ms by my ears. Not as flawless as Direct Monitoring as lighbox said should exist, but noticeably better than any other interface I've used (Apogee Duet II, RME Babyface, FP10, Saffire Pro 24 DSP) so in this regard Focusrite has stepped up the game for affordably low-latency high-quality preamp.


    Listening back to a 2nd vocal done via Software Monitoring the playback with both voices is either ADT or Chorus-like in a pleasing way. Individually I don't notice anything "off" about the vocal in relation to the music. Maybe the attack of vocals allows for more lax timing. Would I do it this way normally? No, I'd probably use Direct Monitoring, but I can easily see doing a second take with Software Monitoring if I didn't want to use an ADT plugin or mess with a ms off-set plugin, just because you can hear it as you record and there is a feedback feel to recording that way (a la Beatles) so it's a cool effect.


    A/D:
    Unless you record with the same setup through differing Audio Interfaces, this isn't a fair measurement to make. What is the best way to test A/D? I'm all ears.


    My qualitative way is to just record and see if the "new" Interface sounds less like I have a hand in front of my mouth muddying up the recording. In this regard, I can't tell the difference between the Clarett and the Saffire because I used different microphones. But both recordings sounded very good. Maybe you can tell in layering if you are doing a qualitative maesurement.


    Let me know the best way to "test" and A/D so one can physically see the difference. Maybe someone has done this already with the 8pre. As for my ears, happy that it was easy to record, sounded great, no problems.

    SPDIF:
    Ok, you need to buy something to use Digital. I got some COAXIAL to OPTICAL adaptor (RCA styled connection to Optical styled connection) since the KPA uses RCA connectors only.
    I haven't looked into a send/return, I was just interested in one way traffic to record with.


    The only major key is to set the Focusrite Console Digital Sample Rate to 44.1kz or you won't hear anything. I chose the "Digital" preset they have available from the drop down menu (a handy work-around to their ability to save custom "snapshot"s of your routing)


    Recorded exactly as you hear it. Nice. Ok, that's done!

    Edited once, last by db9091 ().

    Bundle Installation:
    This is where I didn't follow directions. Initially I installed the whole thing whereas Focusrite only activated 3 plugins in one specific bundle the "Time and Tone Bundle" which you pick to activate in the last part of the install.


    The popups were other plugins complaining I didn't have an iLok license (and I didn't) So that's cleared up. I uninstalled and reinstalled. But I could have just reinstalled and in the Plugin software modal just choose the wrong plugins and they instantly "deactivate".


    The Focusrite Red plugins are just like the Saffire. You add your email and their unique ID they gave you when you registered the product (found online in your Account page) as you open the first plugin and all are registered.

    Edited once, last by db9091 ().

    UPDATE


    The unit stopped working. So I am going to return it and look for another interface (mostly because it's my second interface from Focusrite and both broke within 1/2 a year so I'm not sure if it's bad luck, buggy quality, or my interface destroys Focusrite interfaces but no one else, i.e. apogee, presonus, m-audio, ua, etc)

    Edited 2 times, last by db9091 ().

    Hi,


    First of all, I’m sorry to hear that you’ve had some problems with your Clarett and have indicated that you were going to return the unit. If you’ve decided against returning it and would like any assistance getting everything up and running, or if you’ve had any problems trying to return the unit please get in touch with us directly and we’ll do everything we can to assist you: http://focusrite.com/answerbase/contact-0


    To clarify, connecting a Clarett certainly should not force your Mac to shut down/crash (and we’ve not had any other reports of that occurring), nor should you need to use the ‘Restore Factory Defaults’ option in Focusrite Control in order to get started.


    Having read through this thread I thought it might be worth clearing up a few things about Thunderbolt in general versus other connections. As mentioned in this thread, the bandwidth of Thunderbolt 1 is 10Gbps (the Clarett range are all Thunderbolt 1 devices) which is double the bandwidth of USB 3.0. This level of bandwidth is not ‘necessary’ for typical audio use - even when using every channel on our largest Thunderbolt interface (the Clarett 8PreX) at 192kHz/24-bit you will not get anywhere near this limit.


    A major advantage of this is that bandwidth therefore does not need to be considered as carefully as it does when using USB 2.0/FireWire devices since it’s far more unlikely that you’ll ever reach that threshold, even with multiple Thunderbolt devices connected to the same bus. Though the Clarett range only have a single Thunderbolt port per device, they can still be ‘daisy chained’ by being placed last in the chain. We have tested with the Clarett last in a chain of up to six devices and found no problems at all - depending on the devices in use and how much bandwidth they are using, you may be able to connect more/fewer than this.


    This is simply not possible with USB 2.0 or 3.0, since daisy chaining is not a part of the specification for those protocols. While it’s possible to daisy chain FireWire devices, the bandwidth is far more restricted and you will likely encounter problems if you try to chain more than two devices together on the same bus (and you may encounter problems even with only two devices depending on how bandwidth-hungry those particular devices are).


    The second major advantage of Thunderbolt for audio purposes is the lower levels of latency that are achievable using this protocol. Thunderbolt connects straight through to the PCIe layer, as opposed to USB which must go through a number of stages first (each stage adding additional latency).


    Latency of less than 10ms is typically inaudible to most people, though the lower the latency the better when recording as even lower latency than this can still put off some performers.


    Many USB and FireWire devices (including our Scarlett/Saffire ranges) get around this problem by introducing a direct monitoring feature to the setup, which allows the user to monitor the signal ‘pre-DAW’ (i.e. directly through the hardware without any additional software processing).


    With the Clarett range, this is essentially not necessary in most scenarios (though it is a feature included on the Clarett range) since the round-trip latency (the time it takes for an signal to be converted to digital, be processed by the DAW and then be converted back to an analogue signal) is so low that it is undetectable. This allows you to not have to spend additional time setting up mixes outside of your DAW for your performers, as well as allowing them to perform while hearing the effect of any plugins or processing inserted in the DAW.


    I hope that this clears up any misconceptions about the Clarett range and Thunderbolt in general, as mentioned please feel free to get in touch if you require any further assistance: http://focusrite.com/answerbase/contact-0


    Best regards,


    Jack // Focusrite Technical Support