Focusrite Scarlett 18i20 4th Gen Review - Is This The Best Budget Audio Interface For 2025?

[@JacobDarkOfficial]

Are you considering upgrading to the 4th gen Scarlett 18i20? What features matter most to you in an audio interface? Let’s discuss below! These videos take A LOT of work and dedication to stay consistent so if you found this video helpful consider supporting the channel by using these links: Sweetwater: sweetwater.sjv.io/xLEWRO B&H Photo: bhpho.to/4fx2mQY

[@odessaukr]

Thanks a lot for this video. This is how a demo video should be done. Not so much extra talking, but direct to the point and features of the unit. Perfect for a person who just wants to know the details without too much extra talking. Keep it up !!

[@conorm2524]

Can someone explain to me why it says 18 inputs and 20 outputs? I can't find any straight answer online.

[@Visions_in_Toyko]

I got one of these to add more I/o to my UAD Apollo x4. Been working really nicely, pretty straightforward set up and connection via optical cables. I use the UAD to monitor from and send the clock data, and use the Scarlett linked up to a patch at to make my i/o configuration way more flexible. So far I have been happy

[@JacobDarkOfficial]

Nice setup I would’ve never thought to do it that way but then again I only track my own vocals

[@rjb7569]

Jacob... As always, a concise, solid review. It was looking like a contender to me until the very end...inability to bypass the pres. Had it all until then. Wish MOTU would've sent you the 828, as I believe you requested. It's their loss. Your review of their latest would've put some cash in their account...probably mine. As always, hope you are doing well. Have a great Turkey Day and Merry Christmas, my friend.

[@JacobDarkOfficial]

Appreciate you as always, yea too bad on the MOTU but might get the new Black Lion soon! Doing my best to maintain, happy holidays to you as well.

[@notsure1135]

If you go ADAT, there’s no preamps in that I/o.

[@alvarohernandez2764]

Question about the alt feature in outputs pairs 1-2, 3-4. Can they be used simultaneously with independent channel out routing? or do they have to share the same channel output? Or can they have different output but not be used simultaneously? On my 2nd gen 18i20, outputs 7-8, 9-10 are shared with the 2 front headphones out. Manual sais 4th gen phones are independent now. So my question really is, did they just expand the trs output channels from 10 to 14? Or is the "alt" feature really an excuse to have 12 channels instead?

[@DavesWoodFloors]

Does the phantom power do each individual track or all at once..?

[@rsbeats_]

individial tracks

[@CarleyCreativeSolutions]

Yes. Struggling between my decision on getting this or the clarette 8 pre. I am coming from a first gen 18i20

[@rsbeats_]

id get this one just because its up to date. it has all the modern features u have come to expect from a interface today. it just feels kinda eh to buy a several yrs old product when its smth u know ur gonna use for several more years. i recently got the 18i20 4th gen and all the smart funtions are nice plus just the user interface looks good and is intuitive.

[@conorm2524]

​@@rsbeats_ can you explain why it states 18 inputs and 20 outputs? Is that with analogue and digital combined I/O? It's pretty misleading and confusing.

[@rsbeats_]

@@conorm2524 yeah there are 8in and 8out right out of the box, but it has room for expansion up to 18in and 20out

[@conorm2524]

@@rsbeats_ Ah ok, so cascading units upto that amount? Thanks for reply.

[@marcdevasconcelos]

Was wondering about the line inputs, thanks for clarifying!

[@JacobDarkOfficial]

It's worth noting that while you can't bypass the preamps Focusrite states the built in pres won't color the signal. That said I've done a number of interface reviews and find a LOT of users are pretty black and white on this; they want to bypass the pres regardless.

[@marcdevasconcelos]

@@JacobDarkOfficial That's where I'm with it as well, I just don't want a volume control in the signal path either!

[@DetroitTaino2403]

Great video!

[@JacobDarkOfficial]

Thanks!

