Click to view our Accessibility Statement or contact us with accessibility-related questions
GloomyMoonie
67
Nov 27, 2014
Can somebody explain what is the difference between connecting the mic straight to the computer and having it go through an op-amp? What would be the benefit of having an audio interface such as the Scarlett 2i2, as opposed to a direct USB connection?
ButtKickington
4
Nov 27, 2014
GloomyMoonieBasically all you got to do is provide power and convert it to a usable PC interface. Just converting to USB won't work, you have to provide power. All that scarlet thing does is does both with mixing, which if you want both is about 50-60$ ie. Icicle + phantom powersupply doesn't do mixing, http://amzn.to/1lACBhk does. All that youd be paying the extra 100$ is for mixing options mostly.
GloomyMoonie
67
Nov 28, 2014
ButtKickingtonInteresting.. So you're saying that there are no advantages to the Scarlett as apposed to the Alesis? Would be interesting to know why it's 200% more expensive then.
ButtKickington
4
Nov 30, 2014
GloomyMoonieActually I got my alesis today, and after just watching a review video of the Scarlet, the scarlet doesn't have as many buttons, nobs, or an eq. It records at 24 bits, 96khz. Which is a higher quality, that's the difference.
GloomyMoonie
67
Dec 1, 2014
ButtKickingtonWhat did you buy it for though, and does that quality difference matter?
ButtKickington
4
Dec 2, 2014
GloomyMoonie1. 55$ on amazon
2. After reading this: http://duc.avid.com/showthread.php?t=232808 . And this: http://www.head-fi.org/t/415361/24bit-vs-16bit-the-myth-exploded/510
Most likely the listener won't be able to tell the difference unless they have exceptional hearing and a really good sound system. And the higher quality is just if you need to edit it in software. Sort of like a video editor wouls use a 1440p monitor for 1080p editing. Or like playing a game and using supersampling antialiasing would give you a higher res and then downsample, not many people would notice that much of a difference unless they knew it was there.
Yong
21
Dec 2, 2014
GloomyMoonieThere is definitely a difference. The Focusrite Scarlett's mic preamps are much higher quality than the ones in the Alesis,
It depends on what kind of work you intend to do. If it's musical work, the better preamps in the Scarlett is well worth the money. If it's just podcasting, voicing-over etc. it won't be too much of a difference.
Here's a comparison video for example.
Yong
21
Dec 2, 2014
ButtKickingtonThe layperson probably will not be able to tell the difference, but most people with decent sound experience (e.g. musicians, sound engineers) can.
It boils to down what you want the equipment for, if it's simple recording work where content is more important than audio quality like podcasting then obviously a simpler interface that offers utility over quality is preferable.
For entry level music production, where sound quality matters a lot more, better quality equipment is definitely worth the investment. In addition, they have better resale value too!
GloomyMoonie
67
Dec 17, 2014
YongThanks for the help guys :)
PRODUCTS YOU MAY LIKE
Trending Posts in Audiophile