Focusrite has always made great audio products and their product line has always been exceptional. So, what’s the best budget audio interface? There are many great budget audio interfaces out there but we believe that the Scarlet Solo is one of the best ones on the market. The Scarlet Solo is perfect for singers, voice actors, or musicians who only need one channel input. Having a single channel input allows you to save the most money and it’s perfect for recording one instrument at a time. We love the Focusrite product line but we test products before we review them and this audio interface is one of the best interfaces available for the money and here’s why.
It Has Surprisingly Good Preamps
The Scarlet Solo has surprisingly good quality preamps inside. The preamps don’t introduce noise unless they are practically maxed out, which doesn’t happen often unless you’re using a mic like the SM7B. Even with the SM7B, the preamps produce very little noise. Also, you can boost the audio in post which really helps get rid of the noise floor for those kinds of dynamic mics. The Scarlet Solo also works great with LDCs and Shotgun microphones. The Scarlet preamps have always been tremendously good and in order to do better than this you’re going to have to spend around $700 for a Grace M101. And, even then, the difference is so minor you probably won’t even notice it. Budget audio gear has never been better, seriously!
It Easily Connects To Your Computer Via USB
Unlike some other audio equipment, the Scarlet Solo easily connects to your computer via USB. It’s super simple to setup and the drivers only take a minute to install. The Scarlet Solo really is perfect for beginners because you don’t need a mixer or anything crazy to get this thing connected to your computer. Just plug the USB into your PC and start recording. The Scarlet Solo makes it easy for people who are newer to the audio world to get their feet wet.
It Is Super Simple To Use
The Scarlet Solo has very few input options which makes it very easy to understand what’s what. The only thing you need to make the Scarlet Solo work is an instrument to record with, an XLR cable, and a mic. It’s very simple to understand the interface of the Scarlet Solo and even people who are newer should have an easy time adjusting to their new hardware. Once you have your mic plugged in via XLR, you control the gain with the gain knob and that’s pretty much all you need to know. There’s also a headphone jack you can plug into so you can monitor yourself in real time without latency, which is pretty neat.
It Has Fantastic Converters
The Focusrite line of products is known for having really high quality converters. Converters are what convert your digital code into analog signals so you can hear the audio. The 24-bit/192kHz converters are super high quality and you aren’t going to do any better than this unless you spend a lot more money. Even then, you’ll be hard pressed to hear the difference. The excellent converters aren’t going to hold you back at all on the Scarlet Solo.
Is The Scarlet Solo The Best Budget Audio Interface For Me?
It all depends on your situation but we believe that the Scarlet Solo is the best budget audio interface out there, period. The Scarlet Solo has excellent preamps and converters. It also connects easily to your PC and it has latency free monitoring. It truly has everything you would want in an audio interface with an incredible price tag of $119. You can’t go wrong by picking the Scarlet Solo. It even has a really cool air switch which sounds fantastic on vocals. Either way, the Scarlet Solo is one awesome audio interface which offers a professional level sound at an entry level price. Thanks for the read! Cheers! Buy the Scarlet Solo here. And, check out our other news stories here!