[@nailcutter7259]

Are the headphone jacks have a dedicated output signal like the audient evo 16?

[@mixinginthebox]

Thank you. You should be able to bypass preamp and conversion by using a digital input, such as spdif or adat..

[@QuestForGear]

So I bought one day after watching this, thanks!

[@JacobDarkOfficial]

Thanks for watching!

[@AQAmagic]

Hi friends, I have a 18i8 gen3 wich comes with 4 stereo playbacks, playback 1-2, playback 3-4, playback 5-6, playback 7-8. My question is, how many playbacks brings the new 18i20 4th gen ? I search on the PDF manual, but find nothing about it.

[@davidhiggen3029]

Hi Jacob, what were you using to measure the latency? Was that a piece of control software that comes with the interface or something else? Also what DAW were you using... that surely plays into latency?

[@JacobDarkOfficial]

RTL utility and I use Studio One which wasn't opened when testing latency.

[@davidhiggen3029]

@@JacobDarkOfficial Thanks. I hadn't run across RTL utility previously... will be interesting to test my own setup!

[@mikefetters6674]

How did you feel about the presence and harmonic drive mode? It felt a little too processed to me, where as the presence mode just feels like a slight enhancement

[@JacobDarkOfficial]

It was a bit much for me personally and prefer the Standard Presence mode

[@MrandMrsPodcasting]

If I have a Gen 3 does it make sense to upgrade to this Gen 4?

[@wscvoice]

Love your production values on your videos. Is the 48v independently selectable for each mic input?

[@SoleTownDuo]

Do you think it's worth it to pay the extra cash for the 4th generation or would it be alright to settle for a 3rd gen? Coming from 2nd gen 4i4 and I need to record 2-3 mics, 2-3 guitars and some easier percussion (I have a digital drum kit). Obviously I haven't managed to do this with my current Scarlett.

[@PetrucciJP6]

Really no need to spend extra for the 4th, 3rd is a insane product (i have)

[@SoleTownDuo]

@@PetrucciJP6 That's what I did. Santa was nice this year.

[@shimkeee]

So the interface has only 2 Hi-Z inputs (the ones at the front)? What does that mean, can you plug guitars through inputs 3-8? Or those 3-8 preamps are both mic/inst preamps? Idk chat gpt confused me so much by saying that active equeipment (like emg pickups or acoustic bass with line lvl signal) should be plugged only into front 2 inputs? Also if all of my equipment is active (emg pickups, fishman electronics ) could i use scarlett 8i6 line level inputs in the back for my instruments?

[@n07y0ur5]

This was a great runthru thank you. I wonder if used in tandem with the octo pre we would have a more complete unit. But the i guess thats 2 devices when we should have it all stuffed in one going into 2025 lol. Also what was the software you used to measure the latency?

[@JacobDarkOfficial]

@@n07y0ur5 Don’t have the OctoPre as I don’t have that kind of connectivity need. RTL Utility to measure latency

[@Germain_Glez]

Hola hermano! Espero puedas ayudar con esta duda.. Estoy por actualizar mi equipo... Vengo de una behringer xair18, y requiero de 16 canales como minimo para grabar bandas en conjunto y baterias con multiples microfonos, todo en mi estudio. Estoy pensando en adquirir un par de 18i20 4gen para este fin, pero he visto una nueva mesa, tascam 2400 para ser exactos. Que opción me recomendarias mas? O cuales son los principales pros/contras que ves en estos dos equipos.. Saludos desde Mexico 🤟

[@JacobDarkOfficial]

I would stay away from Tascam just because they don't seem to support their products for long.

[@014Marines]

so you can connect outboard Eqs, compressors, and mic pre's into it but you cant bypass the interal mic pre correct?

