User Guide Version 1.0 www.focusrite.
TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 OVERVIEW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
OVERVIEW Introduction Thank you for purchasing this Third Generation Scarlett 18i20, one of the family of Focusrite professional computer interfaces incorporating high quality Focusrite analogue preamps. In conjunction with the unit’s accompanying software application, Focusrite Control, you now have a compact yet highly versatile solution for routing high quality audio to and from your computer.
The outputs can be connected to amplifiers and speakers, powered monitors, headphones, an audio mixer or any other analogue or digital audio equipment that you wish to use. Although all inputs and outputs on the Scarlett 18i20 are routed directly to and from your DAW for recording and playback, you can configure the routing within your DAW in order to meet your precise needs.
Rackmounting the Scarlett 18i20 The Scarlett 18i20 can be mounted in a standard 19” equipment rack. In order to do this, the rack ears supplied with the unit need first to be fitted. To fit the rack ears: • Remove the rubber “Focusrite” inserts from the sides of the case.
GETTING STARTED With the Third Generation, Scarlett interfaces introduce a new, faster way of getting up and running, using the Scarlett Quick Start tool. All you need to do is connect your Scarlett 18i20 to your computer. Once connected, you will see that the device is recognised by your PC or Mac and the Quick Start tool will guide you through the process from there. IMPORTANT: The Scarlett 18i20 has a single USB 2.
Double-click on the “Click Here to Get Started.url” icon. This will redirect you to the Focusrite website, where we recommend that you register your device: Click on “Let’s get you started”, and you’ll be presented with a form which will be partly prefilled for you automatically. On submitting the form, options will be presented to either go straight to the downloads area to get the software for your Scarlett, or to follow a step by step setup guide based on your choices.
Windows only: On connecting your Scarlett 18i20 to your PC, a Scarlett icon will appear on the desktop: (Note that the drive letter may be something other than D:, depending on what other devices you have connected to your PC).
Double-click “Click Here to Get Started”. This will redirect you to the Focusrite website, where we recommend that you register your device: Click on “Let’s get you started”, and you’ll be presented with a form which will be partly prefilled for you automatically. On submitting the form, options will be presented to either go straight to the downloads area to get the software for your Scarlett, or to follow a step-by-step setup guide based on your choices.
All users: Note that a second file - “More Info & FAQs” - is also available during the initial set-up process. This file contains some additional information about the Focusrite Quick Start tool which you may find helpful if you have any issues with the procedure.
HARDWARE FEATURES Front Panel 1 14 2 3 4 7 6 5 10 8 15 12 11 9 16 13 17 18 The front panel includes all the input gain and monitoring controls as well as two of the input connectors for Mic, Line and Instrument signals. 1. Inputs 1 and 2 – Combo” type input sockets - connect microphones, instruments (e.g., guitar), or line level signals here. Combo sockets accept both XLR and ¼” (6.35 mm) jacks.
8. Input meters – eight 5-segment LED bargraph meters indicating the signal levels of the eight analogue input signals. The meters show signal level after the input gain stage, and thus their indication is affected by the gain controls. The LEDs illuminate at -42 (green, “signal present”), -18 (green), -6 (green), -3 (yellow) and 0 dBFS (red). A level of 0 dBFS implies digital clipping, and should always be avoided. 9.
Rear Panel 28 22 27 24 23 25 21 20 19 26 19. MIC/LINE INPUTS 3 to 8 – Combo type input sockets - connect further microphones or line level signals via XLR or ¼” (6.35 mm) jacks as appropriate. Either ¼” TRS (balanced) or TS (unbalanced) jack plugs can be used for line level signals. 20. LINE OUTPUTS 1 and 2 (MAIN) – two balanced analogue line outputs on ¼” (6.35 mm) jack sockets; use TRS jacks for a balanced connection or TS jacks for unbalanced.
