Focusrite Scarlett 2i4 USB Interface Discussions | Drop

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Focusrite Scarlett 2i4 USB Interface

Audiophile

FULL DISCUSSION

TylleLoves

Jan 9, 2015

Do you need an external power supply? In that case do you get europeans powercables?

Jan 9, 2015

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helrich

Jan 9, 2015

TylleLovesNope, it's powered with USB. Now I had a 2i2 and will say that with both channels populated, particularly with phantom enabled, the unit was basically crippled, and I think it was because it was powered by USB only. As a simple multi output PC sound interface, it worked pretty well, but I wouldn't recommend one of these for production or professional live use.

Jan 9, 2015

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autoteleology

447

Jan 12, 2015

helrichHow much power does your USB port output? Is it the full 2.1A?

Jan 12, 2015

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daltonnabors

Jan 13, 2015

helrichI have a 2i2 as well. I use is mainly for quick voice work for Youtube videos and such, but I have used it with phantom power on both mics (trying to get some decent vocals for a song I was writing) and I agree with it being crippled with it being only USB powered. I wish it would have came with a dc power adapter and I would be happier with it.

Jan 13, 2015

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Akira

Jan 14, 2015

daltonnaborsCan you please elaborate what it being crippled means?

Jan 14, 2015

chris.yw

Jan 14, 2015

autoteleologynormally USB2 ports could provide 5V/500mA. But USB3 is capable of 5A.
You PC/Mac might have a different threshold.

Jan 14, 2015

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chris.yw

Jan 14, 2015

helrichI do like external AC as USB power from PC could be "dirty"... (pardon me)

Jan 14, 2015

zaodriver

Jan 15, 2015

chris.ywImportant note, on Windows systems in particular, it is important to check the power management settings for the USB. Most of the time, it is set to power saving instead of maximum power which could lead to those results.

Jan 15, 2015

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HamishMcGregor

Jan 21, 2015

chris.ywRegarding USB3.0, Five amps is only the rating the cables\connectors must have to meet specification, not the amount of power you can actually draw, which is limited to 900mA with data transmission, or 1.5A in "charging mode" without any data transfer. There is also a "low power" spec that only allows 150mA, but thankfully its rare on computers, so provided you don't try to plug into something dumb you shouldn't have to put up with this lower limit, which would be unlikely enough for correct device function.
Having said that the standard 4.5w is actually quite a lot of power for the signal input side. The 5v rail of a good ATX power supply (as found in a regular desktop PC\Mac) will often produce some of the cleanest low voltage power commonly available, far better than standard AC adapter plug packs and phone chargers do. Issues only creep in when you hook the interface up to a notebook while the AC adapter is plugged in (thus often get a noticeable noise) or try and heavily load the analog sound output side of the unit, such as to run some speakers.
Should you start to actually have power input issues, you can get almost twice the power by using a cheap USB3.0 host cable to connect the audio interface, this will allow you to plug into 2 separate ports, thus eliminating the need for one to provide data and granting you access to the 1.5A "charging mode". As a side note USB3.1 supports 3A on typeC connectors, so some upcoming devices will allow you even twice as much power again if your lucky enough to that that connectivity available.

Jan 21, 2015