[@JacobDarkOfficial]

If using the preamp/line inputs correct

[@enrifretless]

Thanks for the overview video, I'm considering getting this upgrade from my scarlet 18i8 1st Gen interface 😅, but have been reading a few comments regarding issues with the new 18i20 4th gen and the Control 2 software, and some issue also with the dual ADAT features, Have you find any issue while using Control 2 and maybe also using the ADAT ? Thanks again

[@JacobDarkOfficial]

@@enrifretless I don’t have any ADAT devices so I couldn’t say

[@RonTheFlyingDutchman]

I received my 18i20 4th gen two days ago, hooked up my 18i20 3rd gen as adat master yesterday and didn’t have any issues yet. But I still have to wait and see if it continues to stay that way. I wonder what issues other people were mentioning. It took me some effort to find out how to run the 18i20 3rd gen in standalone mode, but after finding some docs on the Focusrite site I found out how to do it.

[@enrifretless]

@@RonTheFlyingDutchman The issues/bugs I have seen on the r/Focusrite subreddit are around the Control 2 app crashing or getting into an Update loop, but also something about the 48V not working consistently (maybe it was a Mic issue), Auto Gain bugs, the dual-band ADAT , not sure, and have not seen many Reviews here, so still taking my time, but is good to know that it is working for you, it's a start, BTW, did you get the Rack ears too?

[@RonTheFlyingDutchman]

@@enrifretless yes, I could mount it into a rack with the provided rack ears. I do not use phantom power and only use single adat for 8 extra inputs, so I can not say anything about dual adat. Until now I did not have any issues with the Control 2 app and did not have issues during the firmware update, which showed up during installation of the Control 2 app. I did the firmware update after receiving the message for reboot but before actually rebooting.

[@enrifretless]

@@RonTheFlyingDutchman Thanks, it sounds like your new 18i20 4th gen is behaving, nice! I have an old 18i8 1st Gen, it's working fine, but I need more Inputs, so I have been waiting for the 18i20 4th gen to be available, Thanks for your feedback!

[@Harrysound]

I take it if I use a spdif device I am bypassing the preamp? I would think so right. I’m just about to pull the trigger to replace a 13 year old interface

[@JacobDarkOfficial]

Correct, SPDIF/ADAT don’t connect into the mic/line input like a traditional mic preamp

[@haakonj]

I recently got my 18i20 4.gen, and want to use it for 5.1 mixing. I have routed all 6 channels from Pro Tools to desired outputs on the hardware. But i cant find any way to adjust the volume on output 5-6. Only main (1-2) and alt (3-4) is adjustable. You know if its possible to adjust volume individually for the outputs? Kind of need that to do calibration. I’m on Mac, and using focusrite control 2. Crazy how hard it is to find any info about this online..

[@JacobDarkOfficial]

I've never dabbled in 5.1, I'd contact support

[@bonafideguitar]

You can go straight in without conversion through the spidif in and out

[@JacobDarkOfficial]

Good to know thanks

[@justinreynolds3935]

I'm torn between this or the HD8 from presonus. Don't know if the $300 difference is worth it ??? 😂

[@debackerdave38]

Is it possible with a set of monitors and a sub to play them together and separatly because with the Alt function you can switch between 1-2 OR 3-4 ?

[@JacobDarkOfficial]

It's been quite a while since I've owned a sub so things may have changed but to my knowledge you won't be able to do this since you have to run your monitors through the sub.

[@raymondfranklynDJ]

Hi Jacob can I ask what happened to the Adam A7V moniters? Are the Evo's better?

[@JacobDarkOfficial]

Back in July we lost everything down to the clothes on our back and had to rebuild. I couldn't afford the A7Vs this time so went with what I consider to be the best pair under a grand

[@riccochettv8638]

Does it have loop back like the 8i6

[@StevenMikeyMusic]

What are your thoughts on the Motu 828

[@JacobDarkOfficial]

Looks good connectivity wise, couldn’t get one in for review unfortunately to test

[@vi8ezmusicgroup]

So the Quantum HD8 is the move currently?

[@JacobDarkOfficial]

I would choose it over this but I think it competes more with the Clarett+. I haven't had a chance to check out the new BLA interface either which should be coming sometime soon.