Connecting your Scarlett 18i20 Power The Scarlett 18i20 should be connected to AC mains with the supplied AC power cable. Plug the IEC connector into the rear panel IEC receptacle. When using the Scarlett 18i20 with a computer (i.e., not as a “stand-alone” mixer), we recommend that the unit is not turned on until the USB connection has been made – see below. USB USB Port Types: The Scarlett 18i20 has a single Type C USB 2.0 port (on the rear panel).
Audio Setup in your DAW The Scarlett 18i20 is compatible with any Windows-based DAW that supports ASIO or WDM and any Mac-based DAW that uses Core Audio. After following the Getting Started procedure described on page 6, you can start using the Scarlett 18i20 with the DAW of your choice.
Once the Scarlett 18i20 is set as the preferred Audio Device* in your DAW, all 18 inputs and 20 outputs will appear in your DAW’s Audio I/O preferences (note however that Ableton Live Lite is limited to a maximum of four simultaneous mono input channels and four simultaneous mono output channels). Depending on your DAW, you may need to enable certain inputs or outputs before use. The two examples below show two inputs and two outputs enabled in Ableton Live Lite’s Input Config and Output Config pages.
Examples of Usage The Scarlett 18i20 is an excellent choice for several different recording and monitoring applications. Some typical configurations are shown below. Recording a band Microphone Guitar Engineer’s Headphones (Front Panel) (Rear Panel) Stereo Headphone Amplifier Stereo Keys Musicians’ Individual foldback mixes This setup illustrates a typical configuration for recording a group of musicians with DAW software on Mac or PC.
Low Latency Monitoring You will frequently hear the term “latency” used in connection with digital audio systems. In the case of the simple DAW recording application described above, latency will be the time it takes for your input signals to pass through your computer and audio software, and back out again via your audio interface.
Connecting Scarlett 18i20 to loudspeakers The 1/4” jack MAIN outputs on the rear panel (Line Outputs 1 and 2) will normally be used to drive your primary monitoring speakers. Self-powered monitors incorporate internal amplifiers with a volume control, and may be connected directly. Passive loudspeakers will require a separate stereo amplifier; in this case, the rear panel outputs should be connected to the amplifier’s inputs. Active Speakers All the line output connectors are 3-pole (TRS) ¼” (6.
speakers to other pairs of Line Outputs (e.g., near-fields to Line Outputs 3 and 4, mid-fields to Line Outputs 5 and 6) and switch between them in Focusrite Control. Scarlett 18i20’s ALT function (see below) has been included to make using a second pair of monitors very simple. IMPORTANT: LINE OUTPUTS 1 to 4 incorporate “anti-thump” circuitry that protects your speakers if the Scarlett 18i20 is turned on while the speakers (and amplifier if used) are connected and active.
Working with surround sound Because the Scarlett 18i20 is equipped with ten line outputs, it is ideally suited for use when working in multichannel sound formats – LCRS, 5.1 surround or 7.1 surround, for example. In order to route each channel to the correct output you will need to route the DAW outputs to the Line Outputs in Focusrite Control (e.g. DAW Output 1 > Line Output 1, DAW Output 2 > Line Output 2, etc.).
The example below shows how you would connect the six loudspeakers in a 5.1 surround monitoring arrangement.
Using the ADAT connection In addition to the eight analogue inputs, the Scarlett 18i20 has two OPTICAL IN ADAT input ports which can provide an additional eight audio inputs at sample rates up to 96 kHz. Note that the optical input is disabled when sample rates of 176.4/192 kHz are in use. Using a separate 8-channel microphone preamplifier equipped with an ADAT output – such as the Focusrite Scarlett OctoPre – provides a simple and excellent method of expanding the Scarlett 18i20’s input capability.
If a suitable multi-channel digital-to-analogue converter is available, the 18i20’s OPTICAL OUT ADAT ports may be used in the opposite manner; for example, additional outputs from the DAW may be converted into the analogue domain to allow the use of an external hardware mixing console to mix down a large number of DAW tracks. At 44.1/48 kHz sample rate, the right-hand OPTICAL OUT port carries Channels 1 to 8, while at 88.
