I use an 18i20 on my macbook pro air with Logic for close miced acoustic drums. Has worked well so far. On my Win 10 system I use audiobox by presonus.

 

Yes, I totally agree and I was a bloody fool I didn´t bite the bullet (money wise) and bought myself a RME ....... next time!

 

no compare to rme but my budget interface would be presonus audiobox expand later with behringer ultagain(ebay REVIVE moded)

 

Sorry to hear that Mr Phloopy...

I had Focusrite 18i8 Gen1 and Gen2, i have now Clarett 4Pre USB without any problem but, as IT guy, i used to update my drivers manually since i am more "clever" than Intel, MS and so on manufacturer update sites -> USB drv used to stop working or creating noises / latency *<;-( => during what i could call "drivers sacred graal quest" over internet forums, i found "Driver Easy" man ... then i felt like the god of working PCs! *<;-) Since i am using Driver Easy FREE version (sorry really sounds like an advert!), no more USB issues at all except when moving from AL V9.x to V10.x under W10! I had to reinstall Focusrtite latest drivers!?

I used to put the blame on Focusrite since i have read some many feedbacks about issues with scarlett / Focusrite drivers but a PC will stay a PC and we are not building on sand. Like a layer cake, HDW, OS and Drivers should match and it took me months to finally accept updating manually became a nightmare and little free things like Driver Easy could do that for me better and in few minutes ...

https://www.drivereasy.com/

My deep thoughts on this Friday afternoon, this is not a judgement and i respect your analysis but as a general comment, most of the time, the issue is mainly due to drv and/or cfg mess compare to Apple (i have the two eco-system MAC/PC so i can compare).

Voila, hope it is not too late and for me Focusrite still a good balance quality/price for my usage and budget (compare to RME, UAD...). Last thing, even with Driver Easy, people needs to know what they are doing and which order (intel chipsets, acpi, usb and so on) plus they upgrade chipsets / controllers and sub components ... Again, PC will remain a PC !!!

Hope it helps a little bit since Intel, MS and Focusrite are all quick at playing the hot potatoes game if you open a case on their forums... Why does it sound like so familiar to me!?

 

Sorry to go off-topic...

But, I'd like to also add that if anyone does buy a "compact" interface with only 2 outs - whatever the brand - that Behringer (...yes...) MONITOR2USB monitor controller is absolutely amazing for the price. It's a SOLID build and is a clone of the SPL 2CONTROL. Behringer's really kickin but in the QC dept. of 'many' of their products.

Behringer MONITOR2USB ($149 USD)
https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/MONITOR2USB--behringer-monitor2usb

SPL 2CONTROL ($849 USD)
https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/2Control--spl-2control

I needed a second monitor controller to replace my somewhat disappointing RADIAL MC-3 (still decent though), and pulled the trigger due to rave reviews on Reddit and GS. So far, absolutely amazing box with added USB connection (*bonus) and has a stepped controller knob for recall and (longevity?).

This is great controller at budget price. Better option than Presonus or SMPro for the money.

 

HMS78: I can and will blame Focusrite for their sub-par drivers. I can attest to their last few driver releases causing intermittent BSOD when using my 1st Gen Scarlett 2i4 on Window10. I relayed all the pertinent info to Focusrite tech support and they created a case number weeks ago and still nothing yet. They know and I know via crash dump analysis that it's their Windows driver. What the hell good is Driver Easy if the driver's released by the vendor are crap? You're right, you do sound like an advertisement! At this point the best fix is to sell and not buy their stuff again!

 

definitely altered to good company again...all what came out recently is really good (maybe not all but really the most of it)

 

Hello again guys, I just installed my brand new RME Fireface UCX ... Oh boy, yes RME HDW / STW & DRV can really make the difference! Same PC, same DAW and same song but 30/40% less CPU compare with Clarett 4Pre USB!!! AL10 CPU monitor used to indicate around 60% and now less than 30%... Cannot explain that nor the fact that latency is no more a problem even with so many VSTs loaded and playing. My focusrite was working well and stable but i must admit that RME is like being / playing in another "Galaxy!". So, so far so good and if you have a doubt, have a try first... Took me two years to spend more money since i was happy with Focusrite but first impression with RME is just amazing and agree it is another level of music product line for sure!

 

Same interface for me too,I have it since 2012.It's the perfect soundcard,its drivers are simply the best,It sounds is clear,deep...
Me too I couldn't believe this amazing improvement in cpu performance and sound quality compared to my old M-Audio.
It's a bit expensive but a usefull purchase.

 

I have also a focusrite 2i4 first generation. I dualboot hackintosh and comparing both operating systems in terms of latency is around 40 ms faster on mac. My roundtrip latency (in ableton) is 40-50 ms at with a buffer size of 512 The chip, at least in my focusrite are not directly communicating with the kernel. When i look at the focusrite driver, i see its communicating with usbaudio.sys first, which i think is responsible for the latency. I know a friend, that has a behringer interface and got way better results, cause apparently they are directly communicating with the kernel. So i know need some proper written code/driver. Focusrite is not helping, hopefully you guys can, if not, i'll sell it in a week