[@weirproid4859]

Hi, How does "18 inputs" work when there's only 8 inputs? I don't understand it! Also, can you chain two of them together?

[@JacobDarkOfficial]

You’ve also gotta count the ADAT, S/PDIF and MIDI inputs. Not sure on chaining them

[@xBeyaz]

Hello, I know literally nothing about interfaces and I want to get my first ever interface, I am thinking 18i20 since I will need lots of inputs and outputs. The 4th gen 18i20 still hasn’t came out and even if it does I reached out to the distributor in my country and they said they are not planning on bringing the 3rd gen in stock for the next 6 months let alone the 4th gen. Can you tell me all the differences between the 3rd gen 18i20 and the 4th gen 18i20 and can I use the 3rd gen with the ipad app aswell? Do you think 3rd gen is enough? Or the 4th gen is simply superior? and is there any better interfaces in 500-750 range?

[@rsbeats_]

if u want a reallyyy budget option the umc1820 is decent. Def not as good as focusrite. but its like half the cost

[@xBeyaz]

@ Around 550 I can probably afford, I will need lots of mic inputs cuz Ima mic a drum and guitar. I also seen a second hand clarett 8 pre. Would that be fine?

[@rsbeats_]

@@xBeyaz yeah that prolly would work. If u are gonna mic drums tho id 100000% recomend the audient evo 16. its like perfect for drums! check some reveiws. also around that 500$ mark

[@JOBIN_JOHNSON]

Jacob, Presonus quantum Hd8 or Scarlett 18i20. Which one do you pic.

[@JacobDarkOfficial]

@@JOBIN_JOHNSON HD 8 is a step up more equal to the Clarett+

[@audrotone3267]

Hi is this Focusrite rack mountable i see nothing about that

[@JacobDarkOfficial]

Yes it is

[@THA-REAPER]

2:45 booty clapping cheeks!?!? Sorry i had to... Surprised they raised the price for this one. I have the first gen. Not sure how I feel about the input gain knobs not being there. It is kind of annoying when you have like a stereo synth or something hooked up and need to get both left and right at the same input gain. You must init and make a test tone.

[@JacobDarkOfficial]

Shhhh gotta keep my sponsorships. The Link button should have you covered so you can control a stereo pair together.

[@rileymin4188]

Is it worth the extra $200 over the 3rd generation?

[@autocrow]

Possibly due to the availability of continued support for driver updates for older models of gear.

[@alancalvitti]

@3:30 did u even plug it in? pressing buttons doesnt match the narrative -1

[@JacobDarkOfficial]

Not sure what you mean, I watched at 3:30 and everything seemed to match

[@kevinstafford8347]

Hell of a job explaining the unit, but: Maybe it's just me but I don't see ANY of the tiny buttons lighting up....Some times you say it turns green or red or whatever, but it doesn't seem to light up at all to me. Am I missing somethin?

[@JacobDarkOfficial]

Camera didn’t pick up those lighting changes the best but I can still see it on my phone

[@ryza4rox4]

As if it's not got 10 channels it literally has the space. Drummers are crying now

[@BigStereoVR]

No it's not the nest budget interface. It only operates at a consumer headroom of +20 db. There are budget interfaces with +24 &+26 db headroom. One of those even has superior converters. Apogee, UAD, Focusrite, Antelope, Audient........ all super expensive toys.

[@JacobDarkOfficial]

@@BigStereoVR If you had to choose an interface with similar connectivity under $700 which would you choose?

[@TerranceNock]

@@JacobDarkOfficialhe can’t find one

[@bighousemusic628]

bro send me that interface dont send it back to focusrite im in need of an upgrade

[@bighousemusic628]

bro beg you that focusrite dont send it back im definately in need of an upgrade

[@JacobDarkOfficial]

Sorry man that’s not possible!

[@noreaction1]

Perd hapley