klemz

Hello.

I've decided to get an interface for a bit of home recording and I am currently deciding between these two:

Focusrite Scarlett 2i4

Focusrite Saffire Pro 14

As you might have noticed they're exactly the same price (188eur / 160pounds), and I am wondering if there's any difference between them other than aesthetics, number of outputs (don't really care for that), and the fact that the scarlett is USB 2.0 and the saffire is firewire?

The price of those two is also my maximum budget and as far as I know they're the best you can get in the price range, however, any other suggestion is much appreciated too. For the info, I would most likely record only guitar.

Also, I have also no knowledge of software for recording, so any advice in this area would be highly appreciated too. (amplitube+reaper???)

Thank you!

PS. Is there much difference in quality between Scarlett 2i4 and 2i2? If not, I would rather go for 2i2 and save some money.

PS2. Would this be a solid option too? Focusrite iTrack Solo

guitarmaniac88

I don't have much to add, but I will say that most computers don't just come with a firewire port, if you don't have one, it will be completely useless for you. You may have already known that but who knows, maybe you didn't.

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jof1029

the saffire has more inputs than the scarlett. the saffire has two separate line inputs, while the scarlett has line inputs combined with the mic/instrument inputs. the saffire also has SPDIF in/out. i believe the preamps and a/d conversion is similar between the two lines, the scarlett was focusrites usb version of the saffire. personally i would go for the saffire for the extra inputs, but i dont think its really a big issue if you are going to mostly be recording just your guitar.

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klemz

Yes, my computer does come with a firewire port and I also know it has less latency than USB 2.0, but I don't think the 2ms makes much of a difference, or does it? Thank you!



Exactly. As I said I will be only recording guitar, so at the end of the day it's more or less deciding between saffire's bunch of extra inputs/outputs (that I will probably not need) and scarlett's better aesthetics. Hard one to be honest lol. Thank you for the information.


Are the other two units (iTrack Solo, 2i2) worth looking into though?

jof1029

im not familiar with the itrack solo, but the 2i2 is not worth looking at. it does not have a pad on the inputs, which can be really helpful for recording DI instruments.

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ciano16

go with usb. itl be fine for what youre using and your firewire port might not be the ideal one for sound recording anyway.

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MatrixClaw

Saffire Pro 14 has much more options when it comes to expansion and I/O. Other than that, they should be comparable sound wise. Latency shouldn't be an issue with either one at the small track count they're limited to.

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chatterbox272

Also just because you have a firewire port doesn't mean it will work, my friend went through 6 cards I think before he found one that was compatible with his computer AND his interface.

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klemz

This is a good point, I was actually thinking about this since I've never used firewire and my notebook isn't really a gem. So I'm not really sure whether these little saffire's advantages are worth the risk of the unit being completely incompatible with my firewire port.

lockwolf

6 cards? He either was buying shitty cards or just had a shitty computer to start with.

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chatterbox272

The first couple were probably shitty, he started with the cheap ones and worked up to the $60 one he ended up with. And I take offence to the shitty computer statement, I built it!

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lockwolf

Lol, fair enough on the shitty computer part. I haven't had any problems with my FireWire card but I knew that what I was buying was going to work from the start. I've only had problems with a Mackie 1640. Of course, the older Mackie 1640 (Not the newer 1640i) had terrible drivers and I spent more time fighting that than anything. To be fair, it didn't work on my buddies Macbook either :p

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