FOCUSRITE CONTROL Focusrite Control software allows flexible mixing and routing of all audio signals to the physical audio outputs, as well as control of output monitor levels. Sample rate selection and digital sync options are also available from Focusrite Control. NOTE: Focusrite Control is a generic product, and may be used with several other Focusrite hardware interfaces.
Channel Listing tables The 18i20’s inputs and outputs will appear in Focusrite Control with slightly different channel numbers depending on the sample rate being used. The channel numbers will also vary when the optical ADAT ports are in use, depending on which Digital I/O Mode is selected (see Digital I/O Modes below). Digital I/O Modes The Scarlett 18i20 supports three Digital I/O modes: these are selected from the Device Settings pane of Focusrite Control.
Mode 3: Dual ADAT Select this mode when you need more than four ADAT input and/or output channels when working at 88.2/96 kHz sample rate. Digital port Sample rate (kHz) 44.1/48 88.2/96 176.
The tables below list the how the 18i20’s inputs and outputs appear in Focusrite Control for each of the three Optical I/O modes, at each of the three sample rate pairs. Note that the first digit in the entries relating to the ADAT channels refers to the port in use: so “ADAT 1.1” to “ADAT 1.4” are ADAT Chs 1 to 4 at the right-hand port of each pair, while “ADAT 2.1” to “ADAT 2.4” are ADAT Chs 5 to 8 at the left-hand port of each pair. At 44.
At 88.
At 176.
SPECIFICATIONS Performance Specifications NOTE: All performance figures measured in accordance with the provisions of AES17, as applicable. Configuration Inputs 18: analogue (8), ADAT (8), S/PDIF (2) Outputs 20: analogue (10), ADAT (8), S/PDIF (2) Mixer Fully assignable 18-in/10-out software mixer (Focusrite Control) Supported sample rates 44.1 kHz, 48 kHz, 88.2 kHz, 96 kHz, 176.4 kHz, 192 kHz Microphone Inputs 1 to 8 Dynamic Range 111 dB (A-weighted) Frequency Response 20 Hz to 20 kHz ±0.
THD+N < 0.03% (minimum gain, -1 dBFS input with 22 Hz/22 kHz bandpass filter) Maximum Input Level +12.5 dBu (no PAD); +14 dBu (PAD selected); measured at minimum gain Gain Range 56 dB Input Impedance 1.5 Mohms Line Outputs 1 to 10 Dynamic Range 108.5 dB (A-weighted) Maximum Output Level (0 dBFS) +15.5 dBu (balanced) THD+N < 0.
Physical and Electrical Characteristics Analogue Inputs 1 & 2 Connectors XLR Combo type: Mic/Line/Inst, on front panel Mic/Line switching Automatic Line/Instrument switching 2 x front panel switches or via Focusrite Control Pad 10 dB attenuation, selected per channel from Focusrite Control Phantom power Shared +48 V phantom power switch for inputs 1 to 4 AIR function Selected per channel from Focusrite Control Analogue Inputs 3 to 8 Connectors XLR Combo: Mic/Line, on rear panel Mic/Line switch
Front Panel indicators USB/Power Green LED Phantom power 2 x red LEDs (Chs 1-4, 5-8) Instrument mode 2 x red LEDs (Chs 1 & 2) AIR mode 8 x yellow LEDs Pad active 8 x green LEDs MIDI data received Green LED Lock indicator Green LED Talkback active Green LED ALT speakers selected Green LED Monitors DIM and MUTE Yellow LED (DIM); red LED (MUTE) Weight and Dimensions WxDxH Weight 34 482.6 mm x 46.6 mm (1U) x 259.8 mm 19 in x 1.83 in (1U) x 10.23 in 3.195 kg 7.
TROUBLESHOOTING For all troubleshooting queries, please visit the Focusrite Help Centre at http://support.focusrite.com/ where you will find articles covering numerous troubleshooting examples. COPYRIGHT AND LEGAL NOTICES Your Scarlett 18i20 has a two-year warranty, valid anywhere in the world, against manufacturing defects. Full Terms and Conditions of the Warranty can be found at https://focusrite.com/warranty.